The Writing Coach Podcast with Rebecca L. Weber: Recent Episodes
Rebecca L. Weber
Rebecca L. Weber coaches with the sustainable strategies, mindset shifts, and creative skills development she uses to help independent writers around the world.
If you’ve got what it takes to make it as a freelance writer, but struggle with confidence, imposter syndrome, overwhelm, procrastination, time management, writer’s block, improving your craft, marketing, pitching, underearning, pursuing meaning in your work, or getting in your own way, this is the writing podcast for you.
Learn, grow, and succeed as a freelancer by identifying the wants and needs of your editors, your readers, and yourself.
Rebecca draws on her experience as a journalist covering social justice, the environment, international development, the arts, and travel for publications like CNN, the New York Times, Dwell, and Ebony.com. Download a free guide on how to pitch at www.rebeccalweber.com/5-proven-steps
What’s one thing you’d like help with in your writing life today?
I’d like to coach you about it—and share the recording with other listeners of the Writing Coach Podcast.
To apply for a free coaching session with me, visit www.rebeccalweber.com/coachme
🔗 You might also like to listen to …
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
WCP20 Setting freelance writer goals
Writing Coach Podcast Greatest Hits Playlist on Spotify
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by reviewing on Apple Podcasts, sharing a link on your website or in your newsletter, or in your next social media post. Let other writers know why you listen.
Sometimes you AND your pitch need to get out of your head and out into the world.
On the first Tuesday of the month, I’m hosting co-pitching calls where freelancers work on their pitches together.
This month I offered a few short prompts for those who needed it. Here I elaborate on ways to approach these prompts, your story idea, your editor, your readers, and your mindset.
🔗 You might also like …
WCP 245 Archives: 🐶 Monday mornings on the mountain with Mishka
WCP 217 Title TK
WCP 16: Freewriting for freelancers
WCP 4: Pitching: The perfect black T-shirt
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by reviewing on Apple Podcasts, sharing a link on your website or in your newsletter, or in your next social media post. Let other writers know why you listen.
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast246
On Monday mornings I used to be cranky and anxious. It’s not a great combo any time, and not a great foundation for the week ahead.
Then I created a ritual to help me transition … and I actually look forward to that time when I get to look at my writing projects from a totally different perspective.
Creating a ritual or two in your writing life can provide structure, meaning, and momentum.
This episode is in memory of the patron puppy saint of the Writing Coach Podcast, Mishka.
🔗 You might also like to listen to …
WCP 244: Freelance feast or famine
WCP 231 Archives: Writing through grief
WCP 43: Bridge thoughts
WCP 15: How Nelson Mandela taught me to write faster
Writing Coach Podcast Greatest Hits Playlist on Spotify
🔗 Mentioned on this episode …
Essential books for writers
Laura Feasey on Instagram
Yolisa Qunta on Instagram
Mishka on Instagram
Twyla Tharp’s “The Creative Habit”
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by reviewing on Apple Podcasts, sharing a link on your website or in your newsletter, or in your next social media post. Let other writers know why you listen.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast245
In one week, you might have a pub that you’ve written for for years fold, receive an email from an editor who said she loved your pitch now asking for a ton of edits, sign a contract for a new book, and have a source ask to reschedule an interview.
It seems there’s nothing as constant in change in the freelance writing world … and yet so many freelancers seem continually surprised by the meta pattern of change.
In this episode we look at handling change as a freelance writer in general, and then focus in on the pattern of feast and famine.
🔗 You might also like …
WCP 150 Archives: Company policies
WCP 239: You set your freelance writing rates
WCP 214 Cultivate flow
WCP 1: What’s your (writing) problem?
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the September 2023 session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast244
They say it’s the thought that counts when it comes to gifts. But if you’ve ever had the experience of receiving a gift that was clearly intended for somebody else (but the tags got swapped or similar), or if you received a generic Secret Santa present, you know that the thoughts leading to those gifts were fundamentally different than when somebody offers you a gift that surprises and delights you because it is just so perfect.
Freelancers who pitch regularly have had the experience of sending the wrong idea to the wrong publication at the wrong time. If who you are pitching is an afterthought, that randomness shows.
Sending your next editor a pitch that makes their day is an empowering experience for both of you. Learn more about the gift of specificity.
🔗 You might also like …
WCP 187 You’re invited
WCP 180 Learning mindset
WCP 4: Pitching: The perfect black T-shirt
WCP 182 Archives: Annoying pitches
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast243
On a road trip, you might see a dozen reminders about an upcoming exit. The frequency doesn’t mean that you should get off the highway for an unwanted detour.
Following the trail of habitual thoughts can derail your writing life. Learn to stay the course.
Also: The last session for the year of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, starts in mid September. Details and application info: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔗 You might also like …
WCP 1: What’s your (writing) problem?
Writing Coach Podcast Greatest Hits Playlist on Spotify
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast242
Some writers always honor their deadlines for clients, yet aren’t accountable to themselves when it comes to marketing or creative work. Maybe you want to pitch more stories, finish your book proposal, or write in your journal every single day. You get started, then quit, and never build enough momentum to create the writing life you really want for yourself.
In reality, signing a contract isn’t what actually makes you complete an assignment on time. It’s your decision to complete it (which you may do because you like the consequences of doing so, such as feeling reliable or spending the income).
If you already know how to be accountable to somebody else, you can use that experience to practice being more accountable to yourself too. And you can do it without any negative self-talk, shame, or blame—instead, honoring your deepest writing desires is a form of self-care and we can do it more effectively from a place of curiosity and learning.
🔗 You might also like …
Writing Coach Podcast Greatest Hits Playlist on Spotify
WCP238 Accountability hit
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast241
Perception of time varies from person to person, and from task to task. Before, during, or after a particular writing task your estimate of how long it takes will likely vary. This lack of clarity about time in the moment can be seen or described in very different ways depending on the context (eg “flow” vs “time blindness”).
If you don’t know how long something will take you, how can you quote profitably? If you don’t know how much time has gone by, how do you know what to do next to stay on schedule? Here’s what I’ve found helpful in terms of this aspect of time management.
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP 238 Accountability hit
WCP 175 Writing in community
WCP 214 Cultivate flow
WCP 217 Title TK
WCP 111 Intentions and transitions
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast with a review on Apple Podcasts, sharing a link on your website or in your newsletter, or in your next social media post. Let other writers know why you listen.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast240
Freelance writers often have a hard time setting rates, or feeling great about them after we’ve signed a contract.
It can feel challenging when:
- You have a sense that there’s a correct rate to charge, but you don’t know what it is
- You don’t know how much you need to earn this year, so can’t break down this project accordingly
- You believe that the client sets the rates
Spoiler alert: It is always possible for a potential client, a freelance colleague, or a well-meaning friend/family member in another field, to think or say: “You are charging too much” OR “You aren’t charging enough.” Ideally YOU won’t be the one telling yourself either of these things.
This episode we uncover some of the common reasons freelancers struggle with setting their rates, including the most common issue that affects high- and low-earners alike, and how to take control.
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP 134 What to charge
WCP 153 Archives: Pay me now!
WCP 193 Rates shaming
WCP 67: 3 strategies to earn more money as a freelance writer
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast with a review on Apple Podcasts, sharing a link on your website or in your newsletter, or in your next social media post. Let other writers know why you listen.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast239
Do you (almost) always honor your agreements to others (e.g. you routinely make your deadlines), but have a hard time doing things that nobody else is completing (e.g. pitch a story to a new-to-you editor)?
External accountability can help interrupt narratives that are neither fact-based nor helpful.
Today I share with you a number of external accountability practices that are helpful for writers as well as questions to help you better tune into what works for you.
Learn how to bridge the external accountability you’ve already got to your internal accountability, so that you can show up more for yourself, your career, and your readers.
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP 72: Internal and external accountability
WCP 174 Archives: 100 reasons not to pitch today
WCP 218 When it’s hard to let it be easy
WCP 236 Judge me
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast with a review on Apple Podcasts, sharing a link on your website or in your newsletter, or in your next social media post. Let other writers know why you listen.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast238
No electricity. No internet. They’re not one in the same, but when they overlap they make for a powerful Venn diagram.
The extreme weather and increased pressures on infrastructure means we’re going to continue to see large areas lose power and connectivity.
Here in South Africa, we’ve had plenty of chances to learn how to freelance efficiently both with some tech strategies and managing our own expectations during power outages. Let’s get into both so that you can keep getting your work done.
🔗 You might also like …
Writing Coach Podcast Greatest Hits Playlist on Spotify
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast with a review on Apple Podcasts, sharing a link on your website or in your newsletter, or in your next social media post. Let other writers know why you listen.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast237
As a species, we’re pretty judgey. As working writers, we’re constantly having our work judged.
Sometimes it can feel like how someone feels about our writing is how they feel about us.
When we add our own judgement of somebody else’s judgement, things get sticky.
Fear of judgement (by an editor, a friend, an anonymous reader who leaves a comment, or even ourselves) can be a major blocker.
This episode is a bit shorter than normal to give you some time to write into a prompt in your freelance journal.
🔗 You might also like …
WCP 16: Freewriting for freelancers
WCP 74: Why you’re the one
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.” www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
❤️ Support the Writing Coach Podcast with a review on Apple Podcasts, sharing a link on your website or in your newsletter, or in your next social media post. Let other writers know why you listen.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast236
Freelancing while traveling disrupts the home routine. Get clear about your process and expectations when traveling, and you’ll be better able to reduce frustration and optimize your next trip.
Some unconscious and/or unrealistic expectations include:
-
Stamina, sleep, and food choices
-
Only reporting vs. starting to do some writing before reporting is complete
-
An overscheduled itinerary vs. intentional white space on calendar
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP 195 Archives: Pitching travel stories before or after the trip
WCP 136 Archives: Pitch the chicken
WCP 162 Archives: The research rabbit hole
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast with a review on Apple Podcasts, sharing a link on your website or in your newsletter, or in your next social media post. Let other writers know why you listen.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast235
One great guiding question is at the heart of a pitch that lands an assignment, or in an article that resonates with readers. Answering this question is usually going to be more compelling for a reader, and often essential for an assigning editor.
This episode unpacks the power of answers, plus the exception you want to watch out for (ie, when you want to make sure that the question is explicit).
Not sure how to generate guiding questions? Listen for the exercise I recommend to get your understanding up to speed quickly.
🔗 You might also like …
Why Boston doesn’t have any Michelin Star restaurants
WCP 155 Why your pitch is too long
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter, or leave a comment on my Instagram or Facebook feeds.
🎧 Listen and subscribe in your favorite podcast app.
📸 Follow me on Instagram @FreelanceWriterBootcamp
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast234
As a writing coach, I’ve heard countless writers complain about their numbers. Or, more accurately, I’ve lost count.
Often somebody will hook into a goal number (daily word count, annual income, how many likes on a post) that disappoints–whether they hit that number or not.
And many others don’t identify a goal number from the outset, but then lament that whatever number they’re looking at is “not enough” (or possibly “too much”).
Using numbers against ourselves in this way is largely counterproductive, both for achieving goals and for enjoying our writing lives.
I recently noticed that more than listeners have downloaded a quarter million episodes of the Writing Coach Podcast.
250k is a data point that doesn’t actually mean much in practical terms. It’s a fairly arbitrary number … as are so many of our writing metrics. Even hitting the number of words you wanted for a writing session doesn’t necessarily mean that those words are brilliant, concise, or bloated.
Choosing to celebrate with little #podcakes is a lot more fun than not having cake.
Having fun is valuable in its own right. And when we are in a playful state of mind, we’re far more able to step out of restrictive thought habits that shut down our creativity, energy, and motivation.
Some of the very same games that you’ve naturally developed through playfulness with words can be applied to numbers.
On this week’s episode, explore a few ways you can bring a little more fun to your own numbers.
🎉 This week marks a big celebration for the Writing Coach Podcast: 250,000+ downloads!
If you’ve enjoyed an episode (or a couple hundred), please help another writer by sharing the Writing Coach Podcast. Recommend a fave episode or share a takeaway:
-
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
-
Include it in a “best podcast” or writer resources list
-
Shout out with a screenshot or link on social media (tag me on Instagram stories @freelancewriterbootcamp and I’ll do the same)
-
Share a link in your newsletter: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast
🔗 You may also like …
WCP 132 Archives: Celebrating
WCP 168 Wordle wisdom
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast233
Steph Fuccio invited me to her podcast, Content to Connect, to discuss the value and impact of podcasting and newsletters.
This BTS conversation is relevant to anyone involved with a podcast, newsletter, or other (semi) regular form of opt-in communication.
I share my own transition from a newsletter to podcast and how these both help my ideal clients decide they want me to be their writing coach.
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
Steph Fuccio’s website: https://www.stephfuccio.com/
Content to Connect podcast: https://podcasttoconnect.buzzsprout.com/
🎧 You may also like …
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
WCP 200 What I learned creating 200 podcast episodes
WCP 35: Podcasting with Suchandrika Chakrabarti
WCP 114 Everyday dream clients: Pitching triad miniseries part 2
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by writing a review on Apple Podcasts, or share with other writers via your social media accounts, newsletter, or on your website.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast232
In some important ways, it doesn’t matter what your job is when somebody you care about dies.
In today’s episode, we look at ways you can use writing to process your emotions and communicate love and loss, or to support somebody else who is in mourning.
We also discuss the practical challenges of freelancing while grieving.
In the four years since this episode was first published, it’s quite likely you have experienced grief over the loss of a loved one (and/or have wanted to support someone who has gone through this). Grief runs on its own timeline; in this new intro I also address allowing time to grieve through the years.
🔗 Mentioned on this episode …
Writing Coach Podcast Greatest Hits Playlist on Spotify
Apply to work with me: rebeccalweber.com/coach
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your newsletter, blog post, article, or on social media.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast231
Some thoughts on writing and pitching together, trying new things, and how timing your work sessions gives you useful data.
🔗 You might also like:
WCP 175 Writing in community
WCP 111 Intentions and transitions
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts; including in an article or blog post; or sharing in your newsletter or a writer’s group. Let other writers know why you listen.
📸 Follow me on Instagram @FreelanceWriterBootcamp
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast230
One great idea element can be developed into so many different kinds of stories for noncompeting audiences. Listen to my interview on the Do Good Work Podcast, where Raul and I talk about pitching, freelancing, flexibility, generating original ideas, exploring creativity, inspiration, and more in a slightly different context than we’ve ever done before.
-Importance of recognizing personal biases and understanding audience needs
-How curiosity and unique ideas help writers stay ahead of the AI curve
-Challenges staffers may find when pivoting to freelancing
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
#DoGoodWork podcast
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
WCP 200 What I learned creating 200 podcast episodes
🎧 Podcast tour:
Invite me to your podcast to discuss writing, creativity, freelancing, process, publishing, etc. I promote the interviews I do on other podcasts via my newsletter, social media, and/or by republishing here on the Writing Coach Podcast. Drop me a line and let’s talk about the show we could do to meet your audience’s needs.
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast with a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, sharing a link on your website/blog/newsletter, or shouting out on social media.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast229
Black lives matter, today and every day. This is not always reflected in the media.
Today we look at how an anti-racist approach to reporting helps us get closer to the real truth of what is happening in the stories you cover. An anti-racist approach works both in stories that explicitly cover racism, as well as so-called softer stories where you may not have initially identified a racial angle. This process will require you to confront biases in society as well as within yourself.
In No Name in the Street, James Baldwin wrote, “Well, if one really wishes to know how justice is administered in a country, one does not question the policemen, the lawyers, the judges, or the protected members of the middle class. One goes to the unprotected—those, precisely, who need the law’s protection most!—and listens to their testimony.”
Listening is the foundation of good reporting, and anti-racist journalism that challenges the status quo.
Get quiet enough in your own head to listen to your own responses to what’s happening. Ask yourself how you’ve chosen the people you’re interviewing (see Baldwin above if you don’t like your answers). Listen closely to what the people you’re talking to have to say.
🔗 Mentioned on this episode …
Writing Coach Podcast Greatest Hits Playlist on Spotify
Ramaphosa calls 11 lockdown deaths and 230,000 arrests an act of ‘over-enthusiasm’
‘Unarmed Black Man’ doesn’t mean what you think it means
Erin Brown on Instagram @ecce_b
Apply to work with me: rebeccalweber.com/coach
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by leaving a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your newsletter, blog post, article, or on social media.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast228
What is your freelance writer business model? What are the skills you need to get you to the next point? Do you prefer to improve your weaknesses or your strengths? What skills are you actively developing right now?
I’ve chosen not to pay too much attention to some skills (like spelling) that seem like a no-brainer to some writers (but that actually have had very little impact on my career). I have focused a lot on some skills (like pitching) that other writers don’t want to invest in–and then can’t grow the career they actually want.
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP226 Exhume your lede
Merriam-Webster: Why Do We 'Bury the Lede?'
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter.
📸 Follow me on Instagram @FreelanceWriterBootcamp
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast227
It’s common for the lede to get buried in the draft (and sometimes final) article.
In pitches, it can happen twofold: first there’s a tendency to take up a half a screen of nonessential small talk (“Hope you’re well”), and then even in what is supposedly the main pitch, there’s often excessive background and context.
All of this may make you, the freelance writer, feel more comfortable. But it also means that the real focus of your story remains buried, and effectively unavailable to your editor and their readers. Let’s exhume your story.
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP 182 Archives: Annoying pitches
WCP 155 Why your pitch is too long
WCP 1 What’s your problem?
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter, or leave a comment on my Instagram or Facebook feeds.
🎧 Listen and subscribe in your favorite podcast app.
📸 Follow me on Instagram @FreelanceWriterBootcamp
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast226
Every three months marks a turn of seasons, and a refresh of the financial quarter. It’s the perfect time for an evaluation.
Pausing to review and reflect on what’s actually happened allows you to plan from a more grounded place.
🔗 You might also like …
WCP 50: Self evaluations
When done properly, self evaluation will give you precise insights into exactly what you need to change, providing momentum and a clear answer to “What should I do now?”
Episode 50 shares three questions that can be used to uplevel nearly any aspect of your freelancing.
WCP 156: Evaluations and entitlement
The better you are at identifying the reasons why you are and aren’t getting the work you want, the more growth and control you’ll have over your freelance writing life.
Sometimes resistance to evaluation comes from a place of entitlement, or a sense that you have a right to a certain assignment.
This episode looks at the impact of evaluating yourself routinely, and how unrecognized entitlement can interfere with the process.
WCP 209 Archives: Year-end pitching
As freelancers, we get to set our own schedules, and match the days and hours that best suit hours with clients that are sympatico. Few, if any, assigning editors strictly work 9-5, Monday to Friday, and take off all public holidays.
Episode 209 will help you reframe when to pitch. This perspective in this episode has resulted in numerous listeners landing assignments that they otherwise would have delayed pitching.
WCP 116 Lights out
South Africa’s electricity crisis has greatly worsened, and is expected to do more so in July. This episode is all about freelancing when things you might have taken for granted–like 24/7 electricity and wifi–aren’t available.
WCP 171 Seasons and cycles
I respond to the seasons that change with the earth’s shifting weather and daylight hours. Here are some thoughts about the correlation between seasons and financial quarters.
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter, or leave a comment on my Instagram or Facebook feeds.
🎧 Listen and subscribe in your favorite podcast app.
📸 Follow me on Instagram @FreelanceWriterBootcamp
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast225
Freelancers often think of the editors who don’t want to assign them stories, and of readers who don’t want to read their stories and angles, when writing pitches.
I don’t mean the editors don’t want to assign the stories because the pitches need to be zhushed up.
I mean the editors don’t want to work with the writer because it’s a bad match. If the freelancer had done a frank assessment, they’d realize that they don’t to write the kind of stories that pub does, or for the rates and terms they offer. This client actually possesses the characteristics of the writer’s worst, rather than best, client.
And yet that’s who they’re pitching, without realizing it. Let’s discuss why and how to avoid this trap by learning to recognize your truly best clients.
🔗 You might also like …
Writing Coach Podcast Greatest Hits Playlist on Spotify
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by leaving a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your newsletter, blog post, article, or on social media.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast224
We all know we’re supposed to read a publication and tailor a pitch to their needs … but so many freelancers just cut and paste the same one-size-fits-none pitch and send it out to editor after editor.
In general, the spray-and-pray approach maintains a low pitch acceptance rate.
But this approach actually does work in a few select cases. Listen to hear what the three situations are when it might make sense to try this, and when to customize, plus a key question that will help you clarify if the very minor tweaks you’re making still count as the same pitch or not.
🔗 You might also like …
How to read a publication like your future editor wants you to
WCP 221 Vulnerability
WCP 158 Archives Vol. IX: Urgency
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter, or leave a comment on my Instagram @FreelanceWriterBootcamp
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast223
If you’ know improving your pitch acceptance rate would uplevel your writing life, or you keep saying you want to work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp, but find the idea of filling in the application a stumbling block, this episode is for you.
Freelance Writer Bootcamp alumni frequently cite confidence as their most useful outcome–alongside new clips from the Guardian, the New York Times, Bustle, Travel + Leisure, the LA Times, Afar, the BBC, Earth Island Journal, Al Jazeera, and so many more dream publications.
The March session is about to begin. Get started at www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
I used to work at a homemade ice cream parlor. When someone came in and was unsure of what to order, I’d offer them a taste.
If they wanted multiple tastes, that was fine, but they didn’t get mint chip and coffee oreo and strawberry all crammed onto one tiny taster spoon.
When an assigning editor looks at pitches, they are in tasting mode, and ready to order.
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP 155 Why your pitch is too long
WCP 182 Archives XV: Annoying pitches
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter.
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast222
Ever wonder what “vulnerability” feels like? Try telling people you’re about to shop your book proposal when you’re worried maybe no one will ever buy said proposal.
The proposal (or pitch, or post, or whatever it is) doesn’t actually make us vulnerable; neither does telling people about it. It’s the way we think about these things—and in this case specifically what you think other people might think.
Instead of avoiding the things that we really want to write/publish/promote, let’s plan for how we’ll talk to ourselves and create safety when we do take risks.
📚I’m organizing a podcast tour.
🎙️ I’d love to join you as a guest on one of your upcoming episodes if you’re a podcast host, a podcast producer, have a bestie with a podcast that would be a good fit, etc.
✉️ Email me at rlw@rebeccalweber.com and tell me a bit about your show/your people so we can make it happen.
🔗 You might also like these episodes:
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
WCP 2: Thinking thoughts and feelings feels
WCP 18: The creative process with Emma Philipson
WCP 164 Putting yourself out there
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the March session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast221
Some freelancers say they’re writing for low paying, low circulating, low quality, or otherwise low satisfaction publications because they need to pay their dues.
If working this way was a sure route to high paying, high circulating, high quality, highly meaningful work, I’d be all for it. But it’s not.
Those publications aren’t suddenly going to become lucrative and prestigious. And editors at their dream pubs aren’t going to make assignments because they’ve taken low paying gigs somewhere else.
The freelancer thinks: “I’ve got to do these stories somewhere that doesn’t pay much because I won’t get the assignment otherwise.”
Unfortunately, this kind of thinking leads to more of the same after the articles are published. Instead of being proud of the new clips, the freelancer thinks: “I only got the assignment because I did it for free.”
We all have limited time and energy. Don’t spend yours on pitching places you don’t really want to write for because of some imaginary dues that nobody is collecting.
Look out for where you’re holding yourself back instead of growing forward. Don’t argue for why you should play small or for why you can’t do the things you really want to do.
In this episode we look at the reality that you do know your potential. Recognize it, remind yourself of it, argue for it. Develop and pitch stories that matter to you and to the publications you want to write for.
🔗 You might also like …
Writing Coach Podcast Greatest Hits Playlist on Spotify
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Freelance writer Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by leaving a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast220
Whether you’re writing a short pitch or a lengthy feature, the urge to include more, more, more can be seductive. Succumb to this pull, and you’ll see productivity, speed, and quite possibly you and your editor suffer.
Deciding when enough is enough and knowing how to kill your darlings can help you enjoy each component of the writing process, while also making your entire orientation more streamlined.
In this episode, I unpack:
- The importance and benefits of including less
- How to identify when you’re trying to include too much
- Why you tend to include more than is necessary
- People-pleasing as a contributing factor
- Key questions to help yourself learn to know when you’re done and act accordingly
Was this a great episode? Please pay it forward by leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
Let other writers know why you listen. Do you have a favorite episode? A key takeaway?
Share the Writing Coach Podcast
Share with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter, or tag a friend in a comment on my Instagram @FreelanceWriterBootcamp
Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Work with me 1:1
Are you a writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs? If yes then private coaching is for you! You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: https://rebeccalweber.com/coach/
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast219
The past few weeks, I've been adjusting to a new morning routine.
Moving outside in the sunshine helps the body recalibrate to wake up earlier. But somehow the effort of actually putting on my socks and sneakers soon after waking up has seemed like waaaaay too much effort.
At a conscious level I told myself: "It's no big deal. You'll be ready in a minute."
And then I tried to Nike or Yoda my way: "Saying you'll try isn't good enough. Just do it. Go on, do it."
But I still wasn't putting the socks on and didn't want to try to muster up the willpower either.
Instead I took the easy peasy route: I put on flip-flops (it's warm here in Cape Town), walked to get my cup of coffee, sipped it on the way home, and began to write.
As writers we are so used to working hard, and to things being hard, that it can be hard to let it be easy.
If you've experienced something as difficult in the past (like pitching ideas), or know that a task is challenging for others (like writing quickly), you may subconsciously make it harder for yourself.
Why?
Because you believe the dominant narrative that it is hard.
Thankfully, there's a way to let go of the habit of making things harder than they are by working with your brain instead of against it.
This bonus episode is a followup to this week’s main episode 218, When it’s hard to let it be easy
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP218 When it’s hard to let it be easy
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
📸 Follow me on Instagram @FreelanceWriterBootcamp
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
If you’ve experienced something as difficult in the past, or know that a task is challenging for others, you may subconsciously make it harder for yourself because you believe the dominant narrative that it is hard.
On the Writing Coach Podcast this week, we look at how different writers struggle with letting the things that are easy for them be easy without overcomplicating or overthinking. Let go of the habit of making things harder than they are by working with your brain instead of against it.
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
❤️ Share the Writing Coach Podcast with other writers via social media, your website, or your newsletter.
📸 Follow me on Instagram @FreelanceWriterBootcamp
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast218
In the movie version of my writing life, there’s a scene where I walk up and down the aisle of an airplane watching strangers open the inflight magazine with the Bonnie Raitt cover story I wrote.
That really did happen: I wrote the story while a freelance newbie and then got to see people reading it IRL. Landing that assignment took persistence on my part. I tried numerous things to make it happen. When I try something spontaneously that turns out to be effective, I don’t always recognize that it can be repeated and applied intentionally.
In this bonus episode of the Writing Coach Podcast, I unpack the mindset and strategy that led to this assignment. For example, although I didn’t have experience covering entertainment (something you’d think would be useful for landing an interview with an A-list Grammy winner like Bonnie Raitt), I found something else about my experience that made my pitch even more compelling did write about social justice and the arts, and I included this as part of my pitch.
Listen and learn how to think differently about pitching ideas that aren’t obviously in your ballpark.
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
📸 Follow me on Instagram @FreelanceWriterBootcamp
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Please don’t @ me, the title is correct. ;)
TK (or a similar place holder, eg “XX” or writing a NOTE IN ALL CAPS) is a practical tool to take to remind yourself that after the current drafting phase you’ll need to come back and add some more content or context. Many writers implement TK when they want to stay on task–eg the words are flowing and they recognize it’s better to stay in writing mode–but I want to encourage you to also try it when you DON’T want to stay on task.
Writing a draft without toggling writer mode/editor mode back and forth allows us to get it done much more quickly. As you practice staying in draft mode, without switching tasks, your ability to concentrate and focus will improve.
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP 162 Archives: The research rabbit hole
WCP 25: Using juicy quotes in your pitches
WCP 16: Freewriting for freelancers
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter, or leave a comment on my Instagram.
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast217
What’s the importance and impact of seeking out original stories that nobody else is doing?
In this conversation with freelance journalist Raymond Joseph, we examine how much a unique story and/or angle matters for you, your career, your editors, and society at large.
Ray’s investigations into lottery corruption over the past four years have won him both journalism awards as well as threats. When you follow BIG money, people notice.
In this episode, we discuss:
- Collaborating with colleagues
- Building relationships with editors
- Preparing to defend a story in court
- Fact checking as part of your workflow
- Owning mistakes
- Handling threats
- Understanding the editor’s point of view
🔗 Mentioned on this episode …
Writing Coach Podcast Greatest Hits Playlist on Spotify
Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism: www.ccij.io
OpenUp: openup.org.za
Tableu: tableau.com
South African National Lottery Explorer: salotterytool.org.za
GroundUp lottery stories: www.groundup.org.za/topic/lotto/
Ray Joseph on Facebook: facebook.com/rayjoejourno
Ray Joseph on Twitter: @rayjoe
Ray Joseph on email: rayjoe at iafrica dot com
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Freelance writer Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by leaving a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast216
Rebecca coaches a writer live who has worked on a number of pitches but keeps getting stuck in the same place.
🔗 You might also like:
WCP 174 Archives: 100 reasons not to pitch today
WCP 82: Live coaching
WCP 74: Why you’re the one
WCP 140 Archives: Portfolio shame
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast215
Table Mountain is the old school GPS. But here’s what happened when I got a teeny bit lost in Cape Town, and how I found my way home—and how it applies to reorienting and evaluating our writing goals.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
My word of the year is flow. I began my inquiry asking, where do I already see this in my life? Where can I observe it when I’m writing, and when I’m not writing? What are the conditions that lead to my creating it? What research can I study to enhance my understanding of flow?
🔗 You might also like:
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast214
Do you expect somebody (eg an editor, a source) or something (an idea, an interview) to make you feel excited about the story you’re going to pitch?
If so, you’d benefit from changing your relationship with pitching and learn to sell yourself on your story ideas.
A similar dynamic is often in place with goals: If you’re in an adversarial relationship with your goal, it’s time to learn to engage with them in a more fruitful way.
This Tuesday, January 17, I’m teaching an exclusive goal setting workshop for everyone who is registered for Freelance Writer Bootcamp (the upcoming sessions as well as alumni). If you join Bootcamp before then, you’ll get an invite and get coached on your relatoinship with your goal as well.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
When editors start saying YES YES YES to the ideas you send them, your freelance writing life becomes your own AND it becomes more collaborative.
Apply now to master the art of the pitch at www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
I teach a 3-step pitching process in my group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, that will make you and your future editors fall in love with your story ideas:
- Learn what your dream pubs want and need before you pitch.
Studying the publication before you start to pitch is totally counterintuitive to what most freelancers do. But it will be one of the most powerful shifts you can make once you do it.
