I went to the local library, looked through a few magazines and found places to submit short fiction and article ideas (magazines usually only want an article outline to begin with but they want the complete fiction story upfront).
And I'd forgotten how much fun this can be. Browsing magazine articles and stories, looking up their submission guidelines online (gotta get it right or they're not interested), looking at what they're currently looking for and then planning my submission attack.
It was entertaining to see the letters to the editor, for which some of the magazines pay quite a high price and some even offer a prize for each letter published and the prizes are worth several hundred dollars each.
I love sending in small letters like that (some as small as just a few words) because they pay so much for so little. There was one magazine that paid $100 for an amusing short submission and $150 if you included a photo. Yay!
I also found magazines looking for short tips and small articles of less than 500 words.
These are the types of freelance writing gigs that can pay out fast, and for not much work.
Another thing that's handy to do is look at how often the magazines are published. The weekly ones need much more content than their quarterly cousins. And they usually want less substantial information in their articles too which makes writing them so much easier and quicker.
Unlike book writing, freelance writing doesn't bring in an ongoing, passive income. But it is nice to have a cash boost (or several cash boosts depending on how many items you submit your work).
What I usually recommend if you want to earn money this way is to try and make 30 submissions in 30 days. You can then wait 30 days to see if you get any "bites" because if you do, you'll need the time to write the articles that the editors are interested in. But during the 30 days, you can be looking for more markets for your next 30 submissions.
If you want to find freelance writing markets, I have a whole list you can browse for free at http://writeaholics.net/writingmarkets.html.
You can also use the Writers & Artists Year Book to find thousands of writing markets. You can buy the book or read it at your local library. It's usually in the reference section so you can't borrow it, or at least that's how it is at my library. It's such a thick book and contains a huge amount of markets, and it's all categorised so you can quickly search for whatever area of expertise you're in.
It also contains articles and how-to guidance on writing for newspapers, magazines, scripts for film, radio and TV, plus advice on writing and submitting plays, poetry, non-fiction and fiction of all genres. It's a book I usually buy every year because it's really worth the investment.
I am also a member of American Consumer Opinion website where I get paid to take surveys (you don't have to live in the USA to join). Not all of these survey companies are legitimate but so far (and I've been associated with them for several years now) this one is. You can also get asked to "test-drive" products for them too.
So if you're feeling inspired to write and you want to earn a bit of "quick cash" from your writing, freelance writing for magazines (and filling out surveys) may be just what you need.
I find that once I start looking, it really motivates me to write and start submitting.
And I hope it works that way for you too.
