How to Encourage Yourself When Freelance Writing Isn't Going Well
Plus high-paying pitch calls, tips, jobs, and more!
Hi writers and friends!
How to Encourage Yourself When Freelance Writing Isn’t Going Well
Freelance writing is a job full of ups and downs, no matter how long you’ve been in the business. Rejection is common, and it comes in many forms — unaccepted pitches, hate comments, not meeting your goals, angry clients, etc.
So, I wanted to share a list of things that can help when you feel discouraged:
Knowing you’re not the only person going through this, and even the best/most successful writers don’t always have it easy
Self-compassion — be proud of your efforts and validate your feelings
Knowing (and finding) the editors who are willing to work with new writers
Reading “Big Magic” by Elizabeth Gilbert (here and here and here are some quotes/content that I love)
The encouragement section in each of my monthly newsletters (I’m partial to the funny TikToks)
Talking to friends or other writers about it (I’m always here!)
Reading encouraging quotes
Making or looking at all your successes, articles, affirmations, nice comments, etc
Sending you love!
Writing/Freelancing Tips
Pitch Calls
GENERAL NOTES:
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!
Pitch calls:
Asana — topic: how to make work better — pay: $0.40 to $0.75 per word
Youth Today — topic: climate change, child welfare, juvenile justice, disability justice, education, social work, etc — pay: $1 per word
MIT Technology Review — topic: physical sciences — pay: $1 to $2 per word
Also! My latest pitching guide: “5 Publications That Pay New Writers, Plus How to Pitch Them”
Want a bunch of these weekly? Purchase a paid subscription to my writing opportunities newsletter! Here’s an example of what it’ll look like.
Writer Jobs
Want a bunch of these weekly, all spelled out? Purchase a paid subscription to my writing opportunities newsletter! Here’s an example of what it’ll look like.
Writing/Freelancing Resources
Zoom on navigating journalism with a disability/chronic illness
Kaitlyn Arford’s places to pitch spreadsheet, pitch tracker sheet, and negotiation tips
Encouragement
Other people share how many rejections they had before success
For when you get hate comments (this video has the f-bomb, just FYI!)
Don’t let shame/embarrassment (or the risk of it) hold you back
My Articles + Successes
I’m extra proud of all the work that (my editor and) I put into this article for HuffPost: “Cell Phone Carriers Are Putting Domestic Violence Survivors At Risk. Here’s What To Know.”
I’m thankful I’ve had a pretty consistent month with getting gigs, working with kind editors, etc :) That’s definitely a win (and not where I was 2 years ago)!
Housekeeping
Need a central place to handle contracts, task trackers, tax things, templates, and more? Check out Bonsai! You can read more info in my last newsletter, and if you’re interested, please use my affiliate link.
Don’t forget about my 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 :)