In any career, network resources play a big part in the progression of your goals. The one aspect of freelance writing that has always scared me is first hand research. It is easier to find articles on your topic and craft your own article giving appropriate credit to the articles you use to educate yourself. But starting with nearly no information and finding an expert or a consumer to interview in order to generate conclusions carries a great deal more responsibility.

In the pre-Internet era, this standard method of writing articles was common and expected. Reporters literally did “go out and get the story” regardless if it was the breaking story of the day or a feature for a magazine. They were expected to ask great questions in order to glean out the responses needed to write the story. They were challenged to capture the right tone and context in which the answers were received and they held the responsibility to anticipate and ask the hard questions in order to get the real answers their audience was seeking. Now the Internet makes it far more convenient to get the quotes, sound bites, and knowledge needed to write those amazing stories that fill our newspapers, magazines and splash across our computer monitors.  With so many forums, chat rooms and other information sites, a quick post or a simple email could lead to enough replies to provide plenty of material for several articles.

While this easy access may lead to the face-to-face or telephone interviews becoming a loss art-form, I think it is a far more convenient way to gather expert material for your articles. Personally, I love it because now I don’t have to rely on my speed writing skills or a temperamental voice recorder to ensure I recorded the material just as the expert intended it.  So with a little help from that black cable connected to your computer, your next killer quote might be sitting in your inbox.

Related Posts:

• Self Promotion
• Commentary
• Timing
• Tax Man
• The Race