The possible internship turns up again

Being a freelancer, the phone either rings off the hook or never rings. Same with e-mail, snail mail, etc. I was trying to get an internship at a publication and figured after not hearing from the editor that this was dead in the water. I went through the same thing not too long ago with a freelance writing gig for a magazine where I just assumed they weren't interested in me. But in both these cases, out of the blue, I get an e-mail out of nowhere. Yes! They are interested!

That has been one hard thing to come to terms with as a freelancer. You hear nothing about queries you send or gigs you apply for to the point where enough time passes that you forget all about it. Then you get contacted out of the blue to fill a publication's need immediately. So it's really a feast or famine industry.

That is also the reason why freelancers have to hustle! Work can trickle in or come down like an avalanche. Most of the time, it's a trickle. So you always have to be networking, applying for gigs, and sending out queries. But what if all those feelers you put out for work come back all at once and you're loaded down with a mountain of deadlines suddenly?

I've yet to see that happen.

So happy hustling! Never be afraid to send out a pitch, apply for extra gigs, or pester an editor (within reason). If you haven't heard back from someone, that person just may be completely involved with putting together the latest magazine issue and has no time to breathe. Being a freelancer is a balancing act.

Reasons Why An Internship Is Good For Me At This Point:

1. Networking. You never know who that editor handing out the internship knows. Do well under that editor and maybe he/she will give you a glowing recommendation down the road when you need it.

2. Learning. Could I stand to learn more about publishing, writing, editing, etc? Absolutely. Never stop learning. I want to see how different people run their publications. I want my writing to grow. This doesn't happen working by myself in my office without anyone to bounce ideas off.

3. I need more current experience on my resume. I haven't interned in publishing in years. I interned for RAZOR magazine when it was still around. I also interned for SWEAT magazine way back when I first started taking classes again. My articles there were some of the first articles I wrote to ever be published. Times have definitely changed since then! I've written volumes of writing since then for a variety of different outlets. But I still want to do more. That's why I wake up every day to be a writer.