How to become a freelance tech journalist

Maria Korolov, editor and publisher of Hypergrid Business, has a nice primer for those who want to become freelance tech reporters.

Korolov writes, “If you’re just starting out, you either want to pick an area that you know a lot about, or an area that nobody knows anything about.

“So, for example, if you want to write about parenting, you better have some great credentials or a very wide variety of experience because there are a lot of folks writing about parenting out there. In fact, many of your potential competitors are writing for free, just to see their names in print. You have to compete against bored housewives and househusbands — some with excellent writing skills — against academics who just need to get published, and against experts and consultants who use their writing as part of a marketing strategy.

“Enterprise technology is a great field to start out with because it’s always changing. If you pick a totally new technology, you can quickly become as much of an expert in it as anybody else, and you’ll have little competition. Virtual worlds is one such area — it’s pretty new, there are only a handful of experts out there, and if you read Hypergrid Business then you probably already know a lot about it.

“Other emerging areas are cloud computing, mobile, and gamification. Check out the Gartner Hype Cycle to see what other topics are getting attention.

“If you have background in specialized areas of business — logistics, accounting, or law — and stay on top of new trends in those areas, those are also good niches to pick. Very few people want to write for free about new accounting regulations.”

Read more here.