Freelance Writers

A freelance writer earns a living by writing or editing, taking photographs, or preparing graphics for broadcast stations, magazines, Web sites, newspapers, corporations, individuals, nonprofit organizations, and anyone else who needs help collecting, packaging, and disseminating information.

Public relations agencies and departments typically use freelance writers to work on special projects that the existing staff does not have the time or the expertise to handle. A freelance writer might be hired to prepare or edit an employee handbook or to develop interesting and enlightening graphics for an annual report.

The main advantage of hiring freelance writers is monetary: It costs less to hire someone on a one-time basis to complete a single project than it does to retain someone on staff to handle that job. A corporation or nonprofit organization typically doesn't have to worry about providing to freelance writers health insurance or retirement benefits. They generally aren't around long enough to use them.

Another advantage is that an organization can keep abreast of some of the latest develops in a field. A CEO who wants to add streaming video to the organization's Web site might have no idea how to do that—and he or she might have no employee who can do that. Enter a freelance writer to show how it's done.

A disadvantage of using freelance writers lies in the lack of continuity. They seldom know the organization well, and they might not care too much about its overall health. The commitment is not there to learn the organization's history, values, culture, or policies. This lack of knowledge can lead to embarrassment or to a product or service that is less useful, impressive, or compelling than it might be.

A related disadvantage is the potential lack of control over a freelance writer's work. Robin Gregg sold the New York Post a story (about Wal-Mart Stores dropping Kathie Lee Gifford's clothing line) that looked a good deal like a story in the National Enquirer. Gregg will never write for the Post again, according to the Post's management, but the damage was done. This was not a public relations firm, but the same thing can happen in almost any media context.

Freelance writing can be viewed from an entirely different perspective: A public relations writer can be seen as a kind of freelance writer when he or she contributes material to a medium. The obvious example is the news release. Practitioners are not paid for the releases they send, but the process is the same. The practitioner, in effect, works for the television station, for example, supplying material that might be aired. It's important for the practitioner to thoroughly understand the medium and its audience, the prevailing writing style of that medium, and the length and tenor of stories accepted. The practitioner who does these things will be a successful “freelance writer.”