How 10 years has changed my freelance work week

How has the past decade of technological and business change in print publishing changed freelance patterns of work?

A lot, as it turns out.

Here, for the sake of example, is a comparison between a representative week’s work for me as a freelance sub/writer in around 1999 and the work I have been doing this summer. In typical nutritional ingredients style, at the top of the list is the stuff I have been doing most of.

1999

• Sub-editing – often on a full subs’ desk with several people working on it. Reading copy, rewriting copy, proofing pages and arguing over spelling, grammar and punctuation. Oh those glory days…
• Feature writing – it was the dotcom bubble, but the web hadn’t come to eat into print content yet. So there was a bonanza of paid freelance writing available, at reasonable rates. And commissioned pieces were longer then, too.
• Print layout and production – monthly magazines, special reports, standalone advertising supplements – again, there was a lot of it about. And it involved scanning pictures, and putting things in envelopes for bike messengers. Weird…

2009

• Working with a CMS – Tagging online content and helping to create a web taxonomy with keywords. Uploading stories and formatting them. Making sure all the links work and creating the home page. Troubleshooting rogue HTML.
• Web banner ads – design and animation.
• Web building – creating sites in WordPress using HTML, CSS and some brutally hacked PHP.
• Print magazine production – a bit of layout, a bit of styling up, a bit of proofing, a bit of subbing.
• Blogging – writing online. Obvously.
• Feature writing – for magazines and books. When anyone has any budget for it.
• Teaching – blogging, web audio and video

The differences stand out a mile. Much more of my work is online, and much less of it is anything like the kind of journalism/publishing I used to do.

This is not necessarily a bad thing. New and different is interesting, even if many other journalists and print media folk seem terrified of it.

But although it uses some of the skills I had 10 years ago, it has demanded that I develop a whole lot more – and very quickly. Most of this change has only come about in the past year or so.

And, yes – some of this is, for want of a better term, career development. I wouldn’t have found myself teaching journalism students in 1999, that’s for sure.

But you’ll also notice that I’m not now teaching print sub-editing or feature writing to students. I did try to do that – but there’s actually no demand. What academia seems to want now is to beef up its online offering. Much like the rest of the media.

I certainly don’t expect this to end. In fact, I expect the pace of change to pick up. Which means probably yet another and quite different “typical” workweek in fairly short order…

How to write a good brief for People Per Hour

I’ve written before about online creative freelance marketplace People Per Hour. 

I noted that one key problem with the site is the hopelessly inadequate briefs supplied by potential employers.

So, if anyone reading this is thinking about trying to source freelance writing using the site, here’s how to prepare your brief.

It’s clear about what it wants, about how much effort will be required, and about how the budget tallies with the proposal. It’s also literate.

So, come on potential freelance employers, it’s not that hard.

Four pillars of freelance success, part four

The final part of four pillars of freelance success should be up on FleetStreetBlues today. Normal service on Freelance Unbound should be resumed next week…

Four pillars of freelance success, part three

Your third pillar of wisdom should be online at the fine FleetStreetBlues today. Meanwhile, I am enjoying art and other fine highbrow things in St Ives…

Four pillars of freelance success, part two

Still in Cornwall, still minimal internet access. But part two of four pillars of freelance success is over at FleetStreetBlues. Enjoy…

Four pillars of freelance success

Right now I’m in Cornwall, getting away from journalism, work and, given the lack of reliable internet access where I am, the modern world. 

But just so you don’t feel all neglected, you can pop over to Fleet Street Blues to read a series of guest posts by me. With luck, they should be running through the week – offering a four point guide to freelance success in these tough economic times. 

If I get the chance, I’ll try to hunt down some choice examples of local journalism to post here. Or not – you know how it is…

The wisdom of crowds

Just because it’s Friday and I’m taking it easy, here’s a link to my newly published feature on prediction markets for Director magazine.

It’s nice that I can start pointing to some reasonably high-profile material on the web in my portfolio. For some reason much of the rest of my work of the past two decades has been buried in trade press supplements – or just buried. 

It’s an interesting topic – using the wisdom of crowds to make business decisions. Apparently the results are mostly as good as or better than the wisdom of experts. A sobering thought – at least for experts.

