🤫 The secret to beating procrastination
Plus: It’s not too late to sign up for our Business of Freelancing workshop in Chicago!
“It won’t be easier tomorrow.”
My freelance accountability partner and I both have that saying written near our desks. Why? As much as we like deciding how to set our own goals and manage our time, we both share the same challenge. We can get easily distracted or fall into a state of procrastination.
To keep ourselves on track, we have a 30-minute monthly meeting scheduled on our calendars. We get right to business on how well we are doing with meeting our goals, or just ask for help with whatever is distracting us from work. We are also friends, but we save any non-freelance matters for another time. She also makes me laugh. Knowing that a regular call is on my calendar is often enough of a nudge to keep me on track with my freelance goals.
If you are finding yourself consistently wandering off track, consider finding an accountability buddy.
I think the key is being flexible and thinking about what qualities complement the way you work. For example, I once worked with another freelance writer who sent a lot of email nudges and reminders. Instead of feeling supported, I felt annoyed, so it didn’t work.
I met my current partner at a journalism conference about eight years ago. We became friends first and then realized that we had similar working styles and challenges. We like our accountability meetings to be a conversation, but they don’t have to be. Some freelance friends have told me that they prefer the accountability call just to be about bridging the loneliness gap. They set a 30-minute window, get on Zoom or FaceTime, and work together in silence. It’s really all about finding what works for you.
For more accountability partner ideas, read this post from the website “Make A Living Writing.”
– Bara
Join us for IIJ’s Business of Freelancing workshop next week (it’s not too late)
Will you be attending the National Association of Hispanic Journalists conference in Chicago next week? If you are, sign up to attend our popular Business of Freelancing workshop. The course will help you build concrete systems for a sustainable freelance business. Topics include: effective networking and time management strategies, negotiation tactics, tools for avoiding burnout, and more! On top of all that, get pitch pointers from editors at Crain’s Chicago Business, Catchlight, PBS, and the New York Times.
The workshop is free for NAHJ conference attendees, and only $89 for everyone else!
New connections at IRE New Orleans
IIJ Editorial Director Ann Marie Awad was recently in New Orleans at the IRE conference, speaking on a panel all about building sustainable freelance systems alongside local freelance journalists Carolina Murriel and Rita Harper. Thanks to Carolina, Rita, and everyone who made this amazing conversation possible – it’s not everyday that you get played off by a second line band! Thanks also to Eric Ferrero, executive director for the Fund for Investigative Journalism and Noy Thrupkaew, director of partnerships for Type Investigations, for co-sponsoring our freelance meetup at IRE.
We are always grateful for every chance to connect with outstanding freelance journalists and trade tools and tips. Speaking of which, shout out to journalist Damaso Reyes, who put together these resources for finding investigative journalism grants!
This year’s employment conference track fostered important discussions about recovering from layoffs, navigating career shifts, and finding community as a freelancer. Speakers like Larry Graham of the Diversity Pledge Institute, Janelle O’Dea of the Illinois Answers Project, Jonathan D. Salant of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and freelance journalists Candace Y.A. Montague, MacNelly Torres, and Elaine Aradillas, all created safe spaces for journalists to work through the challenges of this dire moment in our industry, and we were grateful to be a part of those hard conversations. Cheers to a productive (and very hot) IRE!
Pitch Calls and Other Opportunities
Sharpen your journalism skills from home with AccessFest, a virtual conference hosted by Investigative Reporters and Editors. It features IRE's top investigative and data sessions, along with panels focused on accessibility, inclusion, and belonging. You'll walk away with new skills and new perspectives to add to your freelancing toolkit. Attend Oct. 9-11. Registration is just $50 right now!
📖 Book review copy editors wanted
Book review publisher Kirkus Books is looking for freelance copy editors who can look over multiple short book reviews at a time to ensure they adhere to the Kirkus and AP style guides. Quick turnaround – generally 24 to 48 hours – is required. Candidates should have magazine or newspaper experience. Schedule flexibility and the ability to work independently are a plus. Contact Dan Nolan at dnolan@kirkus.com 💰Pay listed is up to $15,000, but hours are unspecified.
🚲 Call for science of cycling stories
If you love to ride your bike and are a freelancer, pitching Science Friday might be for you. They are looking for written stories on the science of cycling. They can be about any aspect of cycling, including physical and mental endurance, geography, team dynamics, equipment, history, etc., but should have a science angle. Pitches can be explainers or bigger picture looks about cycling, such as how it has evolved, or overlooked histories of the sport. See Science Friday’s pitching guide for more details and pitch using this form. 💰Pay is 80 cents a word for 500 to 1,000 words in English and up to 1,200 words in Spanish.
