Freelance Journalism for Magazines and Webzines Course | UK Writers College (2024)

The Freelance Journalism for Magazines and Webzines Course trains you to write engaging, well-researched articles. The Era of the Freelancer has arrived, a time when you can write from home for a dozen different clients all over the globe.

You will, however, need a new set of skills for this exciting career journey. To succeed as a magazine freelancer, you have to be versatile, able to write a feel-good feature one day and make sense of a scientific paper the next. You will have to produce work that ranges from long-form to short-form, from blog material to print journal articles. Our Freelance Journalism Course teaches you how to write articles for a range of print and web publications.

You’ll learn how to come up with ideas that sell, how to approach editors, the secrets of a good interview, how to craft your story from beginning to end, and how to run your freelance agency successfully.

Over 11 modules, you will be tutored by a highly skilled journalist who is not only teaching his/her craft but also working in the field.

With 300 pages of course notes and 20 writing exercises, this course addresses all the questions that beginner journalists have, helps you avoid the pitfalls of freelance writing, and teaches you how to hone your writing style.

Walk away with two full-length, publishable articles.

Over 11 modules, you will be tutored by a highly skilled journalist who is not only teaching his/her craft but also working in the field.

With 300 pages of course notes and 20 writing exercises, this course addresses all the questions that beginner journalists have, helps you avoid the pitfalls of freelance writing, and teaches you how to hone your writing style.

Walk away with two full-length, publishable articles.

• Basic writing skills are essential.
• Computer skills, e-mail and Internet access required.
• No previous tertiary qualification required.

Ewan McDonald is a multi-award-winning editor, journalist and critic. As features editor of the NZ Herald, editor of The Aucklander, and as a travel and food & wine writer, he and his teams have won more than 50 national and international awards.

Previous roles include Managing Editor of Custom Publications for New Zealand’s largest media company, NZME, with responsibilities from travel publications to Motoring, Lifestyle, Food and Wine, Real Estate and Commercial Property, Entertainment and Sustainable Lifestyle & Business publications.

He was Founding Editor of New Zealand’s most awarded community newspaper, The Aucklander. For 12 years he was the country’s most widely read restaurant reviewer, featuring in Viva (NZ Herald) and www.nzherald.co.nz. He has written about travel for more than 20 years, mostly for the NZ Herald, associated publications and the NZ Woman’s Weekly.

Donna Dailey is a travel writer and photographer whose work is published in magazines, newspapers and travel websites worldwide. Her articles have appeared in Journeys, Essentially America, Endless Vacations, CNN Traveller and other consumer magazines; national newspapers such as The Times, Sunday Times and Daily Mail; and on travel websites for Rough Guides, RCI and more. She has won several travel writing awards from the British Guild of Travel Writers, including runner up Travel Writer of the Year, Best UK Feature and Best Overseas Feature, as well as a Visit USA Association media award for Excellence in Specialist Travel Magazine Journalism.

Donna has written or contributed to more than 40 guidebooks and inspirational travel books, covering destinations in Europe, Africa and America for such publishers as DK, Insight Guides, Berlitz, Fodor’s, Thomas Cook and AA Publishing. She co-publishes three travel websites: www.pacific-coast-highway-travel.com, www.greece-travel-secrets.com and https://thetravelpages.net.

Donna has a BA in Journalism and Radio-TV from the University of Northern Colorado. When not on the road, she divides her time between Cambridgeshire, England and southern Arizona, USA.

• Distinguish magazine writing from other genres of writing.
• Acquire an understanding of the elements that characterise magazine journalism.
• Get answers to FAQ about a career in magazine journalism.
• Writing Exercise 1: Practise writing scenes that ‘show’rather than ‘tell’(assessment and feedback task).

• Analyse a magazine in terms of content, style, format, tone, target market and demographic.
• Learn how to match your writing with that of a selected magazine.
• Distinguish between the different types of articles found in magazines.
• Writing Exercise 2: Analyse the demographic, style, tone and format of a selected magazine (assessment and feedback task).

• Know where and how to find saleable ideas.
• Learn techniques for generating ideas.
• Distinguish between a topic and an angle.
• Study an overview of prominent international publications.
• Writing Exercise 3: Refinetopics into angles.Comeup with an angle for an article (feedback task).

• Find out how to write the perfect query letter.
• Distinguish between writing on speculation versus querying and being commissioned.
• Writing Exercise 4: Write a query letter. (feedback and assessment task)

• Plan and map a structure of your piece.
• Learn interviewing techniques.
• Source reliable information.
• Understand what plagiarism is and how to avoid it.
• Writing Exercise 5: Map out your proposed articleand research plan, ensuring logical flow of content (feedback task).

• Understand the critical elements for writing a compelling lead.
• Identify the different types of introductions.
• Writing Exercise 6: Write a compelling opening to your article (assessment and feedback task).

• Identify the main components of an article.
• Use a basic story structure to map out your piece.
• Use transitions and logical flow to facilitateeasy reading.
• Writing Exercise 7: Test yourknowledge on logical flow of content, use of transitions, consistentpoint of view and tenses (assessment and feedback task).
• Writing Exercise 8: Write up the body of your article. (feedback task)

• Familiarise yourself with the main grammar, style and punctuation rules.
• Know the rules for apt usage of quotations.
• Find out how to create catchy sidebars and resource boxes.
• Writing Exercise 9: Panel-beatthe body into shape (feedback task).

• Identify the different types of closers.
• Writing Exercise 10: Write the closer for your piece (feedback task).

• Edit your piece by following basic guidelines.
• Understand the different kinds of cover letters and how to submit your piece in a professional way.
• Invoice and organise payment for your stories.
• Understand the basics of copyrighting and syndication.
• Writing Exercise 11: Edit your piece and submit it with a cover letter(assessment and feedback task).

• Understand how writing magazine articles for the Web is different.
• Discover how to usekeywords, headlines and hyperlinking.
• Learn how to writean article for a webzine.
• Writing Exercise 12: Write a 600-word article for a specific online platformaccording to a given brief (assessment and feedback task).

Should your form not submit, please let admin know at admin@ukwriterscollege.co.uk