Ways to survive the media recession, part 5

Part 1;   Part 2;   Part 3;   Part 4;   Part 5;

At last, the end of the journey and a handy summary. 

But first, Recovering Journalist Mark Potts has a very good post on Life After Journalism that is really worth reading. 

A former 20-year journalist (hmm – like me), Mark Potts is now “an entrepreneur and consultant”. That means he managed to escape the media implosion – but still uses the range of journalistic skills he’s acquired in his new career. It’s a good post with some useful advice.

So, now – your eight-point summary.

1) Assess your existing skills

Think laterally – writers can sub, designers can do production, print specialists can move online and old journalists can teach. Also think about how your skills can work in related-but-different fields, such as corporate writing.          

2) Learn new skills

Build on your existing skills using a host of free web-based information, trial period software downloads and software training sites such as Lynda.com. Focus especially on web analytics and SEO for the web. Hobby-type skills can also come in useful – such as film-making, running workshops etc.                

3) Update your CV (resumé)

Create different CV/resumes that focus on different skillsets or media sectors. That way you can tailor your pitch more specifically to different clients.

4) Draw up a plan

Be organised and keep track of all your work hustling progress, day by day. 

5) Talk to your friends

Mates look after mates, so always ask people you know in the business if they are aware of opportunities. 

6) Contact others

Keep regular tabs on a range of job pages online – and even in print. Obviously follow Guardian.co.uk, Journalism.co.uk and Gorkana. It helps to use social media too. I just got Twittered by a new site called Sourcethatjob.com – it doesn’t have much in the way of journalism jobs, but it could be worth watching as it may grow. Students may be interested to see it has a few intern-type posts (ie no pay, but experience).  FleetStreetBlues has a nice post collating media job sites here.

7) Advertise yourself

Build up a presence online – blog, use Twitter, join something like LinkedIn maybe. Certainly use Facebook if you’re not an old crock like me. Think about a £50 freelance listing on Journalism.co.uk, or even join a professional media organisation such as the CiB. 

8) Using freelance online marketplaces 

There are pros and cons to marketplaces like People Per Hour. I discuss them in more detail here. It’s worth investigating for students I think. 

9) Should you work for free?

Sometimes – pro bono work can get you experience, exposure and contacts. Just make sure you do unpaid work for people who wouldn’t pay you anyway.

And that about wraps it up. Remember, it may seem grim, but there is work out there – you just need to dig a bit to find it. Good luck!

Part 1;   Part 2;   Part 3;   Part 4;   Part 5;

Ways to survive the media recession, part 4

Part 1;   Part 2;   Part 3;   Part 4;   Part 5;

It’s been a bit of a marathon, but finally we’re getting to the end of the recession-busting advice. 

In the next post, I’ll put together a handy summary, so you don’t have to wade through so much copy to see the bullet points. 

First – A follow-up note on the whole business of advertising yourself.

Using freelance online marketplaces

One of the things I tried at the end of last year was to register on People Per Hour – an online marketplace for freelancers in a wide range of fields, including media-type stuff such as writing and design.

I thought it might be a good way of tapping into a wider market than I could reach through my own contacts, and also improve my ability to pitch for new work.

In brief, I found it didn’t really work for me, but it might work for you, especially, I suspect, if you’re a student or similar. I posted about this at greater length earlier, so it might be worth you checking out the pros and cons here. 

Should you work for free in the hope of getting paid work later on?

When I went to blather at Kingston, I got involved in a discussion with one of the students about doing unpaid writing work. Although he was only in the first year, he’d been enterprising enough to get an unpaid commission to write for a publication (I didn’t catch which one, as I arrived late into the conversation).

Should you do this? Is it exploitation? Does it undermine your fellow journalists who rely on real income from writing to pay the rent? Does it make it easier or more difficult to get paid for your work further down the line?

