Ask The Freelance Dude #22 – A Balancing Act

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Nathan Meunier

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Dear Freelance Dude,

I struggle with the idea of pitching before I’ve written anything, especially when I don’t know how much time I’ll have to write the commission. Sometimes I’ll come up with an idea, will begin writing it, and realize there aren’t any legs under it or it’s pretty unoriginal. But I also understand that if I don’t send pitches and spend my time developing my ideas, I’ll be losing a ton of time writing content that may be rejected anyway.

How do you find that balance of pitching ideas and making sure ideas are pitchable?

Signed, Anthony S.

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Ask The Freelance Dude #21 – Idea Quest

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Nathan Meunier

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Dear Freelance Dude,

When brainstorming features, I often find it difficult to come up with themes that will be marketable to publications. It feels like focusing on current “hot topics” is simply chasing what’s already been said, but how do you go about finding fresh ideas?

Signed,
Steve G.

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Ask The Freelance Dude #20 – Shopping Around

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Nathan Meunier

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Dear Freelance Dude,

I’m gearing up to start pitching some things but have always wondered what the hard and fast rules on pitching a single idea or spec piece are. Is pitching one piece to multiple outlets a bad idea? Also, can you keep pitching a rejected piece to other outlets until it’s picked up? Are there any other tips to speed up the process or is it best left alone?

Signed,
James A.

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Ask The Freelance Dude #19 – Pack A Parachute

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Nathan Meunier

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Dear Freelance Dude,

I’ve been writing for a volunteer website doing news, reviews, and features – mostly news. However, being recently laid-off has forced me to search for paying opportunities, and I feel I don’t have the experience yet to attain one, freelance or staff (I’ve only been in games journalism for six months). Should I focus on writing features to submit to other websites or should I continue developing my skills until I feel ready?

And are there websites that hire staff writers that work remotely or is that, basically, freelancing?

Signed,
Anthony S.

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Ask The Freelance Dude #18 – Unresponsive Editors

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Nathan Meunier

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Dear Freelance Dude,

I’m trying my hardest to break into the world of freelance games journalism. I’ve had a couple of paid assignments which I managed to land without needing to submit any pitches. Since then, I’ve followed your advice about what makes a good pitch, and have tried several ideas tailoring them to several publications. After waiting a reasonable time, I have not had any responses whatsoever. What can I do if I’m simply being ignored?

Signed,
David O.

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Ask The Freelance Dude #17 – Writing on Spec

Posted on July 27, 2012 by Nathan Meunier

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Dear Freelance Dude,

I’m a student and games editor for our university newspaper. Being a student, my loan is covering me and allowing me put time into my degree and other hobbies. I’ve secured interviews with some big names and am planning to write some features. My goal is for these to be of a good enough standard to get paid for the writing. Yet, I’m going to write these regardless of whether a publication agrees to pay me for it. Can I pitch a feature I have already completed/ partially completed? How would I go about doing so?

Signed,
Marcus B.

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Ask The Freelance Dude #16 – Pitching Reviews

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Nathan Meunier

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Dear Freelance Dude,

You’ve talked about reviews, but I’m curious about how pitching reviews differs from pitching features. For instance, do you need to find a way to secure your own copy of a game or does the outlet you’re writing for take care of that? And how does the approach of pitching reviews differ from other pitches? You wouldn’t pitch a review to a features editor when there’s a reviews editor on staff, so how would you best make the transition from one editor to another?

Signed,

Derek T.

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Ask The Freelance Dude #15 – The Luck Factor

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Nathan Meunier

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Dear Freelance Dude,

I’ve seen a number of folks comment on how luck played a role in their obtaining a paying gig as a games journalist. Do you see luck as a big factor that plays into a person’s success in this field, or are there other variables that have greater importance?

Signed
KnucklesSonic8

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Ask The Freelance Dude #14 – Networking at Conventions

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Nathan Meunier

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Dear Freelance Dude,

I’m a soon-to-be college grad just starting to try his hand in the freelancing world. After being published on a handful of sites, I’ve managed to get a media pass to the PAX East convention in my hometown of Boston. It’s common knowledge that networking is a key to success for freelance journos, and conventions like these seem to be one of the best places to get started on making friends in the industry.

Could you shed some light on how to go about this whole networking process? Are there any particular do’s and don’ts that I should be aware of before walking up to complete strangers? I’ve got my personal business cards printed out and ready to be shared, so what can I do to get people to remember my name (without looking like a total weirdo)?

Signed,
Jeff D.

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Ask The Freelance Dude #13 – Reviews Reviews Reviews!

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Nathan Meunier

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Dear Freelance Dude,

As you eloquently explain in your blog, pitching feature ideas to editors is a great way of getting started as a freelance. This has proven to be effective to me, as I recently had my first feature pitch accepted – WOOT!

Much as I love desperately squeezing increasingly bizarre feature concepts from my noggin, only to be ignored or rejected by editors, I would dearly love to review games for well known gaming sites too. It seems that reviewing is the holy grail of games journalism, only possible for the most well known writers. Is this the case?

Signed,
Ian B.

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