The only food in my kitchen was a bag of russet potatoes, my pants were starting to fall down my hips, and I wasn’t going to make rent that month.
This is what life as a freelance journalist looked like for me as I approached my 31st birthday many years ago. That year, I traveled across Central America pitching stories about gang violence, immigration and local politics. I wrote about Pitbull’s bilingual lyrics for a national newsroom. To ensure I had at least one steady source of income, I wrote a daily newsletter on national security for a top-tier university. Eventually I made just enough money to afford a rundown Brooklyn apartment. And when the freelance checks came in later than I expected, as they so often do, I survived on meals of boiled potatoes and hoped my landlord was in a forgiving mood.
A reader recently sent this message to Ask the Recruiter:
I’d like to see you give advice on how to most effectively line up freelance writing gigs, particularly from outlets that pay decently and are therefore probably the most competitive freelance marketplace. One immediate question is, of course: How can you write a query that really grabs a jaded editor’s attention?
I reached out to several freelance journalists I admire for their tips. Here’s what they told me.
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Megan Greenwell is a freelance journalist based in Brooklyn and the author of “Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream.” She writes:
Megan Greenwell
My friend and freelancer extraordinaire Charley Locke created this matrix that I think about constantly.
The axes run from “pays poorly” to “pays well” and “I don’t mind it/it’s fine” to “very enjoyable/meaningful.” All of the most successful freelancers I know are hyper-aware that not all of their work can be in the “meaningful/pays well” quadrant these days, so they think strategically about literally buying themselves time for their most meaningful projects with work that might be less fun or fulfilling but is much more lucrative. That could mean advertising your services as a copywriter or consultant (I’ve become a reluctant cheerleader for LinkedIn because it’s gotten me so much work over the years), reaching out to former colleagues on the PR side to ask if they need help with a project or two, or taking on part-time work of an entirely different flavor.
You’re not a failure if you can’t pay all your bills through writing. You’re a savvy operator.
My biggest tip is to know exactly what you’re pitching and how it fits in with the outlet. When I was an editor, I got so many pitches for stories that either I had already run or that made no sense for my publication. If you avoid both of those pitfalls, you’re ahead of the game. Make sure you also have a sense of how you’d report whatever it is, what access you’d get, who the characters are, what the unique argument or angle is. The terrific folks at MIT Technology Review have one of my favorite pitch guides.
Lastly, if you don’t already have a community of fellow freelancers, build one! Send fan letters to other writers, build connections on social media, find a writers’ group in your town, whatever it takes. My freelance “work wives” have made my work so much better by reading pitches, suggesting ideas and passing me work when I need it.
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Adam Piore’s work has appeared in National Geographic, Rolling Stone, Condé Nast Traveler, Scientific American, The Boston Globe and many others. He writes:
Adam Piore
Initially I focused on building a stable of non-prestige, anchor clients who I could depend upon to provide steady income. I looked for places that I knew couldn’t afford to kill my stories and would run them relatively fast. Basically, I went after trade publications, universities (alumni magazines or news services that highlight academic research), NGOs, etc. I found that the stories they assigned me often led me to larger story ideas I could pitch to mainstream publications. Initially I took whatever I could get. Then I traded up based on pay until I had a consistent stable of clients who paid at least $1 per word.
To keep from getting depressed, I tried to have one passion project or mainstream magazine assignment going during this period.
Once I had money-making infrastructure in place, I started focusing on trading up to more satisfying work. I started my month by taking big swings: I pitched prestige magazines on big features or devoted the majority of my time to developing projects I cared about.
I spend a lot of time on the pitches I send to magazine editors. I do as much work on the pitch as I might on a newspaper story, or at least provide as much detail. I’ll write an evocative, cinematic lead with a person in it, a billboard/nutgraph that spells out the idea and a detailed plan of the story arc I envision and what it will take to pull it off.
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Fernanda Santos is an editorial director at The 19th. She’s also been a staff writer at The New York Times, contributing columnist for The Washington Post, editorial director at Futuro Media and professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Here are her thoughts:
Fernanda Santos
I’ve worked as a full-time reporter and editor for most of my career, but for one year, I survived as a freelancer and learned a lot of lessons about how to make sure I had work — and money — coming in every month.
Lesson No. 1: You can do many things
There are only so many assignments available and a limited number that pay well. Consider using your reporting and writing skills to do related work, such as proofreading and corporate writing. It will help support you and give you some more freedom to research, pitch and report freelance stories.
Lesson No. 2: Leverage your network
Don’t be shy about reaching out to your professional connections to offer your services. Let people know you’re available. Send them a personalized email telling them the type of stories you specialize in and add links so they can see your work. Share a bit about assignments you’re working on and stories you want to pitch or develop. Ask folks to keep you in mind and, in return, offer something back, such as speaking to their staff about working as a freelancer. That makes this feel more like a two-way interaction.
Lesson No. 3: Build a spreadsheet listing publications you want to write for and instructions on how to pitch for them
Some publications have this information available online. You can also ask peers in places like the Journalists of Color Slack group or Latinas in Journalism on Facebook for specifics. This fairly up-to-date Google doc lists freelance pay rates for dozens of news organizations.
Lesson No. 4: Always be pitching
What you want is to hit a rhythm so that you’re never out of work. Be strategic about where you pitch and what you say yes to so that you don’t spend too much time on something that doesn’t pay fairly.
Your pitch should be clear, compelling and concise. It should include the “why now” of the story and why you’re the right person to write it. It should be aligned with what the publication covers — and something the publication has not already written about.
Every pitch requires pre-reporting. If you’re suggesting a story that involves accessing people or places, make sure that you have that access and communicate that in your pitch.
If you pitch and don’t hear back after following up once or twice, move on.
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Some final thoughts from me:
After another heartbreaking round of layoffs in our industry, more unemployed and underemployed journalists are wondering how they can patch together a living. At the same time, miserly payroll budgets will result in fewer freelance opportunities. Some freelancers are already being offered less for assignments of the same length.
Against these odds, I remain optimistic that driven journalists can work together to find a sustainable future for our industry. This work is too important to give up on.
Last week I spoke with a friend who had recently lost her job as a national reporter. She shared her plan to start a Substack and a podcast, pitch freelance stories, and apply for full-time jobs over the next year. I am excited for her, mostly because I believe she has what it takes to run a successful business: fascinating story angles, influential sources and the gumption to create her own path.
I hope we can all be as brave and creative as she is when our worlds are turned upside down.
Want to chat about your career questions? Email me at cristina.silva@globe.com with the subject “Ask the Recruiter.” Questions can be published with your name or anonymously.
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