# As my name suggests......



## actualnovice (Aug 5, 2018)

This is my first post on the Writing Forum. 

I have worked in an office for 25 years and will be looking to change careers shortly. 

I have recently taken and passed a fairly straightforward CPD Journalism course with Higher Distinction and was hoping for some advice on the best most affordable qualifications to get me started as a freelance. 

I am looking to make money out of it, full time or part time.

I appreciate any help I can get please 

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## aj47 (Aug 5, 2018)

Welcome to our community.  As a poet, I'm not the best person to advise you on your path to success ... however, there are a lot of folks here and someone can help you, I'm sure.  In the meanwhile, take a look around and join some of the discussions and get to know us (and let us get to know you better).  "Journalism" covers a lot of territory from travelogue to sports coverage to product reviews to industry reporting to ... yeah.     Which facet were you wanting to focus on?


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## actualnovice (Aug 5, 2018)

Thank you 

It's difficult to say really as I like reviewing but also articles, blogging, I currently work in insurance which I know I would be able to write about but it's finding the right medium.

I need to get over the first hurdle which is getting something written and read.

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## Underd0g (Aug 5, 2018)

Well, I hate insurance and don't trust insurance products. Maybe you can write articles that would win me over or explain the unexplainable.
Here I'll give you an example (there are more):

I recently went to cancel my renters insurance but wanted to keep my auto, and the bill would have gone up, so I kept it.


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## actualnovice (Aug 5, 2018)

Answer.

Try to find the right time to cancel all with this company,  their cancellation charges are too high by the sound of it.

Escalate your issue to a manager and try to negotiate a lower cancellation fee.

In the meantime shop around separately for all your product needs, you don't have to be with the same company as I'm sure you're aware.

Review the details they hold for you. They may be out of date. Shopping around is best though. 





Underd0g said:


> Well, I hate insurance and don't trust insurance products. Maybe you can write articles that would win me over or explain the unexplainable.
> Here I'll give you an example (there are more):
> 
> I recently went to cancel my renters insurance but wanted to keep my auto, and the bill would have gone up, so I kept it.



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## Underd0g (Aug 5, 2018)

Well there you go, you already brought my blood pressure down.
You have a fine career in writing ahead of you!


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## TuesdayEve (Aug 5, 2018)

Hello again, 
I see you’re already making new friends.
Way to go!


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## actualnovice (Aug 6, 2018)

Underd0g said:


> Well there you go, you already brought my blood pressure down.
> You have a fine career in writing ahead of you!


The problem with insurance is that no one likes buying it. 

So you're on the defensive from the off unless you build a relationship with the broker. 

People buy from people and a lot of customers mistrust insurance companies and think they'll rip them off.

It's all about getting over that hurdle and explaining it in simple terms. 



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## JustRob (Aug 6, 2018)

I worked for a British life assurance company all my working life. (and yes, "life _assurance" is_ the correct _British_ term for this particular market.) So far as general insurance is concerned I am now concerned that combined with the growing litigation culture and political correctness it is distorting our social activities. 

Events that used to be common in the past are now not taking place because the organisers can't afford the insurance required to cover all the petty eventualities that very rarely happen but must now be covered. As a consequence our younger generations are getting less exposure to such things and their lives are all the poorer. People complain about the young spending too much of their time using virtual reality devices, but apart from the lure of these the other cause may well be that nowadays insurance companies seem to effectively control what social events can take place in the real world. 

I was a student actuary for a while at the beginning of my career and do wonder whether companies are actually heeding the statistics rather than pulling their rates out of thin air. I can remember when one company first started insuring contact lenses, got the rates very wrong and quickly had to raise them in the light of claims, so the industry does have its own problems, but what about other contingencies and how does society insure against being dominated by their remote possibility in this way? 

If you know the insurance industry well and want a journalism subject then I suggest you give this aspect some thought and make it a social engineering issue, which I believe is the reality. By the way, welcome to our amiable and entirely non-controversial (!) community. A warm welcome is at least assured here, if not insured.


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## actualnovice (Aug 6, 2018)

Do you have any particular examples of events that used to happen but now don't because of insurance litigation? 

A good example of how insurance has changed,  particularly car insurance,  is that you receive a discount if you keep the same car for longer. 

Also, newer cars are more expensive to insure than older ones. That's not new but still a little known fact.





JustRob said:


> I worked for a British life assurance company all my working life. (and yes, "life _assurance" is_ the correct _British_ term for this particular market.) So far as general insurance is concerned I am now concerned that combined with the growing litigation culture and political correctness it is distorting our social activities.
> 
> Events that used to be common in the past are now not taking place because the organisers can't afford the insurance required to cover all the petty eventualities that very rarely happen but must now be covered. As a consequence our younger generations are getting less exposure to such things and their lives are all the poorer. People complain about the young spending too much of their time using virtual reality devices, but apart from the lure of these the other cause may well be that nowadays insurance companies seem to effectively control what social events can take place in the real world.
> 
> ...



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## Underd0g (Aug 6, 2018)

I didn't mean to turn this thread into something that made you talk shop.

If you were to write fiction, what would you be interested in?


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## actualnovice (Aug 7, 2018)

[emoji3]

I am more interested in writing articles than fiction.

This forum /thread is still helping me get used to the kind of opportunities out there.

It's still about expressing and being creative. 

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## Underd0g (Aug 7, 2018)

Do they have forums where you can write what you're interested in in order to get feedback from them? i.e. insurance forums?

Or what about a blog? Or website?


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## actualnovice (Aug 7, 2018)

Underd0g said:


> Do they have forums where you can write what you're interested in in order to get feedback from them? i.e. insurance forums?
> 
> Or what about a blog? Or website?


I am thinking of a blog. It would appear I have a lot to vomit out on the subject. 

I am concerned about rejection and looking stupid but then I tell myself 'If you had no fear what would you do? '

I have found a forum on Tapatalk but it's mainly stateside. Maybe I need to make a UK version....


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## Anita M Shaw (Aug 10, 2018)

Looks like you could start a blog about insurance information and maybe monetize your site. Yeah, don't ask me how to do that . . . I still don't know. All I know is others do it and are making great money. 

I once had a site called TotallySimpleTaxTalk when I worked for a time with H&R Block. But then, I was layed off and never called back, so I took the site down. Was fun for the while, though. No, I never monetized it. Didn't have it long enough to figure out how to. But, you have a clear and conversational way of writing, so I think you could do pretty good with it.

I see you're making the rounds here, so I'll be looking forward to running into you in the halls. Welcome to our humble home!


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## actualnovice (Aug 11, 2018)

Thank you 

I found this

https://makeawebsitehub.com/how-to-make-money-blogging/

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## Anita M Shaw (Aug 11, 2018)

Good article! I think I'll study it more when I have time. Mayhap I can find a way to make a little extra myself. 

I know of a woman who, years ago, was deserted by her husband, and left with two small kids to support. She had nothing. She discovered eBay, sold everything she had in the house, including the kids' toys, and made enough to get new toys and food and other things they needed. From that, she started a site about how to sell on eBay, and just went on from there. Now she has two or three successful blogs in as many niches and is living better than she ever has. She also has a great IM forum; so you'd think I would have figured all this out by now . . . but no. 

I know you have a great subject to build on there; so I'm rooting for you!


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