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Outlets won't typically come to you unless you have an existing relationship with an editor, or maybe it's a publication under the same umbrella as another one you're writing for. It's happened here and there for me, but it's rare, and they haven't typically been big, worthwhile opportunities (unless I'm completely blanking on something).
As far as branching out, I can definitely speak to both of those examples that you mentioned. It's arguably better to come with a great feature pitch, because that shows your skill for generating interesting ideas and hopefully shows that you know the outlet, understand its readership, and have an eye for what kinds of coverage they'd be interested in. Plus, a lot of feature ideas won't require special hardware or any kind of above-and-beyond access, which makes them idea for both newcomers and remote freelancers.
That said, I certainly have found work sending a cold pitch e-mail to an editor and essentially stating my credentials/experience and asking if I can get involved. It's not always a worthwhile route, and I imagine some editors won't even bother reading what you have to say unless you're coming with a pitch; but once you have some great clips under your belt, it's certainly easier to just say, "Hey, this is what I've done -- I'd love to do the same for you." One thing I'd definitely recommend is to try and build relationships with editors on Twitter before you ask for work. Follow them, reply (meaningfully and non-annoyingly) to things they're discussing, and just try and get yourself on their radar. Be smart and subtle about it, though.
And certainly keep an eye out on Twitter or editors' blogs or wherever else you can think of for help wanted notes, or even hints that they might have a need for freelancers or feature pitches or whatnot. There are so many different ways to land freelance gigs in this industry, and you need to be assertive and (lightly) aggressive if you're going to land a few. -
I don't request any games for which I don't already have an assignment lined up. Honestly, I don't have the greatest PR contacts, so it seems wasteful and slightly opportunistic for me to bug companies about games that I'm not definitely writing about. As for receiving games out of the blue, it happens occasionally, but I'm only on a handful of recurring product lists. So I may see a review copy of something I don't have coverage for, and while it gives me the option of seeking out an assignment, I certainly don't make myself cover every game that shows up in my box. I'll happily accept any games sent my way, since they potentially expand my boundaries and make it easier to fill out my workload, but I'm not actively seeking any games unless I have a confirmed assignment.
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Reviews tend to be much smaller pieces -- at least for the outlets I typically write for -- and almost always have relatively tight deadlines. Depending on the size of the review and complexity of the review and assignment, I may try to write, revise, and complete the article in one extended setting. There have certainly been times where I've finished a game the night before, then given myself ~3 hours before an 11am deadline to write and complete the review and been completely happy with the results.
Recently, though, I've become a much bigger fan of knocking out a quick draft, walking away from it, and then getting deep into revisions later that day or the next morning, the latter of which is usually just hours before my deadline. That approach lets me throw down my ideas without worrying too much about style and word count (though I still edit as I go, always have), think on it for several hours or the night, and then tear into it with fresh eyes and potentially after a good night's rest.
Whatever approach I have time for, I always spend as much time revising and editing as I do writing. Getting the core ideas down as text is obviously important, but making them cogent and as polished and dead-on as possible is the more significant part of the process, in my eyes. When I first started writing game reviews (typically much longer ones), I'd usually write my review and then barely look over it, assuming whatever I wrote was great and fine. But that doesn't fly in the world of professional writing.
Or rather, it shouldn't -- but you don't have to look far to find examples of reviews and other articles on well-known websites that read like haphazard blog posts. I don't have any issues with editors tweaking my writing and making suggestions -- often, they're beneficial and improve the piece -- but I'm always happy to see my text printed or posted nearly identical to how I submitted it. That tells me not only that I turned in polished, quality text, but that it read well in its original incarnation. All of which reassures me that it's worth that extra time and effort to get it right. -
It probably should be, but I've had tremendous consistency in my career to date. I'm no doubt the exception there, but ever since the first month I considered myself a full-time freelancer (three years ago: January 2008), I've been working very steadily. I used to have a low-end benchmark for the amount of income I'd need to make to have a "good month," and I believe I've only fallen below that once -- in either January or February 2009, right after EGM shut down, 1UP cut half its staff, and freelance budgets everywhere were tightening. I was briefly concerned, but was able to find and create opportunities elsewhere. And more recently, I've routinely doubled that former benchmark, which is why I don't use it anymore.
Consistently working for 10+ outlets is a safety net -- if one of them shuts down or loses its budget, or I fall out of favor for whatever reason, I can typically find other ways to fill that gap. There are thankfully more opportunities available to me than I have time to execute, so it's more a matter of picking the ones that are the best use of my time and pursuing those with regularity. But while I'm fully confident in my ability to maintain freelance success, I don't get complacent or lazy about my work. Because you only need to let an editor down once to create that aura of doubt, which certainly won't help when he/she is deciding on a freelancer to tackle some excellent gig. -
Seems appropriate for the first question! I grew up reading and loving video game magazines and then websites, and then ran my own haphazard websites as a teenager, which pushed me in that direction. After a great media studies class in high school, I decided to pursue journalism in college, which I did from 2002 to 2006.
As I started my last full year, I thought it best to start writing regularly about games to build up clips and experience, so I offered to revamp the neglected games section of a local Chicago entertainment site. I turned it around quickly with my own reviews and features, then recruited other writers and started editing and assigning work. I did that for almost a year, but after a few months, I also started volunteering for a much more established gaming site that sent me review games and got my work a bit more exposure. After graduating from college, they started sending me out to cover events, and I did a whirlwind of like six trips in just a few months. It was all unpaid, but a fantastic experience that no doubt opened doors through the work and my ability to make connections.
Paid work came about five months after graduation. I answered a help wanted post on 1UP.com from Patrick Klepek about needing news writers and was recruited for daily news bursts. After a couple months, I also had the opportunity to do some previews. Around the same time, a connection I'd made at GamesRadar finally panned out with some review work, thanks to Eric Bratcher, who has been an amazing ally in my career thus far. And then at the end of the year, I reached out to John Davison at the just-launched What They Play about doing some work there and quickly started doing write-ups and features.
By the end of 2007, I was doing enough work to justify calling myself a full-time freelancer and it really hasn't let up since. Quite the opposite -- it's been a tremendous ascent, in terms of work and opportunities. Now I'm writing steadily for about a dozen outlets and have contributed to many more, and am always keeping an eye and ear out for new and interesting possibilities. I've had some luck, certainly, but it's really been a matter of turning around good work, building relationships, and being tenacious about pursuing and maintaining gigs. I'd always dreamed myself in a full-time editor role, which I still expect will happen someday, but freelancing's been a blast and more successful than I could've imagined.
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Loading...Andrew Hayward’s Bio
Freelance video game and technology writer for an ever-growing array of popular and well-respected print and online outlets. Husband. Cat owner. Chicagoan. Awesome dude.
