I could procrastinate for Australia. I could. If it were an Olympic sport, I’d be the Torah Bright of Procrastination – only without the fantastic teeth … and I’d probably find a reason to put off the dancing… Having said that, I am also a surprisingly productive person. I know.
So you want to be a copywriter? You’ve heard that this is one of the most lucrative options you can have as a writer. But what does it really entail – and do you have what it takes to be successful? Our weekly top-rating podcast So you want to be
I was talking to an editor friend of mine today who was gnashing her teeth over a story that had been submitted to her. It was a Q&A piece and it just wasn’t working. “The answers are just not quite right,” she said to me. “No,” I said to her.
Valerie Khoo and Allison Tait ran a masterclass at this year’s Storyology conference, run by The Walkley Foundation. Called “Turn Your Passion into Productivity and Profit”, they spoke to a packed room about finding new opportunities in the world of freelancing writing. “Many freelancers complain that editorial pages are shrinking,
Rachel’s List is a media recruitment and connection website for job-seekers, editors/employers, and PRs. This month they released the results of their annual survey, giving us a peek into the minds (and wallets!) of freelance writers. We’ve included the results below, but for more information head to the Rachel’s List website.
While the media landscape is peppered with announcements about print magazine closures, many writers are mourning the loss of opportunities in this space. At the same time, however, we’re also observing a rise in branded journalism opportunities with an increasing number of corporations adding “publishing” to their core activities. So what
Mark Dapin has worn many hats – as a features writer (i.e. the “Lunch with…” series in The Sydney Morning Herald), a magazine editor, a non-fiction writer, and writer of novels. He also just wears a hat a lot of the time. Earlier in the year on our top-rating podcast,
As an editor and journalist, I’ve experienced life on both sides of the fence. When you’re a magazine editor, you are the one who holds all the power about which stories gets published. It’s your job to get the right combination of stories and stay within budget. However, when you’re
Back in 2011, Thuy Yau was a 22-year-old stay at home mum who had settled down early and put her studies on hold. But by discovering blogging, she began a path that would lead to a successful freelance writing future. Her blogging gave her an outlet to write about her
Help! I pitched a story to an editor and they accepted my idea. But now all my case studies have fallen through. What should I do?
The answer to this lies in what you do BEFORE the pitch. Avoid over-promising and under-delivering by lining up all your ducks in a row well in advance. Yes, that means ensuring your case studies agree to the fact they may…
The only thing that stays the same is change, right? Founder of Newsmodo, Rakhal Ebeli, would surely agree.
Established in 2012, Newsmodo is an online network that connects freelance writers with clients to work on a range of job opportunities. Rakhal set it up in response to the “rapid dismantling” of the media industry that he saw taking place right before his eyes. Just two years on, Newsmodo has disrupted the industry, with around 14,000 journalists across the globe registered to the service, generating content for newspapers, magazines, publishers, television networks and a growing number of consumer brands.
I’m starting out in freelance writing for magazines and newspapers, and it’s very frustrating to spend so long working on a pitch only to have a negative response from the editor or, worse still, nothing at all! This is particularly frustrating if I’ve spent the time researching the publication, finding a relevant hook, gathering information and stats, and putting effort into collating the information into a succinct pitch.
Of course, I know editors won’t commission every pitch they receive but is this something that we just need to get used to? Or is it simply a matter of honing our pitching skills which can only come with time?
Happy new (financial) year! While the start of the calendar year is often rife with resolutions about losing weight, setting new career goals and crossing items off your bucket list, we think that the start of the financial year deserves some attention on self-improvement too. Specifically, it’s vital to look
Jessica Irvine is a popular Australian economics columnist and author. She is currently the National Economics Editor of News Limited’s metro newspapers, and has previously written for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The West Australian and The Brisbane Times. Her first book, Zombies, Bananas and Why There Are No Economists in Heaven was a witty and accessible look at how to use the principles of economics to tackle everyday problems.
Her latest book, The Bottom Line Diet, might seem a little out of left field for an economics journalist. Jessica describes it as a “passion project”, something she felt she “had to write”, to help people dispel the myths about weight loss and get down to the “bottom line” – that it all comes down to numbers.
Jocelyn Pride completed the Australian Writers’ Centre Travel Writing course in the summer holidays of 2011. She grew up in a home where storytelling was prominent. Her mother’s skill of taking people on a journey with her love of words filtered down a generation. With a background in education, evolving
Victoria Birch always wanted to be a writer. She just didn’t know it was a viable option. Until now. The Sydney-based mother has always been interested in music. While living in the UK, Victoria would write music reviews, develop music websites and immerse herself in this artistic world. This passion
Sue White, is now one of Australia’s busiest feature and travel writers. She has an enviable portfolio that includes the country’s most respected publications including The Good Weekend, The Sydney Morning Herald, Vogue Australia, Travel + Leisure (Australia), Sun Herald Travel and Women’s Health, to name just a few. Sue
Aoife, 44, is now a freelance writer living in Sydney. She completed the Australian Writers’ Centre online course Magazines and Newspaper Writing Stage 1. Aoife has written for Body+Soul (The Sunday Telegraph), Echo Paper and TNT magazine. She is also a regular contributor to Australia and New Zealand Magazine in the United
Susannah Hardy is an actor who always knew she could write, but wondered how she could improve her skills, and if it was possible to make a living from her writing. She had always had a love for writing, often creating material for her performances. But she admits, “I wrote from instinct, and I realised I needed tuition”.
Unsure of how to get that tuition, she says her mother noticed an ad in the local newspaper in 2006 advertising the Australian Writers’ Centre Newspapers and Magazine Writing Stage 1 course. She decided then and there that the course would be the perfect way to polish her nascent skills, and so she enrolled immediately.
Cassy Small, 32, is a Sunshine Coast health and wellbeing writer. She completed the Australian Writers’ Centre Magazine and Newspaper Writing Stage 1 course online in January 2012. The confidence to get started Like many teenagers, Cassy Small spent hours journaling and writing short stories but the memory was packed away once
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