In this step of the process you’ll nail how to:
- Identify the criteria of what YOU are looking for in an ideal clients so you can spot them
- Analyze (not just read) what they’re publishing so you can tailor your pitches to their audience like a staff writer would, instead of using a generic spray-and-pray approach
-
Reframe a cold pitch as the first meeting in a mutually beneficial long-term relationship
-
Show editors that you get them.
This step is the difference between another mediocre pitch and one that gets assigned straight away.
You’ll discover exactly how to:
- Find/combine a couple of story elements already on hand to develop an angle they haven’t seen–and will find intriguing
- Create a movie trailer pitch so the editor knows exactly what the reader will experience
-
Support it with a brief plan of how you’ll do the reporting
-
Nurture relationships with editors, readers, sources, and yourself.
Strong relationships and co-collaboration will create lasting momentum in your writing career.
In this part of the process you’ll:
- Put systems in place to follow up on silence, rejections, and assignments
- Complete the learning cycle with regular pitch evaluations to spur momentum and growth
- Build your confidence through increasing your capabilities rather than relying on excitement or other people’s validation
This is the simple, powerful 3-step process you’ll follow throughout Freelance Writer Bootcamp.
And as a result, you’ll learn how to generate nonstop ideas, know exactly where to pitch them, start breaking into more and more prestigious publications (Hello, sweet bylines!), get repeat assignments, and become irresistible to editors.
Bootcamp alumni have used this process to break into the Guardian, the New York Times, BBC Travel, Harper’s, Fodor’s, the Atlantic, Atlas Obscura, Al Jazeera, Travel + Leisure, etc.
Freelance Writer Bootcamp alumni have used these methods to break into the next level of their career and build long-term editorial relationships.
The next session of Freelance Writer Bootcamp starts soon. Do you want one of the remaining spots?
Real writers get real results with this program. Apply now at www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Dancing and writing pitches have some surprising similarities. Today we break down why understanding one choreographic sequence prepares you for learning the next one, and the takeaways for writers.
Pitching often seems natural or intuitive *after the skills have been mastered. In Freelance Writer Bootcamp, you’ll learn the proven pitching processes that have helped writers break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply for the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP 180 Learning mindset
WCP 162 Archives: The research rabbit hole
WCP 140 Archives: Portfolio shame
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
David Bowie - Let’s dance
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter, or leave a comment on my Instagram or Facebook feeds.
🎧 Listen and subscribe in your favorite podcast app.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply to work with me in the next session: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast213
We often notice that an article works on two levels: On an obvious level it’s about X, but what it’s really about is Y.
Goals have a similar dynamic, especially when they’re well chosen and intentionally take us outside of our comfort zones.
On one level, you identify a goal that’s in line with your values and vision for yourself as a writer.
And on another level, the pursuit and achievement of this goal shifts who you are. Your beliefs, your identify, your behaviors, all have to change to get the desired result. This is what the goal is about on a deeper level.
🔗 You might also like:
WCP 185 Freelance writing goals, Vol. VII
WCP 160 Freelance writing goals: 5W1H goal setting
WCP 2: Thinking thoughts and feelings feels
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter, or leave a comment on my Instagram or Facebook feeds.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast212
I’m kicking off 2023 with a free open coaching session for writers. This will help you start the year clear, creative, and powerful.
If you’re on my email list, check your inbox for details to join on Wednesday. Otherwise, sign up for my free guide on how to pitch and I’ll send you the login info to join. www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
To prepare, simply choose one thing you want help with in your writing life.
It might be a challenge you want to address. Or you might notice something in your writing life that you love and want more of this year.
We'll meet on Wednesday, January 4, at 12:00 noon US Eastern / 5:00 p.m. GMT.
This session will be live only—no replays this time.
P.S. You're welcome to come and request coaching if you're a Bootcamp alumni, if you're brand new to this email list, if you've been listening to the Writing Coach Podcast for years but never reached out before, etc. This free, open coaching call is to help you need right now to start off 2023 with new clarity. See you on Wednesday.
Live events like conferences, conventions, and trade shows can be a rich source of multiple story ideas—or an overwhelming waste of time and energy.
Plan ahead for 2023 by learning how to leave with a small notebook bursting with everything you need to write up pitches for feature ideas instead of a bunch of lousy brochures.
🔗 You might also like …
Writing Coach Podcast Greatest Hits Playlist on Spotify
WCP 25: Using juicy quotes in your pitches
WCP 28: Listener Q&A
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.” www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by leaving a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast211
Today you’re hearing the interview I had with novelist Jo Buer on her podcast Alchemy for Authors. Jo and I discuss how as an author of fiction and nonfiction books you can take charge of your writing career through freelancing, writing articles to enhance your platform, and increase your social proof. This is valuable when submitting a book proposal/manuscript, when pub day approaches, and in ongoing promotion of your books.
🎧 Invite me to be a guest on your podcast
Are you looking for a podcast guest for your show to discuss writing, creativity, mindset, freelancing, journalism, or any related topics? Please reach out and invite me (Rebecca!) to come join you on your podcast.
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
Jo Buer: Website | Instagram | Alchemy for Authors Podcast
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast with a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and tell other writers why you listen.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply today: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast
Should you pitch during the holiday season?
Yes, if you want more assignments. No, if you want to take time off.
There are two valid approaches to taking time off as a freelancer:
-
Take time off during conventional holidays. Editors and sources may be less available; family and friends may be off too.
-
Freelancers make their own schedules and don’t need to conform to public holidays.
If you want new assignments, pitch away. Many editors continue to check email and assign stories, and fewer freelancers pitch and/or are available.
Note that if you had any resistance to pitching during the first 50 weeks this year, you’ll have some now too. You’ll come up with some very convincing sounding reasons why not to pitch before, during, or after the holiday season.
(More about this on the Writing Coach Podcast episode 174, “100 reasons why not to pitch today.”)
To butcher the proverb about the best time to plant a tree, the best time to address your mental drama about pitching was the day you began freelancing.
The second best time is today.
Writers who register now for the January session of Freelance Writer Bootcamp get early access to a Mindset mini course to start addressing these issues of internal resistance right away.
Apply to work with me at www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
✏️ WORK WITH ME TO MASTER THE ART OF THE PITCH
Apply for the January 2023 session of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp. Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Bootcamp alumni have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Let’s get started: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.” www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast209
For many freelancers, getting sick quickly becomes finding hours or days when you’re able to push yourself to get things done vs. not getting paid, rather than taking actual time off.
Today I’m talking about my own experience contracting coronavirus, and discussing how to care for yourself and your freelance writing business when you get sick in general.
We look at getting rest, saying no, prioritizing, and transitioning back to full days while respecting your limitations.
🔗 You might also like …
Writing Coach Podcast Greatest Hits Playlist on Spotify
WCP 13 Setting freelance boundaries and company policies
WCP 112 Fifteen minutes of focus
WCP 79 Covering coronavirus
WCP 80 Freelancing in the time of coronavirus
Resources for freelance writers during the coronavirus pandemic
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply now: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.” www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by leaving a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast208
Today we’re looking at how your mindset impacts your ability to implement strategy effectively.
One tricky thing about mindset is that when we can’t recognize that we’re believing something that’s holding us back, we don’t take action because it seems like a fixed reality. For example, if you believed that a story had no possible news hook, you probably wouldn’t look for one. If you believed that the same story had multiple possible news hooks, you’d almost certainly include one or more—and be far more likely to land the assignment.
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
🌠 CYBER BONUS SPECIAL: Apply for Freelance Writer Bootcamp today, and get an invitation to an exclusive workshop in December on writing faster with Rebecca. Offer ends November 30. www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter, or leave a comment on my Instagram or Facebook feeds.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast207
One of the participants in this discussion from the archives, Yolisa Qunta, passed away last year. Listening to this episode again reminds me of her heart, insight, and humor. I’m thankful to have had her as a writer friend.
In this episode, we discussed the challenges and opportunities for multilingual writers. We speak with freelancers from Brazil, Poland, and South Africa, who have all used their locations and language skills to build relationships with editors overseas. This is a fascinating discussion for everyone interested in developing a better understanding of international coverage.
-
Centering local stories for foreign audiences (i.e. not allowing an “othering” or so-called exotic gaze) and making sure that editors understand the cultural significance of story angles
-
Working as a fixer with a foreign correspondent and networking to find freelance gigs
-
Building confidence with language skills and leaning into an understanding of local topics
-
Crafting different angles for editors in different countries
-
Challenging stereotypes about who can be and who is best suited for covering news in foreign countries, e.g. a non-Western perspective
🔗 You might also like …
Writing Coach Podcast Greatest Hits Playlist on Spotify
✏️ Applications are now open for the Yolisa Qunta scholarship for Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Yolisa Qunta was a freelance writer, author, and Freelance Writer Bootcamp alumni. For years after her initial enrollment, she stayed active in the Bootcamp alumni group, where we enjoyed her generosity, talent, advice, camaraderie, and humor. She was an excellent wordsmith and a writer friend. Yolisa passed away at the age of 41 in 2021. I asked her family’s permission to rename the scholarship in her honor and they agreed.
I’m offering a full scholarship for one person to attend the next round of Freelance Writer Bootcamp. That person could be you! Alumni of my group coaching program have broken into publications like the New York Times, the Guardian, BBC Travel, Al Jazeera, Bustle, and many more.
TO APPLY FOR THE YOLISA QUNTA SCHOLARSHIP, USE THIS LINK FOR ALL THE DETAILS: www.rebeccalweber.com/scholarship
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
To apply for a regular (paid) spot, visit www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by leaving a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast206
Allison B. Salerno’s award-winning writing and audio production has been featured on Southern Foodways Alliance’s Gravy podcast, America’s Test Kitchen podcast, Proof, on local NPR stations, and in The Washington Post, Ms. magazine, and Columbia Journalism Review, among others. Allison’s audio news features have earned her two Georgia AP awards and a Gabby from the Georgia Association of Broadcasters. A former daily newspaper editor and writer, she has more than two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics. Allison now focuses her work primarily on finding the human stories behind food systems, agriculture and environmental issues. An inveterate traveler, she currently lives in Athens, Georgia.
We cover a lot of freelance ground in this episode, including:
- Finding a new home for a killed story
- Shaping stories for audio and print
- Discovering a story while hiking on the Appalachian Trail
- Starting with a single data point to develop a feature
- Getting into the Talent Network at the WashPo
- Quarterly goals
- Overreporting
- What’s the minimum I need to write this pitch?
- Suspend the stories you tell yourself about freelancing
- “Everything I do matters”
- Don’t minimize
- Being successful in your writing life while managing everything else in your life
- Remote reporting that reads like you were on the ground
- “I’m going to figure this out”
- Taking care of an elderly parent as a freelancer
- Advantage of being outside media centers
- Pitching at odd times
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
Allison B. Salerno’s website: www.allisonbsalerno.com
Alllison B. Salerno on Instagram @Allisonbsalerno
How one Georgia veteran found healing in farming
Culinary school enrollment drops even as need soars at restaurants
The country’s longest-running prison publication faces censorship
WCP Bonus Year-end pitching
WCP 166 Archives, Vol. XI: Call for pitches
WCP 81: Remote reporting
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast with a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and tell other writers why you listen.
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter, or leave a comment on Rebecca’s Instagram @freelancewriterbootcamp
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply today: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast205
Once you start fact checking your mind, you’ll notice there’s a lot of stuff you’re telling yourself that isn’t true AND that isn’t helpful. This awareness doesn’t mean that the faulty thought won’t keep coming back. It’s usually counterproductive to tell yourself, “Don’t think that!”
You can instead decide ahead of time what you do want to think and practice it to help build a new neural pathway in your mind.
Today’s episode looks at one of the most detrimental thoughts that a freelancer can have when pitching stories. It’s so pervasive that you may not see it as a problem—or you may feel powerless to change it. Let’s unpack this way of thinking so that you can recognize it and make a plan for a new and more powerful way to get assignments with your ideal clients.
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
WCP 2: Thinking thoughts and feelings feels
WCP 4: Pitching: The perfect black T-shirt
WCP 84: Excitement!
WCP 118 Best and worst clients
Twin elephants at Addo
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.” www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast204
Knowing how to negotiate can be the difference between earning a part- or full-time income as a freelance writer. I don’t want you to break into your dream publication only to have them pay you less than what they pay writers who know to ask for more.
Asking for (and receiving!) more money on your first assignment with a new client literally pays off in two ways. First is the initial boost to your cash flow with the piece you’ve just successfully negotiated.
It also establishes a better rate for your subsequent work too. This where you’ll really see the sustainable payoff when you review your earnings for the year or longer with ongoing clients.
In today’s episode, I share with you the details of an example that worked particularly well: a single email resulted in more than $10k on top of the client’s original offer.
Listen in to uplevel your approach to negotiations.
🆙 Want to bring this to the next level?
We spend a full week on negotiations of rates and terms in Freelance Writer Bootcamp. Alumni have broken into publications like the New York Times, the Guardian, BBC Travel, Al Jazeera, Bustle, and many more. Join the waitlist for a special early bird bonus. www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔗 You might also like:
Writing Coach Podcast Greatest Hits Playlist on Spotify
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by leaving a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast203
Repurposing thoughts, words, ideas, research, reporting, etc., are key to working effectively and efficiently as a freelance writer.
Sometimes this means minor tweaks, such as adjusting a post from one text-based social media platform to another.
Other times we can take a small bit of great stuff from one pitch or article and develop it into a whole new piece for another pub. This episode explores ways to do this strategically both before and after you’ve created something that can be repurposed for a different medium and/or a new audience.
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP 200: What I learned creating 200 podcast episodes
WCP 199 Archives IX: Favorite freelance writer resources
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast with a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter, or leave a comment on my Instagram or Facebook feeds.
🎧 Listen and subscribe in your favorite podcast app.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast202
How ripe avocados help break an old narrative.
What's one thing you did NOT procrastinate in the past 24 hours?
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP 1 What’s your writing problem?
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
📷 Follow me on Instagram @freelancewriterbootcamp and catch me next time I’m live.
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.” www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
Iona Brannon is a writer and a photojournalist who deeply enjoys drawing out beauty in the mundane. Her upbringing in multiple countries has given her love for the nuances of culture and travel, and her passion is in uniting people from different backgrounds through the common threads of human pain and joy.
Iona is a prolific freelancer who has written for Condé Nast Traveller, Afar, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, and other publications.
- Transitioning from full-time job and freelancing on the side to full-time freelance
- Imagining what things would be like before she achieved key writing goals and once she had
- Developing and shaping story ideas that travel editors love
- What happens when literally out at sea on assignment, and what's actually happening is substantially different than what she agreed to with her editor
- Taking responsibility for professional development as a freelancer
- Understanding trauma through therapy to support herself and growth as a writer
- Setting ambitious writing goals
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
A How-To Travel Guide for the Newly Sober
Sailing the Coast of Maine on a Historic Windjammer
Iona Brannon on Instagram @ionawanders
Iona Brannon’s website: www.ionabrannon.com
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast with a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and tell other writers why you listen.
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter, or leave a comment on Rebecca’s Instagram @freelancewriterbootcamp
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast201
With apologies to Toni Morrison, the Writing Coach Podcast is the show I wanted to hear … so I recorded a couple of hundred episodes of it.
Today I’m going behind the scenes: Why I started making this podcast (and why you might want to start or continue one—or choose to be on other people’s shows instead); my workflow, including content generation; and the mindset minefield I ran into and learned from.
For me, the biggest mindset bugabear has been consistency. If you’ve been subscribed all along, you may have noticed that I did NOT publish an episode every single week on the same day for the past four years.
That clashes with conventional advice to be consistent. Having a clear schedule that you stick with can provide structure and reliability, but telling yourself that you “should be consistent” doesn’t change things—and can just make things worse in terms of production. Shame slows things down.
In this episode, I also share how changing my relationship with consistency (spoiler alert: it has nothing to do with will power) helped me recommit to my goals after I had covid.
🔗 You might also like …
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
⭐ Support and celebrate the Writing Coach Podcast by leaving a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter, or leave a comment on my Instagram or Facebook feeds.
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast200
We all need a few reliable go-to tools, apps, programs, books, and other stuff.
In today’s episode, I talk through a few of my own favorites, and why and how I use them.
Be sure to check out one of my oldest blog posts that I keep updating, with all the links mentioned plus several more for you to explore.
These are all affiliate-free. I hope you enjoy and share forward your faves too.
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
The updated blog post with links to the resources mentioned in this podcast, plus some others too.
Modern Journalist Toolkit blog series
Download my free guide on how to pitch
List of all the Writing Coach Podcast episodes
Writing Coach Podcast Greatest Hits Playlist on Spotify
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by leaving a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast199
Listener Q&A returns! Here are the questions I’ll be answering today:
+Do I need to let key sources know when a story runs?
+I’m comparing myself to hard-hitting journalists I know, and it makes me think my story isn’t that important.
+The pub I want to write for has already done all the story ideas I want to pitch. How do I avoid overreporting my pitches?
Want me to answer your question on the next edition of Listener Q&A? Email me at rebecca@freelancewriterbootcamp.com
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP 177 A new answer to “Why now?”
WCP 150 Archives: Company policies
WCP 138 Listener Q&A, Vol. VIII
WCP 126 Listener Q&A, Vol. VII
WCP 93: Listener Q&A, Vol. VI
WCP 68: Listener Q&A, Vol. V
WCP 58: Listener Q&A, Vol. IV
WCP 47: Listener Q&A, Vol. III
WCP 39: Listener Q&A, Volume II
WCP 28: Listener Q&A
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast with a review and a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast198
Borrow from yourself. Borrow from what works. Borrow from the non-writing parts of your life to inform your writing and freelancing.
We have a tendency to notice where we’ve failed or not figured things out, and then we continue down that pathway looking for examples to keep the pattern going.
When we intentionally look for things we’ve done well or learned in one area of our lives, we can instead build an alternative pattern that reinforces a foundation of what works.
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
Open Book Festival Podcast
Yewande Omotoso
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast with a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Tell me what you want help with in your writing life.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast197
If you’ve been listening to the Writing Coach Podcast for a while, you already know I:
- Send emails to myself.
- Annotate ideas on paper/screen in one-minute bursts, or else forget them forever
- Direct my brain to solve something by asking one good question
In the quest for the new, we tend to overlook the advantages of repetition. This week on the Writing Coach Podcast, we look at some of the most useful ways to incorporate repetition in your writing, workflow, questioning, and learning.
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP 144 Archives Vol. V: What’s your (writing) problem?
WCP 153 Archives: Pay me now!
WCP 162 Archives, Vol. X: The research rabbit hole
WCP 180 Learning mindset
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter, or leave a comment on my Instagram or Facebook feeds.
📷 Follow me on Instagram @freelancewriterbootcamp and catch me next time I’m live.
✏️ Work with me
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast196
Should you pitch travel story ideas before or after you have a notebook full of notes?
In theory, you can do it successfully either way. You could do a little research and pre-reporting, pitch, get an assignment, schedule your interviews and be confident out in the field knowing who you’re writing for and what your angle is. Or you could set off on the trip, be open to what’s around you, reflect on it, and pitch when you get home and then get your assignment.
And let’s face it. You could also pitch and face silence or rejection either before the trip or after the trip.
If you knew it was going to work out either way, which would you prefer?
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
The pitch I wrote to break into CNN Travel
Robben Island
What’s in my bag when I’m out reporting a story.
WCP 174 Archives, Vol. XIII: 100 reasons not to pitch today
WCP 136 Archives Vol. III: Pitch the chicken
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
Writing Coach Podcast Greatest Hits Playlist on Spotify
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ Support the Writing Coach Podcast by leaving a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast195
So many professional writers have lost touch with the passion or purpose that brought them to this work in the first place. If you’ve achieved a lot but aren’t enjoying it, what’s the point?
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP 1 What’s your writing problem?
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📷 Follow me on Instagram @freelancewriterbootcamp and catch me next time I’m live.
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
Linda Sivertsen is a New York Times bestselling co-author and midwife of 6- & 7-figure book deals.
Her new book, Beautiful Writers, gives aspiring writers and seasoned literary veterans a look into the lives of iconic authors and answers the burning question, “How did they do it?!”
Linda joined me on Publication Day of her latest book. We discussed:
- Celebrating a new book on Publication Day
- Organizing and structuring Beautiful Writers
- Co-collaborating with bestselling authors for the book and her podcast of the same name
- How her approach to writing book proposals has evolved (both the very first time, and after numerous successes)
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
Linda Sivertsen’s Book Mama website
Beautiful Writers Podcast
⭐ The best way to support the Writing Coach Podcast is to leave a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
📷 Follow me on Instagram @freelancewriterbootcamp
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast194
Pretty much every freelance writer can earn more money. Here are some specific things that writers DON’T do that keep them from earning more, and what they CAN DO to earn more.
Listen in, notice your resistance, and choose one to work on applying to your freelance writing life.
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP 193 Rates shaming
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
📷 Follow me on Instagram @freelancewriterbootcamp and catch me next time I’m live.
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
Have you ever been ashamed of the rate you accept for a freelance job? Ever talked to another freelance writer who felt that way? Have you ever heard someone who disapproves or criticizes a writer for their fees?
Rates shaming is when somebody reprimands or reproves a writer for rates of which they should be ashamed. This can happen when the rate is perceived as too low OR too high. It can happen externally (e.g. somebody else in a writer group) OR internally (that voice in your head judging you).
The one thing that’s constant is that it’s never the best route to an honest discussion about what you can charge as a freelancer. Shame leads to freelancers going underground, not transparently sharing their earnings, and feeling disrespected and disconnected.
Pretty much nothing good happens from rates shaming. Today let’s look at some examples, misconceptions about shame and shaming, and mindset shifts that are genuinely empowering.
🔗 You might also like:
WCP 192 No nonprofit saviors
WCP 175 Writing in community
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ The best way to support the Writing Coach Podcast is to leave a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter, or leave a comment on my Instagram or Facebook feeds.
📷 Follow me on Instagram @freelancewriterbootcamp and catch me next time I’m live.
🎧 Listen and subscribe in your favorite podcast app.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast193
A single a-ha or breakthrough moment in your writing life can happen quickly. Creating lasting transformation usually takes reinforcement, especially when addressing long-held beliefs and behavior patterns.
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
📷 Follow me on Instagram @freelancewriterbootcamp and catch me next time I’m live.
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
Let’s talk about working with and for nonprofits (and NGOs and associations):
- Why working for a reduced fee can be more problematic than premium rates or pro bono
- Choosing change not charity models
- Reshaping the narrative to bring more depth to your piece
- Recognizing guilt, resentment, and obligation
- Applying nonprofit lessons to for-profit clients
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP 150 Archives: Company policies
WCP 127 Favorite freelance writer resources
WCP 52: Covering social justice for passion and pay
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
⭐ Review the Writing Coach Podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter, or leave a comment on my Instagram or Facebook feeds.
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast192
This is a followup talk on applying the concepts introduced earlier this week in Episode 191, Time passing.
Do you believe you have enough time to do the things that matter most in your writing life?
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
WCP 191: Time passing
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
❤️ Follow me on Instagram and catch me live next time @FreelanceWriterBootcamp
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
How you think about time—such as if you have enough, not enough, or plenty of it—impacts what you create in your writing life. Many writers credit time as necessary for their skills, clients, or assignment quality to improve.
An overemphasis on time passing to become a better freelancer isn’t useful or accurate, and can be a disempowering framework. Time passing isn’t the important factor in if I learn or complete something; often time passes and we don’t learn or complete our writing.
Ironically, the refrain of “I need more time to pitch” (or finish the current assignment or freewrite or work on a book or whatever it is) often creates a sense of frustration, scarcity, urgency, or fear. In turn, the writers spends less or no extra time.
Because if you don’t have enough time, why bother?
If the requirement for effective pitching was more time, I’d be all for it. But it’s simply not the missing ingredient.
Time happens either way: if you write the pitch or not, time goes by.
If you could only write a pitch effectively or efficiently, you’d almost certainly opt for a good slow pitch over a quick one that doesn’t get assigned.
Time isn’t the missing element. Skill, clarify, confidence, practice, and prioritization are all more accurate assessments about what to focus on.
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
Adam Grant on Instagram
Carol Dweck on Developing a growth mindset
WCP 135 Constrain for focus
WCP 120 Priority power
WCP 112 Fifteen minutes of focus
⭐ The best way to support the Writing Coach Podcast is to leave a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast
For me, getting ready for a coaching call or a writing session includes:
- Bringing nature into my workspace environment
- Planning time to transition and orient myself rather than crash landing into a call
- Getting intentional about arguing for things that are helpful for writing vs. those that sidetrack you
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
WCP 174 Archives, Vol. XIII: 100 reasons not to pitch today
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter, or leave a comment on my Instagram @FreelanceWriterBootcamp or Facebook feeds.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Whether your articles are published online or in print, you need to make them readily available for potential clients to read online.
Simply having a list of links isn’t sufficient. Sites reorganize and your links go bad; your piece gets pulled or the publication closes; and paywalls prohibit access. Clips that look great on paper need different treatment.
In this episode, we look at practical tools that solve how to archive freelance articles published online and how to create digital copies of paper clips.
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
Modern Journalist Toolkit 14: Saving and organizing clips
Watch the “Saving clips demo” video to see how I use Nimbus.
Quick online portfolio solutions
If you don’t have your own website, you still need a digital portfolio where potential clients can read your work.
Nimbus
Wayback Machine
CamScanner
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ The best way to support the Writing Coach Podcast is to leave a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter, or leave a comment on my Instagram or Facebook feeds.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast190
- Why I went to the library on Monday morning instead of my nature walk
- Time to check out your library’s updated remote resources
- Researching publications via the library
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
WCP 44: Monday morning on the mountain with Mishka
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter, or leave a comment on my Instagram @FreelanceWriterBootcamp or Facebook feeds.
🎧 Listen and subscribe in your favorite podcast app.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Some freelance projects spiral out beyond the original agreement. Let’s curtail your taking on more and more uncompensated work, or from seeing all your clients as creeps. Today we cover:
- What scope creep is and what it isn’t
- Handling the pressure to say yes when you don’t feel like you can say no
- The long-lasting nature of scope creep and how it impacts client relationships
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
WCP 119 I want to, I want to not
WCP 150 Archives: Company policies
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ The best way to support the Writing Coach Podcast is to leave a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast189
When a client reaches out to you for the first time with a freelance assignment, we often call it a fluke. Often we really like it happening, and if it's a good gig we may wish all work happened this easily.
The problem with telling ourselves that we played no part in getting the work is that it means we don't have the ability to recreate what happened.
The same is true with repeat or ongoing work, referrals, even with projects where you're asked to do something that's new for you--any writing gigs that you're attributing entirely to other people as out of your control.
I want to challenge you to see yourself as an active player rather than a passive recipient in these scenarios.
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter, or leave a comment on my Instagram @FreelanceWriterBootcamp
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast188
When you pitch a story idea, are you inviting the editor to consider working with you? Do you recognize the value of what you’re offering and tempt them?
Or are you asking the editor to give you an assignment? Do you approach the pitch from a place of neediness?
Give/get, push/pull, love/hate … which side do you want to be on?
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP 127 Favorite freelance writer resources
WCP 166 Archives, Vol. XI: Call for pitches
WCP 74: Why you’re the one
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ The best way to support the Writing Coach Podcast is to leave a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist today and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast187
Once you tap into the power of presenting a story idea (or just about any other writing related project) in a way that connects the dots for the recipient about how it will be relevant/helpful to them, you can bring that frame of mind with you to pitch almost anything.
I’ve seen Freelance Writer Bootcamp alumni transition seamlessly into landing staff jobs, being accepted into grad school, and securing interviews with celeb guests by knowing how to pitch themselves.
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
✏️ Join the waitlist for Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ The best way to support the Writing Coach Podcast is to leave a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast186
Six months into the year, let’s reflect on, and possibly revise, your annual goals.
What you’re telling yourself about hitting—or not hitting—milestones impacts your ability to reach your goals. What are you working on believing about yourself?
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP 160 Freelance writing goals: 5W1H goal setting
WCP 2: Thinking thoughts and feelings feels
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
I will try by Mary Oliver
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
✏️ Join the waitlist for Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.” www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ The best way to support the Writing Coach Podcast is to leave a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter, or leave a comment on my Instagram or Facebook feeds.
🎧 Listen and subscribe in your favorite podcast app.
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast185
Sara Cincurova is a freelance human rights journalist from Slovakia, focusing on migration, conflict, human rights, humanitarian issues, and women's rights.
She has written for The Guardian, BBC News, The New York Magazine, Al Jazeera English, Der Spiegel, Foreign Policy, The HuffPost, The New Humanitarian, Women's Media Center and many more.
Sara extensively covered the conflict in eastern Ukraine since 2014 and reported from Kharkiv and other cities in Ukraine as of February 24, 2022. She has reported from more than twenty countries, and investigated issues such as sexualized violence against women dissidentents in Venezuelan prisons, violence against pregnant refugees in Libyan detention centers, women who were forced to cross the Mediterranean during pregnancy, forced sterilizations of transgender people in Slovakia, and investigated how domestic abuse impacted disabled victims in Covid times.
In this episode, Sara shares:
- How pitching, reporting, and writing stories that matter differs for smaller and larger reaching publications
- Challenges of being embedded on a search-and-rescue vessel in the Mediterranean as a journalist on board, and participated in the rescue of 408 refugees
- Follwing up with pregnant refugees, documenting what happened to them and their babies
- Using deep reporting for multiple outlets
- Interviewing sources about prior and current trauma
- Establishing safety and the importance of authenticity when reporting on a humanitarian crisis
- Desire to share the truth and protect others
- Working as a freelancer when war broke out
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
Sara Cincurova’s website
Sara Cincurova on Twitter @Sara_Cincurova
‘Parents risk children’s lives – the alternative is worse’: on board a migrant rescue ship in the Guardian
‘All I Can Do Is Pray’: Elderly and Disabled Women Left Behind in Eastern Ukraine in Women’s Media Center
My journey out of Ukraine in the Cut
Women rescued at sea reveal scale of alleged Libya abuses in the New Humanitarian
Committee to Protect Journalists
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ The best way to support the Writing Coach Podcast is to leave a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and let other writers know why you listen.
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter, or leave a comment on Rebecca’s Instagram or Facebook feeds.
🔥 Work with Rebecca as your 1:1 writing coach
I have a few spots opening up for writers who want private 1:1 coaching. If you’re keen to work with me privately, schedule a free consult call for us to discuss your writing goals and how coaching together can help you reach them faster.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
✏️ Join the waitlist for group coaching in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast184
When a freelancer says that they feel like they’re going backwards, often they’re hyperfocusing on a small piece of data instead of larger trends (e.g. a couple of weeks/pitches vs. quarters/years); or they’ve changed an important variable (e.g. pitching more competitive publications for the first time vs. pitching less competitive pubs they’ve already written for); or they’re on the verge of a major breakthrough.
