Freelance Writing I 100 Hours Certificate Course

There are 10 lessons in this course:

1 Introduction

• Categories of Freelance Writing
• Steps to getting started
• Necessary resources (including equipment)
• Researching the market
• Sources of information
• How to develop yourself as a freelance writer
• Publishing Options
• Industry Terminology
• Set Tasks
• Assignment

2 Basic Writing Skills

• How to improve a piece of writing
• Essential Writing Skills
• Informative Language
• Persuasive Language
• Imaginative Language
• Connotation and Denotation
• Literal and Figurative Language
• Formal and Informal Language
• Clear Communication
• Making meanings clear
• Causes of confusion
• Ambiguity
• Concise wording
• Condensing your writing
• In-concise writing
• Phrases linked in a wordy fashion
• Tautologies
• Abstract nouns
• Using too many words
• Ellipsis
• Active and passive language
• Grammatical rules
• Grammatical Errors
• Rules of Speech
• Punctuation
• Spelling
• Sentence Structure
• Types of sentences
• Composing sentences
• Building a paragraph
• Set task
• Assignment

3 Planning What You Write

• Conceptualisation
• Developing a concept
• Writing an outline synopsis
• Planning your writing
• Word budget
• Writing structure
• Research
• The Writing process
• Feature writing conventions
• Feature article structure
• Introduction, Billboard paragraph, Body, Ending and Closer
• References
• A writing routine
• Set task
• Assignment

4 The Publishing World

• Contacting publishers
• Periodicals
• Books
• Sample Publishers Contract
• Protecting the writers work
• Copyright
• Income from writing
• Lending rights
• Set task
• Assignment

5 Manuscripts

• Preparing and presenting your manuscript
• Editing
• The Editing Process
• Self Editing
• Editing Articles and Manuscripts
• Writing a Sales Package
• Target Reader Synopsis
• The Title
• Statement of Objectives
• The Publishing Process
• Presentation Requirements
• Submitting your work
• Publishing processes for ebooks
• Self publishing online
• Set task
• Assignment

6 Newspaper Writing

• News articles
• Short features
• Investigative article
• Regular columns
• Fillers
• Human interest article
• Local newspaper articles
• Interviews
• Conducting an interview
• Planning the questions
• Drawing out answers
• Accuracy of notes
• Set task
• Assignments

7 Magazine Writing

• Magazine articles
• What does a publisher or editor consider
• Feature articles
• Types of articles
• Service articles
• Travel writing
• Interviews
• Set task
• Assignment

8 Writing Books

• Fiction books
• Writing fiction –plot, viewpoint, characterisation. setting, dialogue, conflict, structure.
• Target audience
• Believability
• Non Fiction books
• Text books
• Fact finding
• Getting book contracts
• Books in print
• Assignment

9 Writing Advertising

• Writing for public relations
• Media releases
• Writing promotional campaigns
• Messages
• Selling
• Effectiveness
• Writing online advertising copy
• Set task
• Assignment

10 Special Project

• Reviewing your writing
• Planning a small book
• Writing the first chapter

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.