Related posts:

1. Short Story Film Festival: ‘Enemy Lines’ in New York
2. Writing micro-budget feature films
3. Freelance writing markets

Submit: There are four editions of Cuckoo a year and they say they are always looking for new writing. Cuckoo accepts most forms, including poetry, short stories and non-fiction writing. They’re keen to publish audio recordings/ podcasts etc. and to hear from young photographers and illustrators. The deadline for submissions to Edition 2 will be 21st December 2011. Email your writing and a two-sentence biography to editors @ cuckooquarterly.com.

Related posts:

1. Platinum Page is looking for submissions
2. True Life Stories – market opportunity

A Christian Writing Course

If you would like to try your hand at Christian writing then I have put together a short online course based on a series I presented at my church called Writing as Worship and Witness.

Related posts:

1. Christian Writing Course
2. Crafty courses in Newcastle
3. Niche markets: Christian ‘chick lit’

The Angel Animals Network 2010 True Story Contest is now accepting submissions of true stories of animals helping children, parents, and families deal with difficult situations and circumstances. Animals featured can be dogs, cats, horses, gerbils, rabbits, ferrets, or any house pet or animal in nature. They can be family pets or therapy, assistance, or service animals.

The stories can be written by parents or guardians of children or by the children or teens themselves. Stories can also be written by adults who recall a special animal from childhood or teen years who helped them through a tough period.

This contest hopes to find real-life stories that demonstrate animals comforting and helping to heal children during everyday ups and downs or traumatic events such as divorce or other losses. The stories can depict how children and teens de-stress with animals while learning valuable life lessons.  The deadline is 15 September 2010. For more details visit Angel Animals.

Related posts:

1. Talking Animal Stories – Wind in the Willows MK II?
2. True Life Stories – market opportunity
3. Writing Fantasy Fiction

“I’m pretty much easy on subjects:  funny, light-hearted, twist-in-the-tale, thought provoking, crime, sci-fi, things along those lines. Nothing dark, heavy of graphically hideous! As for poets, as long as the poem fits on an A4 sheet, it should be fine,” says Vivienne. Unfortunately, they don’t accept writing for children at this time

There is a print and electronic version of the magazine which comes out bi-monthly. It’s published in the UK but accepts submissions from abroad. There is no payment for publication, but if you would like to showcase your writing, this may be an outlet for you.  Good luck!

Related posts:

1. Writing opportunity for teens
2. Magazine ‘lead times’
3. Non-fiction market opportunities

Related posts:

1. Writing for women’s magazines
2. 11 Types of Articles to Write for Magazines
3. Understanding men’s magazines

Related posts:

1. Freelance writing markets
2. Showcase your writing with Circalit

The next edition is due out in July and Zainab is looking for writers from around the world.  This is currently unpaid work, but if the magazine takes off, the publishers hope to start paying contributors. You don’t have to be Iraqi, but you do have to be supportive of Iraqi efforts to redefine themselves in the public eye. There is more to Iraq than that shown through the lens of the Western media. If you would like to chat to her more or find out what she is looking for, drop her a line at mail@iciraq.com.

If you would like some advice on how to write a feature article or how to write a proposal, check out The Crafty Writer’s free non-fiction writing course.

Related posts:

1. Magazine ‘lead times’
2. Non-fiction market opportunities
3. The basics of feature writing 1

Related posts:

1. Writer’s Market UK 2009 – Review
2. Book Club Reminder
3. Book Club: The Interpretation of Murder

There are a lot of different types of report a freelance writer might be called on to write, for a wide range of different audiences. They include

• annual reports for a company or charity;
• reports from meetings and conferences, including those looking at research areas or products;
• reviews of products or topics; and
• business intelligence and market research reports.

Like all freelance work, there is no simple one stop shop for finding all the work you need (but if you know of one, please let me know…). There are as many places to find work writing reports as there are types of reports.

Annual reports

PR companies are often responsible for producing annual reports for large companies, especially those listed on the stock market. Search on Google for PR companies in your area of expertise, or keep an eye out for PR job ads in the papers (the Guardian covers media and PR jobs on a Monday, or use its jobs website ), and contact them to see if they use freelancers. It’s also worth keeping an eye out for job ads for communications departments of companies that are in your field. PR freelance rates are generally quite good but writing annual reports is a competitive field to get into. Charities also produce annual reports – consider doing a couple for free to build up your portfolio.

Product and topic reports

PR and communications companies sometimes produce reports covering research on behalf of clients, perhaps showcasing the clients’ product and comparing it with other similar products. These can be based on published papers, or on presentations at a conference. Though often produced by staff writers, these reports can also be sent out to freelancers (and might get you a trip somewhere nice – or rather a trip to an airport and conference centre that might have a window that looks out over somewhere nice). Similar reports can review products in a market, or topics of interest such as ‘flu or green energy.

Business intelligence and market research reports

If you have an analytical brain and are good with numbers or markets, business intelligence and market research reports are a growing field – these are high-ticket reports used by companies to get background on new fields or new markets. Googling ‘business intelligence reports’ or ‘market research reports’ brings up a whole host of reports publishers, many of whom use freelance writers to produce the reports. Check out the ‘careers’ or ‘about us’ pages, which may include details of freelance requirements, or simply contact companies on spec.

Opportunities to write different types of reports also come up on PayingWriterJobs and Freelance Writing Jobs.

And finally …

Report writing requires organisation and an ability to meet deadlines, familiarity with the fields under scrutiny, comfort working with numbers and capacity to work alone and at a distance. But if you can do it, it’s an interesting market to tap into, and might even get you that view out of a hotel window!

Next week Suzanne will give us some tips on the nuts and bolts of report writing for when those commissions start rolling in …

Related posts:

1. Report writing – the nuts and bolts
2. Writing for women’s magazines
3. Freelance writing markets