Having a Slow Freelance Month? You're Not Alone.
Having a Slow Freelance Month? You're Not Alone.
& make money writing with these tips, opportunities, and more.
Hi and happy April (Fools’ Day)!
Having a Slow Freelance Month? You’re Not Alone.
Some months, freelancing is slow. Maybe editors are busy and taking longer to respond, or you’re receiving more rejections, or no one seems to need your services.
It’s easy to take this personally. You may think you’re not good enough, or that freelancing full-time isn’t doable, or that the months ahead will look the same. In other words, it’s easy to feel anxious and as if it’s personal.
And, it’s not personal. Nor are you alone.
Just wanted to let you know that I’ve seen *many* tweets this month about freelancing being slow for writers. I’ve been there many times, too, so I get it. You’re not alone in the struggle, nor does this mean you’re a bad writer.
Keep going. Keep learning, trying, putting yourself out there, and asking for advice. I’ve found that even when freelancing seems the bleakest, a better month is around the corner.
Writing/Freelancing Tips
Twitter thread on DOs and DO NOTs for pitching
Twitter thread of articles with freelancing 101 tips
My tips on small things that can help motivate you
Pitch Calls
GENERAL NOTES FOR THE PITCH CALLS BELOW:
If the story is about a marginalized community, you probably need to be in that community to write the piece.
Mentioning my name in your pitch won’t help, unfortunately!
Who Pays Writers can be a helpful site to get an idea of how much publications pay.
Pitch calls:
Swap Meet Mannequin on Twitter: "Still looking for pieces on: Saving up for surgeries/travel/home Paying debts while still enjoying life (New) Creatives dealing with layoffs & publishers cutting rates *plz read the ENTIRE pitch call thoroughly — I'm only looking for Black writers." / Twitter
Janus Rose on Twitter: "on a related note i am always accepting freelance pitches at @motherboard :) https://t.co/WlmorkHfWP" / Twitter
Molly Stout on Twitter: "Writers! I’m looking to expand the freelance roster at @sleepopolis, and would love to hear your pitches. If you have story ideas (What is green noise? What’s with sunrise alarm clocks? Can you really strap the singing Sopranos fish to your baby so they'll sleep?) DM or email me!" / Twitter
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Writer Jobs
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Writing/Freelancing Resources
A compilation of 64 articles with tips, resources, publications to pitch, encouragement, etc!
All about Medium’s new “boosted” feature
Twitter thread of ways to find editors’ emails, see calls for pitches, pitch successfully, etc
Encouragement
Instagram graphic on healthy freelance mindsets
Maybe delusional confidence isn’t so delusional!
Mental Health & Journalism workshop
My Articles + Updates
In last month’s newsletter, I mentioned a new Apartment Therapy piece I had in the works. Now live (!), it’s called “If You’re Feeling Unproductive, It May Be Because of ‘Trauma Drive’ — Here’s Why That’s Actually a Good Thing.”
I also wrote a personal essay about grief and I’m proud of it :) It’s called “Reconciling With Grief Doesn’t Look Like I Thought It Would”
Want More? Here Are Other Ways I Can Help
Don’t forget about my approved pitches document and Medium guide and coaching/editing services and Writing Checklist Set!
More of my content: (1) my writing Twitter // (2) my portfolio // (3) my resource set // (4) my newsletter with tons of writing jobs and pitch calls
Feedback from you: (1) For the newsletter // (2) For the resource set
This newsletter is free, but if you’d like to donate, my Venmo is @AshleyBroadwater, my PayPal is paypal.me/aebroad, and my CashApp is $ashleybroadwater3 :) A huge thanks to donors!
That’s all for now! Thanks for reading this month’s newsletter. As always, feel free to reach out if you have any questions :)