Joanne the Coach

10 Tips on How to Succeed as a Freelance Writer

So I am off on my annual retreat into the damp countryside, assuming I escape unscathed from Blognor. Will be back before too long with Tales To Tell.

What's that you say? You were promised some tips? About goodliness and writerlyness and suchlike? Oh yes of course, form a queue right here.

Do me a favour though, will you? Don't tell the sainted readers of ParentDish that I'm away. I've already written my posts for the next couple of weeks, so will continue to pop up as the spectre in that particular feast as if all were business as usual.

As for here, I will leave you with my holiday dance. Stop! Vader time.

Part 3 of Successful Freelancing: Show Me The Monies

Just when you thought it was safe to whinge about how freelancing ain't what it used to be, here's my guide to earning more. Yes you may have already read that piece on here, but in the spirit of good time management, if something's worth saying, then it's worth repeating, albeit slightly updated for 2009.

Advice for Anyone Starting Out in Journalism

Read this

That is all.

Thank you and goodnight.

Another Portion of Successful Freelancing - Pitching by Phone

Part two of my series of features on how to be a more successful freelancer is now up here at Journalism.co.uk It looks at how to be more effective when dealing with editors on the phone. I've included several easy, practical things you can do to become better at pitching on the jellybone.

I know several successful freelancers who would rather eat the hard skin off their feet than phone an editor, but really it's like a lot of things in that the more you do it, the better you get at it. Some say they fear these calls in case they get turned down, but if you don't chase up by phone then you are less likely to be commissioned, so you might as well have been told No - the result is the same. These days, it's very easy to spend your whole working life hiding behind email, but you're missing out on a lot if you do.

A Slice of How to be a Successful Freelancer

Just wanted to let you know that I have a new series of articles coming up at the Journalism.co.uk site, about how to be a successful freelancer. The first one has just gone up here, and looks at the best way to pitch your ideas to editors. This is a version of a previous post on this blog, now with added modernity including using Twitter to pitch. The original vintage, longer and more detailed post is here.

Farewell, FreelanceWritingTips

So the lovely Linda has placed the Freelance Writing Tips blog in the online equvalent of long stay parking. But not before posting a leaving gift of an article pointing you towards the most popular and useful posts on the blog. Sort of like an online party bag, if you will. So if you're a freelance writer, get your reading specs on this lot and prepare to learn.

Getting the Best Rate for the Job

As a freelancer, you will be familiar with the dance we do when negotiating rates. Like this:

So if you want to be better armed the next time you're negotiating rates with a client, tattoo this on your brain.

How to be a Good Editor - Freelance Journalists Tell You How

Many people are promoted to the post of editor without much, or any, formal training. Which is a shame, because I don't think it would take a lot to make a big difference all round.

So here's some feedback from freelancers on the things they experience that makes a good editor stand out from the crowd. This list is combined from contributions from a range of experienced freelance journalists, working for UK and international publications.

Good editors do:

• Provide a brief stating what they want to see in a feature
• Read pieces fairly soon after they've been submited
• Think ahead. Don’t come back on a delivered-to-brief feature asking for 10 more case studies or 500 more words with interviews without being prepared to stump up more money. If your editor is likely to demand this, advocate for your writer
• Be honest when they've changed their mind
• Pass invoices through for payment as soon as possibly
• Acknowledge receipt of copy (even a one word Thanks will do)
•  Read the piece through before firing questions, rather than questioning something that is then made crystal clear in the next paragraph

• Acknowledge as many pitches as they can, however briefly
  
  Good editors don't:

• Pinch ideas, give them to their staff and expect freelancers not to notice
• Be slow to praise and quick to criticise
• Email a month after submission asking for changes, as the freelancer has all but forgotten about that piece
• Forget to inform your writer up front about any payment terms – like if it's on publication, or if there is a rights waiver or other contract to sign
• Tell a journalist you like an idea and suggest it is very likely to be commissioned, then go cold and ignore them
• Come back with any reasonable amends as soon as possible rather than an hour before deadline. Understand that your writer has other clients / responsibilities too
• Hold on to a feature for a year or more before suddenly deciding to run it and going back to the writer a few hours before it goes to press with request for rejig or fact checking

Got anything else to add? Post a comment or email me if you want your comment added anonymously

These Foolish Things - Mistakes You Made When You Started Freelancing

Personally, I do not make mistakes. I have learning experiences. I have events which take an unexpected turn. I have appalling feckstravanzas. But not mistakes, oh no.

Though if I did, I am sure I would find it useful to read this feature by Anne Wollenberg about common mistakes freelance journalists make when starting out. You will note that Anne has quoted my evil twin who does, in fact, make mistakes. We prefer not to talk about her. She's making the rest of us look bad.

Listings Sites for Journalists - Are They Worth It?

Wouldn't it be lovely if you could just write your name on a flag, wipe it with a flake of gold, fly it in the air, then sit back and watch as a flurry of flakes of gold attached themselves to it like velcro? You could harvest the gold and use it to buy cherries.

Sometimes I think this is the outcome people expect from listing sites which purport to bring in work for freelance journalists. Just pay a small fee, register your details, and the work will come flooding in. But do these sites actually work? Are people like you finding jobs through them?

Well, yes and no. I talk to a lot of journalists, and the reports are mixed. For every person who's had work through listings sites, there are three or four who've had nothing at all. So it's a gamble, albeit with better odds than the lottery. Most recommendations have been for the NUJ listings - maybe clients like hiring a writer with the 'official' stamp. Also getting yourself listed on a Gorkana alert gets the thumbs up from several people.

Some of the main listings sites for freelance journalists are:

NUJ Freelance Directory

Journalism.co.uk

Hold The Front Page

Journalist Directory

FreelanceUK

As a freelancer you have to treat yourself as a business, and businesses invest in marketing. You may choose to invest in these sites and/or an all bells and whistles site of your own. Just don't make the mistake of not investing in any marketing at all. How can people purchase your services if they don't know you exist?