Going freelance after being made redundant by a regional paper? Some hard-learned lessons to help you on your way

WHAT can self-employed journalists learn from The Apprentice? While fired candidate Anita didn't look after those dreaded fixed costs, many of the rest are so busy fulfilling some crazed 'killer entrepreneur' stereotype, they'll never get anywhere with the people who really count - their customers.

RECENTLY, Dan Mason wrote this post on things to do before being made redundant if you're currently working for a regional news organisation.

I went freelance 10 years ago after working on regional papers. These days my work has grown into running an agency with colleagues. That's why I wanted to share some advice for those starting out on a similar path.

I've learned some hard lessons. Although I left regional papers under different circumstances to redundancy (I needed to go away and be a mum) these pointers are based on the sorts of experiences anyone moving on from local papers to work for themselves are bound to encounter. In these toughest of times, I'd say they are more important than ever.

Recognise the fantastic skills you have.

Seriously. You know you can write, you know you can get on with people, you know you can work quickly and well under pressure and that you can meet strict deadlines.

For some, that may be despite what people around you have told you for however long you have slogged away in your current or last job.

But did you know that this makes you a prime candidate for a wide range of projects? Work is still out there for you to find. Value the strengths a career in regional news has given you and think about how to make the best of them, as well as convincing other people they're worth paying for.

What sort of work do I mean? Any where the gift of the gab, (that's communications skills for my friends in PR,) an approachable manner and a knowledge of how the media works are key skills needed. Did I say 'key skills?' isn't that the sort of corporate nonsense you can spot at a hundred paces? Yes it is. And there are people who will pay you good money to turn it into plain English.

Forget any "them and us" notion you have about nationals and the regionals.

Learn how to pitch national news and features editors as effectively as possible.

Yes markets are shrinking and budgets are being cut, but a cracking tale sent to the right desk at the right time will still sell. It just has to be better than it ever was and stand out more.

Don't worry about the reception you will get as a 'newbie' to this pitching lark.

If you can write a regional splash on deadline you can sure as hell master 1,000 words with a couple of case studies and some expert comment in the time you're given to turn it around for a broadsheet section or monthly magazine.

And if you have a stonking 'human interest' story, study the tabloids and women's weeklies to see if you can flog an exclusive.

The features desks can be really quite nice when you ring them up, so long as you pick your moment well and convince them you can deliver.

It's funny, the better your story, the nicer they are.

Here's a piece I wrote for Press Gazette on finding the confidence to 'go national'.

Also, don't take rejection personally.

In business, advisers who cost a fair few quid an hour will tell you that 'no can often mean not yet.'

As much as this glib soundbite may make you want to scream inside, it's true.

That piece you suggested to an editor last week that was knocked back, or ignored, can still be sold elsewhere. Or it could be adapted for future use or even successfully slipped back under the nose of the same editor in weeks, months or years to come.

Take your contacts with you.

Just look after them, that's all. People you've already met as a reporter can still supply you with stories for a long time to come - but you can be more ambitious about where those stories will end up.

When someone mentions you may like to look into PR work, take that pained expression off your face.

It's not for everyone and it may not be for you. For many, it's a crying shame that's where the work is.

Yet others will question how "objective" the media group you were working for was anyway.

Is churning out copy from other people's press releases really so 'morally superior' to doing PR for a charity you believe in? Does accepting that it may not be, make you a bad person?

How can you ever join the ranks of the people you have taken such joy from insulting all these years?

Can you really afford to write it off completely?

So many questions!

But working in PR can also be fun, you know. Don't believe me? Read this. Also check out the brilliant 'redundant journalist's guide to PR' from Craig McGill.

Think about what PR, if any, you could get fired up about doing and how you could square this with other work.

Be clear about where the edges of journalism and PR may blur in a client's mind and think carefully about avoiding conflicts of interest and not impinging on freelance news reporting or feature writing work.

Here's a clue: Transparency is paramount.

If you can afford it, invest in training.

The NUJ, journalism.co.uk and other respected organisations run some cracking courses. From business skills for journalists to how to do 'real life features'. Look at what The Frontline Club offers. There's a lot of help out there - and some of it will suit you and needn't cost the earth.

Me and my colleague Carol from Passionate Media run one-day training courses for freelance journalists too.

The next dates are set for Birmingham and London in May and June and there's a discount on offer for people who have been made redundant.

For anyone reading this, it would be great if you were interested in coming along. Places are already being booked. Please check out what else is on offer first to make sure you find a course that is definitely the best for you.

(I can hear the stifled yawns from here) Network, network, network.

No I don't mean spend all your time at the local business breakfast networking club asking the local plumber if he needs someone to write a flyer to put through people's doors while you chomp on an economy sausage. (That would be stupid, I think plumbers may still be raking it in without flyers!)

But it would be a good idea to at least find out about these sorts of organisations and again if they are really for you. They can and do bring in business and writers can be very active members - but it all depends on the chemistry and personality of the people in the group - most of all you.

But that's not all there is to networking. Get yourself in front of key (sorry there's that word again) people you hope to work for and build relationships. That can be face to face, by email or online. Which of course brings us on to...

Get to grips with social networking

Twitter and facebook are your friends. Really they are. There's no end of pieces explaining how journalists can get the best out of them. Here's one I wrote. This one by Sarah Hartley and this one by Dave Lee offer a more in-depth insight.