My take is that it’s absolutely fine to work for nothing – under certain circumstances. The key is to ask yourself what you’re getting out of your pro bono work:

1. Experience. If you really don’t have experience (you’re a student, say), then it pays to get it. The money’s not as important as the skills and ability you develop. Make sure, however, that you get feedback on your work so you can improve. This is especially important for students, but is also valid for professionals if they are moving into a new field, for example.
2. Exposure. This works at any stage in your career. I recently wrote a piece for the members’ magazine of the British Association of Communicators in Business (CiB), because I wanted to get some exposure to the corporate communications market. It didn’t pay any money, but it is a useful thing to point to when I’m talking to potential corporate writing clients, particularly as I have spent pretty much all of my career in business journalism, and don’t have that much corporate work to show off.
3. Contacts. If you want to break into a particular field of writing, it’s worth trying to build up contacts in that world. There are plenty of specialist publications dealing with things such as the arts, say, or other niche areas, most of which are produced by enthusiasts using volunteer contributions. If you put some effort into contributing to these magazines and newsletters, you kill two birds with one stone – you get experience writing in a specialist field, and you also start building up a contacts book of the field’s movers and shakers. And what does a successful journalist have? A solid contacts book. This in itself has a value to potential employers, not counting the clippings you are building up. 

OK, then – there are good reasons to write (and do other media-type work) for free. But what are the downsides?

Primarily, you run the risk that doing work for nothing will actually undermine your ability to get paid work in future. Here’s how that works.

If you want to write music features for something like Uncut, for example, it may not be such a good idea to persuade the editor to give you a payment-free trial. After all, once you’ve given it away for free, why would they rush to start paying you full whack? It’s much more likely that your try-out period gets strangely extended and you end up donating far more than you had planned. And even if you do start getting paid, you may find it’s not at the full rate the “professionals” get.

I’m sure the fine Uncut doesn’t operate so shabbily, by the way (unless you know differently), and I’m sure this approach has worked for some. But logically it’s risky. It’s far better to donate your free writing to media outlets that don’t pay anyway. That means when you come to tout for paying work you have a bulging portfolio, but no track record of giving out freebies to potentially paying clients.

Also, make sure you get some kind of return from the free work. As noted before, if you’re a student wanting to write something for your portfolio and you get a friendly editor or features editor to commission it, ask them to give you advice and feedback in return. Many will be happy – or at least prepared – to do so. (If they’re not, that’s an indication to try somewhere else.)

I’ve been talking about writing, but the principle holds good for other media-type skills. 

If you want to move into web design, for example, then by all means design web sites for free – just make sure it’s not for people that might otherwise pay you. And potential magazine designers can spend many happy hours working up newsletters and leaflets for small charities to hone their InDesign chops. 

The moral? Sometimes you have to give before you can receive. Just make sure you give to the right people.

Next: the handy summary to all this verbiage.

Part 1;   Part 2;   Part 3;   Part 4;   Part 5;

Ways to survive the media recession, part 3

Part 1;   Part 2;   Part 3;   Part 4;   Part 5;

It’s round three of media survival tips for recessionary times. 

Last time, I talked about Assessing Your Skills, Learning New Skills and Updating Your CV.

Now we’re pretty much focusing on networking, networking and networking. And maybe some advertising. First, though:

Draw up a plan

Be organised. This means putting together some kind of chart to keep track of the type of work you’re hustling for, the contact details of the people you’re hustling and updates of the progress you’ve made. If you’re any kind of freelance journalist at all, you should know how useful this is to do. I use something like this – but anything that works for you is fine. The key thing is to keep track of all your contacts, when you call or email them, and when you need to follow up.

Whose names do you put on your super-organised chart? I’m glad you asked…

Talk to your friends

Mates look after mates, as someone I know wisely said about the latest recession. So the most likely source of work is either direct from people you know, or from their recommendations.

This can be a bit awkward if you’re a Brit, as we tend not to like hustling our friends. It’s a bit like going out for a drink with someone you know and then trying to sell them insurance.

Get over it. You need to pay your rent and the chances are that, if they’re in the media, they’ll understand this, and also may well need someone to do some work for them.

I picked up some corporate writing work recently, after I saw an old friend of mine after a few years. She’d moved into internal corporate communications and I asked, half-seriously, if she needed any corporate writing. The answer was yes – quite a bit of it. And that’s work I wouldn’t have come by unless I’d mentioned it. So be proactive.

The longer you’ve been in the media/journalism, the more people you’ll know in the business. Be thorough – run through everyone you’ve worked with. If they’ve moved on, that’s great, because it gives you a way into different companies. If they’ve been promoted it means they may have commissioning responsibility.

