Job Discussion Forums

[A]

I teach English in Jordan and do freelance writing in my free time. If you are a freelance writer, it does not matter where the magazines and newspapers you write for are located as your articles can be submitted via the Internet to the editors of those publications.

Obviously, if you are covering local news then it is important to live in the place where the news is taking place. But let's say that I write a travel piece about Jordan or some aspect of life and culture in the Middle East...I can then query the editors at any number of publications in the world to see if they are interested in my article...anything from travel magazines to newspapers with travel sections to web sites that publish travel pieces...and so on. The same is true of any other topic...the important thing is to find the right markets for your work and this takes a bit of research at first.

Although I live in Jordan, the bulk of my work has been with a magazine that is based in the U.S.

There are always opportunities to write, and it is just a matter of organizing your time. As Egas said, look at how much time people spend surfing the Net, watching TV, going out and doing other things that take time. Fit writing on your "must do" list, and it will get done. Even an hour a day can make a difference.

As for teaching English, I have found that it has been a real benefit to me in my writing. I am more aware of common errors in grammar along with the structure of the language and have the ability to self-edit, which helps greatly when it comes to submitting an article or having to revise a piece. I have even gotten a few editing assignments...mostly fixing articles that were written by non-native speakers of English.

Finally, you may want to take a look at the following site, which provides helpful articles for writers, a database of paying markets and a forum like this one for writers to exchange ideas and information about the industry. I must say that the writers there are extremely nice and supportive.

Check it out: http://www.writersweekly.com/

Sincerely,
A.

[MattElz]

Thank you, A.

I will check out the site. Personally I think if managed well, this trip could really help my writing career rather than hinder it (especially since I'm in NYC, which is proving to be a poor place to start out.)

[Marcoregano]

Whoever said you need to be a full-time teacher to be serious about teaching? Very strange indeed! For about 4 years in HK I have been a (serious!) p/t teacher and also a freelance writer, earning about half my income from each, though recently the writing work has dried up somewhat. Perhaps I'm fortunate that in HK you can make good money from p/t teaching, which frees up the time required for writing.

However, while I accept the point someone made above that 'technically speaking' you can use the Net to market your writing work anywhere, the reality is that most editors won't bother reading your stuff unless they know you, or know of you, and to succeed you would have to be very determined. Most of my freelance writing was for HK's main English daily, the South China Morning Post, and I covered stories on anything from industry awards to touring jazz bands. In other words I had a guaranteed buyer for my work, and the vast majority of the stories I did were commissioned. Sometimes it was good fun, and it paid as well as or better than my teaching, but much of it was arduous and eventualy became repetitive - like most jobs do I guess! Anyway, I'm not really bothered that the work has now dried up. It was good fun while it lasted.

I have tried to sell stories to UK-based newspapers and journals but without success - there are plenty of well-established writers already doing that. Maybe I didn't try hard enough. Personally I find it difficult to write without KNOWING I have a buyer for the piece. Without contacts its a tough business to get into, and you will often spend a lot of time on a story that will never find a buyer. On the other hand, if you can crack into a UK or US based publication, you'd probably have a source of occasional work for life.

It also depends on what field of writing you want to cover and how fussy you are. Hope this helps.

[saudade]

I'm in Brazil, so it may be a little different. But I do find time to write, as long as 1) things are going reasonably well on the teaching end, 2) I have a block of time (a day or two off in a row), and 3) as long as I commit to it. I do find that I tend to make contacts (or not make them) where I'm physically located. In other words, it will be hard to make new contacts in your home country when you're in Asia, although new opportunities and contacts will likely open up there.

Stan