Advice

Freelance journalism 101

Being a freelance journalist is more mysterious and confusing than it needs to be. I have been a freelance journalist for three years now and have secured a full-time role that I wouldn’t have been able to get without this experience. This page aims to educate you on all the basics, hand over resources, and give advice.

Definition of a freelance journalist: a self-employed writer who works for multiple publications on a project-by-project or commission-by-commission basis.

Getting commissioned

The first step into the world of freelance journalism is finding a place that will let you write for them. In all honesty, your first few gigs will either be unpaid or very little pay. Use this time to build a portfolio of work you can show off to future editors (the people who commission your work).

For your first few pieces, you should consider writing for yourself, self-publishing it on your Medium page. This gives you two to three pieces that prove that you can write about your chosen topic. After that, try to keep your eye out for pitch calls. You can search LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social media channels for this but I highly recommend the following newsletters:

Pitching an editor who has put out a call guarantees that they are looking to pay a writer to speak on a specific topic. However, you can also cold pitch, in fact it’s encouraged. Cold pitching is sending a pitch to an editor you haven’t had previous contact with. When doing this you must be sure that your story is relevant to the publication otherwise you risk showing you don’t really understand a publication’s subject matter, tone, or audience.
 

Pitching basics

Writing a pitch is a whole other animal and possibly the hardest part of being  a freelance journalist. I am by no means the best pitch writer of all time BUT here is my advice:

  • Start email subject with PITCH: followed by a catchy headline suggestion
  • Explain story in two to three short paragraphs (roughly 150 to 300 words)
  • Provide a few headline suggestions
  • First sentence explain who you are and give writing examples
  • Second and third para should succinctly explain your story, two to three sentences each para. Why is this story important? Who are the characters? Why is this new? How is it relevant today?
  • DO NOT waste time saying generic stuff (i.e. AI has taken the world by storm since the release of ChatGPT…) Your editor likely already knows this
  • Finish pitch with logistics of pulling piece together. Have you landed the interview? Will there be costs in bringing the piece together? Do you need a long deadline?
Again, there is so much to writing the perfect pitch. There are a lot of resources out there such as the JournoResources “pitching guidelines” and “pitch library“.
 

Pay rates

There is no universally accepted pay rate for freelance journalism. It ranges from publication to publication from piece to piece. But generally this is how I look at it for features:
  • $0.20 to $1 per word is decent to great pay
  • Anything below $0.20 per word, consider if it’s a good portfolio piece OR you just need the money—there’s no shame in that
  • Anything above $1 per word… TAKE IT

Working in news is a bit different as you’ll often get paid less per piece or per word but you’ll get commissioned at a higher rate. I’ve worked for as low as £30 per 600 word news item but I think the sweet spot is from £50 to £100, dependant on the work required.

Despite all this, low paid and unpaid work is a natural part of this industry. If you take either you must seriously consider if it’s a good portfolio piece, it opens a door for you, you need the money, or it’s just a piece you’re dying to write.

Post-publication

I’m not going to hold your hand through writing the article, I believe in your skills to do that. But once you’ve written the article, you’ll likely go through a bunch of annoying paperwork such as the W-8BEN. After that, you’ll have to write an invoice to be paid. Again, JournoResources has a great invoice template that I used for the first two years of my career. It’s pretty straight forward and easily understood from a few Googles.
 
Unfortunately, you should expect to not be paid for at least 30 days after publication—this is called net30 terms. Often publications will wait till the very last moment they can pay you until they do so. Some, will even be paid. In that case you have to start pestering them straight  away. Email the day it goes over due, then again in 5 days time, then 7 days later, then after that try to escalate it by tying in higher ups at the publication. 
 
This is a horrible scenario to be put in and one of the worst parts of freelancing. For this reason, try to keep a good log of when your invoices are due. I’ve previously noted invoice deadlines on my Google Calendar but now I use accountancy software like FreeAgent.
 

Not financial advice

The sad reality is that, due to publications paying you late, you will find yourself struggling financially. For this reason, I have created a parachute fund that protects me in these times of need. I aim to have 3 to 6 months worth of expenses in a savings account ready to be used in the case that I have a bad month getting commissions or one of my invoices is delayed in being paid. *coughs* not financial advice *coughs*
 
After my first paid piece was published, I started thinking about paying my taxes. Yep, I’m that boring. For this reason, every time I got paid I put 30% of it away into a savings account—I wish I’d put it in a good high interest savings account but I didn’t. By doing this, when the end of the tax year came around I was able to easily pay my taxes and give myself a bonus of £1,000 to £2,000 for business upgrades or personal expenses.  Again… *coughs* not financial advice *coughs*
 
I’m not going to get into the weeds of the UK tax system. But be sure to sign up as a sole-trader (or LTD Company if you think it’s worth it for you) before the end of the tax year. This is hella boring but super necessary. It sounds more confusing than it is. Once you get your head around it, it’s easy enough. 
 
If your freelance career starts taking off, start considering reinvesting some of the money you earn. For example, I recently bought a Quest 3 which has helped me write a streak of VR pieces with some I consider being my best ever work. That £500 expense brought back in £1,300 over a four month period. As an employee, your employer may take the risk of purchasing equipment to boost your productivity. As a freelancer, that is your responsibility. And remember… it’s a tax expense.
 

Final tips

We’re getting to the end of my advice now. Freelance journalism is an exceedingly weird space to get into but once you’re in and flying it’s so much fun. Below are some general rules I tend to follow:

  • Use Google Docs
  • Find a niche that you can specialize in
  • Write about anything you can (don’t be married to your niche)
  • Never miss a deadline, be professional
  • Always submit clean copy
  • Pitch as much as you can
  • Always look to get new bylines
  • Establish relationships with editors
  • Negotiate pay rate when you can
  • Follow other journos and editors on Twitter
  • Create a good portfolio (use MuckRack, JournoPortfolio, Clippings, etc.)
But most importantly, have fun. If all goes to plan, you’ll look back on your bylines with real pride. Over my time I’ve written about some of the most interesting stories for some of my dream publications. It’s been a blast and I’m only three years in. I can’t wait to keep going:)

Let's chat!

Ryan S. Gladwin is happy to speak with any early-career journalists via Twitter, email, or by phone. If you’re later in your career, he is available for paid expert calls.

Contact him
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