✍️ Grants for female and nonbinary journalists
The International Women’s Media Foundation is accepting applications for the Lauren Brown Fellowship grants for women and nonbinary journalists. The grants of up to $2,000 aim to support journalists working on stories about underreported and critical issues and projects that challenge underreported media narratives. Grants may also be used for professional development. The application deadline is July 20.
🌳 Roots of Progress looking for longform stories
Roots of Progress, a nonprofit that aims to “establish a new philosophy of progress,” is looking for pitches for a series of reported essays on how AI will transform specific industries and workers’ lives. The series, called “Intelligence Age,” aims to cover topics including virtual businesses, professional services, finance, translation, science, education, creative arts, matchmaking, government, infrastructure, warfare, wearables, robotics, and personal agents. Pitch via the organization’s online system. 💰Pay is $2 a word for 2,500 to 3,500 words.
📣 Be a speaker and get free access to an audio conference
The Afros and Audio Conference taking place Oct. 16 to 19 in Baltimore is searching for speakers. This annual conference celebrates Black independent podcast creators and audio professionals. Organizers are looking for panels on craft, the business of audio, and community building that focus on collaboration, transformation, and sustainability. The four categories of panels will be: podcast creator, audio professional, new and aspiring podcaster, and creative vision and narrative impact. Selected speakers get VIP conference tickets, access to networking events, and other benefits. Application here by July 6.
Interesting Reads
📖 In a final article as the Emancipator’s editor in chief, Jamil Smith spoke with journalism and anti-racism experts on how media coverage of racism falls short and what journalists can do about it. They said racism is systemic and should be woven into every story, from economics to healthcare to politics. Newsrooms should hire journalists with lived experience covering race, should focus on structural rather than individual racism, and be more direct in their language. “Media coverage must name white supremacy explicitly rather than using euphemisms like ‘racial tensions’ or ‘concerning incidents,’” independent journalist Tasmiha Khan told Smith.
📖 Student journalists are making waves in podcasting, and the International Journalists’ Network spotlights seven of them:
Santa Cruz County Queer History Podcast featuring students interviewing older LGBTQ+ people about their lived experiences
Mawrters at the Movies featuring Bryn Mawr College students analyzing films
Can You Hear Us Now: Inclusivity in the Media featuring UNC-Chapel Hill journalism students discussing media diversity
True Crime Podcast Podcast featuring Stanford grads examining true crime podcast ethics
Locked on HBCU, covering Historically Black Colleges and Universities sports
The Short Coat highlighting a University of Iowa medical student discussing the realities of medical school
The Student Beat, spotlighting global student journalists.
📖 When anxious, we often avoid talking about it, but writing can help. Jen A. Miller, a long-time freelancer and author of “Notes from a Hired Pen,” shared her anxiety challenges and coping mechanisms in her recent newsletter. She identified warning signs of her recent anxiety wave, which included creative blocks, disrupted sleep, loss of appetite, and self-criticism for feeling anxious. To manage anxiety, she canceled plans to conserve energy, limited social media by logging out of platforms, stayed busy with household tasks, talked to understanding friends, and wrote about the experience “in the hopes that if you see these signs in yourself, you may realize what is going on.”
Calendar
🗓️ July 8 to July 12 - IIJ leaders will speak on a panel at the 2025 National Association of Hispanic Journalists Conference and Expo in Chicago, host a freelance meetup, and present our popular full-day Business of Freelancing Workshop. The workshop is free for NAHJ conference attendees, and only $89 for everyone else! Space is limited; register here. Don’t forget to RSVP for our freelance meetup hosted by IIJ leaders Valeria Fernández and Katherine Lewis.
🗓️ July 30 to August 3 - Join IIJ founder Katherine Reynolds Lewis for a freelance meetup during the Asian American Journalists Association's annual convention and look for her panels during the conference. RSVP to receive details as soon as we announce them!
🗓️ August 6 to 10 - IIJ leaders Shernay Williams, Benét Wilson, and Katherine Lewis will host a freelance meetup at the National Association of Black Journalists Conference and speak on multiple panels. RSVP for details!
🗓️ August 13 to 15 - IIJ founder Katherine Lewis will speak on a panel at the Indigenous Media Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and host a freelance meetup. RSVP for details!
🗓️ September 4 to 7 - The IIJ is presenting a panel at NLGJA: the Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists’ convention in Atlanta, Georgia with IIJ Editorial Director Ann Marie Awad, and Atlanta-based freelancers Christina Lee and Faybeo’n Mickens. Ann will also be hosting a freelance meetup during the conference, RSVP for details!
🗓️ September 5 to 7 - IIJ leaders Katherine Lewis and Shernay Williams will host a freelance meetup at the Journalism and Women Symposium Camp in Washington, D.C. – RSVP for details!
ICYMI
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🎧 Finding your niche with freelance journalist Gil Asakawa
🎧 Can you make $3k a month on a newsletter? Lex Roman explains how
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