As journalists, we always look out for our biases in our reporting. As a freelancers, it’s also important to look at a bias toward negative self-talk that leads to spinning out and avoiding the very things that would help you achieve your goals faster.
In a culture oriented toward constant growth, stability can be framed as regression.
That might sound like “I feel like I’m going backwards” instead of “I have a reliable base income month after month” or “I’m making steady progress on my project.”
Plateaus get a bad rap. This is another way of describing steady clients, regular income, and long-term editorial relationships. If you’re super plugged into hustle mode and running on nervous energy, that it can seem like something’s gone wrong to be at ease and appreciate what you’ve built for yourself.
Complex growth isn’t linear. Growth and progression are more often cyclical, where you’re facing a similar struggle at a new level.
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP 168 Wordle wisdom
Rebecca on Instagram @freelancewriterbootcamp
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
⭐ The best way to support the Writing Coach Podcast is to leave a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter, or leave a comment on my Instagram or Facebook feeds.
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
🎧 Listen and subscribe to the Writing Coach Podcast in your favorite podcast app.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast183
Are your emails annoying your editor? Are you sending too many followups? Too many story ideas? Are all your messages getting on their nerves? If your pitches are half baked, poorly written, and an overall bad fit for the publication, it really doesn’t matter how many you send. You can’t send lousy pitches and expect assignments as a reward for not sending them more often.
Assuming your pitches are developed with the editor’s needs in mind, let’s look at the real situation.
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP1 What’s your problem?
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ The best way to support the Writing Coach Podcast is to leave a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
🔥 Work with me 1:1
I have a few spots opening up in June and July for writers who want private 1:1 coaching. If you’re keen to work with me privately, schedule a free consult call for us to discuss your writing goals and how coaching together can help you reach them faster.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
✏️ Join the waitlist for group coaching
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast182
Curiosity is a useful state of mind for freelance writers. Curiosity helps us identify great story ideas with unrecognized angles. Curiosity fuels our interest in improving our craft. Curiosity makes understanding the pitching process and other business of freelancing type processes fascinating. It opens up our imaginations to possibilities that we can’t find otherwise.
How do you get curious? Listen in to today’s episode.
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP 180 Learning mindset
WCP 137 Asking better questions with Maggie Reyes
WCP 160 Freelance writing goals: 5W1H goal setting
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ The best way to support the Writing Coach Podcast is to leave a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Let other writers know why you listen.
🔥 Work with me 1:1 in private writer coaching
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
✏️ Join the group coaching waitlist
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni have used the proven Freelance Writer Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast181
My first career in traditional education informed my work as a freelance journalist, and my work as a writer informs the coaching and teaching I do now online. This week I share a few of the mindset perspectives that have served me well through career shifts, and how building on prior career skills or subject matter makes us more robust as freelancers.
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
✏️ Join the waitlist for group coaching
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.” www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter, or leave a comment on my Instagram or Facebook feeds.
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast180
A lot of freelancers find it easier to maintain the status quo by keeping on clients that aren’t a good fit because they are so familiar.
After you’ve worked with a client for a few assignments/months, you have far more insight into what they’re really like. If you knew then what you knew now, would you take them on in the first place?
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP179 Pregnancy and parental leave
👶 I will be leading the breakout session on writer mindset at the Parenting Journalists Conference on Friday, May 20. (FYI: That is an affiliate link.)
Use coupon code WEBER22 to get a 15% discount off of your registration fee.
If you are a parent and/or write about parenting, I hope to see you there!
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter, or leave a comment on my Instagram or Facebook feeds.
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. Apply for private writer coaching:
www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
Today I’m sharing what it was like getting pregnant and having a baby during the pandemic.
One of the things I got clear about early on was deciding what I thought I wanted my time off to look like (including how long, how “off” I wanted to be, and what the transition winding down and gearing up would be like), and also allowed myself to change my mind later on. This was so much cleaner than either not making a decision, or using this early decision against myself later on.
I also share one of the challenges I hadn’t ever addressed in the kind of non-passive-income type of work that I do.
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP 150 Archives: Company policies
WCP 122 Freelancing while sick
WCP 60: OOO la la
WCP 38: Writing through grief
👶 I will be leading the breakout session on writer mindset at the Parenting Journalists Conference on Friday, May 20. (FYI: That is an affiliate link.)
Use coupon code WEBER22 to get a 15% discount off of your registration fee.
If you are a parent and/or write about parenting, I hope to see you there!
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. Apply for private writer coaching:
www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast179
Have you interviewed somebody who wanted to review your copy before publication? This is a surprisingly high-tension issue for many journalists, even thought it seems like it could be nipped in the bud with a simple, “Sorry, that’s against the publication’s policy.” Today we cover:
- A simple method to reduce the number of times sources ask to review the copy
- Why they or you get so hot under the collar with a seemingly benign request
- How to use this conflict to build trust and better communications
- How to verify their statements without sharing the draft
- If and when to make an exception
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
WCP1 What’s your [writing] problem?
WCP2 Thinking thoughts and feeling feels
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
⭐ The best way to support the Writing Coach Podcast is to leave a review and/or rating on Apple Podcasts.
🎧 Listen and subscribe in your favorite podcast app.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
📝 More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast178
Usually when I’ve left a news hook out of a pitch, it was because I couldn’t come up with one easily, and hoped for the best. After all, there are evergreen stories out there. I’ve read and sold a few myself. Maybe you have too. I’ve tried slapping on a thin hook, which sometimes does the trick. And I’ve had some evergreen ideas linger in my ideas folder for a long time, and eventually a news item would come up that was a good fit, making it salable. But I started to wonder about speeding up the process to improve my pitch acceptance rate.
What would happen if I started with the news, rather than adding it on?
As it turns out, using current events to spark feature ideas is a twofer. You get an idea that hasn’t been done to death, plus an integral answer to that timeless question, Why now?
Basically, instead of grasping around for a news hook or settling for one that’s a bit of a stretch, it’s the first thing you consider.
🔗 Mentioned in this episode:
Modern Journalist Toolkit 19: Video of today’s episode
WCP 167 Organic tomatoes vs. Twinkies
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
🎁 Download my free guide on how to pitch freelance article ideas, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.” www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
❤️ Share the podcast with other writers via your social media accounts or email newsletter, or leave a comment on my Instagram or Facebook feeds.
🎧 Listen and subscribe in your favorite podcast app.
✏️ Work with me in Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni have broken into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Nat Geo Travel, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open, plus get access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
🔥 Work with me 1:1
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your writing goals.
Apply for private writer coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast177
Showing up to do your work regardless of your mood is distinct from ignoring your emotions and telling yourself things are ok when you don’t think they are.
Today I share with you one of my client’s stories about how she was trying to push away the feelings that emerged when she told herself she’s bombed a pitch, and how she reframed to open up to new possibilities for ongoing editorial relationships.
Listen for one powerful question you can ask yourself to experience your writing life with more compassion and satisfaction.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
WCP 139 Topsy turvy
WCP 84: Excitement!
WCP 2: Thinking thoughts and feelings feels
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
DOWNLOAD MY FREE GUIDE ON HOW TO PITCH FREELANCE ARTICLE IDEAS
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
WORK WITH ME
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Click here to join the small group waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
PRIVATE COACHING
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your goals.
Click here to apply for 1:1 coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast176
Writing together can be a powerful experience in terms of connection, camaraderie, and support in the creative process. This week we look at ways to make the most of writing with others IRL and virtually.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
The Writers’ Hour
SHARE THE WRITING COACH PODCAST #WRITINGCOMMUNITY
Subscribe and write a review of the Writing Coach Podcast on Apple Podcasts.
Share your podcast takeaways and tag Rebecca on Instagram: @freelancewriterbootcamp
DOWNLOAD MY FREE GUIDE ON HOW TO PITCH
www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
WORK WITH ME
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Click here to join the small group waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
PRIVATE COACHING
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your goals.
Click here to apply for 1:1 coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast175
A tweet led to a blog post about how quickly editors dismiss most queries, and here I’m examining this breakdown in the context of journalists pitching freelance article ideas.
The vast majority of freelance pitches can be rejected well before the first paragraph.
The ones that get assigned instantly show a different kind of understanding of the pub’s wants and needs, and each subsequent sentence and paragraph reinforces this.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
In the Blink of an Eye on the Brevity blog
DOWNLOAD MY FREE GUIDE ON HOW TO PITCH
Follow the 5 proven steps I use to break into CNN, the New York Times, Dwell, and many other publications with a cold pitch: www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM
Did you enjoy this episode? Follow Rebecca to get notified next time she goes live on Instagram and tag her when you share the Writing Coach Podcast with your writer friends: @freelancewriterbootcamp
Running out of reasons to avoid pitching? I’ve got you covered with 100 reasons why you shouldn’t pitch today.
Many of these can be adapted to be reasons why you should not write anything else today, like the article you were assigned last week, or your book proposal, or your novel.
You’ll probably recognize a few of these reasons as ones you already believe to be true. Those seem real, immutable. Pick another one that you’ve never used as a reason not to write a pitch.
I want you to experience how quickly we can take something we’ve never believed to be true, and with a little attention, can create all kinds of supporting evidence to make it real. Something we can solidly believe in. Solid like a block that we can’t pass.
Once you see how easy it is to create a synthetic writer’s block, you’ll also see more readily that you have the option not to buy into and believe the other stories you’re telling yourself that prevent you from the work you really want to be doing.
Read the full list of 100+ reasons why not to pitch today: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast174
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE
Download my guide on pitching freelance article ideas: www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
Download my guide on pitching freelance article ideas: www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
WCP 144 Archives Vol. V: What’s your (writing) problem?
WORK WITH ME
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You will experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your goals.
I help writers get real, lasting results. Their confidence increases. They break into their dream publications. They drop their pain-in-the-butt clients. They increase their rates. They start (and finish!) personal and creative projects. They get their writing mojo back. They define and enjoy their own definition of freelance writing success.
Private coaching clients who are ready to invest time, energy, and money into coaching can expect an excellent return. I work with new coaching clients by application only. Apply to work with me one on one: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
Join the waitlist for my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, and you’ll be the first to hear when enrollment opens again.
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Click here to join the small group waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast174
Dating/relationship analogies come up a lot when we talk about our editors and publications.
It’s common for freelancers to have a mix of short and long term relationships, which tend to reflect different mindsets, emotions, strategies, decisions, processes, and company policies.
It’s also common for freelancers to confuse or mislabel what’s really happening, and have a short term or one night stand mindset when they want something that will last a lot longer.
This episode is not meant to be personal dating advice. :)
SHARE THE WRITING COACH PODCAST
Subscribe and write a review of the Writing Coach Podcast on Apple Podcasts.
Share your podcast takeaways and tag Rebecca on Instagram: @freelancewriterbootcamp
DOWNLOAD MY FREE GUIDE ON HOW TO PITCH: www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY …
WCP 144 Archives: What’s your (writing) problem?
WCP 150 Archives: Company policies
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast173
In the middle of the night I emailed myself an idea I didn’t want to forget. I sat down with my freelance journal and phone in the morning to use the message as a prompt. Here’s what I typed:
Reason why chsbgdx
So helpful, right?
I wish I knew what this word (or phrase) was supposed to be. Since I consistently generate ideas, and I’m in the habit of writing them down, I’m not overly concerned about losing this one. It will show up in some other form, or I’ll just come up with more.
Some consistent habits are great for reminding us what we’ve said our priorities are. But “consistency” has taken on nearly moral value lately. As freelancers we consistently (!) hear messages to show up regularly in all sorts of ways. If consistency is a virtue, does that mean inconsistency is a character flaw?
Often when people cite consistency as the key to their success, they’re overlooking other external and internal factors. Let’s look at some different ways to frame consistency, and how to not use it against yourself.
WORK WITH ME
Apply for the March 2022 session of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp.
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
Bootcamp alumni have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Let’s get started: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast172
This bonus episode looks at the application process for Freelance Writer Bootcamp. I explain how I review the applications on a rolling basis, and how this process may be of use to you in other areas of your freelance life.
If you’ve told yourself that you want to join the Bootcamp but haven’t applied yet, this episode will give you more clarity about this as a first step in transitioning to the kind of writing life you want.
The March sessions are about to start. To apply, visit www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM
Did you enjoy this episode? Follow Rebecca to get notified next time she goes live on Instagram and tag her when you share the Writing Coach Podcast with your writer friends: @freelancewriterbootcamp
WORK WITH ME
Apply to work with me in my small group program: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
Bootcamp alumni have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Click here to apply: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
The equinox is the transition to autumn/spring, and it’s also the end of Q1. Seasonal and financial cycles impact us, as do many other cycles in our writing life.
Some cycle frameworks aren’t that helpful, while others help us recognize that we’re not in the same energetic or growth phase at all times and allow us to plan accordingly.
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY …
Download my free guide on how to pitch
SHARE THE WRITING COACH PODCAST
Subscribe and write a review of the Writing Coach Podcast on Apple Podcasts.
Share your podcast takeaways and tag Rebecca on Instagram: @freelancewriterbootcamp
WORK WITH ME
Apply for the March session of my small group coaching program: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
Bootcamp alumni have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Click here to apply: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast171
Sometimes it’s faster in the short term not to change the way we’re doing things … but once we make the shift to more sustainable approaches, we reap the benefits long term. I changed the kind of printer I’ve always had, which will save a bit of plastic and hassle. And I changed the way I do my banking and pay for business expenses, which means I save time and effort when reconciling.
You can also shift from an emphasis of breaking into pubs just for a once-off assignment to using it as a a springboard for long-term editorial relationships, which are the foundation of sustainable success for freelance writers. If you missed the masterclass I just taught on this, sign up today and I’ll send you a replay link: www.rebeccalweber.com/masterclass
FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM
Did you enjoy this episode? Follow Rebecca to get notified next time she goes live on Instagram and tag her when you share the Writing Coach Podcast with your writer friends: @freelancewriterbootcamp
WORK WITH ME
Apply to work with me in my small group program: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
Bootcamp alumni have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Click here to apppy: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
“How do I get myself to do this thing I know I should do?”
The short answer is to change the thinking that’s blocking you from taking action. When you think differently, you’ll feel and act differently too.
I don’t mean go through the motions and pretend to believe things that aren’t true. Bridge thoughts are the opposite: first we identify the thoughts you have that are NOT true, and then we’ll replace those false beliefs with thoughts that ARE true.
Bridge thoughts are a mindset management tool to help you overcome imposter syndrome, setting boundaries, underearning, procrastination, and so many of the problems writers face.
This episode is for those of you who are ready to take your writer mindset management to the next level.
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY…
WCP 1 What’s your problem?
Download my free guide on how to pitch
SHARE THE WRITING COACH PODCAST
Subscribe and write a review of the Writing Coach Podcast on Apple Podcasts.
Share your podcast takeaways and tag Rebecca on Instagram: @freelancewriterbootcamp
WORK WITH ME
Apply for the next session of my small group coaching program: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
Bootcamp alumni have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Click here to apply: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast170
Join me on Thursday, March 17, for a live masterclass on creating sustainable freelance writer success, i.e., consistent, meaningful work that pays well. www.rebeccalweber.com/masterclass
In the masterclass, I'll share with you:
-
A proven blueprint for pitching and selling freelance article ideas
-
How to turn a once-off assignment into an ongoing gig
-
The most effective way to get silent editors to respond to you
-
Plus time for answers to your freelancing questions during our live Q&A
This is NOT the conventional, so-called freelancing wisdom that leads to mediocre results. I WILL teach you the same principles I use with my paying coaching clients, who have broken into the Guardian, the New York Times, Bustle, Condé Nast Traveler, the BBC, and so many more publications.
Move from daydreaming about those pubs you most want to write for and make it your reality in 2022 and beyond.
Click here to register for the masterclass and look out for an email with login details: www.rebeccalweber.com/masterclass
Do you need a blog? A subscription newsletter? A podcast? A TikTok account? A fill-in-the-blank thing that somebody (maybe you) is telling you is necessary to create and then continually update?
Let’s examine your reasons why you may want to invest your time, energy, and money into creating content that you’ll be publishing yourself instead of on assignments for clients.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE …
Download my free guide on how to pitch.
SHARE THE WRITING COACH PODCAST
Did you enjoy this episode? Share your podcast takeaways with your writer friends. Tag Rebecca on Instagram: @freelancewriterbootcamp
WORK WITH ME
Apply to work with me in the next session of my small group coaching program: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
Bootcamp alumni have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Click here to apply: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast169
A couple more freelance insights while playing Wordle over morning coffee, this time focusing on the roles of perseverance and giving yourself wise counsel.
FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM
Did you enjoy this episode? Follow Rebecca to get notified next time she goes live on Instagram and tag her when you share the Writing Coach Podcast with your writer friends: @freelancewriterbootcamp
WORK WITH ME
Join the waitlist for Freelance Writer Bootcamp now and get early access to the application PLUS a super special early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
Bootcamp alumni have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Click here to join the waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
This is NOT an episode about how to improve your Wordle scores.
Instead, let’s look at what Wordle can teach us about freelance writing success.
Download my free guide on how to pitch.
WCP 167 Organic tomatoes vs. Twinkies
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
Join the Freelance Writer Bootcamp waitlist
SHARE THE WRITING COACH PODCAST
Did you enjoy this episode? Share your podcast takeaways with your writer friends. Tag Rebecca on Instagram: @freelancewriterbootcamp
WORK WITH ME
Get on the waitlist to work with me in the next session of my small group coaching program: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
Bootcamp alumni have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Click here to join the early bird waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast168
When you’ve developed an evergreen story idea, it may be accurate to say that there’s no reason why the story needs to be told now.
But that’s only true when we look at your existing pitch. Your angle, your slant, your point of view doesn’t include a perspective that makes the story relevant now.
Telling yourself the story doesn’t have one, that you don’t know how to find one, that you shouldn’t have to find one, etc., will likely lead to confusion, inadequacy, or doubt … and a pitch that seems less relevant than it could.
This approach to pitching is disempowering, and leaves you mistakenly believing that things are out of your control.
It’s in your control to find a reason why the story should be told now.
It’s in your control to find multiple reasons why the story should be told now.
It’s in your control when in the pitching process you identify the timeliness or news peg.
It’s in your control if you eat your delicious organic tomato today or leave it on the shelf for a month.
Let’s address making your pitches relevant, compelling, and as delicious as a ripe organic tomato.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE …
Download my free guide on how to pitch.
WCP 158 Archives Vol. IX: Urgency
WCP 144 Archives Vol. V: What’s your (writing) problem?
SHARE THE WRITING COACH PODCAST
Did you enjoy this episode? Share your podcast takeaways with your writer friends. Tag Rebecca on Instagram: @freelancewriterbootcamp
WORK WITH ME
Apply for the next session of my small group coaching program: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
Bootcamp alumni have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Click here to apply: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast167
When an editor posts a call for pitches, freelancers sometimes respond the way they would to the siren’s call.
The writers retweet them, share them, subscribe to newsletters with them. After weeks of saying they’ll get around to pitching, they suddenly snap to attention.
Typically, the writer skips over-analyzing (or even reading) the publication, and sends out a half-developed idea to join the hundreds of others in an inbox queue.
As popular as calls for pitches are, they rarely lead to what writers say they want most: long-term editorial relationships.
What I find interesting is the gap between how excited the call for pitches can make the writer feel and their surge of activity, and the actual outcomes (i.e., no assignment). There are far more systematic ways to find editors commissioning work who are a good fit. And there are replicable methods for sparking creative ideas that editors will want to assign.
If you’ve been answering the siren’s call with little to show for it, today’s episode will help you respond to calls for pitches in a new way.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Download my free guide on how to pitch.
Chocolate and Zucchini
Change ma vie
Podcast Edition
WCP 97 Setting freelance writer goals V: Celebrations
SHARE THE WRITING COACH PODCAST
Did you enjoy this episode? Share your podcast takeaways with your writer friends. Tag Rebecca on Instagram: @freelancewriterbootcamp
WORK WITH ME
Apply for the next session of my small group coaching program: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
Bootcamp alumni have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Click here to apply: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast166
What do 1947, 1972, 1997, 2012, and 2021 all have in common?
They all have big anniversary years in 2022: 75, 50, 25, 10, 1. We like these kind of milestones to remind us of past events, and the impact they have on how we live today. They can work well to anchor an evergreen story that’s worth sharing but that otherwise get lost in the relentless news cycle.
This bonus episode looks at thinking about why a story needs to be told now, as well as an example of a feature that touches on an author read by millions of people for 5 minutes a day.
The Yolisa Qunta Scholarship for Freelance Writer Bootcamp is open until February 12. Click here to apply: www.rebeccalweber.com/scholarship
In Freelance Writer Bootcamp, writers learn how to break into your dream publications, develop long-term editorial relationships, and get paid well to cover stories that matter.
The scholarship is intended to help support the career of a writer who identifies with one or more groups who have traditionally been underrepresented in journalism.
If you’re a woman, if you identify as a person of color, if you’re from the so-called Global South (i.e. a low- or middle-income country), and/or other groups not well represented in journalism, you are strongly encouraged to apply.
Yolisa was a freelance writer, author, and Bootcamp alumni. For years after her initial enrollment, she stayed active in the Bootcamp alumni group, where we enjoyed her generosity, talent, advice, camaraderie, and humor. She was an excellent wordsmith and writer friend.
Yolisa passed away at the age of 41 in 2021. I asked her family's permission to rename the scholarship in her honor.
Apply today or share with a writer friend: www.rebeccalweber.com/scholarship
Read more about the program: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Follow Rebecca on Instagram: @freelancewriterbootcamp
Most women say they’ve never negotiated their salary. As freelancers, we have so many more opportunities than staff employees to practice negotiations and to get better and better over time.
When the lease on my house came up, I thought all I’d have to do was say I wanted to renew, and possibly negotiate a rent increase. I was not expecting to have to draw on all the negotiation skills I’ve learned through my years of freelancing.
In this episode I share how the skills I’ve developed in my writing life help me in other areas too:
- Look to see how everyone can win.
- Instead of being overwhelmed by a lengthy contract created by a team of lawyers, focus on becoming familiar with one section at a time.
- Visuals change the narrative. Use them to shape the way others see the situation.
- Get clear about your preferences vs your deal breakers.
- Draft your response, set it aside, and edit it down with fresh eyes.
- Just because you don’t get everything you want doesn’t mean you made bad choices.
- Get agreements in writing.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Most women say they’ve never negotiated their salary
WCP 150 Archives: Company policies
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY …
WCP 22: The $10,000 email
Follow me on Instagram: @FreelanceWriterBootcamp
WORK WITH ME
In Freelance Writer Bootcamp, you’ll learn the negotiation skills you’ll need for securing better rates and terms at your dream publications.
Alumni of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Writers on the Freelance Writer Bootcamp waitlist will be first to hear when applications open for the next session, and get access to a special early bird offer only for those on the waitlist. Join the waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast165
Have you ever held back from turning your camera on Zoom?
Sent a pitch via an anonymous form (the modern day slush pile) instead of the assigning editor?
Imagined somebody saying that you were posting too much–or too repetitively–on social media?
These are all slightly less obvious ways of holding yourself back. You may be aware of some ways that you’re already doing this, and less attuned to others.
Holding yourself back may feel safe, comfortable, or familiar in the short term. When you hold back with the small things, it’s harder to be ready for stepping up for the big things that matter most.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
WCP 164: Putting yourself out there
Follow me on Instagram: @FreelanceWriterBootcamp
WORK WITH ME
Breaking into your dream publications includes building your capacity to put yourself out there in multiple ways: showing up uninvited in editors’ inboxes, asking sources for interviews, publishing pieces with your byline on larger platforms, promoting your work on social media, etc.
We address handling these mindset issues that can hold you back in my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp.
Bootcamp alumni have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Writers on the Freelance Writer Bootcamp waitlist will be first to hear when applications open for the next session, and get access to a special early bird offer only for those on the Bootcamp waitlist. Join the waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
When we put ourselves out there, we take a risk. We risk not getting validation, assignments, contracts, money, Likes, comments, safety, etc. We risk approval internally and externally. The idea of putting yourself out there probably pushes buttons that you had even before you became a professional, published writer.
You may have prior experience with it not being safe to say what you want to say. There may have been consequences for you, or someone in your family, or with one of your personal identities, to make themselves seen and heard.
It could be someone in your immediate family or generations back. It could be someone with your same gender, race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, religion, age, etc.
Part of you knows that what you have to say matters. And you’ve also received the message from individuals and/or society that you should be quiet. Or polite. That you shouldn’t brag or call attention to yourself.
Your journalistic training, tradition, or preference may be to not be included in the story itself, and you think that promoting your work somehow violates this ethos.
Putting ourselves out there is essential. You can’t make a living as a writer without doing it.
Today’s episode looks at how the resistance to the commonality amongst very different forms of putting yourself out there, be it a tweet, a pitch, negotiations, promotions, etc., and how to manage it better.
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY …
WCP 89: Annoying pitches
WCP 48: 100 reasons why you shouldn’t pitch today
WCP 16: Freewriting for freelancers
Spotify playlist of the greatest hits on the Writing Coach Podcast (Please rate the podcast while listening on Spotify. A 5 star rating would be much appreciated.)
Download my free guide on how to pitch: www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
SHARE THE WRITING COACH PODCAST WITH OTHER WRITERS
Subscribe and write a review of the Writing Coach Podcast on Apple Podcasts.
Share your podcast takeaways and tag Rebecca on Instagram: @freelancewriterbootcamp
WORK WITH ME
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
Alumni of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Writers on the Freelance Writer Bootcamp waitlist will be first to hear when applications open for the next session, and get access to a special early bird offer only for those on the waitlist. Join the waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast164
Two months ago I invited you to take a 90-day challenge to get paid on time. That episode includes the logistics of what to do to get paid promptly … and also addresses the resistance so many freelancers have about actually doing these things.
Overall, you’ll see a shift in your cash flow when you do this challenge.
But that doesn’t mean every single client will pay on time.
Today’s episode is a real-time update of what comes next, i.e., how I handled a client last week who didn’t pay on time.
(Spoiler: What I share here worked. I didn’t get into weird, all-consuming, chasing payment mentality. And I received proof of payment the same day that I followed up.)
I also share a new tip that can help both your mindset and workflow to get paid on time in the first place.
Today’s episode is the replay of an Instagram Live, so I also answered questions about taking on a bookkeeper persona as well as what really causes writer’s block.
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY …
Follow me on Instagram: @FreelanceWriterBootcamp
Take the 90 day challenge to get paid on time: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast153
Spotify playlist of the greatest hits on the Writing Coach Podcast (Please rate the podcast while listening on Spotify. A 5 star rating would be much appreciated.)
WCP 1 What’s your problem?
Download my free guide on how to pitch
WORK WITH ME
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
Alumni of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Writers on the Freelance Writer Bootcamp waitlist will be first to hear when applications open for the next session, and get access to a special early bird offer only for those on the waitlist. Join the waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast163
The research and reporting rabbit holes are some of the most seductive and appealing parts of the freelance writing comfort zone. You start off doing good work: nailing down facts, seeking rich data, locating interesting sources. But there’s always another twist and turn, and you can easily lose your orientation and not know if you’re getting closer or further away from what you and your story needs.
If you’ve ever said that research takes as long as it takes, or noticed that it’s taking so long that it interferes with (rather than supports) your writing goals, you’ve got to listen to today’s episode.
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY …
Spotify playlist of the greatest hits on the Writing Coach Podcast (please rate the podcast while listening on Spotify)
WCP 1 What’s your problem?
Download my free guide on how to pitch
SHARE THE WRITING COACH PODCAST
Subscribe and write a review of the Writing Coach Podcast on Apple Podcasts or review on Spotify.
Share your podcast takeaways and tag Rebecca on Instagram: @freelancewriterbootcamp
WORK WITH ME
Apply for the next session of my small group coaching program: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
Bootcamp alumni have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Click here to apply: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast162
Neediness has been normalized in much of freelance culture, to our own detriment. Desperation compounds difficult situations by blocking our own resourcefulness. Even when desperation fuels our actions, it’s not energy that’s sustainable long term.
Without defining neediness as a so-called negative frame of mind that needs (!) to be replaced with a “positive” one, today we look at thoughts and feelings that are more useful for getting the outcomes we want and enjoying our writing lives along the way.
MENTIONED ON TODAY’S EPISODE
WCP 56: Playing it safe
WORK WITH ME
Apply for the next session of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp.
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
Bootcamp alumni have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Let’s get started: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast161
The fundamental 5W1H questions you use when reporting are just as handy for examining your freelance life.
When it comes to setting writing goals, WHO will you become in the process of achieving your goal?
Is your goal setting process setting you up for success? Have you chosen goals that are distracting you from the writing you really want to be doing? Or are you holding unmet goals against yourself?
Some writers have such a hard time believing that they’re good at setting at achieving goals, that even when it’s accomplished, they downplay the achievement or forget there was any struggle.
Today we’ll look at some common pitfalls writers run into when setting and working on goals, including:
“I’ll have what she’s having” goals: You’re not really sure what you want, but see that somebody else seems to be happy with having set or achieved a goal, so you set that for your goal too.
Celebrity crush goals: You’ve put a publication, niche, or story on a pedestal so high that you’re not realistically pursuing it.
Goal timeframe issue: You’ve set a goal, pursued it, and then think “I’m not going to make it in time” and slow down or stop.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE …
WCP 20: Setting freelance writer goals
WCP 32: Setting freelance writer goals, Vol. II
WCP 45: Setting freelance writer goals, Volume III
WCP 59: Setting freelance writer goals, Vol. IV
WCP 97: Setting freelance writer goals, Vol. V
WCP 119 I want to, I want to not
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
JOIN ME FOR THE ALL-NEW 5W1H GOAL SETTING WORKSHOP
On January 10, I’m leading an all-new 5W1H goal setting workshop, exclusively for members of Freelance Writer Bootcamp. Register today for 2022 Bootcamp, and join us for this special opportunity to get coached live on your goals. It’s the perfect pre-work for Bootcamp.
Apply today: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
APPLY FOR FREELANCE WRITER BOOTCAMP
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
Bootcamp alumni have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Let’s get started: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast160
When it comes to making lasting changes in your freelance life, I’m more a fan of experiments than of resolutions. The latter tend not to work so well, often relying on willpower or self-shame as fuel to get things done. Some industries have business models based on these negative, dysfunctional cycles, and you don’t want to rope your own freelancing in with them.
Alternatively, setting up a framework of experimentation conjures curiosity and exploration. For decisions to stick long-term, this is much more pleasant and productive.
