Courtesy of Billy Liang
Liang remains laser-focused surfing X to find ideas for his next story.Junior Billy Liang never imagined himself to be the freelance writer he has become in the past couple of years under the byline William Liang.
Not only had he never signed up for newspaper or yearbook classes in school, he admits that he didn’t even take an interest in serious writing until his sophomore year. But now, it’s a big part of who he is.
“There’s a thrill in the engagement with writing — once you start, you see the fruits of your labor and can’t stop from that point,” Liang said.
Liang published his first article on the San Diego Union-Tribute on stereotyping and past subjugation of indigenous communities there after doing an opinion writing camp at the School of The New York Times.
He went to the camp during the summer after his freshman year in an effort to explore new interests. Yet, he never imagined himself eventually getting “addicted” to writing for publications. Fortunately, Liang’s instructor from the camp served as an inspiring and long-lasting connection who offered continuous advice for Liang to hone his writing skills.
Since he started doing work as a freelance writer, he has had his writing published in national publications such as LA Times, The Boston Globe, The Daily Wire and The Nation, to name a few. In addition, his work has led him to become a columnist for The Hill after he asked the organization for a title after publishing a couple of pieces for the publication.
While it may seem challenging for high schoolers to acquire connections with adult professionals, Liang said his process is fairly simple — he “cold emails” the publications with his unsolicited drafts of articles on recent controversies and awaits a response.
“I send a completed draft on a topic and some times I get a response that the publication would love to pursue my piece,” Liang said. “Some publications don’t edit at all, which is pretty crazy.”
According to Liang, the pro of being a freelance writer is that he can be flexible whenever he wants an article to be published about a certain topic he’s passionate about. Liang’s specialty as a columnist is commentary on international and political issues.
He doesn’t see himself as being strongly liberal or conservative. Liang has taken stances against affirmative action in the Daily Wire while supporting Gaza students amid the deliberate destruction of education systems in The Nation, the latter of which he wrote with one of his peers he met at the summer camp, who had access to sources in the Gaza strip.
Working with various publications also expands his view on how each operates, such as their application and editing process. However, he believes the downside is that it is difficult to write and publish timely stories as a freelancer.
“[The process of] publications accepting your story, going through editing and publishing hinders the ability to publish timely stories, whereas if you work under a company, this would be a much faster process,” Liang said. “The Hill is where I write more timely stories as a columnist. “However, I believe every piece should have an evergreen aspect, or else nothing is applicable to future generations.”
Another drawback about freelance writing is that the story is evaluated for editorial fit with a specific publication, which, according to Liang, accounts for half the reason for whether a piece is accepted. Rejection is part of the freelancing experience and something he has grown to be OK with.
Liang believes that unbiased reporting isn’t as sought after anymore, since people’s opinions are what really draw readers. By being a freelance writer, he especially feels the freedom to express his opinion instead of writing a forced stance on a topic through a publication. Moreover, there are more opportunities to contribute to publications by writing opinion stories because publications often welcome guest essays.
Besides journalism, Liang’s other great love is music. He picked up the violin at 5 years old at his parents’ recommendation.
At the beginning of his sophomore year, he became a violinist in the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra (SFSYO), a tuition-free ensemble that provides the finest orchestral training to young musicians at the pre-professional level through mentorship from members of the San Francisco Symphony. Along with his busy junior-year schoolwork and freelancing writing, he still tries to make sure he’s practicing his instrument enough.
Asked if he sees a future for himself in journalism, he instead chose to focus on what he can control now.
“I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing and see where it takes me. I’m just focused on getting the best results now,” Liang said. “You don’t grovel and beg for your future. The future will just emerge at your doorstep.”
