Syndicate Your Writing: 5 Paying Markets You Might Not Know About

No other piece of advice is given to writers more often than to write often - every single day if possible. One way to develop your writing skills and instill a need to write all the time is by working on a syndicated column.

Deciding what to write about, how long each of your pieces should be, and where to market your syndicated column can be something else altogether. Some syndicated authors vote that you shouldn't worry about where your column will be published when you start writing it - instead, you should write for yourself and look for publishers later. Personally, I'm a writer who wants to eat and have a roof over my head. I'd rather identify a market that looks suitable to my interests, and develop my actual work around that market.

If you've not written for a column before, you might want to try setting up a topic and deadline for yourself before you try selling your work. You will want to make sure that the topic you've chosen is something you can write about effectively and on time for at least three months' length. Choose a topic that you can remain interested in and that is broad enough that you have plenty of room to cover.

For instance, my overwhelming passion in writing for the last four years has revolved around the use of Adobe Photoshop. Every week, I write a fresh new piece that teaches people how to use this graphic software easily. Because I chose Photoshop, I have a topic that I always focus on - I am not going to suddenly toss an article about child rearing at my readers. However, I haven't narrowed it down to one thing like Photoshop Brushes - so I never run out of ideas.

Keep in mind that what you want to write about has probably either been written by someone else before, or presented to the same publication you want to write for. What you have to focus on is bringing a personal flair, some spark of creativity and style that makes not only the publication want to share you with their readers, but their (and your) readers want to share you with the world.