Do you want to be a freelance journalist but feel unsure of where to start?
We spoke with Lily Canter, co-founder of Freelancing for Journalists, a one-stop organisation for all things freelance journalism tips, tricks and advice.
Freelancing For Journalists originally started as a book, Freelancing for Journalists, a textbook on how to operate as a successful freelance journalist, published in 2019.
Speaking on how the book’s release evolved, Lily said:
“We decided to launch a podcast to complement the book when it was published. That was all planned for the Summer of 2020 and then obviously the pandemic happened and we knew that we had to start recording the podcast and get some episodes out straightaway”.
Now on its eleventh series despite Emma and Lily’s intention to only record one, the podcast launched in March 2020 and discussed the world of freelancing during the pandemic, which captured the journalism landscape at the time, leading to rapid listenership growth.
“There are definitely more freelancers now – both during and post-pandemic a lot of journalists were either made redundant or making the decision to go freelance and there have of course also been a lot of closures of independent newspapers and layoffs from big corporations.”
As the podcast gained a following, Lily and Emma started adding more resources and growing Freelancing for Journalists as a brand within itself, such as online training with Journalism.co.uk, a weekly newsletter with tips and first-person advice, as well as an accompanying paid version with extra resources, remote webinars and an entirely remote work experience scheme.
Lily said: “Now that we’re in our third year, things have started running themselves. Our Facebook community has around 7000 members and it’s evolved organically. We want to be the main resource hub of anything to do with freelance journalism, and we have achieved that as we have added more resources and content”.
Both Lily and Emma work primarily as freelance journalists, as well as occasionally outsourcing to other freelancers. They have accrued sponsors for the podcast and newsletter and are keen to continue growing Freelancing for Journalists, as well as their own personal brands.
After graduating with a degree in English Literature and a post-graduate journalism course, Lily gained a National Council for the Training of Journalists qualification as well as an National College of Education qualification. She then worked up to editorial positions in local newspapers, before turning to Journalism PhD and lecturing work, before then realising that she wanted to be a freelance journalist, gaining inspiration from fellow co-founder Emma, who she met on her Print Journalism course.
Currently, Lily works as a freelance journalist specialising in running and fitness writing, whilst continuing her work with the University of Sheffield. She also works as a running coach, which she says is representative of many freelancers having side hustles (such as podcasts, events, books, teaching) that diversify their content and income, whether it’s directly connected to their journalism work or not.
Consistency, honesty and accessibility are both key to Freelancing for Journalists. The newsletter has survived since the pandemic and has been sent out to its keen mailing list at the same time every week for the past three years.
Throughout its journey, the newsletter serves a function to promote the many facets of Freelancing For Journalists, and has changed along with the audience’s needs and desires: “We survey our readership every so often to gauge what they want to see more of. What we found that surprised us, was that it wasn’t necessarily research, but more what are our day-to-day life challenges, thoughts and personal reflections. We do also write newsletters on current trends too, for example, we wrote about Threads when everyone was suddenly talking about it.
“Similarly, our most successful podcast episode has been the one on imposter syndrome – it really resonates with a lot of freelancers because you’re in a precarious position, you’re always trying to sell yourself, you haven’t got the validation of being in a staff job. It’s helped a lot of people realise that we all go through these feelings, and we’re all in the same boat.”
Some of the most exciting developments for Freelancing For Journalists involve the remote work experience scheme and their Freelance Journalism Awards.
Speaking about hosting the awards online and through their newsletter to announce the judging, shortlist and winners, Lily said: “The awards got so much traction and it was really great to see. Making the awards online exclusive content was really important to us; we will probably always do everything remotely. Emma lives in Sheffield, I live in Leicestershire and we are so passionate about the fact that you don’t have to live in London to be a freelancer. We actively decided against doing the awards in-person as it would’ve had to be held in London, which made us feel quite uncomfortable from a financial and accessibility point of view”.
Being an entirely remote organisation and resource is central to Freelancing For Journalists and makes them stand out, as well as opening up more opportunities such as remote podcast guests. Their work experience scheme is no exception to this and pairs an aspiring journalist with a freelance journalist, where on a case-by-case basis they organise Zoom chats, work and shadowing opportunities and feedback. Interns also have an opportunity to contribute listicles (such as book, film and podcast suggestions) to the newsletter.
“It’s not going to tell you what it’s like to be in a newsroom, but it does give you a taste on what it’s like to be an individual freelance journalist. It’s also very accessible and flexible”.
Looking forward, Lily hopes to grow their Freelance Journalism Awards as well as continuing to adapt as their audience keeps broadening.
Image courtesy of Lily Canter
