You're Writing About What....From Where?—by Derek Pettie

Travel writing sounds like a phenomenal career for an English major, so why not start off this exploration in Mongolia.  Well I'm not there, but that is where I found Bill Donahue, a freelance writer who has written for magazines such as The Atlantic, Backpacker, and Runners World, newspapers like the Washington Post and The Oregonian, and news website Salon.com.  While waiting for his second email, I speculated what he was doing on the other side of the world: trekking in the Sayan Mountains, traveling across the country’s 1900 miles on horseback or covering the Horse procession documenting Ghengis Khan’s 850th anniversary?  Actually he had “scared” up a smaller story to write about, cycling from Ulanabatoor, Mongolia’s capital city, 35 miles to the world's largest statue of Khan, before traveling to Bejing for an article on American ultra-marathoner, Diane Van Deren. 

Jealous yet?

If the answer is yes, then it's time to delve further into what the job entails.  Travel writing is more than just reviews and is primarily about the writing rather than the travel.  An important distinction to make.  Whether a piece is written about a pilgrimage to Djibouti to discover what chewing Khat leaves is all about, or covering a destination or event near your home, what matters is the quality of the writing.  Frank Bures, a freelancer from Minnesota, has focused on building his career by improving as a writer, instead of trying to get published in high-profile publications.  This has had led to pieces in Outside, Bicycling and he is currently working on a story for Harpers.

Still interested?

Writing up a Fortune: the Easy Life of Freelancing - by Fleecy

Freelance writers have the luxury of working from home, free from the burdens of bosses, coworkers, commutes and office hours. Such freedom, however, leaves the writer responsible for his own inspiration and work regimen; there’s no boss to handle the overhead, and no colleagues with whom to relate. Consequently, the flexible schedules often entail hectic work loads, with completed articles returned for immediate revisions in the midst of looming deadlines for current assignments. And since the work loads are inconsistent, so is the pay. Therefore, a big paycheck must be spent with responsible budgeting foresight, for it might just be the only paycheck of an otherwise meager season in the marketplace. Furthermore, since the assignments come in fits and starts, freelancers have to exercise the discipline of turning down some wonderful projects when the stack gets high, for such assignments might be impossible amidst an already tightly filled docket; a tough call for writers who’ve lived through their share of work droughts. As women’s magazine freelancer Margrit Ragland states in her mediabistro guide Get a Freelance Life, “[d]on’t take on too much just because you can, and don’t be too worried when editors aren’t biting – there’s always something new for you to try pitching” (Ragland 11).

Writing the Adventures

Somewhere people are actually being paid to write about testing free gear in the Alps, hiking in Alaska with their kids, and being dropped by helicopter into the woods and finding a way out. And at least one man has been paid to climb and write about Mt. Everest. Outdoor magazine journalists inspire people to get outside, whether it’s on hiking trails, bikes, skis, rivers or mountains.

As a subscriber of such myself, these writers show parts of the Earth, most of which I’ll probably never go, but remain grateful for the opportunity to know that such wild and rugged places are out there. Food for fantasy. But, for the trips I do go on, the various magazines have their own mission that tries to show where the best and freshest places are, what gear is solid, as well as supplying essential safety and other clever tips. After that, it’s up to the reader to get out and make his or her own adventure happen.

Image Consultant

As an English major, you know all about language. You have analyzed works in the English language, perhaps considered translations from other languages, or even looked at the components of language in related fields like semiotics. Language has become such an integral part of your life that you may have forgotten it is a skill--one that many people do not possess, and subsequently, one you can sell to them.

As an image consultant, you can capitalize on your knowledge of language, and use it to excel in the field of personal branding. Personal branding involves indentifying and creating a visual brand language, similar to that used by a company, for an individual.

Think of it like writing a book report: pretend your client is the novel, and you are describing the things they do well or poorly. Clarity, coherency, consistency--all qualities present in good writing--must be presented by your client in order to help him be successful in his field. You provide him with the service of analyzing and then explaining aspects of his personal brand that work well, and other aspects that are ineffective.

Lots of Pennies for Your Thoughts

If you’re anything like me, you enjoy passing judgment. You love the passion you hear in your own voice as you critique a novel or film. You get a high from labeling things as “cliché” or “self-indulgent.” You’re not a bad person, you just know that you could make the wordy world infinitely better if someone would only listen. You know you could make everyone sound less dweeby if someone just gave you a chance. And maybe pay you for your insights?

Let’s assume that, along with dishing out blunt yet thoughtful critiques, you like to write. But maybe you don’t have any original ideas. Maybe you haven’t the attention span to stick with anything bigger than a haiku. Maybe you’re detail oriented—at your best when adding flourishes and accents to an existing text. If so, perhaps you’d like to be a developmental editor.

Is Indexing The Career For You?

Most people who get a B.A. in English do not think of indexing as a potential career. This is because the positions, at a professional level are sparse. However, if there's one thing we've learned, it's that all jobs these days are hard to acquire.

As far as indexing goes, the most popular field is that of the freelance indexer. This is where a publishing house sends a book to an indexer and they work on a book to book basis, with no contracts. Cheryl Lenser, the indexer at Pearson explains the career in detail in her publishing career blog.

Freelance Writing

Freelance writers have the luxury of working from home, free from the burdens of bosses, coworkers, commutes and office hours. Such freedom, however, leaves the writer responsible for his own inspiration and work regimen; there’s no boss to handle the overhead, and no colleagues with whom to console. Consequently, the flexible schedules often entail hectic workloads, with completed articles returned for immediate revisions in the midst of looming deadlines for current assignments.

Since the workloads are inconsistent, so is the pay. Therefore, a big paycheck must be spent with responsible budgeting foresight, for it might just be the only paycheck of an otherwise meager season in the marketplace. Furthermore, since the assignments come in fits and starts, freelancers have to exercise the discipline of turning down some wonderful projects when the stack gets high, for such assignments might be impossible amidst an already tightly filled docket; a tough call for writers who’ve lived through their share of work droughts (1).

Research Writing

Just because you graduated, doesn't mean you're done putting in hours at the library. It hardly matters what kind of writing you do, a professional writer should be able to research quickly and effectively. Even if it’s fiction, if you’re going to write about a place, topic, time, city, etc you’re probably going to need some research. However, freelance research can be a career in itself.

There are many freelance research opportunities on the internet where writers can bid on assignments. Companies in various industries will hire educated writers to do market research or research a particular topic or assignment.