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Freelance Writing

KELLY BOYER SAGERT

Freelance Writing

KELLY BOYER SAGERT

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Subscribe to be notified when this course opens for registration.

No other market is as open to the freelance writer as the magazine market. From trade and association publications, to special interest magazines, to regional and national consumer publications, editors are looking for writers who can deliver well-researched, reader-targeted articles on deadline. To make it in this market, you want to learn how to identify a magazine's editorial needs and—most important—how to fill them.

In this course, you will work with a published article writer to develop, research and write two articles suitable for publication in magazines you've identified as appropriate markets. You will get feedback from your instructor on your first and second draft of both your articles.

To get the most from this course, you should already have a good grasp of mechanics and composition, as well as an understanding of basic creative writing skills and techniques (the Fundamentals of Nonfiction Writing course is strongly recommended as a prerequisite).

This course consists of seven two-week sessions. Each session includes online lectures and associated textbook reading assignments, along with a writing assignment drawn specifically from the work in progress, which will be submitted to the instructor for private review at the end of the first week of the session. During the second week of each session, work will be posted for group review and feedback. Throughout the course you will be able to participate in asynchronous lecture discussion and encouraged to take advantage of ongoing informal discussions and posted self-directed writing exercises.

“Nonfiction writing is a state of mind, a way of life, an extra set of eyes and ears. It's a key that can open many doors, a passport to travel far and wide, an introduction to fascinating people, a guide to wonderful adventures, an excuse to ask any question you want, a reason to be curious and to learn, a way to reach out to readers and to the world."

—John M. Wilson, The Complete Guide to Magazine Article Writing

Join the Waitlist

Subscribe to be notified when this course opens for registration.

No other market is as open to the freelance writer as the magazine market. From trade and association publications, to special interest magazines, to regional and national consumer publications, editors are looking for writers who can deliver well-researched, reader-targeted articles on deadline. To make it in this market, you want to learn how to identify a magazine's editorial needs and—most important—how to fill them.

In this course, you will work with a published article writer to develop, research and write two articles suitable for publication in magazines you've identified as appropriate markets. You will get feedback from your instructor on your first and second draft of both your articles.

To get the most from this course, you should already have a good grasp of mechanics and composition, as well as an understanding of basic creative writing skills and techniques (the Fundamentals of Nonfiction Writing course is strongly recommended as a prerequisite).

This course consists of seven two-week sessions. Each session includes online lectures and associated textbook reading assignments, along with a writing assignment drawn specifically from the work in progress, which will be submitted to the instructor for private review at the end of the first week of the session. During the second week of each session, work will be posted for group review and feedback. Throughout the course you will be able to participate in asynchronous lecture discussion and encouraged to take advantage of ongoing informal discussions and posted self-directed writing exercises.

“Nonfiction writing is a state of mind, a way of life, an extra set of eyes and ears. It's a key that can open many doors, a passport to travel far and wide, an introduction to fascinating people, a guide to wonderful adventures, an excuse to ask any question you want, a reason to be curious and to learn, a way to reach out to readers and to the world."

—John M. Wilson, The Complete Guide to Magazine Article Writing

Course outline

Course outline

Each session includes assigned reading, a written lecture and a writing assignment to turn in for personalized feedback from your instructor.

Meet the instructor

Kelly Boyer Sagert

Kelly Boyer Sagert, a member of the prestigious American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), has sold thousands of pieces of her writing to magazines, newspapers, online sites, encyclopedias and literary journals. She was part of the Emmy-Award-nominated team that created the documentary Trail Magic: The Grandma Gatewood Story that appeared on PBS.

She received sole writing credits for the documentary and the same team is now working on bringing the story of Victoria Woodhill to life. Woodhull was the first woman to publicly address Congress (1870), the first to run for president of the United States (1872), and the first – along with her sister, Tennessee Claflin – to serve as a stockbroker on Wall Street, among other firsts for women.

Sagert has written fourteen books and contributed material to more than one dozen other books. Her most recent release is Hidden History of Lorain County (History Press, 2018).

She has taught writing classes for Writers Digest University since the program’s inception in 2000.

Sagert served as managing editor of Northern Ohio’s Over the Back Fence for nearly four years (1997-2001). This magazine, which profiled the art, history, intriguing people and fascinating places along Lake Erie’s shores, was nominated by Writer’s Digest for their “Top 100 Award” in 1998 and 1999. She served as the contributing editor for the Southern Ohio edition of Over the Back Fence as well, and she also edited five trade magazines and numerous business directories, community guides and travel planners for the company.

Sagert currently works fulltime as a writer, editor, and speaker. She writes biographical and educational material for encyclopedias and other anthologies, including publications put out by Macmillan and Gale Group, Charles Scribner’s Sons, ME Sharpe, Harvard University Press, Oxford University Press, University of Indiana Press and Facts on File. She also writes marketing materials and ghost blogs for a wide variety of companies.

She speaks regularly on communications issues at writer’s conferences and workshops, including the ASJA conference held in New York City, plus those held at The Ohio State University, Youngstown State, Kent State University, Bowling Green State University and Lorain County Community College. She has spoken at Jacobs Field (the Cleveland Indians stadium) and the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, and she appeared on an ESPN2 program called “The Top Five Reasons You Can’t Blame the Black Sox.”

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