Following up is something that many freelance writers don’t do on a regular basis. It’s neither sexy nor exciting, but it is super effective as a simple method to boost your query acceptance rate, streamline planning by getting people to commit to dates and times, and it replaces doubt with confidence when it comes to decision-making about next steps.
You can follow up on pitches sent to editors, requests to sources for interviews, late payments, letters of introduction, filing stories, and pretty much any other time when you need to hear back from a person to take your next step, or generally want to remind them that you exist.
Two distinct and extremely supportive patterns emerge with regular, systematic followups:
1 - People tend to respond quickly to the follow up, even if they ignore the initial contact.
2 - Scheduling the follow-ups minimizes emotions and taking things personally.
Listen to this week’s episode on the protocol of how to follow up (that’s the external business skill), and the mindset adjustments necessary to get yourself to do it with ease all year long (that’s the internal thought work).
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY …
WCP 1: What’s your (writing) problem?
WCP 123: Why you don’t follow up
WCP 153 Archives: Pay me now!
Free guide on how to pitch
WORK WITH ME IN FREELANCE WRITER BOOTCAMP
Apply for my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp. Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Bootcamp alumni have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Click here to apply to work with me in 2022: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Follow me on Instagram: @FreelanceWriterBootcamp
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast158
Freelance writers often conflate two very different kinds of urgency. Confusing them impacts pitching and following up.
First is the urgency of the story itself. This includes identifying why the story needs to be told now. It can be any kind of news peg or timely aspect that compels the editor to assign and publish the piece, and the reader to prioritize reading it.
Second is our own personal/professional sense of urgency. This can be when you’re telling yourself that you need to place a piece ASAP, and are operating from anxiety or panic in a way that leads to poor decision making.
Note that you might have a strong desire to place a piece with a short shelf life, and that it’s possible to do this while feeling focused, curious, confident, or calm.
When it comes to following up on a story pitch, you want to know the difference between a story that needs to be told urgently (in this case, you’ll want to follow up sooner than normal) and your own urgent need to line up your next assignment.
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY …
WCP 102 Mother tongue
WCP 62 PITA Clients
WCP 89 Annoying pitches
WCP 1 What’s your problem?
Download my free guide on how to pitch
LET’S WORK TOGETHER
Break into your dream publications. Earn more money. Cover stories that matter.
In my small group coaching program, you’ll learn the same proven processes that have helped Bootcamp alumni break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Nat Geo Travel, the BBC, Outside, and many more.
Apply today for the next session of Freelance Writer Bootcamp: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Should you pitch during the holiday season?
Yes, if you want more assignments. No, if you want to take time off.
There are two valid approaches to taking time off as a freelancer:
-
Take time off during conventional holidays. Editors and sources may be less available; family and friends may be off too.
-
Freelancers make their own schedules and don’t need to conform to public holidays.
If you want new assignments, pitch away. Many editors continue to check email and assign stories, and fewer freelancers pitch and/or are available.
Note that if you had any resistance to pitching during the first 50 weeks this year, you’ll have some now too. You’ll come up with some very convincing sounding reasons why not to pitch before, during, or after the holiday season.
(More about this on the Writing Coach Podcast episode 48, “100 reasons why not to pitch today.”)
To butcher the proverb about the best time to plant a tree, the best time to address your mental drama about pitching was the day you began freelancing.
The second best time is today.
Writers who register now for the January session of Freelance Writer Bootcamp get early access to a Mindset mini course to start addressing these issues of internal resistance right away.
Apply to work with me at www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
WORK WITH ME TO MASTER THE ART OF THE PITCH
Apply for the January 2022 session of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp. Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Bootcamp alumni have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Let’s get started: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Follow me on Instagram: @FreelanceWriterBootcamp
When I started freelancing, I was 100% DIY.
One of the tricky things about making a good living as a freelance writer is getting a feel for what to do yourself and where to spend–or invest–time and money. Some choices that seem to be saving short term wind up costing you in the long run.
Let’s look at some areas where you may want to invest in supporting your star employee.
WORK WITH ME
How do you land assignments that pay well enough to pay for these supports? Apply for the January 2022 session of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp.
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
Bootcamp alumni have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Let’s get started: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast157
When you’re interviewing a source for an article, you’d want to do some followup if they said: “I don’t know how a key part of my job works.” You’d ask the question again, or come at it from a different perspective.
It should be the same when you wonder why you did (or didn’t) get assigned a story idea you pitched. If your default is “I don’t know,” you’re not using the power of evaluation and reflection to show you the way forward in your next pitch.
The better you are at identifying the reasons why you are and aren’t getting the work you want, the more growth and control you’ll have over your writing life.
Sometimes resistance to evaluation comes from a place of entitlement, or a sense that you have a right to a certain assignment. Today’s episode looks at the impact of evaluating yourself routinely, and how unrecognized entitlement can interfere with the process.
JOIN ME FOR A LIVE MASTERCLASS
Sustainable freelance writer success
Wednesday, December 8
I’ll teach you a proven blueprint for pitching and selling freelance article ideas; how to turn a once-off assignment into an ongoing gig; and my very best tip for getting silent editors to respond to you.
Bring your questions for the live Q&A portion of this masterclass.
A replay link will be sent to those who register ahead of time.
Register for this free masterclass: www.rebeccalweber.com/masterclass
WORK WITH ME TO MASTER THE ART OF THE PITCH
Apply for the January 2022 session of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp. Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Bootcamp alumni have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Let’s get started: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Follow me on Instagram: @FreelanceWriterBootcamp
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast156
Join me on Wednesday, December 8, for a live masterclass on breaking into your dream publications and achieving sustainable freelance writer success. We’ll focus on proven strategies to get consistent, meaningful assignments that pay well.
Sign up for free at www.rebeccalweber.com/masterclass
This won’t be the conventional, so-called freelancing wisdom that leads to mediocre results.
These are the same principles I teach my paying coaching clients, who have broken into the Guardian, the New York Times, Bustle, Condé Nast Traveler, the BBC, and so many more dream publications.
I'll share with you:
+ A proven blueprint for pitching and selling freelance article ideas
+ How to turn a once-off assignment into an ongoing gig
+ The most effective way to get silent editors to respond to you
+ Plus time for answers to your freelancing questions during our live Q&A
I’ll send out a replay to all writers who register ahead of the live session.
Register at www.rebeccalweber.com/masterclass
“Is my pitch too long?”
If you’re asking the question, the answer is probably yes.
The question you really need answered is not how long your pitch should be, but why your pitch is too long:
- You’ve generated a bunch of options without making choices about what’s most important and what to cut back on. You likely are leaving out some key components. This pitch may be any length, but the picture is blurry.
- You and the editor have a very clear sense of what the story will be, but you’ve gone way beyond what’s necessary (or efficient). You’re acting as if you have the assignment in hand, or as if you’re writing on spec.
- You haven’t done a proper copy edit. 10, 20, or 30% of your words can be trimmed to make the writing more concise.
Without addressing #1, your pitches won’t be effective. Without addressing #2, your pitches won’t be efficient. Without addressing #3, your pitches won’t be ready for the editors at your dream publications.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Download my free guide on how to pitch and learn the 5 proven steps to writing pitches that sell: www.rebeccalweber.com/howtopitch
Apply to join my small group coaching program: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
SHARE THE WRITING COACH PODCAST WITH OTHER WRITERS
Subscribe and write a review of the Writing Coach Podcast on Apple Podcasts.
Share your podcast takeaways and tag Rebecca on Instagram: @freelancewriterbootcamp
WORK WITH ME
Apply for the January 2022 session of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp.
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
Bootcamp alumni have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Let’s get started: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast155
This week is the start of the year-end holiday season in the United States, which is associated with a lot of personal and professional stress. This episode looks at meditation as a concentration practice that can help you center yourself before writing.
When I was a kid, an adult I trusted made some negative comments about meditation that stuck with me a long time. Even though I logically reject those comments now as being incorrect, I still sometimes remember them and think I may be judged for sharing my practice with anyone (let alone with the entire internet).
Ironically, meditation itself helped me become aware of the impact those comments had on me, and on deciding I wanted to change my mind about what that person had said.
This week’s episode includes a short meditation at the end.
MENTIONED ON TODAY’S EPISODE
Jack Kornfield
Tara Brach
Sylvia Boorstein
WCP 16 Freewriting for freelancers
WCP 66: Reading and advice from Margaret Atwood
WCP 122 Freelancing while sick
SHARE THE WRITING COACH PODCAST WITH OTHER WRITERS
Subscribe and write a review of the Writing Coach Podcast on Apple Podcasts.
Share your podcast takeaways and tag Rebecca on Instagram: @freelancewriterbootcamp
WORK WITH ME
Apply for the January 2022 session of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp.
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
Bootcamp alumni have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Let’s get started: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast154
Freelancers often ask: How do I get a client to pay an invoice that’s past due?
Instead of a how to on chasing payments, today we’re asking and answering a better question: How do you get clients to pay you on time in the first place?
If you’ve had more than one late-paying client in the past few years, following the actions recommended in this episode can shake up the way you approach billing. I share some very practical things you can do straight away to break a cycle of late payments and improve your cash flow.
You may find yourself resistant to invoicing sooner than you currently do. If that’s the case, it’s an indication that you expect clients to pay you late.
Follow my recommendations in this episode for a 90-day experiment to assess what happens when you’re not the one slowing down your own payments.
You can expect these things to happen:
-
You will experience discomfort when it’s time to invoice sooner. That’s what always happens when you step outside the familiar comfort zone. We can expect and anticipate that you’ll come up with some compelling reasons why not to do this. This doesn’t mean anything has gone wrong; it’s something to observe while sending the invoice out.
-
You will have zero pushback or negative response from your clients.
-
You will be paid more quickly by some of your clients.
-
You will establish or deepen your belief and expectation that you deserve to be paid promptly.
Here’s a PDF that goes along with this episode. It recaps the steps I cover in the podcast, plus includes what to include in your invoice and what to do if the client doesn’t pay in 30 days.
YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY
A freelancer’s guide to timely payments PDF (companion for this episode)
WCP Episode 11: Money and negotiation blocks
Modern Journalist Toolkit 2: Getting paid electronically
WCP 144 Archives Vol. V: What’s your (writing) problem?
WCP 148 Archives Vol. VII: Company policies
WCP 141 Decision making for financial growth
WORK WITH ME: APPLY TO FREELANCE WRITER BOOTCAMP
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter in my small group coaching program: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Alumni of Freelance Writer Bootcamp, have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Click here to join the small group waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast149
One of the best ways to start the new year strong is to finish this one strong as well. We want to make sure you're investing, rather than just spending time, money, and energy to get clients.
When you are ready to get yourself a new assignment, do you factor in the prior investment you’ve already done to secure your existing clients? Or do you go out looking for a new client each time you need more work?
As freelancers, we say we want anchor clients or regular retainers. But often we get caught up in the thrill of landing a new client, without reflecting on the actual amount of time, money, energy, focus, etc., required to secure that new relationship.
In today’s episode, we break down what it really looks like to pursue a sustainable strategy instead of relying on once-offs that eat up your finite resources.
SHARE THE WRITING COACH PODCAST WITH OTHER WRITERS
Subscribe and write a review of the Writing Coach Podcast on Apple Podcasts.
Share your podcast takeaways and tag Rebecca on Instagram: @freelancewriterbootcamp
WORK WITH ME
Apply for the January 2022 session of my small group coaching program: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter.
Bootcamp alumni have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Click here to get started: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast152
Today we are talking about goals. I’ve talked again and again about being aware of your potential obstacles when setting a goal. There are going to be challenges and so it’s important to plan on how to deal with those challenges.
When we’ve created an internal obstacle, we also have the power to shift it.
It’s about changing your perspective, shifting your narrative, and managing your mindset.
In this episode, I’ll teach you how you can shift your “but” to “and” and see how that one switch could really change things that will point you where your next action step is.
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE WCP 1: What’s your problem?
WCP 20: Setting freelance writer goals
WCP 32: Setting freelance writer goals, Vol. II
WCP 45: Setting freelance writer goals, Volume III
WCP 59: Setting freelance writer goals, Vol. IV
WCP 97: Setting freelance writer goals, Vol. V: Celebrations
Episode Quotes
“If it is not outside of your comfort zone, it is probably not much of a goal.”
“Changing your perspective to what happens next, that is what helps you get started.”
“With a close mindset there are limited possibilities.”
“The best solution is to do an honest solution.”
Listen to Learn
00:17 – Planning how to deal with challenges
02:20 – Rewriting your narrative – “You as the protagonist”
04:20 – Examples of changing your “but” to “and”
12:05 – Ways to start to gain more awareness
WORK WITH ME: JOIN THE BOOTCAMP WAITLIST Join the waitlist for the next session of my small group coaching program AND get special access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Writers on the waitlist will be the first to hear when Bootcamp applications open up for early bird enrollment in the next session.
Click here to join the small group waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete shownotes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast151
Establishing company policies might sound like it would create distance from freelance clients, but it does the opposite, especially with your ideal clients.
Clear boundaries set a framework for clear expectations and positive work relationships and self care. If you know what you will and won’t do, it leads to better communication.
On the other hand, a lack of boundaries breeds feelings and behavior that tend to be regressive and that distances us from clients.
I have a friend who’s a solopreneur with an online retail business. He does everything: designed the website, selects merchandise for sale, goes to the post office to ship something, replies to customer service messages, etc., without any outsourcing.
A customer asked him for something that he didn’t want to do. He wanted to say not but hesitated, as he thought the customer would perceive it as a personal slight. But saying, “It’s company policy” breathes some air into the situation. It’s not personal, it’s not about the client.
Many freelancers feel put on the spot with certain requests. They didn't realize they had a boundary or limitation until the other person crosses it, and then they feel compelled to say yes.
As a freelancer, you may not think of yourself as a company, even if you are incorporated. It’s useful to think of work boundaries as company policies that your inner entrepreneur created for you. If somebody makes a request, you can say no on behalf of yourself as an individual, or on behalf of the writing business.
In this week’s episode of the Writing Coach Podcast, we look at what policies you might consider, how to set them up, why to have them, and what to do if you notice that you're not actually following your own policies.
SHARE THE WRITING COACH PODCAST WITH OTHER WRITERS
Subscribe and write a review of the Writing Coach Podcast on Apple Podcasts.
OR TAG ME WHILE SHARING ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow me on Instagram: @freelancewriterbootcamp
Follow me on Facebook: facebook.com/rebeccalweber
Follow me on Twitter: @rebeccalweber
Follow me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccalweber/
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE …
Guide on how to pitch freelance articles
WCP Episode 11: Money and negotiation blocks
Deep work by Cal Newport
WCP Bonus: Boost your bottom line as a freelance writer
WORK WITH ME: JOIN THE BOOTCAMP WAITLIST
Join the waitlist for the next session of my small group coaching program, and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open AND get special access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Writers on the waitlist will be the first to hear when Bootcamp applications open up for early bird enrollment in the next session.
Click here to join the small group waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast148
Early bird invitations for Freelance Writer Bootcamp will be sent out soon. If you are keen to work with me in my small group coaching program, you’ll definitely want to register now and snag a juicy early bird bonus only for those writers on the waitlist.
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
The next session begins in January 2022. We will have pods at two different times to accommodate freelancers all over the world so that you can get live coaching and live feedback in the pitch workshops. (Of course, all calls are recorded too.)
Join the Freelance Writer Bootcamp waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Many groups have traditionally been underrepresented in journalism, both amongst staff and freelancers. Gender, race, ethnicity, disability, religion, age, and country of origin are factors in building a robust press. Today we focus on how writers in the so-called Global South may have less access to writing stories locally or globally.
WORK WITH ME IN FREELANCE WRITER BOOTCAMP
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Apply for the Yolisa Qunta scholarship for Freelance Writer Bootcamp: www.rebeccalweber.com/scholarship
OR
Join the Bootcamp waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Follow me on Instagram: @FreelanceWriterBootcamp
Request a copy of my free guide on how to pitch and join my email newsletter.
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast149
A full scholarship is available for the January session of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp.
The program focuses on helping writers improve their pitch acceptances rate, and to get paid well while covering stories that matter.
If you identify as a person of color, are from the so-called Global South, identify as LGBTQI+, and/or identify with multiple groups that have historically been underrepresented in journalism, you are especially encouraged to apply.
This scholarship has been renamed in honor of Bootcamper Yolisa Qunta. She was a well-known and respected freelancer and author in Cape Town who died earlier this year. Yolisa exemplified the kind of writer friend we all want to have: smart, funny, generous, and supportive. I asked her family for permission to use her name and they agreed that it was a fitting memorial.
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE
Click here to apply for the full scholarship to my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp. The scholarship winner will receive lifetime access to all the core materials, live calls, bonuses, plus three private coaching sessions with me. www.rebeccalweber.com/scholarship
Read more about the Freelance Writer Bootcamp program and/or join the waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Request a copy of my free guide on how to pitch and join my email newsletter.
WCP 70: Application opportunities
WCP 102: Mother tongue with Beatriz Miranda, Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska, and Yolisa Qunta
Bonus episode: Freelance Writer Bootcamp alumni discuss what the program’s really like
Robert Kolker’s piece about two fiction writers brought up many issues that have counterpoints in the journalism and freelance worlds, including: idea ownership and development, sense of not belonging, competition and hierarchy amongst peers, white saviorism, and friendship.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Who is the bad art friend?
Rebecca on Instagram: @freelancewriterbootcamp
WCP 147 Enterprise stories with Ray Joseph
Download my guide on how to pitch freelance articles and join my mailing list.
WORK WITH ME: JOIN THE BOOTCAMP WAITLIST
Join the waitlist for the next session of my small group coaching program, and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open AND get special access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast148
What’s the importance and impact of seeking out original stories that nobody else is doing? In this conversation with freelance journalist Raymond Joseph, we examine how much a unique story and/or angle matters for you, your career, your editors, and society at large. Ray’s investigations into lottery corruption over the past four years have won him both journalism awards as well as threats. When you follow BIG money, people notice. In this episode, we discuss: •Collaborating with colleagues •Building relationships with editors •Preparing to defend a story in court •Fact checking as part of your workflow •Owning mistakes •Handling threats •Understanding the editor’s point of view MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism: www.ccij.io OpenUp: openup.org.za Tableu: tableau.com South African National Lottery Explorer: salotterytool.org.za GroundUp lottery stories: www.groundup.org.za/topic/lotto/ Ray Joseph on Facebook: facebook.com/rayjoejourno Ray on Twitter: @rayjoe Ray on email: rayjoe at iafrica dot com REVIEW & SHARE THE WRITING COACH PODCAST Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts or share on social media and tag Rebecca: Rebecca on Instagram: @freelancewriterbootcamp Rebecca on Twitter: @rebeccalweber Rebecca on Facebook: @rebeccalweber JOIN THE BOOTCAMP WAITLIST Join the waitlist for the next session of my small group coaching program, and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open AND get special access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more. We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way. Writers on the waitlist will be the first to hear when Bootcamp applications open up for early bird enrollment. Click here to join the Bootcamp waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast147
We’re all willing to watch a short trailer for a new movie or series—IF it’s any good. In a minute or so, we usually know if we’re in (“Ooh, I want to see that one!”) or if it’s a hard no.
A sample of one scene and we have a handle on the genre, the plot, the actors, the look and feel. It’s all show, no tell.
What we don’t see is the screenwriter, director, or a critic talking to the camera and telling us what the film is about, what they think of it, how much we’ll enjoy it, etc. Not from the studio who wants us to quickly decide to spend our time and money watching the film.
And yet writers do the equivalent in their pitches for articles all the time—telling us about a topic rather than showing us a story.
What happens in the ones that do get us interested?
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
Bonus episode: Freelance Writer Bootcamp alumni discuss what the program’s really like
WORK WITH ME: JOIN THE FREELANCE WRITER BOOTCAMP WAITLIST
Join the waitlist for the next session of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp. You’ll be the first to hear when applications open AND get special access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Writers on the waitlist will be the first to hear when Bootcamp applications open up for early bird enrollment in the next session.
Click here to join the small group waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast146
Some freelancers say they’re writing for low paying, low circulating, low quality, or otherwise low satisfaction publications because they need to pay their dues.
If working this way was a sure route to high paying, high circulating, high quality, highly meaningful work, I’d be all for it. But it’s not.
Those publications aren’t suddenly going to become lucrative and prestigious. And editors at their dream pubs aren’t going to make assignments because they’ve taken low paying gigs somewhere else.
The freelancer thinks: “I’ve got to do these stories somewhere that doesn’t pay much because I won’t get the assignment otherwise.”
Unfortunately, this kind of thinking leads to more of the same after the articles are published. Instead of being proud of the new clips, the freelancer thinks: “I only got the assignment because I did it for free.”
We all have limited time and energy. Don’t spend yours on pitching places you don’t really want to write for because of some imaginary dues that nobody is collecting.
Look out for where you’re holding yourself back instead of growing forward. Don’t argue for why you should play small or for why you can’t do the things you really want to do.
You know your potential. Recognize it, remind yourself of it, argue for it. Develop and pitch stories that matter to the publications you want to write for.
WORK WITH ME
Join the waitlist for the next session of my small group coaching program, and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open AND get special access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Writers on the waitlist will be the first to hear when Bootcamp applications open up for early bird enrollment in the next session.
Click here to join the small group waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast145
Today’s episode is a replay of the most popular one published here on the Writing Coach Podcast in the past three years.
So chances are, if you've ever listened to the podcast, you’ve heard this one before. I encourage you to listen to it again.
Try to come to it today, with beginner's mind.
You’re not a beginner as a professional writer. But when it comes to better understanding what’s happening in your own mind—especially when you get in your own way—I want you to hear this with fresh ears.
Challenge yourself not to listen in a passive consumption mode. That is the nature of podcasts. This time, take a more active role. Do the exercise with a pen and freelance journal or on your computer—some kind of external written surface. Use this episode to create new understanding for yourself of what’s happening in your writing life.
If you ever say that you’re stuck with any aspect of writing or freelancing, this is an excellent tool for diagnosing the problem.
YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY …
WCP 2: Thinking thoughts and feelings feels
SHARE THE WRITING COACH PODCAST WITH OTHER WRITERS
Subscribe and write a review of the Writing Coach Podcast on Apple Podcasts.
WORK WITH ME: JOIN THE BOOTCAMP WAITLIST
Join the waitlist for the next session of my small group coaching program, and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open AND get special access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Writers on the waitlist will be the first to hear when Bootcamp applications open up for early bird enrollment in the next session.
Click here to join the small group waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast144
Part of loving your writing life is loving all the people involved in it.
Yep, I’m talking about loving your editors, your colleagues, your readers, and yourself.
If you’re thinking, “Easy for you to say. Most of my clients are a major PITA,” or “I’m not looking for a love connection, just a pay check,” or “I can’t love myself when I’m procrastinating,” I hear you.
I don’t necessarily mean you’re always going to like everyone. But finding and connecting to our common humanity makes this work richer (and frankly, easier to deal with people when we find them most difficult).
One way to practice this is with love notes.
In this week’s podcast, I talk about a love notes exercise that I used at the last in person Freelance Writer Retreat. (In person … remember those days?)
And I walk through some variations of how to use this with your own clients.
Implementing this today will take you a few minutes, and I think they’ll love it.
YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY …
WCP 62: PITA clients
WCP 127 Favorite freelance writer resources
SHARE THE WRITING COACH PODCAST WITH OTHER WRITERS
Subscribe and write a review of the Writing Coach Podcast on Apple Podcasts.
WORK WITH ME: JOIN THE BOOTCAMP WAITLIST
Join the waitlist for the next session of my small group coaching program, and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open AND get special access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Writers on the waitlist will be the first to hear when Bootcamp applications open up for early bird enrollment in the next session.
Click here to join the small group waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast143
Many writers see their writing as the way to measure their significance in the world. This viewpoint empowers editors to become gatekeepers who can determine if a pitch--and by extension, the person who sent it--has value or not.
If the idea of an editor rejecting your pitch makes you cringe, you may be allowing the editor’s judgment of the pitch become a judgment of you as a person.
You’re not your pitch. When an editor finds your pitch lacking, it doesn’t mean anything about you as a person. Your character, ethics, lovability, and potential for success are not impacted.
Your pitch is not who you are as a writer. It’s a single data point in a long career. The more you pitch, the more yeses AND the more nos you’ll have.
If you notice yourself treating yourself less kindly than you would a colleague whose pitch was rejected, you can decide not to judge yourself so harshly.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE …
WCP 50: Self evaluations
Download my guide on how to pitch freelance articles.
WORK WITH ME: JOIN THE BOOTCAMP WAITLIST
Join the waitlist for the next session of my small group coaching program, and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open AND get special access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Writers on the waitlist will be the first to hear when Bootcamp applications open up for early bird enrollment.
Click here to join the small group waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Are you making and implementing choices that are leading to financial growth?
If you see yourself avoiding financial goals, or setting the same monetary goals time and again without any real progress or change, your default thinking is likely working against you. We receive messaging from clients, peers, and society that we won’t be able to earn more/enough as a freelance writer, and when be internalize this way of thinking, we become less able to make good clear choices that lead to earning more.
MENTIONED IN THIS SHOW
WCP 13: Setting freelance boundaries and company policies
WCP 12: How to get freelance clients to pay on time
WORK WITH ME: JOIN THE FREELANCE WRITER BOOTCAMP WAITLIST
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, have used these proven processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you moving forward.
Writers on the waitlist will be the first to hear when applications open up for early bird enrollment in the next session.
Click here to join the Freelance Writer Bootcamp waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast141
Portfolio shame can compound over time when a core belief (such as “I’m not a good enough writer” or “I haven’t made it yet” or “I should have better clips”) pops up every time we complete an assignment.
When we repeat these thought patterns over time, and feel ashamed both of the work we have and haven’t done, it becomes harder to enjoy or appreciate our writing lives.
Even when you’ve done deep mindset work and recognize that these thoughts aren’t factual or helpful, they can still reappear. We need to be vigilant and compassionate when working with portfolio shame.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE …
Download my guide on how to pitch freelance articles.
Quick online portfolio solutions
WCP41 Sorting and archiving freelance articles
WCP1 What’s your problem?
WORK WITH ME: JOIN THE FREELANCE WRITER BOOTCAMP WAITLIST
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Writers on the waitlist will be the first to hear when Bootcamp applications open up for early bird enrollment in the next session.
Click here to join the Freelance Writer Bootcamp waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast140
When a person tells you Yes, do you think it means No? Or vice versa?
Some freelance writers receive emails from editors that literally say “Please pitch me again” and choose to interpret it as “Never pitch me again.”
Today we’re going to unpack where this topsy turvy thinking originates from (hint: It’s not that the editor is trying to be polite), why it’s harmful to you and your career, and how to move forward.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE …
WCP 53: Rejection
WCP 43: Bridge thoughts
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
WORK WITH ME: JOIN THE FREELANCE WRITER BOOTCAMP WAITLIST
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Writers on the waitlist will be the first to hear when Bootcamp applications open up for early bird enrollment in the next session.
Click here to join the Freelance Writer Bootcamp waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast139
Hello podcast listeners! Here are the questions I’ll be answering today:
-
How do you stop thinking about where your sources would like to see a story published?
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Do I need to list prices on my website? I keep getting asked for a rates card.
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I bid on a project but they chose another freelancer. Should I let them know I can go lower?
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My client wants me to use Slack but it takes so much time. I don’t want to use it. Help!
Want me to answer your question on the next edition of Listener Q&A? Email me at rebecca@freelancewriterbootcamp.com
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
WCP 126 Listener Q&A, Vol. VII
WCP 93: Listener Q&A, Vol. VI
WCP 68: Listener Q&A, Vol. V
WCP 58: Listener Q&A, Vol. IV
WCP 47: Listener Q&A, Vol. III
WCP 39: Listener Q&A, Volume II
WCP 28: Listener Q&A
Download my free guide on how to pitch
JOIN THE WAITLIST
Join the waitlist for the next session of my small group coaching program, and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open AND get special access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Writers on the waitlist will be the first to hear when Bootcamp applications open up for early bird enrollment in the next session.
Click here to join the small group waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast138
Maggie Reyes is a life coach and marriage mentor who specializes in helping Type A women have better marriages, without waiting for their partners to change or adding more work to their lives. She is the author of the Amazon top 10 bestselling marriage book The Questions for Couples Journal and the host of The Marriage Life Coach Podcast.
We cover a lot of ground in this episode, including:
- How questions help get to the heart of who people are
- Why Oprah sometimes interrupts sources
- The impact of writing a book with more than 2k reviews on Amazon
- Relating to a significant other who doesn’t understand freelancing
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE
Maggie Reyes’ website: www.MaggieReyes.com
Book: Questions for Couples Journal
Podcast: The Marriage Life Coach Podcast
Podcast episode with husband when writing book: Questions for Couples Journal — Behind the Scenes
Maggie on Instagram: @themaggiereyes
There’s no such thing as a former journalist by Roy Peter Clark on Poynter
DID YOU ENJOY THIS EPISODE?
Subscribe and write a review of the Writing Coach Podcast on Apple Podcasts.
WORK WITH ME
Break into your dream publications and earn more money while covering stories that matter.
In my small group coaching program, you’ll learn the same proven processes that have helped Bootcamp alumni break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Nat Geo Travel, the BBC, Outside, and many more.
Apply today for the next session of Freelance Writer Bootcamp: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast137
The freelancer’s version of the eggestential question: should I first reach out to the source to ask about interviewing them for an article, or should I pitch the story and secure the assignment first?
Our thoughts about the individual we want to talk to and the publication we want to write for can distract from the core issue: It’s time to make a choice, implement it, and evaluate what happens so that we can learn from it for next time.
In this episode you’ll get some key questions to help you make a choice about who to contact first for your next pitch, the source or the editor … and how to approach this with a problem-solving approach that you can use in other freelancing scenarios as well.
Even if you’ve already played a lot of mental ping-pong with this, it’s not a complicated decision. You don’t need to sleep on it or spend any extra hours or days going back and forth. By the end of this episode, you’ll be clear about who to contact first.
All the micro decisions you make in one pitch gives you information that you can use in the next pitch as well. Clarity makes it easier to prioritize your next step.
If you’re already practiced with handling this chicken and egg scenario, it’s still helpful to revisit the process of following a protocol for decision making.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Frank Sinatra Has a Cold by Gay Talese in Esquire
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
JOIN THE WAITLIST
Join the waitlist for the next session of my small group coaching program, and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open AND get special access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Writers on the waitlist will be the first to hear when Bootcamp applications open up for early bird enrollment in the next session.
Click here to join the small group waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast136
Every editor says to read their publication before pitching. When I coach writers, we put this research step first—get to know their stories, angles, and readers, before developing a story idea.
