Hello writers,
Welcome to the one-year anniversary of the lockdown in India. Things appear to have changed for the worse, instead of better.
Before I continue, an announcement. I will be taking a break from the newsletter for this month and possibly the next. I have been unwell and I want to focus on recovering (hopefully soon). I will still be open for this:
Ask Jo
A 20-minute conversation on different aspects of freelancing; you could give me a pitch to review, or we could discuss and condense a story from an idea, or work on finding the right publication for your story. I will share successful pitches, links to helpful articles, writing groups, suggestions on finding editor’s contacts and more. Cost: Rs 450.
I will be available on email and Twitter.
This week’s newsletter is packed to make up for my future absence: it features an interview with Pranay Parab (who has worked with Gadgets 360) — he’s spoken about how to become a freelance journalist, and how to send video pitches and more. Journalist Ruth Prabhu Da Costa talks about spending two years to get one pitch accepted; she shares the pitch too. In addition, there are pitch calls, writing resources, grants and fellowships and pitching advice.
Note: As of this year, IAW is NO LONGER accepting yearly subscriptions. It will still show up in Substack, but at Rs 399, you will only get two months. Those who are paying monthly, nothing changes for you. If you would like to subscribe off Substack, or discuss three-month or six-month plans, email itsallwrite@outlook.in
This free version has writing advice, a glimpse of the Pocket Guide section where I share writing resources, a peek at the interview, job listings, and more.
Ready? Let’s begin.
THE BIG INTERVIEW
Pranay Parab has spent 10 years in the media industry. His recent stint was at Gadgets 360 where he produced podcast episodes, headed the video production team, started a buying guide sub-section of the website, and headed the tutorials’ section of the site. Here, he talks about what it is like to be a freelance journalist.
This is a question I am often asked. How does one get into freelance writing? Is there a procedure, a set of rules to follow?
Freelance writing is such a vast field that it would be impossible to give an answer that would satisfy everyone.
The first rule of freelancing applies to every single person reading this. Never write anything for free. There’s no such thing as writing articles “for exposure”. My landlady doesn’t accept exposure, and it’s not going to pay for food, electricity, or Internet.
Think about your hobbies and interests, and try to find a niche that you can regularly write about. For example, I love digging into the settings of messaging apps and you’ll find me writing tutorials around that very often. It’s something I’d do even if I wasn’t writing articles, so this is a good fit for me. I’ve heard of people who love running long-distance races, and they specifically only write about marathon running.
When you’re starting out, it may be a good idea to get a full-time writing job. It may not give you the freedom you desire, but it’ll keep paying the bills while you build a writing portfolio that’ll help you get freelance writing assignments later. In fact, if you leave your full-time job on a good note, your former employer may even become a regular source of assignments.
Understand how pitching works and perfect this skill. Editors are usually overworked and don’t have the time or patience for those who beat around the bush. Get straight to the point with your pitches and make sure that you deliver what you promise.
Your top three to-do's for people interested in becoming a journalist?
I: Talk to people who are already doing what you want to do. Want to become a tech journalist? Find the best people in this field and try to have conversations with them about how they got where they are today. You see a successful journalist, but you don’t see how much they struggled to get there.
II: Find out what the starting salary is in the publications you want to join and see if there’s enough money in this field for it to be a sustainable career. I can’t stress how important this point it.
This field is not what it was 20 years ago, where just being a good reporter was enough to be a journalist. Today you need to be familiar with the basics of SEO (i.e. how Google will put your article above those by competing websites) and social media (what kinds of articles go viral on which platform) to be successful. You should build your brand on social media sites as the importance of recognition and referrals cannot be understated. You may be the best writer in your beat but if you don’t put yourself out there, few potential employers will reach out to you when they need to hire.
POCKET GUIDE
This is where I share advice/guides'/ resources linked to writing.
This is an old resource, but till relevant.
Documentary photography who dabbles in online/ business /tech, Mikli Feria Jorge curated a PSA highlighting some key sentences to add or subtract from your vocabulary so you don’t burn out. She rightly calls them her ‘friendly yet firm-about-my-boundaries’ replies (marked in bold). I have already started using some of these and I cannot stress how useful they have proved to be!
