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ABOUT THE COURSE
Who will this distance
learning course benefit?
Anyone who is interested in freelance writing. You might be a
professional - a lawyer, architect, doctor for example - who wants
to write about your specialist subject. You might be someone looking
for a part-time or even full-time income from working at home. Maybe
you're in public relations and want to learn more about journalism
and writing. Or you might be a student who wants to know more about
freelance writing and journalism. It really doesn't matter what
your background is. The course is aimed as a practical guide to
anyone interested in freelance journalism.
When can I start?
Anytime. The fact that this is an Internet email-based distance
learning course means that you can start at any time of the year.
And you can complete it at your own pace. You might want to take
more time on some lessons - and be quicker completing others. Ken
or Michael will be your tutor and guide you through the course at
the pace which is best for you.
Do I need minimum qualifications?
The main qualification is enthusiasm … and determination to do
the best you can. Of course, a reasonable command of simple written
English is necessary. You might be surprised at how well qualified
you already are to start learning how to be a writer.
Can I choose which lessons I want to take?
Not really. We've already stripped down the lessons to contain
the essential elements of the techniques you need to develop to
do the job. Our aim is to get you started writing - and earning
money from writing - as soon as possible.
How much time/commitment will the course take up?
It's really up to you. You should be able to complete most of
the exercises in a couple of hours or so. But we recommend that
you don't restrict your studies simply to the lessons. You should
start reading several newspapers every day, and a few magazines
each week. But you should be reading them not as a consumer - more
as a student who will soon be reading your own by-line there. You
need to understand how journalism works, and how the market operates.
And alongside the guidance in the lessons, you should be reading
papers and magazines with fresh eyes, so that you will swiftly make
the transition from reader to writer.
Do I get a qualification at the end?
You will get a certificate to say you completed the course -
but we don't think you'll ever have to show it to anybody. Because
journalists are still judged by fellow journalists on what they
produce - not on certificates. Your best qualification is seeing
your work in print. And others will see it too. If you present editors
with an article which is tightly written, and well-researched, and
is just what they are looking for - then they'll buy it. The quality
of your work will sell itself. Our aim is to help you develop the
skills needed to produce copy which will sell.
How much money can a freelance journalist make?
Sell just one feature article to a national newspaper or a popular
magazine and you could cover the cost of the course. Four hundred
pounds for a feature is not unusual. Some mass-circulation papers
will pay you £1000. Magazines will generally pay you less.
Do I have to be resident in the UK?
No. This is the Internet. It doesn't matter where you are. Of course
we are working in the English language. But the skills we are focussing
are those you will need to become a writer anywhere.
Can you help me to get my articles published?
We won't be writing your articles for you, nor selling them for
you. But we will be doing our best to teach you how to write them.
And we'll teach you how to sell them, too.
Copyright © Ken Hyder &
Michael Streeter 2002
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