Some writers prefer to avoid this essential step because they associate it with overwhelm. Many writers find researching publications online in particular to be a rabbit hole that’s dark and unending. One of my coaching clients felt swamped when trying to evalute the New York Times online. Not too surprising when you consider their archives date back to the 1800s.
Let’s look at how constraint and intention can help with decision making, focus, and a better understanding of who you’re writing for.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE …
WCP 128 Archives Vol. I: Managing overwhelm
WCP 114 Everyday dream clients: Pitching triad miniseries part 2
WCP 111 Intentions and transitions
WCP 29: The research rabbit hole
WCP 4: Pitching: The perfect black T-shirt
WORK WITH ME: JOIN THE FREELANCE WRITER BOOTCAMP WAITLIST
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Writers on the waitlist will be the first to hear when Bootcamp applications open up for early bird enrollment in the next session.
Click here to join the Freelance Writer Bootcamp waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast135
The question of what to charge comes up not just amongst newish freelancers, but frequently amongst mid-career and veterans as well. In reality, nobody else can tell you what your rates should be. Today we’re looking at three components so that you can feel more clear and confident in deciding what to charge:
-
Research
-
Do the math
-
Money mindset
MENTIONED IN THIS SHOW
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
WCP 2: Thinking thoughts and feeling feels
WORK WITH ME: JOIN THE FREELANCE WRITER BOOTCAMP WAITLIST
Ready to master the art of the freelance article pitch?
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Writers on the waitlist will be the first to hear when applications open up for early bird enrollment in the next session.
Click here to join the Bootcamp waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast134
You use certain meta skills and habits in your writing life that you developed before you even considered freelancing—and you probably use some of your best freelancing skills in non-writing areas of your life. Becoming aware of these allows you to tap into them more deeply and recognize that you have a deeper foundation for success than you normally give yourself credit for.
YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY …
WCP132 Archives Vol. II: Celebrating
WCP 129 Writing space
WCP 128 Archives Vol. I: Managing overwhelm
WCP 116 Lights out
WCP 103: Urgency
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
SHARE THE WRITING COACH PODCAST WITH OTHER WRITERS
Subscribe and write a review of the Writing Coach Podcast on Apple Podcasts.
WORK WITH ME: JOIN THE BOOTCAMP WAITLIST
Join the waitlist for the next session of my small group coaching program, and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open AND get special access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Writers on the waitlist will be the first to hear when Bootcamp applications open up for early bird enrollment in the next session.
Click here to join the small group waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast133
Glossing over achieving goals, and the milestones along the way to those goals, doesn’t allow us to really recognize or appreciate all that we’re doing right as freelancers. Sure, there is intrinsic value in a job well done, but it’s also useful to pause and intentionally celebrate those wins as well. Ignoring achievements, or of “rewarding” ourselves with either the next task or an admonishment that we took too long or didn’t do quite a good enough job, doesn’t help motivate us to take on the next challenge.
Seeking out what’s working—and celebrating your wins—gives you more access to the creative problem solving part of your brain, and to a state of flow.
Don’t feel like you have much in your writing life to celebrate right now? Let’s start small—smaller than your habitually non-celebrating mind thinks makes sense—and reframe your outlook.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE …
WCP 96: Winning
WCP 20: Setting freelance writer goals
WCP 32: Setting freelance writer goals, Vol. II
WCP 45: Setting freelance writer goals, Volume III
WCP 59: Setting freelance writer goals, Vol. IV
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
Download my guide on how to pitch freelance articles.
WORK WITH ME: JOIN THE FREELANCE WRITER BOOTCAMP WAITLIST
Join the waitlist for the next session of my small group coaching program, and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open AND get special access to an early bird bonus: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Writers on the waitlist will be the first to hear when Bootcamp applications open up for early bird enrollment in the next session.
Click here to join the small group waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast132
Once you tap into the power of presenting a story idea (or just about any other writing related project) in a way that connects the dots for the recipient about how it will be relevant/helpful to them, you can bring that frame of mind with you to pitch almost anything. I’ve seen Bootcampers transition seamlessly into landing staff jobs, being accepted into grad school, and securing interviews with celeb guests by knowing how to pitch themselves.
WORK WITH ME: JOIN THE FREELANCE WRITER BOOTCAMP WAITLIST
Ready to master the art of the freelance article pitch?
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Writers on the waitlist will be the first to hear when applications open up for early bird enrollment in the next session.
Click here to join the Bootcamp waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast131
Are your pitches in demand with editors?
Making sure the quality and clarity of how your pitch addresses the needs and perspectives of your publication’s readers is essential for connecting with assigning editors.
Following through on what you’ve promised is just as important for long-term relationships. When the editor receives your story, they think, “Oh yes, this is just what we agreed on and then some.” [Of course, “then some” refers to rigorous reporting, elegant writing, or similar—NOT a bloated word count that they have to trim back.]
Overdelivery—the simplicity of doing a good job and exceeding expectations—is powerful. It’s what leads you both to wanting to continue to working together.
Pitching and then writing an assigned article are both external skillsets that are greatly influenced and fueled by your attitude and mindset.
Think about how you approach a pitch differently if it’s for anybody who wants it as a single, once-off gig vs. if it is for one editor who you’re going to write a dozen stories for.
What’s different in your approach when you only intend to pitch a single idea to an editor, or when this pitch will be linked to your pitches for this same editor next week, next month, next quarter?
Let’s look at what it really takes to not just pitch on demand, but to truly be in demand as a freelance writer.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE …
Download my guide on how to pitch freelance articles.
WCP 115 Pitching as a freelance superpower: Pitching triad miniseries part 3
WCP 114 Everyday dream clients: Pitching triad miniseries part 2
WCP 113 Believe me: Pitching triad miniseries part 1
WCP1 What’s your problem?
WORK WITH ME: JOIN THE FREELANCE WRITER BOOTCAMP WAITLIST
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, have used these proven pitching processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
We cover all the external skills to improve your pitch acceptance rate, and the internal mindset work to keep you from getting in your own way.
Writers on the waitlist will be the first to hear when Bootcamp applications open up for early bird enrollment in the next session.
Click here to join the Freelance Writer Bootcamp waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast130
What makes for an ideal writing space?
What supports your focus, the quality of your thinking, and getting words out of your brain and onto the screen or page? What’s conducive to you getting writing done?
Let’s talk about how your environmental influences your writing, and how to optimize.
MENTIONED IN THIS SHOW
Tools for South African journos and reporters interested in a global perspective
OpenUp: Builds tools, opens up data, and provides data training to support an active citizenry
Wazimap: South African population data
Municipal money: track how your local SA municipality manages its money, compare nationally
Vulekamali: Makes the SA budget more accessible to all
Home office hacks for writers: See my home office set up
WORK WITH ME: JOIN THE FREELANCE WRITER BOOTCAMP WAITLIST
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, have used these proven processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Writers on the waitlist will be the first to hear when applications open up for early bird enrollment in the the next session.
Click here to join the Bootcamp waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast129
Over the next few months, I’m going to be periodically re-releasing some of the best and most popular episodes from the Writing Coach Podcast archives. If you’ve been a subscriber from day one, you’re ready to deepen your understanding of these concepts. I’ll give you a few additional thoughts about each episode. And if you’re new, think of this as a curated list as to where to start.
We don’t absorb and apply everything the first time. Today’s archival episode on managing overwhelm is one that I’ve listened to quite a few times. :) Most of the time I’m clear about what causes overwhelm, what it looks and feels like … but I sometimes get caught up in it too. Listening to this episode help me recalibrate, remind myself what to look out for, and to identify when it’s happening earlier on.
Let’s look at the three main causes of overwhelm and how to find relief.
MENTIONED IN THIS SHOW
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
WCP 2: Thinking thoughts and feeling feels
WORK WITH ME
Join the waitlist for my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, and you’ll be the first to hear when enrollment opens again.
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Click here to join the small group waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your goals. Click here for a private coaching consultation: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
REVIEW THE WRITING COACH PODCAST
Please let other writers know why you listen and what they’ll get out of tuning in. Your reviews help support the longevity of this podcast. Click here to write a review on Apple Podcasts.
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast128
To support ourselves, it’s nice to have a reliable go-to selection of tools, apps, programs, books, and other stuff.
In today’s episode, I talk through a few of my own favorites, and why and how I use them. Be sure to check out one of my oldest blog posts that I keep updating, with all the links mentioned plus several more for you to explore. These are all affiliate free, ie no kickbacks.
The updated blog post with links to the resources mentioned in this podcast, plus some others too.
Modern Journalist Toolkit blog series
Download my free guide on how to pitch
List of all the Writing Coach Podcast episodes
REVIEW THE WRITING COACH PODCAST
I hope the Writing Coach Podcast has become one of your favorite writer resources.
- Please share the Writing Coach Podcast with your fellow writers. You can:
Write a review of the Writing Coach Podcast on Apple Podcasts - Link to it on your blog, podcast, or
- Screenshot and share on your social media accounts
WORK WITH ME
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Click here to apply for Freelance Writer Bootcamp.
Time for another edition of Listener Q&A! Here are today’s questions:
-
I’m getting charged a lot of fees because I’m working with an international client. How can I avoid these?
-
Can I write about toileting toddlers one day, and mental health issues in returned military men and women the next (and be taken seriously)?
-
I pitched a story to my ideal publication. It was rejected. How do I move onto a different publication when I was so convinced it belonged to the first one?
Want me to answer your question on the next edition of Listener Q&A? Email me at rebecca@freelancewriterbootcamp.com
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
WCP 93: Listener Q&A, Vol. VI
WCP 68: Listener Q&A, Vol. V
WCP 58: Listener Q&A, Vol. IV
WCP 47: Listener Q&A, Vol. III
WCP 39: Listener Q&A, Volume II
WCP 28: Listener Q&A
WCP 12: How to get freelance clients to pay on time
Download my free guide on how to pitch
JOIN THE WAITLIST
Join the waitlist for the next session of my small group coaching program, and you’ll be the first to hear when applications open: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Click here to join the small group waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast126
When an editor wants you to do a piece but leaves the deadline up to you, your initial reaction may be: Great. I’ve got work lined up and I don’t have to work on it yet. It can be quite liberating if you’re used to working under tight deadlines and a lot of pressure.
But somewhere along the way, things turn. You still don’t have a deadline, but now you can’t believe you haven’t gotten it done. The relief has morphed into pressure.
MENTIONED IN THIS SHOW
WCP 7: Procrastinate later
WCP 120 Priority power
WCP 103: Urgency
WCP 13: Setting freelance boundaries and company policies
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
Throw a dance party: Under Pressure
REVIEW THE WRITING COACH PODCAST
Please let other writers know why you listen and what they’ll get out of tuning in. Your reviews help support the longevity of this podcast. Click here to write a review on Apple Podcasts.
DOWNLOAD MY FREE GUIDE ON HOW TO PITCH
5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell
More info: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast125
Do you hate marketing because it always takes too long and never winds up in front of the right people? Today we’re challenging that with a quick makeover of that humble marketing workhorse, your email signature. It’s such a fast and easy way to demonstrate to your clients (current and potential) that your communications are always concise and thoughtful.
Plus, unlike most makeovers, you’re not going to wind up with some tricky hairstyle that you’re never able to replicate. Once you make these changes, everyone will see the new, improved version.
MENTIONED IN THIS SHOW
Three-minute marketing makeover blog post
REVIEW THE WRITING COACH PODCAST ON APPLE PODCASTS
Please let other writers know why you listen and what they’ll get out of tuning in. Your reviews help support the longevity of this podcast. Click here to write a review on Apple Podcasts.
DOWNLOAD MY FREE GUIDE ON HOW TO PITCH
5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell
More info: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast124
This episode isn’t a breakdown of why followups should be a part of your routine. Scheduling followups is so quick, easy, cheap, and effective, that NOT doing them basically means turning your back on multiple assignments, clients, and ultimately the growth of your freelance career.
Instead, let’s focus on the hesitation, second guessing, and outright avoidance of following up.
We’ll cover how to:
-Recognize and debunk surface-level reasons for not following up, like “Editors get back to the writer after the first pitch if they’re interested.”
-Notice when the fear of failure and/or of success holds you back.
-Choose to focus on facts rather than fantasies, and growth over short-term relief.
MENTIONED IN THIS SHOW
WCP 89: Annoying pitches
WCP 42: Writers and imposter syndrome
WCP 119 I want to, I want to not
WCP 53: Rejection
WORK WITH ME PRIVATELY
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You’ll experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your goals.
Results my private clients have achieved while working with me include: increasing confidence, breaking into dream publications, dropping pain-in-the-butt/low paying clients, increasing rates and income, starting/finishing personal projects, getting their writing mojo back, and enjoying their own definition of freelance writing success.
Click here for a private coaching consultation: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
MASTER THE ART OF THE PITCH
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, have used these proven processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Condé Nast Traveler, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Click here to apply: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast123
For many freelancers, when you get sick it becomes a question of finding hours or days when you’re able to push yourself to get things done vs. not getting paid, rather than taking actual time off.
Today I’m talking about my own experience contracting coronavirus, and discussing how to care for yourself and your freelance writing business when you get sick in general.
We look at getting rest, saying no, prioritizing, and transitioning back to full days while respecting your limitations.
MENTIONED IN THIS SHOW
WCP 13 Setting freelance boundaries and company policies
WCP 112 Fifteen minutes of focus
WCP 79 Covering coronavirus
WCP 80 Freelancing in the time of coronavirus
Resources for freelance writers during the coronavirus pandemic
WORK WITH ME TO MASTER THE ART OF THE PITCH
Small group coaching program: Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Click here to apply: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast122
Who gets to decide if you’re accomplished or not?
Is there somebody actually keeping score?
Often one of the motivating reasons we set a goal is to feel accomplished. That can be a real challenge if it’s an emotion that’s unfamiliar to you.
If you have a strong habit of naysaying what you do and repeatedly telling yourself that you’re not accomplished (yet/enough), reaching external milestones is unlikely to undo your habitual or default thoughts.
Let’s examine how you’re defining accomplishment for yourself and how to create more of it.
MENTIONED IN THIS SHOW
WCP1 What’s your (writing) problem?
WORK WITH ME TO MASTER THE ART OF THE PITCH
Small group coaching program: Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Click here to apply: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast121
Today’s episode continues where we left off last week, looking at the distinction between desire and commitment. You’ve decided to step out of the energy suck of both wanting and not wanting something, and shift into prioritization.
Listen into how one of the writers I coach figured out how to prioritize time for writing and sending pitches. The actions themselves seem simple, but only after first clearing up the flawed thinking and emotional resistance she had about making it a priority.
When you embrace the power of priority in your writing life, it will seem like your time and self management start to shape shift.
BTW, after I recorded this episode this same writer sent out a pitch and had it assigned within a couple of days, at a higher rate than she normally earns.
MENTIONED IN THIS SHOW
WCP119 I Want to, I want to not
WORK WITH ME
Small group coaching program: Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Click here to apply for Freelance Writer Bootcamp: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Private coaching
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You will experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your goals.
I work with new coaching clients by application only. Click here to apply for private coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
More info: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast120
This is the first of two episodes exploring the intersection of desire, commitment, and priorities.
Is there something in your writing life that you strongly desire but haven’t committed to yet?
Writers who mistake desire for commitment are actually committed to wanting to do something—request deadline extension, write a book, pitch a dream publication, earn 2x more than last year—rather than committed to making it happen.
They want the thing. And they also don’t want it. Let’s explore if you’re in this situation and how to move forward.
Download my free guide on how to pitch.
WORK WITH ME
Small group coaching program: Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Click here to apply for Freelance Writer Bootcamp: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Private coaching
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You will experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your goals.
I work with new coaching clients by application only. Click here to apply for private coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
More info: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast119
Join me on Tuesday, March 23, for a live masterclass on how to break into your dream publications. We’ll focus on proven strategies to get consistent, meaningful assignments that pay well.
This isn't the conventional, so-called freelancing wisdom that leads to mediocre results. These are the same principles I teach my paying coaching clients, who have broken into the Guardian, the New York Times, Bustle, Conde Nast Traveler, the BBC, and so many more publications.
Sign up for free at www.rebeccalweber.com/masterclassI'll share with you:
+ A proven blueprint for pitching and selling freelance article ideas
+ How to turn a once-off assignment into an ongoing gig
+ The most effective way to get silent editors to respond to you
+ Plus time for answers to your freelancing questions during our live Q&A
See you in the masterclass on Tuesday! Register at www.rebeccalweber.com/masterclass
Freelancers often think of the editors who don’t want to assign them stories, and of readers who don’t want to read their stories and angles, when writing pitches.
I don’t mean the editors don’t want to assign the stories because the pitches need to be zhushed up. I mean they don’t want to work with the writer because it’s a bad match. And that if the freelancer had done a frank assessment, they’d realize that they don’t to write the kind of stories that pub does, or for the rates and terms they offer. This client actually possess the characteristics of the writer’s worst, rather than best, client.
And yet that’s who they’re pitching. Probably without realizing it at all. Let’s discuss why and how to avoid this trap by learning to recognize your truly best clients.
WORK WITH ME
Small group coaching program: Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Click here to apply for Freelance Writer Bootcamp: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Private coaching
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You will experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your goals.
I help writers get real, lasting results. Their confidence increases. They break into their dream publications. They drop their pain-in-the-butt clients. They increase their rates. They develop new streams of income. They start (and finish!) personal and creative projects. They get their writing mojo back. They define and enjoy their own definition of freelance writing success.
I work with new coaching clients by application only. Click here to apply for private coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
More info: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast118
The work you're doing now will tend to lead to similar work moving forward. Similar pay, topics, structures, publications, clients, etc. All of these tend to replicate if you’re not intentionally making changes and steering yourself in a new direction.
You also have the possibility of continually building upon what you did last quarter or last year. This can be the thing that leads to feeling invigorated, interested, and engaged with your clients in creating something new and better than what you’ve done before.
When your clients needs evolve, you can evolve along with them.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
The pitching triad miniseries:
WCP113 Believe me: Pitching triad miniseries (1 of 3)
WCP114 Everyday dream clients: Pitching triad miniseries (2 of 3)
WCP115 Pitching as a freelance superpower: Pitching triad miniseries (3 of 3)
WCP Miniseries Bonus: Break the cycle
Download my free guide on how to pitch
WORK WITH ME
Develop and Enhance Your Writing Coaching Business: Webinar presented by the American Society of Journalists and Authors
Thursday, March 18th, 1:00 pm. - 2:30 p.m. US Eastern
Whether you are looking to launch a writing coaching business or learn new skills to bring more to your existing clients, freelance journalist and writing coach Rebecca L. Weber is available to guide you in our next mastermind session. The lesson will be tailored to the interests of the class.
Space for this masterclass is limited. Click here to register for this webinar by the American Society of Journalists and Authors.
Small group coaching program: Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Break into your dream publications and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Alumni of my small group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Click here to apply for Freelance Writer Bootcamp and master the art of the pitch.
Private coaching
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You will experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your goals.
I help writers get real, lasting results. Their confidence increases. They break into their dream publications. They drop their pain-in-the-butt clients. They increase their rates. They start (and finish!) personal and creative projects. They get their writing mojo back. They define and enjoy their own definition of freelance writing success.
Private coaching clients who are ready to invest time, energy, and money into coaching can expect an excellent return. I work with new coaching clients by application only. Click here to apply to work with me 1:1.
More info: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast117
No electricity. No internet. They’re not one in the same, but when they overlap they make for a powerful Venn diagram.
The extreme weather and increased pressures on infrastructure means we’re going to continue to see large areas lose power and connectivity.
Here in South Africa, we’ve had plenty of chances to learn how to freelance efficiently both with some tech strategies and managing our own expectations during power outages. Let’s get into both so that you can keep getting your work done.
Did you enjoy the show? Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
Download my free guide on how to pitch.
WORK WITH ME
Mastering the art of the pitch includes understanding how to make your dream publications the actual pubs ones you’re writing for today. Alumni of my small group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Al Jazeera, Nat Geo Traveler, the BBC, and many more.
Click here to apply for the next session of Freelance Writer Bootcamp.
More info: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast116
Listen into some coaching I gave to a few alumni inside my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, who have NOT been pitching their celebrity crush clients. You may be surprised to hear the coaching I give them about how to move forward and break their current patterns.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
The pitching triad miniseries:
WCP113 Believe me: Pitching triad miniseries (1 of 3)
WCP114 Everyday dream clients: Pitching triad miniseries (2 of 3)
WCP115 Pitching as a freelance superpower: Pitching triad miniseries (3 of 3)
WORK WITH ME
Break into your dream publications and earn more money while covering stories that matter. Freelance Writer Bootcamp Alumni of my small group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Click here to apply for Freelance Writer Bootcamp and master the art of the pitch.
The pitching triad focuses on three interconnected areas: trust in yourself, in your publication, and in your pitch. Today we’re focusing on the believing in your pitch. When you know pitching is one of your freelance superpowers, it can deepen your trust and belief in yourself and your ability to work with your ideal clients as well.
Here are a few things we’ll explore:
Why mid-career writers who are confident about their ability to complete an assignment once they have it fall into a common pitfall when it comes to pitching
A quick-check technique to see what you really think about your current pitch trajectory
The two most important areas you can examine to quantify and evaluate if your beliefs are in line with the quality of your pitches
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
The pitching triad miniseries:
WCP113 Believe me: Pitching triad miniseries (1 of 3)
WCP114 Everyday dream clients: Pitching triad miniseries (2 of 3)
WCP115 Pitching as a freelance superpower: Pitching triad miniseries (3 of 3)
WCP 89: Annoying pitches
WCP 74: Why you’re the one
Download my free guide on how to pitch
WORK WITH ME
Mastering the art of the pitch includes understanding how to make your dream publications the actual pubs ones you’re writing for today. Alumni of my small group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Click here to apply for Freelance Writer Bootcamp and master the art of the pitch.
More info: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast114
Are you currently working on a pitch or assignment for your dream publication?
Do you know that your ideal clients see you as an ideal freelancer for them?
Are you confident that they’ll pay you well and promptly?
If you answered “No” to any of these questions, it could indicate a lack of belief in your client and your connection with them. This will interfere with your ability to identify, attract, and retain the kind of long-term editorial relationships that you most want and that provide meaning and stability to your writing life.
Today’s episode will challenge the way you connect with your current and future ideal clients.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
WCP113 Believe me: Pitching triad miniseries (1 of 3)
WCP110 Passivs vs. active
Download my free guide on how to pitch
WORK WITH ME
Mastering the art of the pitch includes understanding how to make your dream publications the actual pubs ones you’re writing for today. Alumni of my small group coaching program have used the proven Bootcamp processes to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Fodor’s, Ms., Al Jazeera, the BBC, and many more.
Apply today for the March session of my small group coaching program: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast114
The writers I coach ask me all the time what they should be doing. Whether they are trying to figure out a news hook for a seemingly evergreen story pitch or planning their annual financial goal, they want to know what specific actions to take.
Today’s episode goes beyond any one goal or task, and it’s something that virtually every writer I’ve worked with could spend more time on: Building their belief in themselves.
Many writers are running on less than half a tank of belief, which will only get them so far, especially if you find yourself making a lot of wrong turns that lead to dead ends.
This isn’t just self help (although loving yourself more is a possible side effect). This is what you can concretely work on today: Identify useful thoughts that are true and that you can explore and practice.
You can rebuild your belief system one thought at a time.
I give you a specific exercise to generate and identify useful, true thoughts. Grab your freelance journal and a pen for this episode.
Some of you (often the ones who need this work the most) won’t want to do this. You’ll come back to “Tell me what to do.” I understand what you’re asking, and I’m telling you: This work will push you out of your comfort zone. When you grow and transform in this way, you will have more access to creative ideas, and you will have the energy and drive to see what is truly possible for you in your writing life.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
WCP 29: The research rabbit hole
WCP 111 Intentions and transitions
Download my free guide on how to pitch
WORK WITH ME
Apply for the March session of my small group coaching program and master the art of the pitch: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast113
It's been longer than I would've liked since the last episode. I've had coronavirus, and although my symptoms have been squarely in the mild category--I can breathe and take pills to keep my fever in check--I wasn’t recovered in a couple of weeks as I had anticipated. I thought long covid was for people who wound up in the hospital.
Initially, it was a no brainer that I would pull back and avoid any work task that I feasibly could. No internal resistance because the body’s need for rest was so obvious.
And then I started having some moments when I felt better, my brain was clearer, and I thought I could do certain work tasks again
I started with half a Pomodoro at a time. 15 minutes of focus.
This wasn’t stacking a dozen 15-minute blocks. Sometimes one left me exhausted, ready for a nap.
Of course, sometimes I told myself, “15 minutes wasn’t enough” or “I’m never going to get back on top of everything at this rate.” But I also caught myself.
Those thoughts could distract me from focusing, and from experiencing progress. Noticing that I was doing my best was way more useful than wallowing in insufficiency.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Want to receive my newsletter? Click here to download my free guide on how to pitch, and then I will add you to my mailing list.
WORK WITH ME
Apply for the March session and master the art of the pitch: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast112
How do you prepare for your next task? Next project? Next month? Next year?
Sometimes we give it no more thought than opening a new browser tab, and we’re absorbed from minute one.
But sometimes we rub right up against resistance. Boring project. PITA client. The I-can’t-remember-where-I-left-off-and-I’d-rather-scroll-Instagram mood. Yes, we do the work, but it’s more fragmented, less focused, and all around less satisfying.
Then there are the things we never actually start. The so-called dream client we never pitch. The revamped website. The home office decluttering session. The annual revenue goal that could only be reached by targeting higher paying clients who we never take the time to identify and reach out to.
Intentionally allocating time for transitions can mean the difference between starting a work session feeling like a professional failure vs somebody who has valuable skills and ideas.
Today on the Writing Coach Podcast, I share a story with your about a writer who was concerned at the end of October that she might not make her financial goal by the end of 2020—and, by extension, not reach next year’s goal either.
Does this sound like the kind of attitude likely to lead to creative solutions and a strong finish to the year? Nope.
When I coach a writer, I’m not a cheerleader. I didn’t tell her anything that she doesn’t already know to be true. I asked her a few questions about what she’s done to develop her skills and offerings. Within a few minutes, she was able to redirect her thoughts from a negative, downward spiral to a place of neutrality and then to strength.
You can choose to do this for yourself too, by intentionally choosing to build in transitions at the micro and macro level.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
WCP1 What’s your (writing) problem?
WORK WITH ME
Request a private coaching consultation and let me know your next area of growth as a writer: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
Apply for the next session of my small group coaching program and learn to master the art of the pitch: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and full show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast111
You’ve had English teachers and editors ask you to use the active voice rather than the passive voice when writing. When presented with two sentences, one passive and one active, we almost always choose the active. So why do we keep writing our drafts in the passive voice?
Our minds default repeatedly to seeing people as passive rather than active participants, in things large and small. We habitually avert our eyes and words from stating a direct cause. We’ve created strong passive habits.
This plays out in your writing, but also in the choices you make off the page/screen. Are you a consumer (passive) or a creator (active)? Are you making things happen in your writing life or waiting for them to happen to you?
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Erin Brown on Instagram
Follow me on Instagram
EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION FOR JANUARY BOOTCAMP
Apply for the next session of my small group coaching program and learn to master the art of the pitch: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and full show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast110
Register for the free masterclass, taught live on Wednesday: www.rebeccalweber.com/masterclass
Perfectionism is a gateway to procrastination. If you're holding yourself and your story ideas to an impossible standard, you're probably not sending out very many pitches.
"Imperfect" doesn't mean half-baked, overwrought, or unsent pitches. Think original ideas that are relevant to the audience you're pitching ... and that are in the editors' inbox rather than collecting e-dust in your drafts folder.
This Wednesday, November 11, I’m teaching a new, free, masterclass on writing pitches for freelance articles that aren't perfect, but are good enough to get assigned by editors at your dream publications. Get ready to say goodbye to overreporting, overthinking, and overwhelm.
Click here to register for the Pitch Imperfect Masterclass: www.rebeccalweber.com/masterclass
If you decide to take on the complaint-free challenge, you’re guaranteed to learn something about yourself.
It’s simple: No complaining to anybody you know IRL. No complaining to virtual strangers online. No complaining to yourself. (That one’s the hardest.)
Complaining makes our work far less enjoyable. We engage less with our stories, we resent our clients, and we don’t appreciate ourselves. This negative framework doesn’t help us create solutions for the very problems we’re noticing.
This simple (not always easy!) change will shift your approach to the writing life.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
WCP1 What’s your (writing) problem?
WCP13 Setting freelance boundaries and company policies
WORK WITH ME
Request a private coaching consultation and let me know your next area of growth as a writer: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
Apply for the next session of my small group coaching program and learn to master the art of the pitch: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and full show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast109
Judith Gaton, style coach, author, and podcast host, joins us today to talk about the impact of how the way we get dressed impacts our sense of well being.
This isn’t about getting dressed to the nines when you’re working from home (unless you want to!), but about being more deliberate in ways that support your writing life.
- Why too much freedom (AKA not changing out of your jammies all day) can be counterproductive to creative output
- Habit by default vs intention
- Small style uplevels you can try today without shopping
- Zoom tips to look and feel your best on camera
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Judith Gaton’s website
How to Be a F*cking Lady: A Modern Guide to Being Charming & Fierce AF
Style Masterclass Podcast
Judith on Instagram @judithgaton
Did you enjoy the show? Please write a review of the Writing Coach Podcast on Apple Podcasts.
Download my free guide on how to pitch
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast108
Habits can become so ingrained that we believe that they’re the way things are rather than a pattern we’ve started and that we can also end.
Sometimes when it’s nearly time to turn in a piece, we’ll go over and over and over it again, working ourselves up in a way that produces diminishing returns for the procut and is the antithesis of self-care.
One of my coaching clients did this regularly, along with the refrain that it was surely no good and that the last piece’s success was just a fluke--even though decades of this made a pretty convincing case that her work was consistently high quality.
In this episode, you’ll hear how we broke through the thought-emotion pattern that caused her so much pain. Once this kind of pattern is exposed, a writer can always choose a different path moving forward.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE …
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
WCP 43: Bridge thoughts
Apply for private coaching: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
Apply for my small group coaching program: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Download my free guide on how to pitch
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast107
I don’t mean that editors don’t want your pitch because the story angle isn’t clear, that there’s no news hook, and that you don’t have a string of impressive clips in your bio. You can learn how to handle all of that.
What I mean is that editors want what a pitch promises. Understand this, and you’ll be better able to communicate in way that establishes trust and value in your editorial relationship.
Follow me on Instagram: @freelancewriterbootcamp
Apply to work with me in my small group coaching program: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Break into your dream publications. Earn more money. Cover stories that matter.
