Recently I have been inundated with social media posts from freelance journalists saying it is impossible to make a living anymore. I don’t know what the algorithms are trying to tell me but it feels like I’m being shown doom and gloom constantly about the future of our profession.
Now I’m not here to tell you it’s all rosy. In many parts of journalism, rates have been stagnant for years. Payment on publication is an appalling and exploitative practice which needs stamping out immediately. There are more freelancers than ever trying to get editors attention and in-house teams are attempting to do more and more on ever dwindling budgets.
But I also know that I have more work than I know what to do with, a fair few publications I work for have increased their rates in recent years and for others I have had a pay rise when I reasonably asked for one. I appreciate that I am in a really fortunate position. It is hard when you start out but I have built up my reputation, experience and clients over two decades now. I write about a niche that seems to be crying out for expert journalists and I have lost count of how often I have recommended others in our community to an editor because I have no more capacity.
Yet I don’t think I’m the only one - I do know of lots of other freelance journalists who are absolutely making it work, albeit with the ebbs and flows we know are part of it. I make around 90% of my income from actual journalism so it’s not that I’m bolstering my work with lots of other things. I do a bit of teaching, some report editing and FFJ to make up the other 10%. I have about the same income as my salaried partner who works in construction management and it has increased little by little every year.
But I feel it is important to note that I work full time (with very busy days) and have a high article count. I do a mix of work, some of which I find more interesting than other bits, and I often say yes when really I’m beyond capacity because I want to keep up those important relationships. What I want more than anything is for others to feel positive and hopeful about their freelance careers. And it’s why we set up FFJ because we wanted to try and share the resources to help everyone achieve this.
We also need to remember that you’re not necessarily in a better position in a staff job. I certainly feel far more protected against magazine closures and redundancy by having a large number of potential clients.
So with all this in mind, here’s my top tips for how to realistically make a living as a freelance journalist:
Be reliable - always
I say this a lot but I cannot stress enough how much work comes my way because I am a safe pair of hands. Editors tell me this regularly and all have tales about freelancers who have gone AWOL, missed deadlines or not delivered to the brief. If you do what you say you are going to, when you say you are going to do it, you will get repeat commissions. It also means being quick to respond to edits or questions. And to find solutions when things are not going well. Either they will say yes to more of your pitch ideas or even better will just come to you without you having to pitch (more likely on trade or specialist press). Not everything I write about is inspirational or a topic close to my heart. NHS funding streams into primary care and doctor pensions comes to mind as some of the duller things I have covered. But they are important to the people affected by them and as a journalist my job is to ask questions and write an engaging piece whatever the issue. If I only wrote about the topics that really piqued my interest, my bank account would look a lot leaner.
Have a broad range of income streams
My income at the moment is mainly from journalism but in the past I have done many things including writing for funding bodies and articles for in-house magazines, I’ve edited EU-funded reports and scientific papers, done interviews for podcasts, organised conference talks, teaching and much more. All of those jobs used the skills I have honed over the years and I never once thought it diminished my work as a journalist. I’ve never understood why you wouldn’t diversify and try new things. If it turns out it’s not for you just don’t do it again.
For me having a broad range of income streams means working for a wide variety of publications. At a rough count I have about eight titles I write for regularly and a few more on the periphery. And none of these are national newspapers. There is a big wide world out there of online, specialist, trade and niche titles in the UK and oversea that pay fairly well and also treat you with respect. Don’t be afraid to hunt them out. When Covid hit I lost lots of work overnight and I realised I needed to always make sure I was protected against editors moving and budgets going. I also have a list of new editors I can pitch to if I have time and the right idea.
Say yes to new opportunities
There have been lots of times when I wasn’t sure I had the skills or knowledge to do some work I had been offered but that is just imposter syndrome talking. It can be easy to underplay the skills you actually do have (it’s amazing how bad some people can be at writing or story telling when it’s not their job). So please don’t be afraid to try new things that come your way. My own website and LinkedIn have been the two main places people have found me for potential opportunities so make sure you are ‘findable’. Had I stuck to the internal voice saying ‘stay in your lane’ there wouldn’t be an FFJ podcast for a start. Sometimes opportunities come and go but don’t limit yourself unnecessarily.
Work efficiently
This is an important one because I think to make a living as a freelance journalist you have to be proficient. You have to be producing a lot, have a lot of ideas, be responsive to issues that people are talking about and you can’t really waste time. In any one week I will usually be juggling one or two news shifts and numerous features as well as FFJ work as well as pitching and keeping across my patch. I have to write quickly, multitask and move back and forth between topics. I don’t have the luxury of working on one thing at a time. If you want to write a feature or two a month and expect to make a good living I think you may be quickly disappointed. I know Lily will also always have multiple things on the go. It’s just the only way to make it work unless you’re a big name columnist on a large retainer and there are only a handful of those - sorry!
Be thoughtful about who you work for
If an editor is constantly letting you down, paying late or with poor rates, consider who else you could work for. Seriously I know you may really want that byline in your favourite national newspaper or magazine but that may be a one-sided relationship. I have found new opportunities I didn’t even know existed through newsletters like Write at Home and some of them become my favourite people to work for because they know what they want, pay on time and don’t mess me around. I will always say yes to those who treat me well and I don’t have time for those that don’t. Every so often I will do something that I know will be a pain or very time-consuming because it is a topic I care about but if I did that all the time, it would be very hard work.
Think like a business
We are by our nature a bunch of creative people who may not be as good or interested in the business side of things. But to make a good living we do need to assess the strengths and weaknesses, the opportunities and threats of our work. You could give yourself an annual appraisal to consider where you make your income, what is most worth your effort and what you would like to do more of. Can you be more flexible in your approach? You can also assess how you could use your time more efficiently. If you have a ton of interviews to turn into a feature, how can you most effectively do that? What is the best way to manage your inbox or invoice process? What makes you faster? For me it’s turning off email and social media whenever I need to get something done. And it’s knowing when I’ve done enough interviews and I need to crack on. Learning from others about how they do things can be invaluable and this is where the Facebook community or other networks you have can come in very handy.
What’s coming up
We are in the midst of recording our next series of the podcast which right on topic is all about diversifying your income. Our guests will be providing advice and guidance on everything from copywriting to social media management, newsletters to public speaking and more, so watch this space! In the meantime you can catch up on all our episodes wherever you get your podcasts or at the link below.
We have also just started planning for this year’s Freelance Journalism Awards (yes we are bringing it back) so get thinking about what you might enter! We will announce the categories in a couple of months. We are also on the hunt for sponsors so if you can recommend a company / organisation that may wish to support the awards, please let us know!
Triumph of the week
Being commissioned to write the same news story twice
That feeling when
You submit a piece to a tight deadline only to not hear anything for days
We love to hear your feedback on everything we do, so feel free to drop us an email anytime at freelancingforjournalists@gmail.com
Bye for now!
This was so insightful! So many relatable points, especially when you deliver to a tight deadline and don't hear back for ages!
This stacks up with what I've experienced, particularly having many irons in the fire. In terms of being thoughtful about who you work for, what is becoming harder is finding places that don't have draconian clauses in contracts and/or are willing to negotiate on them. And aside from just saying 'no', I'm not sure what can be done about that.