If a request comes in at the close of the day: “I can get to that in the morning!” If a request comes in after you’ve clocked out for the day: (Nothing. Reply to it in the morning. Don’t even look at your phone.) Ditto for weekends — get to it on Monday.
You can also use an auto-responder: “Hi! Thanks for emailing. Just wanted to let you know I got it. Please give me 1-2 days on Mondays to Fridays to respond. Thanks!”
Instead of ‘Sure, no problem!’ when it is, indeed, a problem: “I can have this done in (time PLUS PADDING – if you submit early, great. But if life happens and you submit late, it's not late)’ OR “The earliest I can get this done is xxx. Does this work for you?”
For multiple requests, one on top of the other from the same person all due at the same time and you're drowning: “Okay, so right now I’m doing x, y, z, a, b, c. How would you like to prioritize?”
If a client says what you did isn’t what they asked for when it is, indeed, what they asked for: screenshot the original request or reply to it. “Hi! I’ve done x, y, z like we discussed earlier. Would you like me to edit it to (new request)? I can get that done by (time)!”
“What’s your rate?” “My rate is x.” (No explanations or any extra info needed here).
If your rate is out of their budget, and ONLY if you want to work with them: “No problem, we can work with (budget). For (budget), we can do x, y, and z (cut the deliverables), so that you can still (reach one of their goals) by (date)!”
MISCELLANY
(News you can use)
NEWSLETTER: Environment of India is a fortnightly newsletter that explores India’s environment with a multi-disciplinary lens, bringing credible information on the ‘elements’ of air, water, land and forests. Edited by Omair Ahmed for Galileo Ideas and supported by Azim Premji University.
WORKSHOP: The Twitter account, Freelance Writers India, is hosting a Basic of Pitching session with writer and editor Visvak P. Details: April 5, 6.30pm. Register here. If you miss it, they will be releasing a recording of the session. Free.
READ: Ben Whitelaw talks about the future of editors in a newsroom where machines have taken over.
RESOURCE: NPR’s editors talk about what makes for a good pitch. It’s a wonderful resource — the advice may be repetitive but, it is concise.
JOB LISTINGS
Fizzy Goblet is looking for a Senior Digital Marketing Manager for its Delhi NCR office. Experience: 3-5 years. Bonus — Hands on experience with CRM and SEO tools like Google Analytics and Google Adwords. Email disha@fizzygoblet.com and devon@fizzygoblet
Scroll is looking to hire an Associate Editor with excellent editing skills to shape complex, in-depth stories into compelling narratives. Requirement: 5–7 years of high-quality feature editing experience. Deadline: April 16. Location: Delhi. Email jobs@scroll.in with the subject line Associate Editor. More details, here.
The grants organisation National Foundation for India (NFI) seeks a Managing Editor to steer their Media Fellowship Programme. Skills required: more than 10 years of experience in journalism, experience in leading copy-editing and desk teams at middle to senior level positions, and in hands-on supervision and commissioning of stories and their publication. Location: Delhi. Salary: 1 lakh a month. Deadline: April 10. Details, here.
The Content Lab is looking for a Manager, Performance Marketing who has prior experience at a digital marketing agency. Mumbai. Full-time. The role will include strategizing, implementing and executing digital marketing strategies to create an optimal mix of online marketing revenue-driving investments. 3-5 years experience. Apply, here.
I end with some writing advice:
"Saying “write what you know” limits us from the outset - we only “know” a limited number of things, after all. We should certainly write our experiences, but we cannot limit ourselves only to that. We should be encouraged then to have new experiences. To know and learn — gasp! - new things. Write with authority and authenticity. Marry experience with imagination in a ceremony upon the story’s page."
-Chuck Wendig (American author)
And this important reminder (to all writers*):
Get in touch if you have any doubts or need help, or want that one-on-one session.
Until next time: stay safe, wear your masks, wash your hands. And, keep pitching.
Adios.