In my small group coaching program, you’ll learn the same proven processes that have helped Bootcamp alumni break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Nat Geo Travel, the BBC, Outside, and many more.
The October Bootcamp is the last group in 2020. Apply today: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
WCP 105: Should-free pitching
WCP 104: Superstitions, underdogs, and when to pitch
Download my free guide on how to pitch
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast106
When it comes to pitching, a surprising number of mid-career freelancers really aren’t sure what to do. They may have a basic, intermediary, or theoretical understanding of pitching that doesn’t yield reliable results with competitive publications.
Getting clear about this is way more effective for building internal motivation than telling yourself you should be pitching, that you should be getting more work, or that you should have figured it all out by now.
Follow me on Instagram: @freelancewriterbootcamp
Apply to work with me in my small group coaching program: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Break into your dream publications. Earn more money. Cover stories that matter.
In my small group coaching program, you’ll learn the same proven processes that have helped Bootcamp alumni break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Nat Geo Travel, the BBC, Outside, and many more.
The October Bootcamp is the last group in 2020. Apply today: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Download my free guide on how to pitch
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast105
Freelance writers often spend a lot of time trying to decide when to pitch. Learn when the very best time to pitch is, plus what you can do with the time you used to spend asking this question.
Follow me on Instagram: @freelancewriterbootcamp
Apply to work with me in my small group coaching program: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Break into your dream publications. Earn more money. Cover stories that matter.
In my small group coaching program, you’ll learn the same proven processes that have helped Bootcamp alumni break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Nat Geo Travel, the BBC, Outside, and many more.
The October Bootcamp is the last group in 2020. Apply today: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Download my free guide on how to pitch
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast104
Should you follow up on the story you pitched more quickly than you used to pre-pandemic?
Yes, if the story itself must be told urgently. No, if you personally have a sense of urgency about knowing what your next assignment will be.
Freelancers often conflate these two very different kinds of urgency. Let’s get clear about introducing urgency into an article while feeling focused, curious, confident, or calm; and how acting from a place of anxiety/panic/urgency doesn’t lead to good decision making and outcomes.
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY …
WCP 102 Mother tongue
WCP 62 PITA Clients
WCP 89 Annoying pitches
WCP 1 What’s your problem?
Download my free guide on how to pitch
LET’S WORK TOGETHER
Break into your dream publications. Earn more money. Cover stories that matter.
In my small group coaching program, you’ll learn the same proven processes that have helped Bootcamp alumni break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Nat Geo Travel, the BBC, Outside, and many more.
Apply for Freelance Writer Bootcamp: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast103
Today we’re looking at the challenges and opportunities for multilingual writers. We speak with freelancers from Brazil, Poland, and South Africa, who have all used their locations and language skills to build relationships with editors overseas. This is a fascinating discussion for everyone interested in developing a better understanding of international coverage.
-Centering local stories for foreign audiences (i.e. not allowing an “othering” or so-called exotic gaze) and making sure that editors understand the cultural significance of story angles
-Working as a fixer with a foreign correspondent and networking to find freelance gigs
-Building confidence with language skills and leaning into an understanding of local topics
-Crafting different angles for editors in different countries
-Challenging stereotypes about who can be and who is best suited for covering news in foreign countries, e.g. a non-Western perspective
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Beatriz Miranda is a Brazilian freelance journalist covering her country for The New York Times, New Internationalist, Ozy, OkayAfrica, The Rio Times, and others. Her stories are born where Brazil's culture and social issues intersect.
Beatriz Miranda on Twitter: https://twitter.com/beatrizhmiranda
“A Black Pianist Helped Birth Bossa Nova. His Story Is Rarely Told” in the New York Times
Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska is a freelance journalist based in Uzbekistan, a former editor with New Eastern Europe magazine and a fellow with the Coalition for Women in Journalism. She has written on migration, human rights, and the far right, mostly focusing on the post-Soviet space, Afghanistan and Lebanon. Her articles appeared in Al Jazeera English, the Guardian, the Moscow Times, The Diplomat, Voice of America and other media. She is currently working on her first reporting book on Uzbekistan which will be published in 2021 by Wydawnictwo Czarne (Poland).
Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aga_pik1/
Yolisa Qunta is a published author, freelance writer, editor and researcher. Her first book was chosen for Exclusive Books Homebru in 2016. Her subsequent non fiction writing has been published in Australia, Britain, America and South Africa. In 2018 Yolisa was shortlisted for the Iceland Writers Retreat.
Yolisa Qunta on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yolisaq
Grammarly.com
MASTER THE ART OF THE PITCH
Break into your dream publications and earn more money while covering stories that matter.
Today’s podcast guests are all alumni of Freelance Writer Bootcamp, and have used these proven processes to improve their pitches and break into their dream publications.
In my small group coaching program, you’ll learn the same proven processes that have helped Bootcamp alumni break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Nat Geo Travel, the BBC, Outside, and many more.
Apply for the September session of Freelance Writer Bootcamp: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast102
The way we think about and prepare questions shapes our conversations, our stories, and our own learning.
Today I’m teaching a thinking technique that will redirect you back to yourself and your own knowledge. This will allow you to show up with an extra layer or two of understanding whenever you ask a question. I’ll show you three different examples of how to Ask Back: Requesting an interview from a reluctant source, preparing interview questions, and getting the most out of a coaching session.
Ask Back is simple and powerful, and you’ve almost certainly done it spontaneously already; look for opportunities to use it today.
WORK WITH ME
Break into your dream publications and earn more money while covering stories that matter.
In my small group coaching program, you’ll learn the same proven processes that have helped Bootcamp alumni break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Nat Geo Travel, the BBC, Outside, and many more.
Apply today for the September session of Freelance Writer Bootcamp: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE
WCP 1 What’s your problem?
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast101
When an editor posts a call for pitches, freelancers sometimes respond the way they would to the siren’s call.
The writers retweet them, share them, subscribe to newsletters with them. After weeks of saying they’ll get around to pitching, they suddenly snap to attention.
Typically, the writer skips over analyzing (or even reading) the publication, and sends out a half-developed idea to join the hundreds of others in an inbox queue.
As popular as calls for pitches are, they rarely lead to what writers say they want most: long-term editorial relationships.
What I find interesting is the gap between how excited the call for pitches can make the writer feel and their surge of activity, and the actual outcomes (i.e., no assignment). There are far more systematic ways to find editors commissioning work who are a good fit. And there are replicable methods for sparking creative ideas that editors will want to assign.
If you’ve been answering the siren’s call with little to show for it, today’s episode will help you respond to calls for pitches in a new way.
P.S. This is the 100th episode of the Writing Coach Podcast. To celebrate, I’d really appreciate it if you would please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Thank you!
Apply for a full scholarship in my small group coaching program. Paid applications for the September session of Freelance Writer Bootcamp will open next week.
WCP 70 Application opportunities
Download my free guide on how to pitch.
Chocolate and Zucchini
Change ma vie
Podcast Edition
WCP 97 Setting freelance writer goals V: Celebrations
More info and full show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast100
Are you telling yourself you’re all in and willing to do anything … unless it involves anxiety, doubt, boredom, or frustration?
Deciding to do things when you’re not in the mood (especially if you’re never likely to be in the mood) is the key to growing your freelance career. If you avoid risk, you avoid success as well as failure. Let’s look at how and when to take risks.
DOWNLOAD MY FREE GUIDE ON HOW TO PITCH
Click here to download 5 proven steps to writing pitches that sell.
TWO WAYS TO WORK WITH ME
My small group coaching program focuses on the art of the pitch: Break into your dream publications, get paid well, and cover stories that matter. Click here to learn more: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Private coaching helps you reach new goals in your writing life. Apply for a coaching consultation call: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
WCP 97: Setting freelance writer goals V: Celebrations
More info and full show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast99
Usually when we talk about mindset work, we’re focusing on what you’re thinking and how it impacts you. It sort of has to be that way, since the only thoughts you have control over are your own. ;)
A lot of freelance writers spend a lot of creative energy thinking about what their editors think … and then let those imaginary thoughts of somebody else stop them. Today I’m going to debunk three of the most common thoughts that freelance writers imagine their editors are having about them, which will virtually never be true.
If your editor wasn’t thinking these things, how would you show up differently?
PRIVATE COACHING SPOTS OPENING IN AUGUST
Ready to unlock the ways in which you’ve been holding yourself back? Private 1:1 coaching will give you insight and practical tools to get out of your own way and step into the writing life you know is possible. Apply for a coaching consultation call: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
WCP 2: Thinking thoughts and feeling feels
More info and full show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast98
The way I teach writers to set and achieve their goals since I shared my method back in episode 20 has evolved. This is an important update for writers who reach their goals but don’t feel as good about them as they thought they might.
By definition, when we’re striving to reach a goal, we haven’t made it yet--and constantly telling ourselves that we aren’t there yet can make it hard to fully acknowledge and internalize the accomplishment when we do reach it. Today we look at why intentionally marking wins with celebrations helps retrain your brain.
PRIVATE COACHING AVAILABLE
Need help reaching your goals? I have a few new openings for writers who want personalized, 1:1 coaching. Apply for a coaching consultation call: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
WCP 96: Winning
WCP 20: Setting freelance writer goals
WCP 32: Setting freelance writer goals, Vol. II
WCP 45: Setting freelance writer goals, Volume III
WCP 59: Setting freelance writer goals, Vol. IV
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
Full show notes and more info: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast97
A big area of growth for myself, as well as for many of the writers I coach, is being able to recognize our wins.
This means identifying them when they happens. Without a disclaimer about why they don’t really count or why they’re an anomaly or how it’s not enough.
When this is very challenging, it often indicates cognitive dissonance. The writer is so used to saying that things aren’t working, that the evidence to the contrary doesn’t compute. It’s easier to dismiss the win than to shift their idea about themselves.
Today we’re looking at a small mind hack to interrupt the narrative that nothing’s working.
WE SHOULD WORK TOGETHER
I help writers improve their mindset so that they can achieve their goals. If you’re ready to achieve and enjoy big wins in your writing life, schedule a private coaching consultation with me: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
For more info and show notes, visit: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast96
Some freelancers avoid low-hanging fruit, and always have their eye on a tree in the next orchard over that they can’t reach yet.
If the fruit is ripe and the right height, picking it now as you learn to climb the tree will sustain you with assignments that are sweet, simple, and easy to attain.
But don’t pick unripe apples, or ones that are full of worms or rotting on the ground. Don’t pretend that these kind of clients will make you feel confident rather than reluctant to pick any more lousy fruit.
UPLEVEL YOUR ABILITY TO GET QUALITY ASSIGNMENTS
Break into your dream publications, earn more money while covering stories that matter, and increase your confidence in my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp. Learn the systems, processes, and mindset management that Bootcamp alumni have used to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, Bustle, Travel and Leisure, the BBC, Al Jazeera, and many more.
Apply today at www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com.
Click here for more info and full show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast95.
Melissa Noel is an award-winning, independent multimedia journalist, television host and media entrepreneur. She brings stories to international audiences with a lens on culture, travel, social issues and business. Melissa has covered stories out of the Caribbean region and throughout diaspora communities in the US and Canada for outlets such as One Caribbean Television, CBS News USVI, ABC News USVI, Huffpost.com, Caribbean Beat Magazine, and NBCNEWS.com.
This is a jam-packed episode. Some of the topics we discuss are:
• Impact (on readers, sources, policy) as a driving motivation to tell complex narratives
• Journalism grants for international reporting
• How using an unexpected lens makes a story feel as if it’s previously unreported
• Pivoting in 2020 and adapting to coronavirus and Black Lives Matter in NYC
• Addressing racism in the travel industry
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE
Melissa Noel’s website: www.melissanoelreports.com
Melissa on Instagram: live_from_melissa
Melissa on Twitter: @NoelKnowsWell
Love in a Barrel:
“Jamaica’s ‘barrel children’ often come up empty with a parent abroad” on NBC News
“Repairing broken bonds: How families rebuild ties after migration” on NBC News
DID YOU ENJOY THIS EPISODE?
Subscribe and write a review of the Writing Coach Podcast on Apple Podcasts.
Click here for more info and full show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast94
After a corona-induced hiatus, Listener Q&A is back. Here are my answers to some of your recent questions:
- Should white writers avoid covering stories so that BIPOC voices are heard?
- Can I get a media card as a freelancer?
- I think my source doesn’t like the profile I wrote about her, and I’m not sure what to do.
DID YOU ENJOY THE SHOW?
Support the Writing Coach Podcast by writing a review on Apple Podcasts.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
WCP 92: Anti-racist reporting
WCP68 Listener Q&A, Vol. V
WCP58 Listener Q&A, Vol. IV
WCP47 Listener Q&A, Vol. III
WCP38 Listener Q&A, Vol. II
WCP28 Listener Q&A, Vol. I
WCP1 What’s your problem?
U.S. Press Freedom Tracker
More info and full show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast93
Black lives matter, today and every day. This is not always reflected in the media.
Today we look at how an anti-racist approach to reporting helps us get closer to the real truth of what is happening in the stories you cover. An anti-racist approach works both in stories that explicitly cover racism, as well as so-called softer stories where you may not have initially identified a racial angle. This process will require you to confront biases in society as well as within yourself.
In No Name in the Street, James Baldwin wrote, “Well, if one really wishes to know how justice is administered in a country, one does not question the policemen, the lawyers, the judges, or the protected members of the middle class. One goes to the unprotected—those, precisely, who need the law’s protection most!—and listens to their testimony.”
Listening is the foundation of good reporting, and anti-racist journalism that challenges the status quo.
Get quiet enough in your own head to listen to your own responses to what’s happening. Ask yourself how you’ve chosen the people you’re interviewing (see Baldwin above if you don’t like your answers). Listen closely to what the people you’re talking to have to say.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Ramaphosa calls 11 lockdown deaths and 230,000 arrests an act of ‘over-enthusiasm’
‘Unarmed Black Man’ doesn’t mean what you think it means
Erin Brown on Instagram @ecce_b
Apply to work with me: rebeccalweber.com/coach
More info and full show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast92
The way we think about certain events happens so quickly that it can seem like it’s the only way to respond. Some of our inner dialogue is so routine, or so convincing, that it feels inevitable—at least at first.
Today I’m sharing with you a coaching client who noticed that a thread of thought was distracting her from what she really wanted to focus on. You’ll hear how you can redirect in the moment, and a powerful practice to intentionally direct your mind before you get caught up in a web of compelling distraction.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Do you have a question you’d like answered on the next edition of Listener Q&A? Send me an email.
WCP68 Listener Q&A, Vol. V
WCP58 Listener Q&A, Vol. IV
WCP47 Listener Q&A, Vol. III
WCP38 Listener Q&A, Vol. II
WCP28 Listener Q&A, Vol. I
Resources for freelance writers during the coronavirus
Apply to my small group coaching program: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and full show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast91
This is a followup to last week’s episode. Instead of coming up with a sophisticated justification for resisting pitching, this week we’re looking at two types of overpitching.
Overpitching type 1 is when you are full on pitching. Pitching the socks off of every single story. You become a pitching warrior. If your goal is one assignment, you pitch so hard and so often and so quickly that you likely wind up with several. Many freelancers are in denial that this is what they need to do to reach their goals.
Overpitching type 2 is when you are quite good at pitching, but you’re sending out too many pitches, and getting work you don’t actually want or need. This is a different kind of resistance—where you don’t accept that the goals you’ve set and achieved are enough.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Apply to my small group coaching program: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Free guide on how to pitch
WCP89 Annoying pitches
WCP84 Excitement!!
WCP48 100 reasons why you shouldn’t pitch today
WCP13 Setting freelance boundaries and company policies
WCP1 What’s your problem?
More info and full show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast90
How would your writing life be different if you felt more confident?
You’re invited to join me for a free, live masterclass on Wednesday, March 20, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern / 6:00 p.m. BST.
Click here to register: www.rebeccalweber.com/masterclass
In this class we'll look at how you can increase your confidence NOW, without relying on external factors.
What would you do if you felt more confident right now? Maybe you would …
- Make powerful freelance decisions quickly and see them through.
- Be willing to take risks with your words--and reap the benefits of improved skills.
- Seek clients who value what you offer, and negotiate for better rates.
Join us live to ask your questions during our Q&A.
Click here to register: www.rebeccalweber.com/masterclass
Are your emails annoying your editor?
Are you sending too many followups? Too many story ideas? Are all your messages getting on their nerves?
If your pitches are half baked, poorly written, and an overall bad fit for the publication, it really doesn’t matter how many you send. You can’t send lousy pitches and expect assignments as a reward for not sending them more often.
Assuming your pitches are developed with the editor’s needs in mind, let’s look at the real situation.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Master the art of the pitch in my small group coaching program. Apply here: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
WCP1 What’s your problem?
More info and full show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast89
Guilt is a useful emotion when it’s alerting to an ethical mistake we’ve made. But quite often guilt stems from beliefs that aren’t true or helpful. Simply telling yourself “Don’t feel guilty!” is more likely to make you avoid the feeling rather than deal with it.
Today we unpack what to do if you’ve got a freelance assignment and you’re feeling guilty about it.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Please support the Writing Coach Podcast by writing a short review over on Apple Podcasts.
WCP1 What’s your problem?
WCP2 Thinking thoughts and feeling feels
More info and full show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast88
Do you plan your week from Monday morning forward, or from Friday afternoon backwards? When you send out a pitch, are you focused on who you want to write for this week, or who you want to write for in 3 months from now?
I find it’s often much easier and more successful when I start from the future and work backwards to the present. Today we’re tapping into how to plan from the future.
Would your future self benefit from you mastering the art of the pitch right now? The May session of Freelance Writer Bootcamp is about to begin. Learn how to break into your dream publications, get paid well to cover stories that matter, and build your confidence as a freelance writer. Click here to apply: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and full show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast87
Do you want to read something that will make you feel good?
So does pretty much everyone else.
One outcome of coronafatigue has been an increase of interest in solutions journalism as well as non-pandemic articles, as evidenced in the most popular lists and newsletters of many websites. These are a rich data source for freelancers trying to understand what editors are keen to assign right now.
SMALL GROUP COACHING
My small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, starts the first week in May. Break into your dream publications, get paid well to cover stories that matter, and improve your confidence in your ability to get new clients and assignments. We start the first week of May. Click here to apply: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
WCP1 What’s your problem?
The News Is Making People Anxious. You’ll Never Believe What They’re Reading Instead.
Full show notes and more info: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast86
Your ideal clients a few months ago may no longer be a good fit for you … and some clients who weren’t on your radar then may be perfect for you now.
In simple terms, your ideal clients are assigning stories now, are able to meet or exceed your desired rates, and have potential for ongoing work. You likely have some other criteria that’s important to you as well. If you’re not clear about who you’re looking for, it will be hard to seek and find them—and can even be hard to articulate why your current clients are ones to drop.
I recently coached two different writers with full schedules who were both hanging onto less than ideal clients. One writer was working with a relatively low-paying publication; the other writer had a relatively high-paying publication. Which do you think was the one who felt they couldn’t afford to say no to the work?
Break into your dream publications
Master the art of the pitch, increase your confidence, and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Apply for the May session of my small group coaching program: FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Full show notes and more info: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast85
Some writers rely on the energy of excitement to write pitches and articles. Sometimes excitement can be very useful for getting things done, but it’s not the most reliable or effective of emotions when it comes to marketing. Our editors and readers often don’t feel the way we felt while we were writing, and excitement can cause us to skip over essentials. Today we look at the power of excitement, as well as alternatives that may serve you and your stories better.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
New masterclass: Pitching in a crisis
We’ll look at who and what to pitch right now, and participate in our live Q&A.
Presented live on Wednesday, April 15.
Free registration: www.rebeccalweber.com/masterclass
Master the art of the pitch: Work with me
Break into your dream publications, increase your confidence, and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Apply for the May session of my small group coaching program: FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Full show notes and more info: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast84
Janna Brancolini is an American journalist based in Milan, Italy. She covers environmental and tax policy in Southern Europe for Bloomberg Law, and her work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Columbia Journalism Review and Business Insider.
When coronavirus hit Northern Italy in February, Janna’s freelance work dried up. There wasn’t much to cover in her normal beats, and the travel story she’d been pitching was now off the table too. After initially pitching a few coronavirus stories that got rejected, she refined her angles to offer stories that nobody else was telling.
Today she shares what it’s been like to report both on the ground and remotely from Italy, how freelancers have advantages over staff, and how telling stories that are culturally unique has rapidly led to repeat work.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Apply for the May session of Freelance Writer Bootcamp. You’ll learn how to break into your dream publications, boost your confidence, and get paid well to cover stories that matter. www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Janna Brancolini on Instagram: @jbrancolini
“I’m not under quarantine. Am I?” in Columbia Journalism Review
“Coronavirus has turned Italy into a beautiful prison” in the Los Angeles Times (her first LA Times piece ran as a page 1 story in that edition of the paper)
“They survived World War II. Now coronavirus threatens their lives” in the LA Times
“I’m living through the coronavirus lockdown in Milan, Italy. Here's how I'm managing my anxiety.” in Business Insider
More info and full show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast83
Hearing another writer being coached gives you the chance to recognize your own thought patterns and behaviors—and make changes accordingly.
Listen to how a shift in perspective opens things up for the following freelance challenges:
- A food writer struggles to develop a story angles that staff writers don’t see
- A journalist questions where to pitch stories that will be relevant for print magazines a few months out
- A blog ghost writer wants to leverage her unbylined work to find new clients
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Break into your dream publications, increase your confidence, and get paid well while covering stories that matter. Apply for the May session of my small group coaching program: FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Resources for freelance writers during coronavirus
Full show notes and more info: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast82
Reporting by video calls, like Skype and Zoom, often gets a bad rap. Freelancers don’t want to brush their hair and get on camera, sources don’t have the software installed on their device, and the whole experience can seem impersonal compared to meeting in real life.
With social distancing and travel restrictions, this is the perfect time to reconsider both your attitude toward the technology and also the richness of rapport and reporting it can help provide.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Join my mailing list and get notifications about open coaching calls.
We should work together. Apply to work with me: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
Full show notes and more info: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast81
As freelance writers, coronavirus hits us both professionally and personally. We’re looking at these issues and how mindset management will help you handle:
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Freelance workflow with rapidly changing editorial needs
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Feeling criticized or blamed for how “the media” is handling coverage
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Self-isolation, medical concerns, and information overload
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Let’s work together. Apply now for my small group coaching program: Freelance Writer Bootcamp.
WCP1 What’s your problem?
WCP79 Covering coronavirus
First Draft Coronavirus resources for reporters
Break into your dream publications, boost your confidence, and get paid well to cover stories that matter. Apply now for Freelance Writer Bootcamp: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Full show notes and more info: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast80
Join me for this free, live masterclass on Wednesday, March 11, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
Click here to register: www.rebeccalweber.com/freeclass
In this class we'll look at how you can increase your confidence NOW, without relying on external factors.
What would you do if you felt more confident right now? Maybe you would …
Make powerful freelance decisions quickly and see them through.
Be willing to take risks with your words--and reap the benefits of improved skills.
Seek clients who value what you offer, and negotiate for better rates.
Join us live to ask your questions during our Q&A.
Click here to register: www.rebeccalweber.com/freeclass
Some freelancers are having stories postponed, killed, or ignored due to the spread of coronavirus. Let's look at how to protect yourself from shifting editorial plans, as well as look at stories that can be assigned now.
Feature opportunities abound in how COVID-19 is impacting different segments of the population in your geographic area as well as virtually any niche you normally cover.
This is the right time to use The Mashup, the idea generation technique where we ask what happens when X meets Y and Z is more than the sum of its parts.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Apply now for my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp. The next session begins on March 19. Apply here: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Full show notes and more info: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast79
Masterclass: Creating sustainable freelance writing success
Join me on Wednesday for a free, live masterclass that covers some of the most pressing issues for freelancers who struggle to get consistent, meaningful work that pays well.
This isn't the conventional, so-called freelancing wisdom that leads to mediocre results. These are the same principles I teach my paying coaching clients, who have broken into the Guardian, the New York Times, Bustle, Conde Nast Traveler, the BBC, and so many more publications.
Register at www.rebeccalweber.com/freeclass
In Wednesday's masterclass, I'll share with you:
+ A proven blueprint for pitching and selling freelance article ideas
+ How to turn a once-off assignment into an ongoing gig
+ The most effective way to get silent editors to respond to you
+ Plus time for answers to your freelancing questions during our live Q&A
See you in the masterclass on Wednesday! Sign up at www.rebeccalweber.com/freeclass
Here’s looking at you, you green-eyed monster, you.
Feeling jealous of another writer’s assignment, grant, income, relationship, skill, talent, age, credits, social media presence, book contract, education, or any other attribute can act like a double whammy.
First, the compare and despair mode derails us from our own work and can be a huge time suck. Once you start down this particular rabbit hole, you can spend an awful long time down there not writing, not pitching, not developing or nurturing your own career. It’s procrastination without the short-term pleasure many other distractions offer.
Secondly, we tend to judge, shame, and avoid our jealousy. When a writer friend has achieved something, we tell ourselves, we should be able to celebrate her. By adding a moral dimension to a natural human emotion, we complicate and ironically often prolong the jealous feelings.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Goal-setting for freelance writers: Join me in this workshop, exclusively for early bird registrants to the March session of Freelance Writer Bootcamp.
WCP1: What’s your problem?
Full show notes and more info: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast78
Freelance writers shy away from talking about sales. “Got an assignment,” yes, but “sold a story,” much less so. “Salesperson” is associated with being “salesy,” which itself brings up a sleezy person trying to convince us we want something we don’t, or somebody who won’t give us a moment to process or consider. We’ve all been on the receiving end of somebody being salesy, and we didn’t like it.
But you’ve also probably had a good sales experience, when somebody made a great suggestion, answered your questions thoughtfully, or asked you something to help clarify what you wanted. We can create that experience for our editors too, where we offer something of high value—an original story idea that’s perfect for their readers, written by somebody who’s thought it all out. And with ongoing clients, we’re not just selling individual story ideas, but we are selling ourselves and our skills.
Nobody wants to be salesy. But if you avoid any kind of sales, your freelance business model likely isn’t going to work. Let’s look at unpacking the sales experience from multiple experiences.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Apply to work with me in March in my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Bonus episode: Freelance Writer Bootcamp alumni discuss what the program’s really like
Rachel Weingarten
WCP 74: Why you’re the one
Full show notes and more info: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast77
Are you and your writing blooming?
Sometimes valuing productivity and efficiency can be counterproductive. If you and your writing are blooming—or will be in the near future—focusing on the notion of being behind robs you of your enjoyment and even slows you down.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Support the Writing Coach Podcast with a review on Apple Podcasts
WCP1 What’s your problem?
WCP73 Freelance journal
Freelance Writer Bootcamp
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast76
It’s possible be a successful freelance writer with a single niche, several related subniches, multiple unrelated niches, or no niche at all.
For most writers, the benefits of identifying and working within a niche outweigh the cons. Changing your niche isn’t going to be what transforms your career: It’s the process of clarifying what you do, positioning yourself, and testing the markets that reveal if a niche is a good fit or not.
In reality, most freelancers already have a niche, even if they’re not aware of it.
Show me your most recent 10 published pieces, or everything you wrote last year, and there will definitely be at least one area of speciality. You’ve either written a number of pieces about the same subject, or they all have a link to one geographic area, or there’s a format/genre you return to again and again.
Whether or not you like that niche, and want more of that kind of work, is a different question.
Spending time and energy on not choosing a niche is a very convincing way for your brain to distract you from doing what will really move you forward. If you’re indulging in niche drama, listen to this episode to decide to drop the drama.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Submit your freelance/writing question for an upcoming episode of Listener Q&A
WCP68 Listener Q&A, Vol. V
WCP58 Listener Q&A, Vol. IV
WCP47 Listener Q&A, Vol. III
WCP38 Listener Q&A, Vol. II
WCP28 Listener Q&A, Vol. I
WCP 74: Why you’re the one
WCP 73: Freelance journal
WCP 71: 2020 vision
Master the art of the pitch in my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
question, “Why are you the one to tell this story?”
Some people will avoid answering or avoid pitching to avoid an existential freakout: “I’m not the one! They can just let somebody on staff do it instead. I’m not experienced enough and will mess it all up.”
Others use the same cut-and-paste reply for all pitches. They’ve found an acceptable answer that allows them to avoid serious consideration of the question.
Today we’re tapping into why you’re the one to do the work you most want to do and are meant to be doing.
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE:
WCP73 Freelance journal
Download my guide on how to pitch
Apply for Freelance Writer Bootcamp, my small group coaching program
More info and complete show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast74
The freelance journal is a key tool to understanding your process, habits, attitudes, limiting beliefs, and true ambitions. Keeping a narrative record of what you’re doing as a writer and as a freelancer means that you will become more familiar with what you’re doing, how you’re doing it, why you’re making the choices you’re making, how well things are going, and what other options you can explore.
This all serves as preventative to you saying later on “I don’t know how I did that,” because a) you were paying attention more in the first place, and b) you can quite literally read these messages from yourself about how you did do it.
When I coach writers, I ask them to do a fair amount of this meta journaling. The best coaching is never about what I say to you—it’s about what you’re able to discover for yourself.
PRIVATE COACHING
Private coaching is for the writer who wants a personalized agenda and transformative breakthroughs. You will experience new clarity about what’s been holding you back and choose new patterns of thinking and behavior to propel you forward toward your goals.
I help writers get real, lasting results. Their confidence increases. They break into their dream publications. They drop their pain-in-the-butt clients. They increase their rates. They start (and finish!) personal and creative projects. They get their writing mojo back. They define and enjoy their own definition of freelance writing success.
Click here to schedule your private coaching consultation: www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
WCP 2: Thinking thoughts and feelings feels
WCP 20: Setting freelance writer goals
WCP 16: Freewriting for freelancers
Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Private coaching with Rebecca
Click here for more info and full show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast73
Many writers say that they always honor their deadlines for clients, yet aren’t accountable to themselves when it comes to marketing or creative work. Maybe you want to pitch more stories, finish your book proposal, or write in your journal every single day.
In reality, signing a contract isn’t what actually makes you complete an assignment on time. It’s your decision to complete it (which you may choose because you like the consequences, such as feeling reliable and spending the income).
If you already know how to be accountable to somebody else, you can use that experience to practice being more accountable to yourself too. And we’re going to do it without any negative self-talk, shame, or blame—instead, honoring your deepest writing desires is a form of self-care and we can do it more effectively from a place of curiosity and learning.
LAST CALL FOR FREELANCE WRITER BOOTCAMP APPLICATIONS
My small group coaching program begins next week. If you are ready to break into your dream publications and get paid well to cover stories that matter, click here to begin your application: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Support the Writing Coach Podcast by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts.
