Quarter Life Crisis

[ISUKappa]

Look into a magazine freelancing class at a CC or University.

That will really help you familiarize yourself on the style of writing used in magazines. They would also help you figure out what kinds of articles you want to write and what magazines you want to gear yourself towards.

How you submit your articles varies widely on the individual magazines. Some won't take unsolicited articles, some want only an article outline, some want the entire article written, some want text and artwork, some want published clips along with the text, etc. . . For the small local publications, call up their editor or production manager and talk to them about possibly doing some freelancing. If they can't help you, they might be able to direct you to someone who can.

You have the right idea by starting small/locally. Volunteer to write some unpaid, if possible, just getting published is what you want starting out. Established freelancers can do quite well for themselves--they have certain magazines they are known at and can establish a good per word rate but it can take years (5 or more) to become established. Writers just starting out don't have that luxury--they usually have to work with a flat rate per article, regardless of length, which can be anywhere from $50-500 depending on the publication. It would have to be a part-time or side job at first until you become more established.

Prepare yourself for rejection. But don't become discouraged by it. Try somewhere else and keep at it.