Building a career as a freelance writer takes more than talent and tenacity. While editors seek superbly written articles and essays, it’s what you do after publication that can make the most impression, leading additional assignments or acceptances.

I have a strategy that has worked for me for the past year. These five easy steps have given me the opportunity to write more than one article for the same publication and have also opened doors to other publications.

1. Share published work with your social media network. While publications have built-in audiences, you should also do your part to reach readers in your own sphere. Make sure to tag the publication so they’ll know you actively promote what you’ve written.

Additionally, if you have a website, you should also list your publications. I have been asked for a list of previously published articles and having it prepared came in handy.

2. Pay attention to social media comments. My most recent publication about having an invisible disability stirred up a hornet’s nest and brought out strong opinions on the topic. After studying the comments, I immediately pitched a follow-up article to the publication that would allow me to address the issues. The article was accepted.

Reading comments also gave me several more ideas for additional pieces I can submit to the same publication as well as articles for other avenues.

3. When you (or the publisher) has shared your article on social media, interact with everyone who retweets, likes, or shares your content. Get a conversation started. The conversation can spark an idea for another idea as well as possibly provide you with an expert to reference.

Also, connecting with people online is a great way to spread word-of-mouth and build your social media platform.

4. Use what you’ve written to pitch a separate publication. For instance, I sold a blog post to Rooted in Rights, which is a disability advocacy blog. I had previously sold an essay to You and Me Medical Magazine. Based on those two sales, I queried Hope at FundsforWriters about writing through life’s challenges. The article was accepted.

Additionally, because I’d had success with those two outlets, which are similar in nature, I was also able to sell a success story to Writers Weekly.

5. After you’ve written for a publication a few times and become familiar with many of the articles on the site or in the magazine, ask the editor if there is any specific topic they’d like covered. Maybe they’re getting tons of queries about one subject and none about another. I wrote almost a dozen articles for one site before asking the editor if she needed more in another area. She was quick to give me suggestions that enabled me to sell five more articles to her.

Keep in mind, though, that how you approach an editor in this instance is important. Make sure it’s an editor you’ve worked with several times and that you have developed a dialogue with. You don’t want to email an editor out of the blue and ask for topic ideas.

Getting an article published is an accomplishment, but with a little extra effort, you can increase your chances for more assignments and develop an even stronger professional relationship with editors and publications.

BIO – Rachel Carrington has been writing for over 35 years and has been published in both nonfiction and fiction. She also teaches fiction writing classes for Women on Writing. Find her on the web at www.rachelcarrington.com and follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @rcarrington2004.