Also, if you haven't yet caught the blogging bug, at least consider it. Lots of people will tell you it's a waste of time. Others, like Craig McGinty, a former Lancashire newspaper journalist, or Edinburgh-based Amber McNaught will tell you it can earn enough to do it full-time. I know who I'd rather listen to.

Weigh up your business skills. Is self-employment going to be for you?

Have you heard that 'turnover is vanity and profit is sanity?' or that 'thinking outside the box can lead to joined up thinking? You probably have.

Again, it may sound like a load of old nonsense and nobody really has to talk like that.

But the first of these hackneyed expressions is actually spot on. As Anita in the video above found to her cost, keeping, erm, costs down is one of the most important areas of business, especially when starting out.

Also important here: Don't try and be someone you're not.

There are people who will have different ideas about what is 'professional' and what isn't.

For some in business, the prevailing view is that you have to talk in riddles and dress to kill. Again, this lot for example, spring to mind. But that's simply not the case. You can do well if you relax, be confident and be yourself - promoting the skills outlined in my first point.

Don't assume (like I did) that other people you meet in business know it all just because they have been going longer. They may not have the sort of attention to detail, people skills or work ethic that years of evenings spent filing copy after a local council committee or health authority meeting brings.

Don't compete on price.

It's tempting when you start out working for yourself to tell potential clients (whether it's an editor, a possible commercial writing client or someone who wants a script writing for public sector DVD,) that you are cheap and you can beat what the next writer will do the job for.

Please don't do that. If you compete on price, you will lose the job on price. Your customer will move on to the next supplier when they come along with an even lower fee.

As someone who now commissions work from others, in the words of Shania Twain, that don't impress me much.

So what should you do instead? Work hard to convince them you are the best for the job, that's what - because you'll do the best job. Simple, huh? Well yeah, if only it were.

But you owe it to yourself to give it a go.

You want people to want to be able to afford you because you are the dog's wotsits.

If they want you enough, and have the money, they'll find a way.

Do you really want to work for them if they have no money and don't really want you?

Other important money matters:

* Don't drop your price or offer to do something for free if you can help it, thinking this will get your foot in the door. It often doesn't.

* Don't take any work on, even from people you trust, are friends with, have worked with before, or are existing contacts, without them signing all paperwork up front.

* Master all aspects of contracts, order forms and terms and conditions. If you can, ask customers to pay up front, either the whole fee or some of it. Their reaction may give you a big clue about their ability to pay and what they are going to be like to work with.

Quit seeing other journalists as your competition at least some of the time and think of them still as your colleagues.

A tough one this, for some, I know.

Yet the support of others who have chosen the same career path can be invaluable. Sites like JournoBiz or Joanne Mallon's Mediawomenuk group are full of people who will offer their time, kindness and experience to help you decide where you should pitch your next feature or how much to charge a commercial client.

I asked that very question yesterday and was set on the right track.

There's no way anyone would have helped if I'd stayed stuck in a rut as the miserable old cow some people insist I was while working as a news editor.

The next step...

Take what time you can to consider where you go from here.

Okay, so this is stating the obvious but what I mean is think about what you want from your work and how you can balance it with the rest of your life better.

All the time, blood, sweat and tears you spent to get the scoops for your last employer may have left you exhausted (I know it did me.) So think about what you want on your terms. Then work your damned hardest to find it.

You may not find an exact match and yes times are tough but there is still worthwhile work out there with your name on it, do all you can to find it and you'll get pretty near in the end.

• I'm the director of Passionate Media, a small Midlands agency which works on training, feature writing, blogging, podcasting, media relations and copywriting. My last full-time job in the regional media was as a news editor at the Wolverhampton Express & Star. I'd also worked as news editor at Worcester and chief reporter at the Sunday Sun in Newcastle. I'm also the author of The Greatest Freelance Writing Tips in the World.
  Related posts:

The most important thing? Learn multi-media

Pitches that worked

Writing 'real life' features for women's magazines

Are you a freelance journalist with advice for those facing a new future? What would you add to this list?

Or do you have any questions about the sorts of points outlined here? Please ask away in the comments and hopefully this can be helpful.

Good luck to you, anyway. Please if you take anything from this post, can it be a) value your skills and b) just make sure you get paid, okay? :)

Comments

[Vanessa Cobb]

Some high impact advice here for anyone new to freelance writing, packed with resources and encouragement. Thank you!

[Linda]

Hi Vanessa, thanks. I do hope the stuff I've learned 'at the sharp end' will be of use to people. It certainly hasn't been easy building up enough work for more people alongside me - mainly down to the characters you meet along the way rather than the work itself!

Thanks everyone who has tweeted or emailed me to say how valuable they've found the advice.

[Lucy]

Love the bit about other freelancers and working with them - it's a difficult one to get your head round.

[Linda]

Hi Lucy - yes it is but as someone else who got in touch about this piece just pointed out to me, it can be surprising how many people will offer up their help and even specific contacts if you ask them nicely - and you do the same in return!

[MissCay]

Linda, that is an excellent piece, and one I have bookmarked and intend to refer back to in the future. Thanks very much for taking the time to write it, things like this are always useful

[Tracey Davies]

Great article Linda, even for a non-ex-staffer it was really helpful.
I liked the other one on 'pitching for a day' too.

[Kelly Rose Bradford]

Linda, brilliant post full of great advice - particularly on the importance of networking. Looking forward to reading more.

[Linda]

Hi - thanks everyone and fingers crossed you can make it to one of the training days one day Kelly.