If no one has any work on offer, ask them to pass your name on to anyone they hear of who has. Remember – always ask (but don’t pester).

Contact others

Once you’ve run through your entire list of contacts, it’s time to start cold-emailing. But who to choose?

A good guide can be media job ads sites. I keep an eye on the jobs section of Journalism.co.uk, and there’s also the Guardian, obviously. (When I wrote this, I completely forgot about Press Gazette. Which may be an indication of why it’s now stopped publishing.)

You could also check out Fleet Street Blues – a journalism blog that cherry-picks journalism jobs from the web and posts them with some analysis of what they require in terms of skills, and also has some decent job hunters’ advice. They also pimp me, for some reason, which is nice. 

But try to think laterally too. If you are in the market for corporate work, check out the web site of the British Association of Communicators in Business (CIB) – the professional association for corporate communications professionals – where there are a number of job listings. I’ve seen contract publishing jobs on the CIB site that haven’t been posted on other journalism job sites, for instance.

I don’t really want a job, but you can assume that if a publisher or internal communications department is hiring, it may be in the market for freelance help – especially if it’s finding it difficult to fill a position.

There’s often a few weeks’ production work on offer between the time a sub or production editor leaves and their replacement can join and get up to speed. It can work with writing too – sometimes a staff changeover can mean extra commissioning to smooth the transition.

And, yes, after that you can start trawling through general publishing company listings and sending out spec emails and CVs.

I did once buy a media yearbook with contacts for various publishing companies, but things like that date very quickly, and I found it wasn’t nearly comprehensive enough – it included almost none of the magazines I made my living from, for example.

So, use the web, and use your eyes. If a local magazine comes through your door each week or month, see who publishes it and if there’s some work there. Use Google to scour the web for publishers in different sectors. Search for your interests or specialist expertise and see who’s involved in publishing in that sector.

Draw up your list and start sending out your bespoke, tailored CVs and personalised covering letter according to whatever sector they’re in. Keep meticulous records. Note whom you sent it to and when, and keep careful track of replies. Most will be a “thanks but no thanks”, and many may not reply. Try one follow-up to them, then cross them off if they stay silent.

This kind of thing is a bit thankless and time-consuming, but can bear fruit. I contacted 14 journalism departments and training companies in the new year to try to get some teaching work. Of those, half a dozen responded with a polite “we’ll put you on file”, but two actually offered me some work – and these are organisations I’ve had nothing to do with up until now.

It tends to have best results with subbing/production shifts (a lot of production editors will try out a new sub at least once to boost their roster), less so with writing. But if you’re really stuck for work, where’s the harm? It beats daytime TV at least.

Advertise yourself

A recession is the time you actually need to spend time touting your wares most.

If you do have an online presence (and you should), make sure the address is part of your email signature.

Also consider joining the more business-focused social networking web sites. I know not everyone buys into Twitter, for example (Management Today’s editor thinks it’s “twaddle”), but enough people in the business world like it for it to be a possible route to new business.

I actually got a commission off the back of Twitter because I started following an ex-colleague, and simply managed to remind him of my existence. The investment was free in terms of money, and took very little time (once I’d figured out Twitter’s slightly minimalist instructions).

It may well also be worth spending some of your real, hard-earned money on paid advertising.

Journalism.co.uk charges £50 for a year’s listing in its freelance directory – which gives you something that looks like this. According to one freelance I know who tried it, the listing brought in enough work to pay for itself (though this was some time before the downturn).

I’m still considering doing this – but probably a bit later in the year, as I’m actually too busy right now to justify it. But £50 is just about low enough to punt in an ad just to see.

I’m also still weighing up the benefits of joining the CIB – the British Association for Communicators in Business.

As noted above, the CIB is the professional association of corporate communications professionals. It also has a directory of freelancers, but you need to be a member to join. That costs a heftier £238.50 for your first year (including a slightly irritating £60 “joining fee”) – which is a bit off-putting. But given that the hourly rate for freelance corporate writing starts at £25-£35, the work is more lucrative, so it’s worth pursuing.

Final thoughts next time, with a bit of a round-up in a final post…

Part 1;   Part 2;   Part 3;   Part 4;   Part 5;