When I first came to the Netherlands, I had no work permit, no friends, and nothing to do while my husband was at work during the day. I quickly found out that the limited theater companies doing musicals in the Netherlands was going to make it more or less impossible to participate in my favorite pasttime.
Luckily, just a year prior to my move, I rediscovered my love of writing.
Once I got to the Netherlands, I found numerous expat blogs and decided to start one of my own to chronicle my adventures and give me something to do to expend my creative energy.
Through these blogs, I discovered interview websites for expats, other expat blogs accepting guest posts and interviews, and expat websites looking for content.
Almost a year after the move, I began working on my first print article for ACCESS Magazine. That gave me the confidence I needed to pitch to other magazines and newspapers.
Thanks to the clips and networking opportunities these blogs and websites provided, I am now making $245 a month writing for expat print and online publications.
Towards the end of last year, I compiled a list of English language publications in the Netherlands. If you are or are interested in becoming a freelancer in the Netherlands, this will give you a great start!
ACCESS Magazine - This is a quarterly magazine distributed by the ACCESS group. ACCESS offers free help and services to expats coming to the Netherlands, including the magazine which offers information on lifestyle, Dutch holidays and traditions, events, culture, sightseeing, survival tips, and more. It is a free publication, available at various locations in Amsterdam and The Hague. Issues can also be purchased online for a small fee to cover shipping and handling costs. Because ACCESS is a not-for-profit organization, they are unable to pay writers, but this is a widely read, professional-looking magazine that will provide you with great experience and excellent clips.
The Holland Times - A monthly newspaper, The Holland Times reports top news items in the Netherlands in English for the expat community. This is also a free publication available at various locations in Eindhoven, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Amsterdam. Readers can also opt for a paid subscription to have the paper delivered to their home. Many of the subscribers to the magazine live outside of the Netherlands. The Holland Times creates revenue from advertisement sales, enabling them to pay writers roughly $0.20 per word.
The Xpat Journal - Through their quarterly magazine, The Xpat Journal offers more technical information on living in the Netherlands than its competitors. Topics include healthcare, insurance, finances, schools, housing, legal issues, tax information and employment. Of the publications on this list, The Xpat Journal has been around the longest (since 1998). The magazine is available via subscription.
The Local Expat - Another newspaper, The Local Expat targets expats living in The Hague and Wassenaar. Copies of the paper can be picked up at various locations throughout Wassenaar and The Hague. News and events are covered pertaining to these two areas.
Time Out Amsterdam - Part of the popular Time Out series, Time Out Amsterdam covers all things Amsterdam with a different theme for each monthly issue. Each month you can expect event information, restaurant reviews, books and movie selections, fashion and shopping. Issues can be purchased online or at newsstands throughout Amsterdam.
In addition to writing for ACCESS Magazine, The Holland Times, and The Xpat Journal, I've also written for XM and Family-Matters Magazines, both run by SC Multimedia. These magazines are no longer in circulation, but proved to be less than desirable to work for. Both magazines went bankrupt last year, owing large sums of money to more than four writers. Though I was paid for the articles I wrote, I was never able to see them in print.
There are also numerous online publications for the international/expat community, both paying and non-paying, that writers in the Netherlands and abroad can sink their teeth into. Those will be covered in the next post.
Do you know of any other print publications looking for expat writers in the Netherlands or elsewhere? Have you written for any of the above publications? What was your experience?
Image: superfem, flickr
© 2011 Tiffany Jansen, writer
COMMENTS ( 1 )
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