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How to pitch editors right now
During AHCJ’s March Lunch and Learn, freelance members swapped tips about a perpetually charged topic: pitching. Some writers like me enjoy coming up with my own ideas. It satisfies my creative muscle and gives me a better chance of writing the types of stories I’m actually interested in — and others avoid it. It’s true:…
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7 tools and tips for getting — and staying — organized as a freelancer
My organizational strategies as a freelancer are not particularly modern or meticulous. I just list all of my assignments — including their fees and deadlines — in a Google spreadsheet. I keep a messy, running list of story ideas in a Google doc, and file all rejected or ignored pitches in yet another Google doc,…
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How to advocate for yourself as a freelance journalist
Full-time freelance writing isn’t for the timid. Crave more in-depth assignments? Worried your voice got smothered in editing? Want more pay — or even just the pay you deserve but that hasn’t hit your bank account yet? It’s all on you to speak up. As a freelancer, there’s no managing editor looking out for your…
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5 tips for maximizing AI as a freelance journalist
For the past six months, I’ve occasionally used ChatGPT to help with some freelance work. Mostly, I treat it as a savvy thesaurus, asking things like, “What are some terms that mean ‘naive’ but aren’t condescending?” or, “How else can I say ‘innovation’ or ‘breakthrough’ that don’t overhype a medical advance or rely on cliche?” …
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Freelance journalists share their financial challenges and potential solutions
It’s not easy making a living as a freelance journalist. That’s long been the case, especially now with newsrooms halting freelance contributions (if not shutting down entirely) at the same time as more of us are entering the field. Plus, as I’ve noted before, one 2022 survey found that most independent writers’ freelance income was…
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Freelance contracts: What to look for and how to negotiate
Contracts can be seen as both a pain and a point of pride for freelance journalists. On the one hand, receiving one means you’ve landed an assignment — a win. On the other hand, the documents can leave you in risky financial and legal territory — often without you even realizing it. After all, contracts…
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