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How A Volunteer Program Landed My
First Paid Assignment
Author: Roy A. Barnes
I began writing over twenty years ago, but didn’t seek payment for my writing until 2004. In those early days, I crafted poetry, wrote letters to the editor, whipped out work-related pieces for my employers, and journaled my personal experience through essays—never receiving one dime for those efforts.
Sometimes, I half-heartedly submitted poetry and other works to paying markets without really studying the writers’ guidelines. In return for my misguided attempts I’d receive rejection notices and return-to-sender stamps on my correspondences because I sent work to publications that were no longer in business—publications listed in outdated writers' market books.
This changed, however, in the summer of 2004 when I decided to get serious about my writing. I had volunteered in Spain for an English language immersion program three times, completing my most recent stint, up to that time, in the late spring of 2004. I strongly suspected that many travel publications existed in the marketplace which would be interested in sharing this unique volunteer opportunity with their readers.
That’s when I realized the Internet would be the savviest way of researching markets since websites often listed the most up-to-date information on publications in print and/or online. I went online, and quickly found a publication called Transitions Abroad. This publication was especially geared toward articles about all facets of cultural immersion, living abroad, and trekking overseas. I read the print guidelines, but noticed something very interesting at the end of those guidelines. Transitions Abroad was making a special call for web-only articles for their online version. Better yet, an online acceptance would pay more than an acceptance in their print medium.
So I wrote about the English language immersion volunteer program, making it a point that I had participated in the program three times. Then I sent it to the person in charge of web-only submissions. Within a week, I was graciously notified that he was interested in the article. Then came a surprise email, I was informed that the print editor desired to showcase my article in a future print issue of Transitions Abroad.
In December of 2004, I received a lump sum payment of $100 for future use in Transitions Abroad. My article hit the newsstands in March of 2005, and is even linked at the Transitions Abroad website for English-speaking Internet surfers so they can be introduced to this life-changing experience in Spain!
Since that first paying job, I have gained many insights as a writer, insights like:
- When submitting a query or finished work to editors, let them know why you’re qualified to write the piece. In this case, I was a three-time veteran of the Englishtown (now called Pueblo Ingles) volunteer program.
- Check all the publication’s venues for submissions by reading the writers’ guidelines in their entirety. You just might be surprised by what they want and where your piece would fit.
- Submit your query and/or completed piece to the highest paying applicable publisher first.
- It doesn’t matter if we’re paid for our piece to be published online or on paper. Pay is pay and netting cold hard cash for our work means we’ve taken our writing to the next level!
By following these steps, unexpected surprises may come. It’s possible the editor of one publication could forward your work to the editor of another venue within the publication or to a colleague in the industry. Consequentially, extra money and notoriety might be forthcoming!
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