Creative Writing, Is There Money In It?
How Freelance Writers Can Find Work in the Field of Creative Writing
Aug 31, 2009
Freelance writers often overlook the specialized field of creative writing, when looking for freelance writing work. Special talents are required for creative writing and as a result, the rewards are usually more lucrative, but what are the talents, and what are the possible writing opportunities?
What is Creative Writing?
Creative writing distinguishes itself from other forms of writing essentially because it is a work of imagination. Although stories may be researched and based in reality and fact, creative writing involves the creation of a story that is made up by the writer.
Works of fiction fall into the category of creative writing, but fiction writing usually refers to the more narrow category of prose fiction, either novels or short stories.
Creative writing also encompasses drama for stage, small or big screen, or radio, as well as poetry and creative non-fiction writing.
What Kind of Creative Writing Work Can a Freelance Writer Find?
Creative writers are in demand to write:
- Novels
- Short stories for magazines
- Scriptwriting for television
- Screenwriting for films
- Radio scripts
- Playwriting
- Ghost-writing all of the above
How are Freelance Writers Paid for Creative Writing?
Creative writing is different from other forms of freelance writing work, as writers do not normally find “jobs” or become “employed”. This is because a piece of creative writing is, by its nature, unique. The people who are willing to pay for it - such as producers or publishers - will want to see the finished product before the make a judgment and commit to paying for the rights. So for most forms of creative writing, writers would be expected to work speculatively - “on spec” – that is to say that they would write first, and try to market their work afterwards.
It is a high-risk form of writing, as the investment in time and effort has no guarantee of paying off. But the potential rewards from a successful movie or book, can make it more than worthwhile.
Once a writer has established themselves with a reputation for producing successful work, then they will find themselves in demand, and will be given contracts in advance. However, until that time, the creative writer will normally have to work in their own time.
How Do Freelance Writers Sell Their Creative Writing?
The Internet, is the most useful networking tool for writers.
Ghostwriting jobs can be found on sites such as Elance.
Screenwriting opportunities can be found advertised in specialist sites such as Inktip.
Publishing companies can be found online, and ususally explain their submission guidelines for unsollicited manuscripts.
However, most forms of creative writing require the writer to have an agent, if not to sell, the work, then certainly to handle the contract agreement.
Agents and Contracts
Payment for creative writing usually involves much more complex contracts than other forms of writing. This is because a piece of creative writing can be exploited in many other forms: a novel may be turned into a movie, or a television series; one movie can lead to further movies involving the same characters. Therefore the copyright agreements covering the characters and storied must be watertight to protect the writer’s interests.
Agents make take between 10% and 25% or more, of a writer's fee, but in return, the agent is responsible for ensuring the the writer's rights are protected and that the contract is legal and acceptable.
Competitions
Another way for Freelance Writers to gain recognition for themselves and their work is to enter competitions. As well as the chance of winning large amounts in prize money, competitions often offert he chance to get your work seen by producers or publishers. It's important to beware of scam competitions, organized just to swindle writers out of entry fees.
Creative Writing Degrees
Most successful writers have a natural gift or talent, and have not taken a creative writing degree - such as a master of fine arts in creative writing - or creative writing classes of any sort. Creative writing courses are big business because becoming a successful novelist or screenplay writer is a dream of so many people.
Although there are skills and techniques which can make a talented writer better, there are no creative writing programs which can turn a person with no talent, into a talented writer.
Creative writing workshops or online creative writing classes can be useful to writers starting out, not only because the feedback from a writer’s peers is important, but also because networking with other writers can alert a writer to the opportunities which are available, as a writer’s life is often an isolated existence.
Choosing Creative Writing Courses.
Care should be taken when choosing a creative writing course, whether it’s an online MFA creative writing program or a creative writing retreat or vacation course. It’s important to check the credentials of the people running the course. See this related article for more guidance on choosing a creative writing course.
Find out more about the basics of freelance writing.
 |