WCP 71: 2020 vision
WCP 2: Thinking thoughts and feelings feels
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
Click here for more info and full show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast72
Register for my new masterclass on confidence this Wednesday.
Doubt and indecision are like kryptonite to freelancers. What would you do in your writing life if you felt more confident right now? Maybe you'd:
+ Make a powerful freelance choice quickly and see it through, without overthinking.
-
Take risks with your words--and reap the benefits of improved skills.
-
Seek clients who value what you offer, and negotiate better rates.
Confidence isn't something that comes as a reward after reaching a big external goal--it's something that's available to you now.
In fact, tapping into it now means you're far more likely to take action and go after that big hairy scary goal in the first place.
It's no use knowing what to do if you're too scared to do it. Join me on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. Eastern / 6:00 p.m. GMT to reframe the year ahead.
The live masterclass on confidence for writers is free. Click here to sign up: www.rebeccalweber.com/freeclass
Are your 2020 goals based on a limited vision of your past accomplishments … or on what’s truly possible for you in the future? Today’s exercise will help you expand your goals and how to achieve them.
NEW LIVE CLASS ON WEDNESDAY
Join me in a new free class on building confidence as a writer on Wednesday, January 8. Registratoin is free but essential. Click here to sign up: www.rebeccalweber.com/freeclass
Click here for more info and full show notes.
Applying for scholarships, workshops, grants, and other opportunities can sometimes be daunting: What do the people reviewing this really want to know about you? What can you do to make your application stand out from the rest?
A full scholarship is available right now for Freelance Writer Bootcamp. I talk about how to approach this application if you’re keen to work with me, and tips that can be used for any other competitive application process.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Request a copy of my free guide on how to pitch.
Follow me on Instagram.
Click here to apply for the full scholarship to my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp. The scholarship winner will receive lifetime access to all the core materials, live calls, bonuses, plus three private coaching sessions with me.
Read more about the Freelance Writer Bootcamp program.
Click here for more info and full show notes.
A big or consistent gap between the work you most want to be doing and what you’re actually doing indicates a lack of right action. Keeping busy or chasing after low-satisfaction, low-paying work isn’t going to resolve the situation. Let’s look at what it means to instead identify the weakest link in your freelance writing chain, and focus on strengthening it.
APPLY FOR FREELANCE WRITER BOOTCAMP AND GET THE GOAL SETTING BONUS WORKSHOP
I’ll be offering an exclusive Freelance Writer Goal Setting Workshop in the first week of January to walk writers through the exact steps of setting successful goals—including the steps that most goal setters miss. This is a special bonus for people who register for Freelance Writer Bootcamp by the end of 2019. If one of your goals is to make more money by writing stories that matter to you, click here to apply to Freelance Writer Bootcamp and get this bonus workshop too: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE
WCP1: What’s your problem?
WCP2: Thinking thoughts and feeling feels
Apply for Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Click here for more info and full show notes.
Straight from my inbox: My answers to your questions. Today I’ll be responding to these questions:
+ I was interviewed on the radio about a story I wrote, but I got nervous and it didn’t go well. What can I do differently?
+ How can I plan far enough ahead to have the financial stability of a salary?
+ How can I improve my writing?
+ What sentence structure will improve the quality of my sentences?
EXCLUSIVE GOAL SETTING WORKSHOP BONUS
Apply to Freelance Writer Bootcamp in 2019, and as a special fast-acting bonus, you’ll be invited to an exclusive workshop on setting freelance writer goals. Click here to apply: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE
WCP58 Listener Q&A, Vol. IV
WCP47 Listener Q&A, Vol. III
WCP39 Listener Q&A, Vol. II
WCP28 Listener Q&A, Vol. I
WCP 20: Setting freelance writer goals
WCP1 What’s your problem?
Writing Tools by Roy Peter Clark
Click here for more info and full show notes.
This week we’re looking at three proven strategies to improve your freelance bottom line. Focus on putting these into place now for a strong end to this year and a strong start to the next one.
APPLY NOW FOR FREELANCE WRITER BOOTCAMP
If most of your pitches don’t get assigned, or you’re not sending enough out to get the number of assignments you desire, my small group coaching program in January may be just what you need. Click here to read the details and to begin your application.
Click here for more info and full show notes with links.
Anything you read can inform your writing, regardless of genre. Yes, that includes dystopian novels impacting good journalism.
I heard Margaret Atwood speak during her book tour for “The Testaments,” the Booker Prize winning sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale. Today I’m sharing some of her advice for when your writing isn’t going smoothly.
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE:
Favorite freelance writer resources
Margaret Atwood
Click here for more info and full show notes with links.
Our online portfolio lets us showcase our best and most relevant work to new editors. Ironically, we’re often most aware of its shortcomings at the very time that we’re trying to move our careers forward. There can be a real disconnect between what we’ve done in the past and what we want to do now and in the future.
Telling ourselves “I should have newer/better/more prestigious clips” doesn’t function as a motivator to pitch with fervor to refresh the portfolio. It’s more likely to evoke shame and avoidance.
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE
Send me your question for the next edition of listener Q&A
WCP58 Listener Q&A
Download my guide on how to pitch freelance articles.
Quick online portfolio solutions
WCP41 Sorting and archiving freelance articles
Apply for Freelance Writer Bootcamp in January
WCP1 What’s your problem?
Click here for more info and full show notes with links: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast6
How familiar are you with your own process of writing? Do you see writing as a means to an end, or an activity that’s fascinating in and of itself? Do you use it as a time to explore and investigate?
With a product mentality, you’re in an almost constant state of not-there-ness. With a process mentality, you can be fully engaged and learning throughout.
Early bird registration for Freelance Writer Bootcamp ends in a few days.
Join now and get access to a special bonus module on mindset, which includes exclusive videos, worksheets, and a small group coaching session next week focusing on YOUR mindset and pitching.
Then in January you’ll work with me to learn everything you need to know to write pitches that sell.
Write pitches to break into your dream markets, to cultivate long-term clients, to ensure readers find out about stories that matter, to earn more money, and to build your portfolio any which way you want.
Learn more and apply here: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
WCP 16: Freewriting for freelancers
WCP Bonus episode: Freelance Writer Bootcamp alumni discuss what the program’s really like
Click here for more info and full show notes.
This Wednesday, November 13, I'm teaching a free, live masterclass that covers three of the most pressing issues for freelancers who are struggling to get consistent, meaningful work that pays well. I'll share with you:
- A proven blueprint for pitching and selling freelance article ideas
- How to turn a once-off assignment into an ongoing gig
- The most effective way to get silent editors to respond to you
- Plus time for answers to your freelancing questions during our live Q&A
Click here to register for Wednesday's free masterclass to uplevel your pitching strategies.
I'm going to be teaching this same class LIVE twice in one day: once for Asia/Pacific and once for the Americas. (Africa and Europe, you have your pick.) When you register be sure to choose the option that makes sense for where you are in the world: www.rebeccalweber.com/freeclass
I'll send out a replay link to people who have registered ... and I'll be sharing a free gift with those who are on the call live.
See you in class!
How would you describe your relationship with your freelance writing business?
Is it a fling, where you’re 100% focused for brief passionate stints and then sort of forget about it?
Are you in a honeymoon period, where you want to learn more about every aspect of it?
Is it a situation that was sweet once-upon-a-time, but has devolved into needy, clingy, obsessive behavior?
Would you describe yourself as the parent of a young child, a bit tired out but always offering it nourishment?
Whatever type of relationship you’re in, today’s episode is going to help you get some new insights into how your approach to the business side of things impacts your outcomes. Grab your freelance journal and a pen for this one.
REGISTER FOR MY FREE CLASS ON WEDNESDAY, NOV. 13
Click here to register for my live class on building a sustainable, successful freelance writing life.
I’ll share with you:
A proven blueprint for pitching and selling freelance article ideas
How to turn a once-off assignment into an ongoing gig
The most effective way to get silent editors to respond to you
Answers to your freelancing questions during our live Q&A
Note I’ll be teaching the same class twice on the same day, so choose your time zone carefully when you register! One session is best for Asia Pacific; one session is best for the Americas. Africa and Europe can choose either. Click here to register for the free class.
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE
WCP1 What’s your [writing] problem?
WCP 62: PITA clients
REGISTER FOR MY FREE CLASS ON WEDNESDAY, NOV. 13
Click here to register for my live class on building a sustainable, successful freelance writing life.
Click here for more info and full show notes.
PITA clients have nothing to do with breaking pita bread and eating hummus with your editors. Today I’ve got in mind those difficult clients who can be a real pain in the A.
We all have a different PITA threshold. I think of those emojis in hospitals, where you’re asked to a face expressing your pain level.
One person hit with a hammer says it’s a 3; somebody else says it’s a 7.
Same with the editor who said they’d get urgent edits to you first thing in the morning, but only send them through in the evening. Ouch. For some freelancers, that’s a 3; for others it’s a 7. Or a 9.9. ;)
APPLY FOR FREELANCE WRITER BOOTCAMP
Join me in the next session of my small group coaching program, Freelance Writer Bootcamp, where you will learn how to write pitches that sell, break into your dream publications, cover stories that matter while getting paid well, and improve your confidence as a writer.
Bootcamp alumni have used these methods to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, the Washington Post, the BBC, Bustle, Shape, and many others, as well as niche and regional publications too.
Freelance Writer Bootcamp integrates the internal work that holds writers back—like doubt, imposter syndrome, procrastination, indecision, and overwhelm—with the external work of finding your best markets, developing story ideas, writing and sending pitches, and using proven strategies to develop long-term clients.
We start in January, but if you register now you’ll also get the early bird bonus module on mindset and a call with me in November.
Click here to apply for Freelance Writer Bootcamp.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
WCP13: Setting freelance boundaries and company policies
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
Bonus episode: Freelance Writer Bootcamp alumni discuss what the program’s really like
WCP1: What’s your problem?
Click here for more info and full show notes with links.
Movie trailers are a brief preview of what’s to come. We’re all willing to watch for two minutes—IF it’s any good. In a minute or two, we usually know if we’re in (“Ooh, I want to see that one!”) or if it’s a hard pass.
What we never see is the screenwriter, director, or a critic talking to the camera and telling us what the film is about, what they think of it, how much we’ll enjoy it, etc. None of that. Not from the studio who wants us to make a decision to spend out time and money watching the film.
And yet writers do the equivalent in their pitches all the time—telling us about a topic rather than showing us a story.
What’s happens in the ones that do get us interested? Listen into today’s episode.
FREELANCE WRITER BOOTCAMP WAITLIST:
Hear about early bird registration for the January 2020 session of Freelance Writer Bootcamp by clicking here to join the waitlist: www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Freelance Writer Bootcamp is my small group coaching program that teaches you everything you need to know to write pitches that sell, break into your dream publications, and cover stories that matter while getting paid well to do so. Bootcamp alumni have used these methods to break into the New York Times, the Guardian, the Washington Post, the BBC, Bustle, Shape, and many others, as well as niche and regional publications too.
Freelance Writer Bootcamp integrates the internal work that holds writers back—like doubt, imposter syndrome, procrastination, indecision, and overwhelm—with the external work of finding your best markets, developing story ideas, writing and sending pitches, and using proven strategies to develop long-term clients.
The next session starts in January. If you’re keen to master the art of the pitch, join the waitlist and I will email you the details next week. www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
Bonus episode: Freelance Writer Bootcamp alumni discuss what the program’s really like
Click here for more info and full show notes with links.
Are you terrified of what might happen to your freelance writing career if you put up an Out Of Office message on your email? In this episode, I talk about why I OOO while at a writing retreat and during a long plane ride, and the freelance chaos that did not commence. Turns out the drama was in my head—go figure.
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE:
WCP 13: Setting freelance boundaries and company policies
Maya Angelou in the Paris Review
SUPPORT THE PODCAST WITH A REVIEW:
Did you enjoy this episode of the Writing Coach Podcast? Please leave a review on iTunes.
Click here for more info and full show notes with links.
Would you like to develop some real insight into the strategies that are most effective when pitching publications that feel out of reach right now? Are you curious to see how pitching effectively can lead to long-term clients and the kind of portfolio that draws editors to you (so that ultimately you wind up pitching less)? Do you have any pitching questions you’d like to ask?
Perfect timing. :D On Wednesday, October 11 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, I’ll be teaching a live class all about building and sustaining long-term freelance writing success.
This is a live class, with time for you to ask me any questions about pitching you need to get answered.
I’ll share with you:
+A proven blueprint for pitching and selling freelance article ideas
+How to turn a once-off assignment into an ongoing gig
+The most effective way to get silent editors to respond to you
+Answers to your freelancing questions during our live Q&A
Are you in?
Click here to register for the FREE live class, "Secrets to sustaining freelance writing success."
If you can't make it at that time, I'll send out a replay link to people who have registered. But join live if you can, as I will be sharing a free gift with those who are on the call live.
Register here: www.rebeccalweber.com/freeclass
As you probably know, the fourth quarter is terrible for all freelance writers. It will almost certainly be your worst 90 days financially of the year.
Ok, that’s not true at all. It’s in no way a factual statement. It is a belief some people have, and it happens to be one that’ll get in your way when it comes to marketing and landing new assignments this month if you think it’s accurate. It’s so much easier to come up with evidence, such as all editors are away on holiday, then to do what it takes to have a really strong finish to the year.
This episode is appropriate at any time of the year. I’m going to ask you some questions you’ve likely never asked yourself before. Are you keen to learn some new ways of approaching your money goals?
Grab your freelance journal for this episode, as I walk you through an exercise to help you get a handle on your finances. If you’re not familiar with the freelance writer thought model, you’ll want to review episode 1 first.
REGISTER FOR MY FREE CLASS NEXT WEEK:
Click here to sign up for my free live class, Secrets to Sustainable Freelance Writing Success. We will cover:
- A proven blueprint for pitching and selling freelance article ideas
- How to turn a once-off assignment into an ongoing gig
- My very best tip for getting silent editors to respond to you
- Answers to your questions about freelancing during our live Q&A
The class is free, but you must register. Click here to claim your spot.
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE:
WCP 20: Setting freelance writer goals
WCP 32: Setting freelance writer goals, Vol. II
WCP 45: Setting freelance writer goals, Volume III
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
WCP 54: Indistractable with Nir Eyal
WCP 11: Money and negotiation blocks
REGISTER FOR “SECRETS OF SUSTAINABLE FREELANCE WRITING SUCCESS”
Click here to sign up for the free class.
Get full show notes and more information here: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast59
Time for another edition of Listener Q&A. I’ve picked from the questions you’ve emailed me to cover a range of issues we face as writers. You’ll probably notice that you can learn a lot from a question that’s similar but not quite the same as your own situation.
Today’s listener questions include:
+ I’m struggling with idea generation. Do you have any suggestions?
+ How can I improve my interviews?
+ I have no assignments. What’s wrong with my pitches?
+ Do sources get paid? What about my expenses?
+ What kind of writing do you do?
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE:
Submit a question for the next Listener Q&A episode.
WCP47 Listener Q&A, Vol. III
WCP38 Listener Q&A, Vol. II
WCP28 Listener Q&A, Vol. I
WCP1 What’s your problem?
WCP55 Finding story ideas you can’t Google
WCP43 Bridge thoughts
Download my free guide on how to pitch
SCHEDULE A FREE MINI WRITING COACH SESSION
Do you want to work with me privately? The first step is to sign up for a free mini writing coach session. Click here to schedule a free mini writing coach session.
Click here for more info and full show notes with links.
Can—or should—journalists strive to be truly objective and unbiased when covering heated issues like climate change? Is it sometimes a moral imperative to speak out and advocate for justice? As a freelancer, does the act of choosing to pitch a particular story because we think it’s relevant and should be heard imply bias before we even begin reporting?
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE:
WCP57 Finding story ideas you can’t Google at live events
WCP45 Listener Q&A, Vol. III
DOWNLOAD MY FREE GUIDE ON HOW TO PITCH:
Check out my blueprint for writing queries that editors find irresistible. Click here to download a copy of the free e-guide, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
This month marks a year of the Writing Coach Podcast. An episode each week, plus some bonus ones.
Would you please help me celebrate by writing a review on iTunes?
On your phone:
1. Tap on your Podcasts app icon.
2. At the bottom, tap Search. Search for “Writing Coach Podcast.” (Make sure to choose the one with the yellow pencil.)
3. Tap on the podcast. Subscribe if you haven’t already.
4. Scroll down until you see Ratings & Reviews.
5. Choose some stars and click “Write a Review.”
On your computer:
1. Open iTunes on your computer. Select the drop down in the top left. Choose “Podcasts.”
2. From the top navigation, choose “Store.”
3. Search for “Writing Coach Podcast,” look for the yellow pencil cover art, and click it. Subscribe if you haven’t already.
4. Click “Ratings & Reviews” below the podcast title.
5. Choose some stars and click “Write a Review.”
Click here to leave a review of the Writing Coach Podcast on iTunes.
Thank you so much!
The questions isn’t do you want to play it safe, but where are you playing it safe in your writing life? And why?
We all want some security and safety, but these feelings are always relative perceptions rather than objective realities. Given the same exact situation--such as achieving a freelance income goal, landing several anchor clients, or writing disposable first drafts--one person can feel secure, while another feels unstable.
Some people prioritize safety above everything else. Sometimes building safety is itself a goal. Sometimes learning to take risks is what’s necessary to reach a goal.
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE:
WCP1 What’s your [writing] problem?
PRIVATE WRITER COACHING:
I have a few spaces available for writers who want to start in October. The best way to determine if we’re a good fit is to sign up for a free mini session. Click here to schedule.
Click here for more info and full show notes with links.
Live events like conferences, conventions, trade shows, can be a rich source of multiple story ideas—or an overwhelming waste of time and energy. Learn how to leave with a small notebook bursting with everything you need to write up pitches for feature ideas instead of a bunch of lousy brochures.
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE:
WCP 47: Listener Q&A, Vol. III
WCP 39: Listener Q&A, Volume II
WCP 28: Listener Q&A
Free guide on how to pitch: 5 proven steps to writing queries that sell
WCP 25: Using juicy quotes in your pitches
ASK REBECCA ANYTHING:
Click here to submit your writing question for the next episode of Listener Q&A.
Click here for more info and full show notes with links.
Author Nir Eyal joins us to talk about his new book, Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life.
What’s distracting you from your writing time? As Nir breaks it down, distraction always starts from within. We’ve been avoiding uncomfortable emotions way before the modern siren call of the smartphone.
In this conversation, Nir shares lots of examples from his own writing life. Nir wrote the Wall Street Journal bestseller Hooked, and trained as a journalist. Many business books are hard to apply outside a corporate environment, but Nir really understands the impact of his findings on writers.
We talk about:
+The difference between a writing habit and a routine
+His collaborative process with his wife Julie Li
+Time management with an ever-changing freelance schedule
+Using a question in your own life as a starting point for a major writing project
+Why disconnecting your smartphone won’t solve your distraction problems
“Being indistractable does not only require keeping distractions out. It also necessitates reigning ourselves in.”
WIN A FREE COPY OF INDISTRACTABLE:
Enter to win a copy of Indistractable via the giveaway on my Instagram account.
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE:
Indistractable
Schedule maker tool
Distraction guide
Habits vs routines article
Get full show notes and more information here: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast54
Growing a thick skin is kind of gross if you think about it. When it comes to rejection, creating a barrier between the outside world and our feelings doesn’t help either. Ironically, rejecting rejection compounds and complicates the pain.
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE:
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
WCP 10: Becoming a confident writer
Toni Morrison
SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW:
The best way to catch all the episodes of the Writing Coach Podcast is to subscribe. You’ll be notified every time a new show, including the unnumbered bonus episodes, become available. Click here to subscribe in Apple Podcasts.
To support the Writing Coach Podcast, please write a short review on Apple Podcasts. These reviews help other writers find and listen to the podcast. You can share a takeaway or a-ha moment, recommend a favorite episode, or otherwise let people know why you listen. Click here to review, and select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review.” Thanks so much!
Full show notes and more info: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast53
What we write matters. Today we’re looking at how using a social justice lens can provide both meaning and a decent living. Many freelancers see their work as divided: this piece for passion, that piece for pay. I’d argue that for true freelance writing success, you’ll be more satisfied when you pursue work that provides both.
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE:
WCP51: Democratizing food writing with Ishay Govender-Ypma
WCP1: What’s your problem?
WCP2: Thinking thoughts and feelings feels
How Sarma Melngailis, Queen of Vegan Cuisine, Became a Runaway Fugitive
SCHEDULE YOUR FREE MINI WRITER COACHING SESSION
Are you pitching stories you’re passionate about … and getting paid well? If not, sign up for a mini session with me. Let’s get you, your pitches, your stories, and your income unstuck. Click here to book your coaching session.
For full show notes and more info, click here.
Ishay Govender-Ypma is a food and travel journalist and author of “Curry.”
This week we discuss the intersection of curry and colonialism: what happens when a food journalist uses the lens of social justice to examine who eats what, how, and why? We also discuss what once seemed like a never-ending assignment, structuring research materials, and making time to enjoy the process of reporting and writing.
Ishay on Twitter and Instagram
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE:
Open Book
SAPOC at the Table on the web and on Instagram
Angela Davis
bell hooks
Rebecca Solnit
Gabeba Baderoon
Juia Turshen’s Feed the Resistance
Soleil Ho
Mogau Seshoene’s The Lazy Makoti
Why we need to democratize food writing in South Africa
Jonathan Gold
Slow Food Terra Madre
The Great South African Cookbook
Karoo Kitchen by Sydda Essop
Trust in travel is a two-way street
SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW:
The best way to catch all the episodes of the Writing Coach Podcast is to subscribe. You’ll be notified every time a new show, including the unnumbered bonus episodes, become available. Click here to subscribe in Apple Podcasts.
To support the Writing Coach Podcast, please write a short review on Apple Podcasts. These reviews help other writers find and listen to the podcast. You can share a takeaway or a-ha moment, recommend a favorite episode, or otherwise let people know why you listen. Click here to review, and select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review.” Thanks so much!
Click here for full show notes and more info.
The Writing Coach Podcast celebrates the big five-oh! Check out the links below for recommendations of the best episodes.
One thing I didn’t appreciate before I became a full-time freelancer is that it’s nobody’s job except my own to help me improve. Enter the power of the self evaluation. When done properly, this will give you precise insight into exactly what you need to change, providing momentum and a clear answer to “What should I do now?” Learn three questions that can be used to uplevel nearly any aspect of your freelancing.
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE:
Without a doubt, asking each of these talented writers to be a guest was one of the things I did well in my first year of podcasting:
WCP 8: Backstory of a New York Times travel feature with Sarah Khan
WCP 9: Longform articles and short documentaries with Christopher Clark
WCP 14: Reporting behind bars with Shaheen Pasha
WCP 18: The creative process with Emma Philipson
WCP 23: Company of one with Paul Jarvis
WCP 26: Decolonizing science writing with Sibusiso Biyela
WCP 35: Podcasting with Suchandrika Chakrabarti
WCP 46: Literary Paris with Nichole Robertson
Bonus episode: Freelance Writer Bootcamp alumni discuss what the program’s really like
A few of my favorite solo episodes:
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
WCP 4: Pitching: The perfect black T-shirt
WCP 10: Becoming a confident writer
WCP 29: The research rabbit hole
WCP 37: Write locally, publish globally
WCP 38: Writing through grief
WCP 43: Bridge thoughts
REGISTER FOR A FREE MINI COACHING SESSION:
Self evaluations are important. So is getting help when you need it. Click here to sign up for a free mini writer coaching session with me, and I’ll help you get fresh insight on your writing.
Click here for more info and full show notes with links.
Have you interviewed somebody who wanted to review your copy before publication? This is a surprisingly high-tension issue for many journalists, even thought it seems like it could be nipped in the bud with a simple, “Sorry, that’s against the publication’s policy.”
Today we cover:
- A simple method to reduce the number of times sources ask to review the copy
- Why they or you get so hot under the collar with a seemingly benign request
- How to use this conflict to build trust and better communications
- How to verify their statements without sharing the draft
- If and when to make an exception
Shall we do another 50 episodes?! If you’d like to show your support for the Writing Coach Podcast, please write a review on Apple Podcasts. Letting other writers know why you listen in is the best way to show your support of this project.
Click here to write a review on Apple Podcasts.
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE:
WCP1 What’s your [writing] problem?
WCP2 Thinking thoughts and feeling feels
Click here for more info and full show notes with links.
Running out of reasons to avoid pitching? I’ve got you covered with 100 reasons why you shouldn’t pitch today. Many of these can be adapted to be reasons why you should not write anything else today, like the article you were assigned last week, or your book proposal, or your novel.
You’ll probably recognize a few of these reasons—ones you already believe to be true. Those seem real, immutable. Pick another one that you’ve never used as a reason not to write a pitch.
I want you to experience how quickly we can take something we’ve never believed to be true, and with a little attention, can create all kinds of supporting evidence to make it real. Something we can solidly believe in. Solid like a block that we can’t pass.
Once you see how easy it is to create a synthetic writer’s block, you’ll also see more readily that you have the option not to buy into and believe the other stories you’re telling yourself that prevent you from the work you really want to be doing.
To see the full list of 100 reasons why not to pitch today, click here.
Click here to schedule a free mini writer coaching session with me.
This week I’m answer a number of your questions … and asking you quite a few myself. This isn’t slippery side stepping, but trying to help you get to the heart of the matter.
Best to listen to this one with your freelance journal at the ready: Jot down the questions that you know you need answers to, and write into them for 20 minutes.
Today’s listener questions include:
I don’t like my niche. How do I know if it’s time (or wise) to make a switch?
Should I take an unpaid writing test?
I need some help getting direction with writing professionally.
How do you get past having a great story idea that fizzles out when it’s time to pitch?
REGISTER FOR NEXT WEEK’S FREE TRAINING
The business of freelancing: How to chart a course for success
This Monday, July 22, I’l be part of a virtual panel called “The Business of Freelancing,” hosted by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing.
We’ll talk about how to run your freelance business like a business, addressing things like the importance of an entrepreneurial mindset, how to successfully develop clients and interact with editors, what the current freelance market is like, and more.
Click here to register for free and to submit your questions to the panel.
MENTIONED ON THIS WEEK’S EPISODE:
WCP 28: Listener Q&A
WCP 39: Listener Q&A, Volume II
List of all episodes of the Writing Coach Podcast
The Modern Journalist Toolkit series
Freelance writer resources
SUBMIT A QUESTION FOR THE NEXT EPISODE OF LISTENER Q&A
Click here to email me your question for consideration.
Click here for more info and full show notes with links.
Nichole Robertson, author of the new book “Literary Paris,” (and four others) joins us this week to talk about books, Paris, writing, photography, Instagram, and what happens when the internet wants to label you as a photographer instead of a writer.
Nichole is the co-founder and creative director of Obvious State, which creates bookish gifts for all of us former English majors.
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE:
Nichole Robertson online and on Instagram
Obvious State website and Obvious State on Instagram
SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW
The best way to catch all the episodes of the Writing Coach Podcast is to subscribe. This way you’ll be notified every time a new show, including the unnumbered bonus episodes, become available. Click here to subscribe in Apple Podcasts.
If you enjoy these episodes, I’d really appreciate it if you’d write a short review over on Apple Podcasts. These reviews help other writers find and listen to the podcast. You can share a takeaway or a-ha moment, recommend a favorite episode, or otherwise let people know why you listen. Click here to review, and select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review.” Thanks so much!
Click here for more info and full show notes.
Want to break into your dream publications and cultivate long-term clients? Join me for this free, live class on becoming your editor's go-to freelance writer. Click here to register: www.rebeccalweber.com/freeclass
Join us LIVE this Thursday, July 11, to learn:
+ A proven blueprint for pitching and selling freelance article ideas
+ How to turn a once-off assignment into an ongoing gig
+ The most effective tip for getting editors to respond to you
+ Answers to your questions during our live Q&A
I’ll answer YOUR questions about freelancing and writing, drawing on more than a dozen years of experience freelancing for places like CNN, the New York Times, Dwell, and Marie Claire, and helping other freelance writers achieve their goals.
REGISTER FOR THE LIVE CLASS
Click here to claim your spot. Be sure to note which session is best for your time zone.
In the first two quarters, we discussed setting and working toward your goals. Today we talk about something you might not have bargained for: You reached your goal but it turns out it isn’t all you thought it would be. Your life didn’t change. That big article didn’t make you famous. Or rich. Or confident. You did all the hard things and you’re still you. Now what?
REGISTER FOR NEXT WEEK’S FREE CLASS ON PITCHING
Click here to claim your spot. Be sure to note which session is best for your time zone.
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE:
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
WCP 20: Setting freelance writer goals Vol. I
WCP 36: Editing expectations
WCP 32: Setting freelance writer goals Vol. II
Click here for more info and full show notes with links.
On Monday mornings I used to be cranky and anxious. It’s not a great combo any time, and not a great foundation for the week ahead. Now I have a ritual that helps me transition … and I actually look forward to that time when I get to look at my writing projects from a totally different perspective. Creating a ritual or two in your writing life can provide structure, meaning, and momentum.
25k GIVEAWAY:
To celebrate 25,000 downloads of the Writing Coach Podcast, we’re doing a giveaway on Facebook and Instagram for $25 Amazon.com gift certificates. Look for the post with “25k giveaway.” Leave a comment saying why you listen, and tag a friend. Winners will be announced on Monday.
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE:
Essential books for writers
Laura Feasey on Instagram
Yolisa Qunta on Instagram
Mishka on Instagram
Twyla Tharp’s “The Creative Habit”
WCP 43: Bridge thoughts
WCP 15: How Nelson Mandela taught me to write faster
SHARE THE PODCAST:
Help other writers find this show by writing a review on Apple Podcasts.
Or take a screenshot when listening and share it on Instagram Stories. Tag me @FreelanceWriterBootcamp and/or use #WritingCoachPodcast.
Click here for more info and full show notes with links.
Often when I start coaching a writer, they ask, “How do I get myself to do this thing I know I should do?” The short answer is to change the thinking that’s causing your blocks. If you think differently, you’ll feel and act differently too.
Bridge thoughts are a mindset management tool that can help you overcome imposter syndrome, not setting boundaries, underearning, procrastination, and so many of the problems writers face that we’ve talked about in previous podcast episodes.
This isn’t about asking you to pretend to believe things that aren’t true. It’s the opposite, it’s about first identifying things that you believe that aren’t true, and then to replace those beliefs with thoughts that are true.
This episode is for those of you who are ready to take your writer mindset management to the next level. You may want to go back to episode 1 for a refresher first.
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE:
WCP1 What’s your problem?
WCP 33: A writer by any other name
SCHEDULE YOUR FREE MINI WRITER COACHING SESSION
Need help applying this week’s teaching to your writing life? Click here to book your coaching session.
Click here for more info and full show notes with links.
This live session builds on this week's podcast episode re imposter syndrome.
