The ABCs of Freelance Success

Many freelance writers, especially those at the beginning of their careers, tend to place almost all of their professional focus on one specific component: craft.

- BY DON VAUGHAN

They work extra hard to master the basics of effective nonfiction writing because they understand how important they are to success in this very competitive field.

And they're right. A mastery of Craft is a key component to success as a freelance writer. But it is not the only one; equally important are the Art and Business of freelance writing. Together, these components are as stable as a three-legged stool. But ignore one or more, and instability is sure to follow.

A: Nonfiction as Art

Art is a subjective term, and sometimes difficult to define. In writing, works of literary fiction are most commonly designated as art, while nonfiction often gets the short shrift. But consider Gay Talese's master class in celebrity biography, “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold,” first published in the April 1966 issue of Esquire magazine. Considered by most observers to be the greatest celebrity profile ever written, it slowly reveals the underlying heart and soul of its reluctant subject in ways never before explored, propelling the narrative forward through techniques that give it more of a literary feel than a standard work of journalism. Talese's profile of Frank Sinatra is art by any definition, raising the bar high for future efforts.

Another example of nonfiction as art is The Library Book by Susan Orlean. Ostensibly about the 1986 fire that devastated the Los Angeles Public Library, Orlean uses the book to also explore the greater role of libraries throughout history and culture. In so doing, she deftly elevates The Library Book well beyond a mere examination of a specific historical event.

In both of these examples, it is the writer's style that elevates their work to the status of art. Their choice of words, the cadence of their sentences, the structure of their stories, and more combine to create works of elegance and lasting importance. Such should be the goal of all nonfiction freelance writers.