Interested in breaking into writing or breaking into a new area? You can't go past writing fillers. Fillers are one of
most overlooked opportunities in freelance writing world and offer one of best opportunities for new writers. Fillers Are In Demand
I've spoken to hundreds of editors and been told over and over again that fillers are one thing they never get enough of. Most publications tend to publish more freelance fillers than they do freelance articles. Yet, they often receive 100 times more articles than fillers. This is a gap in freelance market that you can take advantage of.
Fillers are a Great Place to Get Started
Many publications are careful about publishing feature articles from writers they don't know. Even if your article is good, an editor might decide not to publish you because they don't know you as a writer. This is especially true if you don't have a lot of experience or any clips. But even without experience or clips, most editors will consider a filler. In fact, many editors treat writing fillers as testing ground to see if a writer can be relied on to write feature articles.
Here's what one editor had to say about fillers:
"One of best ways to break in is to write fillers. It gives me a chance to start to build a relationship with a writer and see that I can trust them. Of all freelancers I work with, over half started out writing fillers." - Margaret, Magazine Editor
So not only can writing fillers get you some clips, it also has potential to turn into a long-term writing opportunity. Consider fillers a stepping stone to much bigger things.
The Smart Way to Write on Spec
Fillers are almost always submitted on spec. This means that you avoid problem of having to query publication and sell yourself as a writer, because your filler is doing work for you and showing editor your writing skill.
The big argument against writing on spec is that you spend your time writing pieces that might never sell. Fillers reduce this problem because they are short and take less time to write. So even if your filler doesn't sell, you haven't wasted as much time as you would have on a longer feature article. Fillers are also more flexible, with few publications having set guidelines for fillers. This means that a filler will often be suitable for more than market. So if it gets rejected once, it's not a waste of time. You can just send it to a new market, often without having to make any changes.
