How To Turn Your Newsroom Into A Writing Career In Six Easy Steps:

 Introduction:

Before I started working for my blog, I had a pretty sweet job as a news reporter for an Express newspaper. If you blog and would rather be a writer, here are six steps that will turn your newsroom into your first writing career.

 

Have you ever blown the wrong story idea out of proportion? Or maximized a true piece of information to such a degree that it led you down a rabbit hole of exhaustion and despair? Yeah, us too. This post is our attempt to right some of that wrong and makes sure future stories are told with the proper context. In six simple steps, we're going to walk you through turning your newsroom into a writing career. So let's jump in!

 

Here’s the deal: You’re a journalist, right? You want to write or maybe you already write, but you think that writing is just a hobby. Writing is something you do every day while on your job in the newsroom. Writing as a hobby doesn’t pay the rent, some people say and they may be right. Why not think of your hobby not as a hobby anymore, but as a powerful tool to turn your writing into a career?

 

I read somewhere a survey that said 80% of Americans are afraid of public speaking. And I get why (you’ll probably tell me you remember very well your middle school teacher in front of the blackboard, and the chalk dust coming up their nose).

 

This blog post is a response to much recent debate about the future of journalism in an era of post-factual, fake news, and the role that content farms and Google News are playing in the distribution of information.

 

Google News is a news aggregator. But if you’re a journalist or work in the news industry, you should think of Google News as more than an aggregate of your content - it should be one of the countless avenues to promote your content and grow your audience.

How Journalist Playing A Vital Role In Society:

 

A journalist is one of the most important and inspiring roles in our modern era. In an era of fake news, it is a journalist's job to decode the truth and inform the public who, when, and why writes the news. Our jobs are vital to holding politicians and corporations accountable. Rather than relying on their paid PR teams, the general public looks to us to tell them what they need to know. This means that as journalists we have enormous power over what people think and how they behave.

 

People have put a lot of faith in journalists over the years, and more so in recent times. Roy Greenslade, a professor of journalism at City University, writes that the power bestowed upon journalists is a double-edged sword, "because they are often becoming the targets of hostility." He says one reason for the growing antipathy stems from the fact that today's journalists are under pressure to accomplish more than their predecessors - find stories, develop sources, meet deadlines, file online and on TV - all of this with far fewer resources. Therefore what we read or watch usually comes at the expense of long investigations and deep analysis.

How To Turn Your Newsroom Into A Writing Career In Six Easy Steps:

• ·      Write for the World’s Biggest News Outlet
• ·      Write for the Internet
• ·      Write About What You Know
• ·      Write About What You Don’t Know
• ·      Write Your Own Opinions
• ·      Write a Book

 

The news industry has been in a state of flux for some time now. Editors, writers, and other creative professionals have had to adapt to a changing world where the news is constantly being updated and the financial models are changing. That can be difficult for anyone, but particularly those with years of experience in the field.

 

As someone who grew up in a newsroom at the age of 13, I can tell you how to turn your newsroom into a writing career in six easy steps. Seriously, if you're looking to get more freelance writing gigs, then I'm going to teach you how to turn your newspaper or news website's audience-building efforts into a full-time career as a writer.

Step 1: Work for Your Newsroom as a Writer

 

The first step you need to take is to work for your newsroom as a writer. If you don't have any experience as a writer, then get some. You'll be able to use this experience later on when applying for freelance gigs with other publications and websites.

Step 2: Write Articles About Your Industry

 

Once you've worked for your newsroom as a writer, it's time to write articles about your industry. You should focus on topics that interest you and aren't already covered by other writers in your industry. You'll also want to focus on topics that are relevant to your readership and will generate traffic and revenue for your newspaper or online news site.

Step 3: Find Your Focus

 

Every writer needs to have a specialty, but it doesn't have to be limited only to what you're writing about. If you're transitioning from journalism, chances are good that you already know what kind of topics and content formats work best for you. Think back on all the articles or blog posts you've written and figure out which ones got the most responses from readers — what were they about?

 

I started my career in a newsroom.

I learned a lot of things, and you can too.

You'll learn some standard journalism, but more importantly, you'll learn how to write for the web.

Even though it's not all about writing, that's what will get you far. You'll learn how to write, even outside of journalism. Writing is an important skill to have, no matter what you do.

If you're looking to start a new career path, this could be the perfect opportunity for you.

And I'm still learning. Every day I see someone else, who has been doing it for years, who still struggles with the same issues.

 

But none of that means you can't or shouldn't make a go of it. You CAN do it. Even the people who've been at this for decades and have published dozens of books still struggle to write every day and often hate their own writing and wonder why they started in the first place.

So this is how you turn your newsroom into a writing career in six easy steps:

1. 1) Finish something you've already started
2. 2) Decide what kind of writer you want to be
3. 3) Start a blog (or something)
4. 4) Get some help
5. 5) Do something totally different
6. 6) Keep starting over

 

Most people think about breaking into the writing industry as a lifelong dream. But what if it's already your job? Journalists, in particular, have a lot of skills that can be adapted for creative writing. If you don't even need to go back to school, why not try out a new career?

Step 1: Identify Your Skills

 

Journalists are trained observers. We're taught to put our biases aside and notice things other people miss. The most effective writers use these skills to become experts in their chosen genre. The first step is identifying which of your skills can be adapted into this new field. You might have an eye for detail or an innate understanding of how the plot works in real life. These are both strengths that make the learning curve easier.

Step 2: Pick A Genre

The next step is picking which genre you want to write in. Some journalists like romantic comedy because it's similar to writing headlines and ledes (the opening paragraph of a story). Others find fantasy or science fiction a better fit for their interests because it lets them explore ideas and themes they couldn't analyze as journalists. It's okay if you're not sure which one you like.

 

I hope that after reading this, you are ready and excited to start your journey to a writing career. This is something that anyone can do, even with no experience. Yes, you will be learning on the job, however, this can prove quite helpful because you'll be able to get hands-on practice starting on day one. So, get ready for those late nights and long hours – it’s time to work hard and make the most out of your opportunities in order for a writing career to pay off. Your first opportunity awaits!

 

If upon reading this post, you find yourself inspired to make the leap into a writing career, we have some helpful tips and resources for you. We’ve assembled our favorite articles on breaking into freelance writing, landing your first job, making money as a freelancer, and how to build a portfolio that will help you secure great writing jobs. These are key steps on the path to becoming a successful writer.