We’re very aware of fake news and disinformation campaigns in our daily work and in the world around us, and we see the consequences of fact checking sources vs letting hoaxes run rampant. You know it’s important to distinguish between objective fact and subjective opinion when reporting an article. But it's harder to identify those distinctions when it comes to what we think about our writing and our freelance careers. This talk will help you do that, and prepare you for the teachings in episode 43.
Follow me on Facebook to hear of upcoming FB Lives at www.facebook.com/freelancewriterbootcamp.
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE:
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
WCP 42: Writers and imposter syndrome
SCHEDULE YOUR FREE MINI WRITER COACHING SESSION:
Click here to book your coaching session.
Click here for more info and full show notes with links.
“I was lucky to get that assignment; it’s only because the editor knows me.” “I don’t know how I pulled that off … or how I’ll ever do it again.” “They liked the pitch, but the article won’t live up to expectations.” Sound familiar? Imposter syndrome can derail writers at any stage.
Feeling like a fake takes its toll. It drains the pleasure and satisfaction from our work, and limits our ability to show up and take on new challenges for fear that we won’t be able to deliver.
Today we look at what imposter syndrome is and isn’t (including the debunking of myths, like why “fake it til you make it” is bad advice for writers with imposter syndrome), and how learning to manage imposter syndrome will allow you to instead feel confident and accepting of who you are as a writer.
Why do you listen to the writing coach podcast? Please share the answer with your writer friends.
Take a screenshot of you listening and share on Instagram Stories. Tag me @FreelanceWriterBootcamp and/or use #WritingCoachPodcast.
Or share a link in a Facebook or blog post. All the shows are listed at www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast and on Apple Podcasts.
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE:
WCP1 What’s your problem?
A sharp tool for figuring out the real cause of your writing problem.
Click here for more info and full show notes with links.
Whether your articles are published online or in print, you need to be able to make them readily available for potential clients to read online.
Simply having a list of links isn’t sufficient. Sites reorganize and your links go bad; your piece gets pulled or the publication closes; and paywalls prohibit access. Clips that look great on paper need different treatment. In this episode, we look at practical tools that solve how to archive freelance articles published online and how to create digital copies of paper clips.
SCHEDULE YOUR FREE MINI WRITER COACHING SESSION
I offer all podcast listeners one free mini session, where we’ll get laser focused on one problem in your writing life.
Click here to book your coaching session.
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE:
Modern Journalist Toolkit 14: Saving and organizing clips
Watch the “Saving clips demo” video to see how I use Nimbus.
Quick online portfolio solutions
If you don’t have your own website, you still need a digital portfolio where potential clients can read your work.
Click here for more info and full show notes with links.
Do you love your existing clients? Everything else being equal, somebody you’ve already worked with is more likely to give you new work than somebody who’s never heard of you. Freelance writers often lament not knowing the “right people” while overlooking the clients we’ve worked with in the recent past. Let’s look at the reasons we do this and how to value and nurture an existing client relationship.
SCHEDULE YOUR FREE MINI WRITER COACHING SESSION
I offer all podcast listeners one free mini session, where we’ll get laser focused on one problem in your writing life.
Click here to reserve your coaching session.
WRITE A REVIEW TO SUPPORT THE WRITING COACH PODCAST
Did you enjoy the show? Write a review on iTunes to help other writers find the podcast. Share a takeaway, recommend a favorite episode, or otherwise let people know why you listen.
Click here to review, and select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review.” Thanks so much!
Click here for more info and full show notes with links.
Hearing another writer’s conundrum can be quite revealing. Even when the specifics are different, you’ll often recognize an aspect of the problem that’s very familiar, and you’ll be able to see how the coaching applies to yourself as well.
Today we address these questions from listeners:
+I’m earning more writing content but feel like my career is going backwards. What’s happening?
+I need help structuring my pitches. Am I doing it right?
+The editor I want to work with cc’d me by accident. Help!
Resources mentioned on today’s show:
Schedule your free mini writer coaching session
Get insight and clarity on one writing problem you’re dealing with.
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
WCP 38: Writing through grief
WCP 28: Listener Q&A, Volume I
Free guide on how to write a pitch that sells
Follow these steps to boost your pitch acceptance rate.
Click here for more info and full show notes with links.
In some important ways, it doesn’t matter what your job is when somebody you care about dies. In today’s episode, we look at ways you can use writing to process your emotions and communicate love and loss, or to support somebody else who is in mourning. We also discuss the practical challenges of freelancing while grieving.
HAVE A WRITING QUESTION?
Send me your question in an email, and I may answer it on the next edition of Listener Q&A.
WRITE A REVIEW TO SUPPORT THE WRITING COACH PODCAST
Did you enjoy the show? Write a review on iTunes to help other writers find the podcast. Share a takeaway, recommend a favorite episode, or otherwise let people know why you listen.
Click here to review, and select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review.” Thanks so much!
Click here for more info and full show notes with links.
Freelancers want to write for foreign publications for multiple reasons: access to larger or more engaged audiences so that your stories have more impact, higher income, and the thrill of a new challenge.
I’ve written stories for publications in the US, as well as in South Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Australia, and Asia. But initially I found it quite a challenge, and struggled to identify the right angles and amount of context for readers without intimate knowledge of my area.
This episode will demystify finding your best foreign markets, the biggest differences between writing for local and global audiences, positioning yourself and your stories, and some tips for finding the best stories for foreign readers.
HAVE A WRITING QUESTION?
Send me your question in an email, and I may answer it on the next edition of Listener Q&A.
WRITE A REVIEW TO SUPPORT THE WRITING COACH PODCAST
Did you enjoy the show? Write a review on iTunes to help other writers find the podcast. Share a takeaway, recommend a favorite episode, or otherwise let people know why you listen.
Click here to review, and select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review.” Thanks so much!
Click here for more info and full show notes with links.
You’ve completed your article, your editor received it, and now … silence. Are you thinking that the silence means that the editor hates it and wants to kill it? Or do you figure no news is good news and send a new story idea?
If you’re a freelancer with a high pitch acceptance rate and who delivers clean copy, you may have gotten used to editors publishing your work with few or no edits at all. (Including that one typo you made.) But what happens when you then break into a top tier publication and find yourself in the most rigorous editing process of your career—one that circles you back around to a new level of doubt in your abilities.
Whether you’re dealing with the editor who doesn’t send you any love notes when you file a good story, or one who sends back a doc with every single line full of red edits, it may be that nothing’s gone wrong. Manage your expectations and your mind and you’ll appreciate your editor anew.
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE
ASJA Conference panel on Monday, May 6 @ 4:30: Hire others to increase productivity and boost income.
WCP 34: Investing in your writing
WCP 28: Listener Q&A
Submit a question for Listener Q&A Volume 2
Download my free guide on how to pitch
WRITE A REVIEW TO SUPPORT THE WRITING COACH PODCAST
If you enjoy these episodes, please write a short review on iTunes to help other writers find and listen to the podcast. Share a takeaway or a-ha moment, recommend a favorite episode, or otherwise let people know why you listen.
Click here to review, and select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review.” Thanks so much!
Click here for more info and full show notes with links.
Suchandrika Chakrabarti is a freelance journalist, podcaster, and media trainer.
Based in London, she’s got a dozen years reporting for UK newspapers and international news agencies and training people in digital storytelling. She’s got practical experience pitching, presenting, producing, and editing podcasts.
This episode is essential listening for all freelance writers, whether you’re trying to hone in on your topic and audience, you’re a host or producer, or want to have a better understanding of digital media trends and tools. Be sure to check out the full show notes with links to resources.
SUPPORT THE WRITING COACH PODCAST BY WRITING A REVIEW
If you enjoy these episodes, please write a short review on iTunes to help other writers find and listen to the podcast. Share a takeaway or a-ha moment, recommend a favorite episode, or otherwise let people know why you listen.
Click here to review, and select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review.” Thanks so much!
Click here for more info and full show notes with links.
Are you happy and excited when somebody asks, “What do you do?” No? Listen in as we go a bit deeper into how to practice your new way of thinking and talking about what you call yourself.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
WCP 33: A writer by any other name
FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow me on Instagram. Take a screenshot of your favorite episode and tag me in your Instagram Stories.
Follow me on Facebook to be notified next time I go live.
SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW
Subscribe to the Writing Coach Podcast to be notified every time a new show, including bonus episodes, become available. Click here to subscribe in iTunes.
If you enjoy these episodes, please write a short review on iTunes. These reviews help other writers find and listen to the podcast. Share a takeaway or a-ha moment, recommend a favorite episode, or otherwise let people know why you listen. Click here to review, and select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review.” Thanks so much!
Click here for more info and full show notes.
Do you invest money in your freelance writing business rather than in stocks, real estate, or Bitcoin? Do you make a distinction between spending and investing time? Are you investing in uplevelling your skills and improving your mindset? Have you been reaping excellent returns on your investments?
We look at a few areas that can reap excellent returns on your investment:
- Outsourcing tasks
- Writing communities
- Professional development
- Tech/gear
FREE MINI WRITER COACHING SESSION
The best way to find out what private writer coaching is like is to sign up for a free mini session with me. You’ll get coaching on one problem in your writing life and clarity about your next steps.
Click here to schedule a time for a mini writer coaching session. Select your time zone, and then choose a time for us to talk.
Click here for more info and full show notes.
When somebody asks you what you do, are you completely at ease with your response?
Many writers feel that they need to do something more—such as publish more or elsewhere, earn more, write more words, write about more important topics—before truly feeling comfortable introducing themselves as a writer.
This episode will help you reframe what you’re making your chosen title mean. This is a definition that can support and empower you, rather than make you feel like you’ve come up short.
FREE MINI WRITER COACHING SESSION
Do you want to work with me privately? A free mini session is the best way for you to understand what they coaching process is like and if we’re a good fit.
Click here to schedule a time for a mini writer coaching session. Select your time zone, and then choose a time for us to talk.
SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW
Subscribe to the Writing Coach Podcast to be notified every time a new show, including bonus episodes, become available. Click here to subscribe in iTunes.
If you enjoy these episodes, please write a short review on iTunes. These reviews help other writers find and listen to the podcast. Share a takeaway or a-ha moment, recommend a favorite episode, or otherwise let people know why you listen. Click here to review, and select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review.” Thanks so much!
Click here for more info and full show notes.
Today’s episode is part 2 of Setting freelance writer goals. Three months in is the perfect time to evaluate what you’ve done, what’s worked and didn’t, and how to make a new plan moving forward.
If you’re not seeing the results you expected, you’ll want to hear these common pitfalls and new approaches you can try. Transformation may be closer than you think. Learning how to set and achieve your writing goals is a goal itself.
It happens to be the start of the second quarter, but every season is a good time to check in and see what’s ready to bloom.
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE:
WCP 20: Setting freelance writer goals
WCP 18: The creative process with Emma Philipson
FREE MINI WRITER COACHING SESSION
Do you want to work with me privately? The best way to find out if I’m the writing coach to help you get out of your own way is to set up a time for us to discuss where you are and where you want to be as a writer.
I go into much more depth in the goal setting process with my private 1:1 clients. If you’ve been trying to DIY your goals and not seeing the results, is it time to get help?
Click here to schedule a time for a mini writer coaching session. Select your time zone, and then choose a time for us to talk.
SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW
The best way to catch all the episodes of the Writing Coach Podcast is to subscribe. This way you’ll be notified every time a new show, including bonus episodes, become available. Click here to subscribe in iTunes.
If you enjoy these episodes, please write a short review on iTunes. These reviews help other writers find and listen to the podcast. Share a takeaway or a-ha moment, recommend a favorite episode, or otherwise let people know why you listen. Click here to review, and select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review.” Thanks so much!
Click here for more info and full show notes.
Your dream publication might be high profile, high circulation, or high paying. It might reach a specialized, niche audience, or be pushing the boundaries of innovative types of multimedia storytelling. Maybe your dream publication employees your dream editor, who is smart and funny and prompt. Or maybe your dream publication comes back to you time and again with interesting assignments.
Your dream publication represents the chance for you to feel differently about yourself and your writing. Are you hoping that new assignment will elicit feelings of pride, confidence, security … or something else? Today we explore how those new feelings will impact you and your writing—and the possibility of tapping into those emotions before, rather than after, any external changes.
FREE MINI WRITER COACHING SESSION
If today’s talk seems a bit abstract, I invite you to sign up for a free mini writer coaching session with me. I’ve just opened up some new times for next week.
Click here to schedule a time for a mini writer coaching session. Select your time zone, and then choose a time for us to talk.
SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW
The best way to catch all the episodes of the Writing Coach Podcast is to subscribe. This way you’ll be notified every time a new show, including the unnumbered bonus episodes, become available. Click here to subscribe in iTunes.
If you enjoy these episodes, I’d really appreciate it if you’d write a short review over on iTunes. These reviews help other writers find and listen to the podcast. You can share a takeaway or a-ha moment, recommend a favorite episode, or otherwise let people know why you listen. Click here to review, and select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review.” Thanks so much!
Click here for more info and full show notes.
Freelance writing lends itself to location independence and the flexibility to work where you want to. Maybe an assignment takes you away from home for a few days, or maybe you’re spending months at a time as a digital nomad.
Today’s episode looks at ways to prepare for and make the most of your traveling while writing (or writing while traveling).
Previous podcast episodes mentioned on today’s show:
WCP 3 Travel writing: Pitching stories before or after the trip
WCP 13: Setting freelance boundaries and company policies
FREE MINI WRITER COACHING SESSION
Click here to schedule a time for our mini writer coaching session.
SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW
The best way to catch all the episodes of the Writing Coach Podcast is to subscribe. This way you’ll be notified every time a new show, including the unnumbered bonus episodes, become available. Click here to subscribe in iTunes.
If you enjoy these episodes, I’d really appreciate it if you’d write a short review over on iTunes. These reviews help other writers find and listen to the podcast. You can share a takeaway or a-ha moment, recommend a favorite episode, or otherwise let people know why you listen. Click here to review, and select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review.” Thanks so much!
Click here for more info and full show notes.
The research and reporting rabbit holes have to be the some of the most seductive and appealing parts of the freelance writing comfort zone. You start off doing good work: nailing down facts, seeking rich data, locating interesting sources. But there’s always another twist and turn, and you can easily lose your orientation and not know if you’re getting closer or further away from what your story needs.
If you’ve ever said that research takes as long as it takes, or noticed that it’s taking so long that it interferes with (rather than supports) your writing goals, you’ve got to listen to today’s episode.
WCP1 What’s your problem?
SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW
The best way to catch all the episodes of the Writing Coach Podcast is to subscribe. This way you’ll be notified every time a new show, including the unnumbered bonus episodes, become available. Click here to subscribe in iTunes.
If you enjoy these episodes, I’d really appreciate it if you’d write a short review over on iTunes. These reviews help other writers find and listen to the podcast. You can share a takeaway or a-ha moment, recommend a favorite episode, or otherwise let people know why you listen. Click here to review, and select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review.” Thanks so much!
Click here for more info and full show notes.
Replay of a Facebook Live talk, talking about structure and format.
Mentioned on this week’s show: WCP28 Listener Q&A
Click here for more info and full show notes.
This week I’m experimenting with a new format. You’ve sent me some great questions, and I’ve selected a few to answer that I think will resonate with the rest of you.
On today’s Listener Q&A, we discuss:
- The importance of following up
- Managing your mindset when you’re devastated by client responses
- Reading for inspiration and direction
- Working within a magazine’s structure
- Editing your own work
If you’re feeling stuck in a writing situation and have tried to resolve it but keep circling back to the same starting point, click here to set up a free mini writer coaching call with me.
More info and full show notes: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast28
Clarifying a freelance writing niche gives you direction about what to focus on, which clients to target, and which stories to pitch. It helps with efficiency and productivity. And it makes it easier for clients to find you. Today’s episode explores how to identify a niche, when to drill down to subspecialties, and why you don’t have to be afraid of limiting your growth as a writer with a niche.
Would you like help with a problem in your writing life on an upcoming Listener Q&A? Click here to send me a message with all the juicy details.
If you enjoy today’s episode, let other freelancers know by writing a review on iTunes.
More info and full show notes: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast27
Meet Sibusiso Biyela, a South African science communicator and journalist interested in decolonize science communication using indigenous languages. Don’t worry, I don’t speak science, so we’re talking mostly about language, storytelling, politics.
Sibs normally writes in English. He recently completed a story about a newly discovered dinosaur species in his mother tongue, Zulu, which doesn’t have a word for “dinosaur.” As you’ll learn, it’s not a language normally used for communicating science, but he was up for the challenge.
Sign up for my weekly newsletter and receive a copy of my free guide on how to pitch.
For more info and full show notes, visit: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast26
Quotes aren’t necessary when submitting a query to an editor, which is one reason why including a good one helps make a pitch really stand out.
A story proposal should have the same DNA as the final story. Original reporting brings new insight and life to most articles; even if it’s a given you’ll be speaking with sources, including some quotes in the pitch itself can indicate a number of things to the editor.
In today’s episode, you’ll:
- Learn how a quote can improve your chances of getting your story assigned.
- Find places to get fresh quotes without any interviews.
- Schedule a 15-minute pre-reporting interview for maximum effect
- Understand your resistance to this approach and how to manage it to get the results you want.
Follow the proven steps I’ve used to pitch and sell articles ideas to CNN, the New York Times, Dwell, and Ebony.com.
Sign up for a free mini writing coach session.
For more info and full show notes, visit: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast25
Which should you do first: secure an interview or pitch the story? Many writers frame this as a chicken and egg situation, but it isn’t an existential or biological question. It’s a decision you get to make about which way you want to get started. Let’s look at the pros and cons so you can make a swift and informed choice that serves you and your story.
Sign up for a free mini coaching session to get help with your chicken and egg situation.
Follow me on Instagram.
For more info and full show notes, visit: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast24
Paul Jarvis, author of the new book Company of One, joins us today to talk about what it means as a freelancer to pursue more vs. enough, the importance of working on your business instead of always in your business, how he chose to say “No” to freelance work to get this book done, and much more. By the way, he submitted his manuscript a month ahead of schedule. :D
Did you enjoy this episode? Please share it forward by writing a review of the Writing Coach Podcast on iTunes.
Click here for more info and full show notes: www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast23
Knowing how to negotiate can be the difference between earning a part- or full-time income as a freelance writer. I don’t want you to break into your dream publication only to have them pay you less than what they pay writers who know to ask for more.
Asking for (and receiving!) more money on your first assignment with a new client literally pays off in two ways. First, there’s that initial cash boost with the first piece. It also establishes a better rate for your subsequent pieces too. This where you’ll really see the payoff when you review your earnings for the year.
In today’s episode, I share with you the details of an example that worked particularly well, and a single email resulted in more than $10k on top of the client’s original offer. Listen in to uplevel your approach to negotiations.
Want to bring this to the next level? We spend a full week on negotiations of rates and terms in Freelance Writer Bootcamp.
Click here to learn more about Freelance Writer Bootcamp.
Click here for full show notes.
Freelancing has so many moving parts that it’s easy to get overwhelmed. When you’re working a lot of hours, putting in a lot of effort, but not seeing a lot of financial return, that can add to the confusion: What’s holding you back from making more money?
When we strip things back to basics, there are really only two things you need to focus on to earn more. Ignore these, and it’s unlikely it will be a banner year for you financially. Prioritize them, and this quarter will be more rewarding than the last one.
Freelance Writer Bootcamp registration closes on Tuesday.
Schedule a call with me to discuss if Bootcamp is a good fit for you.
Click here for more info and full show notes.
Time to integrate what you’ve learned so far in the Freelance Writer Breakthrough mini course. Pitching Q&A.
Register for the Freelance Writer Breakthrough mini course.
More info and full show notes: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcastintegration
What if you loved pitching, and/or knew you were really good at it? What would you do differently?
If you’re avoiding pitching as frequently as ambitiously as you would if you were great at it, then you’re choosing to experience all the things you were hoping to avoid: silence from editors, not earning enough, and rejection of your story ideas.
Today we challenge the beliefs you have about pitching that are holding you back from breaking into your dream publications.
Sign up for my free mini course, Freelance Writer Breakthrough, to watch the first video lesson on idea generation now.
More info and full show notes: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast21
The freelance writer goal setting process I’m sharing with you today works for goals that will take half a day, one year, or anywhere in between.
Schedule a free mini writing coach session
Write a review of the Writing Coach Podcast
More info and full show notes: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast20
Ready to plan for 2020? What you do (or don’t) accomplish in 2019 is going to set you up for the year ahead. Think about what you one year from now will be poised to do if you have a year of growth vs a year on automatic pilot.
Today I offer you three different ways of looking at the past year before turning to goal setting for the future.
More info and full show notes: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast19
Emma Philipson is the author of the very funny new book about the creative process, “Don’t just give up - quit!”
She teaches creativity to adults in her native Sweden and shares her own process as well as what she teaches today on the podcast. In this episode Emma talks about using your creative muscles, the importance of being both naughty and vulnerable in your work, and the willingness to trust in the process and in not knowing.
More info and full show notes: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast18
Share the Writing Coach Podcast on Instagram and tag me @freelancewriterbootcamp
Multiple clients, multiple topics, multiple deadlines … freelance writers deal with a lot of moving parts. Today we’ll cover the three kinds of thoughts causing you to feel overwhelm, and what you can do to remedy it.
Apply for the Freelance Writer Bootcamp scholarship: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/scholarship
Bootcamp waitlist: https://www.freelancewriterbootcamp.com
WCP Bonus: Freelance Writer Bootcamp alumni discuss what the program’s really like
https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcastalum/
WCP 1: What’s your problem?
https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast1
WCP 2: Thinking thoughts and feeling feels
https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast2
Schedule a free mini coaching session
https://www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
More info and full show notes: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast17
My students have found freewriting to be the single most effective technique in their quests to become more fluid and more confident writers. Today we look at the what, how, and why of freewriting.
I also share some variations that are specifically for freelance writers.
There will always be time to evaluate, critique, and edit. Freewriting is a time to practice the creative process without judgement.
Register for the free class on writing faster: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/faster
Please share what you like about the Writing Coach Podcast in a review on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-writing-coach-podcast-with-rebecca-l-weber/id1435527746
More info and full show notes: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast16
Freelancing in December is usually a bit different from the other months. Maybe you’re taking some time off, your clients are, or your friends and family are. Let’s talk about deciding what you want (be it a full month of work, a proper holiday, or some sort of hybrid) and how to proceed.
Watch today’s episode as a video on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freelancewriterbootcamp
Join me this Thursday for my new class, Writing Faster: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/faster
Today’s episode addresses two questions I get asked all the time, but never together:
+How can I write faster?
+What brought you to South Africa?
These are somewhat surprisingly interconnected for me, and today i’m going to share with you one of the lessons Mandela taught me--how to write faster.
Want more details on writing faster? Join me for a free, live class on writing faster: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/faster
More info and full show notes: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast15
Shaheen Pasha is an educator and journalist.
Today we’re talking about her work training both university students and inmates as journalists at the University of Massachusetts.
This isn’t jail porn. It’s an exploration of gaining access to stories that are challenging to report physically and psychologically; what it means when prisoners tell their own stories to people on the outside; and how society is currently making decisions about prison life without an understanding of what it’s really like behind bars.
You’ll find some inspiration for overcoming obstacles in your own passion projects.
Pasha is the co-editor of “Mirror on the Veil: A Collection of Personal Essays on Hijab and Veiling,” and is a contributor to The Dallas Morning News, New England Public Radio, USA Today, Daily Beast and Quartz, among other news outlets. Her areas of focus include international journalism, Islam and religion, business reporting, and mass incarceration issues.
Write a review of the Writing Coach Podcast on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-writing-coach-podcast-with-rebecca-l-weber/id1435527746
More info and full show notes at: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast14
Establishing company policies might sound like it would create distance from freelance clients, but it does the opposite, especially with your ideal clients.
Clear boundaries set a framework for clear expectations and positive work relationships and self care. If you know what you will and won’t do, it leads to better communication.
On the other hand, a lack of boundaries breeds feelings and behavior that tend to be regressive and that distances us from clients.
Do you need some help creating your own company policies … or enforcing them? Schedule a free mini coaching session: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
More info and full show notes: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast13
This bonus episode looks at the most effective strategies to raise your bottom line as a freelance writer. You’ll walk away with specifics you can implement right away to increase your cash flow.
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freelancewriterbootcamp
Schedule your free Mini Writer Coaching Session: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
Get full show notes: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcastbottomline
Freelancers often ask: How do I get a client to pay an invoice that’s past due? Today we’re asking a better question: How do you get clients to pay you on time in the first place? If you’ve had more than one late-paying client in the past few years, this episode is going to shake up the way you approach billing. I’m going to share some very practical things you can do straight away to break a cycle of late payments and improve your cash flow.
Companion PDF to this episode: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/payme
More info and full show notes: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast12
Often our thoughts about money and negotiations are so old, we don’t question them as optional belief systems. We think we’re observing reality. And then we make important choices based on that perceived reality.
Most freelancers I’ve coached say they’re underearning and want to make more money. Yet when it comes time to actually ask your clients for more money, there’s a lot of resistance. You don’t want to do anything different. I call this a negotiation block.
Ready to unblock?
Get full show notes here: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast11
Do you feel writing is your true creative, personal, or professional calling, one that brings meaning and depth to your life, and that lets you bring real value to the lives of readers … or at least has the potential to?
If the answer is yes (or you’d like it to be), yet you struggle with confidence, blocks, overwhelm, or underearning, this talk about confidence and self-confidence (nope, not the same thing) will help you start to approach things differently.
Sign up for a free mini coaching session to get some individualized help with building your confidence: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast10
Christopher Clark is a freelance journalist and filmmaker. He recently co-directed two documentaries about people living on the fringes of South African society for Al Jazeera and the BBC.
Today we talk about:
- Transitioning from writing articles to making videos
- Covering underreported stories
- Returning to a single story repeatedly
- Pitching short documentaries
Download my free guide on how to pitch: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/5-proven-steps
Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast9
Sarah Khan is a freelance travel writer for the Wall Street Journal, Condé Nast Traveler, and Travel + Leisure.
Today Sarah shares the backstory of her award-winning feature for the New York Times, "A Muslim American’s Homecoming: Cowboys, Country Music, Chapatis." We discuss the origins of the idea, as well as pitching, reporting, and writing the article, and responses after publication.
She breaks down her processes and shares insights and tips about local contacts, finding multiple stories from each trip, and writing through self-doubt.
Enjoy this episode? Please write a review of the Writing Coach Podcast on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-writing-coach-podcast-with-rebecca-l-weber/id1435527746
Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast8
What does a wild animal have to do with procrastination? Your brain wants to protect you from danger--be it a baboon in the bedroom or the anxiety of writing your first draft. Oh, wait, writing that draft isn’t really a threat to your safety? In this episode you’ll learn what your mind is really up to when you procrastinate your freelance writing and how to make changes.
Sign up for a free mini session: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/coach
Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast7
Wondering what it's really like to go through Freelance Writer Bootcamp? Join me for a discussion with several Bootcamp alums about their experiences.
Registration for Freelance Writer Bootcamp is open until Tuesday, October 2: https://www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
More info and show notes: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcastalum
“Should” is in quotes here because it’s the voice in your mind telling you. If you’ve already gotten clear on the reasons why pitching would benefit your writing life, but you’re not doing it (or not doing it as much as necessary to get the results you want), this episode will help you get clarity on what’s really going on.
Freelance Writer Bootcamp is open for registration: http://www.freelancewriterbootcamp.com/
Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast6
The first thing most freelance writers need to do to improve their pitching isn’t some editorial magic trick. It’s not tips on including a news hook, or how to write a great subject line, or having the right clips in your portfolio. For most of us, the first thing to do to improve your pitching is to change how you’re thinking about the pitching process itself.
Maybe you didn’t even know you had a pitching mindset. Today I’m going to offer some unconventional ways of approaching pitching and perspectives that you haven’t considered before.
Freelance Writer Breakthrough
Free mini course on how to pitch: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/2018breakthrough
Freelance Writer Bootcamp
Write pitches that sell, break into your dream publications, and get paid well to cover stories you’re passionate about: https://www.FreelanceWriterBootcamp.com
Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast5
Tailoring your pitch to an individual publication will be a game changer if you’re used to a spray-and-pray approach. Simultaneous submissions may seem efficient in the short-term, but there’s a reason why most editors don’t respond to the same pitch you sent to their competition.
Freelance Writer Breakthrough: Free mini course on how to pitch > http://www.rebeccalweber.com/2018breakthrough
Freelance Writer Bootcamp: Write pitches that sell, break into your dream publications, and get paid well to cover stories you’re passionate about > https://www.freelancewriterbootcamp.com/
Guide on how to pitch travel stories > https://www.rebeccalweber.com/travelwriter
Get full show notes and more information > http://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast4
This episode addresses two of the most requested topics my readers told me they wanted to hear about: travel writing and pitching.
Should you pitch your travel story ideas before or after you have a notebook full of notes?
In theory, you can do it successfully either way. You could do a little research and prereporting, pitch, get an assignment, schedule your interviews and be confident out in the field knowing who you’re writing for and what your angle is. Or you could set off on the trip, be open to what’s around you, reflect on it, and pitch when you get home and then get your assignment.
And let’s face it. You could also pitch and face silence or rejection either before the trip or after the trip.
If you knew it was going to work out either way, which would you prefer?
Download a guide for pitching travel stories at http://www.rebeccalweber.com/travelwriter .
Sign up for my free pitching mini course, Freelance Writer Breakthrough, and learn The Mashup to generate ideas that nobody else sees, at http://www.rebeccalweber.com/2018breakthrough .
Get full show notes and more information http://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast3 .
In today’s episode, we’ll look more deeply at recognizing your thoughts and feelings, and the impact these have on your freelance writing results.
If you have a habit of getting in your own way, understanding the thought model will help you work through difficult emotions to reach your goals. I’ll share an example of how I recently used this tool to work through a freelance situation where I felt bored and ashamed.
Episode 1: What’s your problem? > http://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast1
Want some help with the model, or have some other questions about freelance writing? Sign up for a free mini session at http://www.rebeccalweber.com/coach/ .
Get full show notes and more information at http://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast2 .
Enjoying the Writing Coach Podcast? Share a screenshot on Instagram Stories over at https://www.instagram.com/freelancewriterbootcamp/ .
Welcome to the first episode of The Writing Coach Podcast! :D
In the weeks ahead, I’ll be sharing my coach approach with you to help you get out of your own way and move toward your freelance writing goals.
Whatever problem you’re facing in your writing or freelancing, today I’ll introduce you to a coaching power tool to give you clarity about what’s really going on.
Need some help with how to use this tool? Sign up for a free mini session at http://www.rebeccalweber.com/coach/
And Get full show notes and more information at http://www.rebeccalweber.com/podcast1