Ways to cope with uncertainty as a freelancer; find us in Denver
How to pitch science and tech stories and other summer events
Over the past 14 years as a freelance journalist, I’ve often been asked: ‘How do you deal with the uncertainty of not knowing where your next paycheck will come from?’
There are no hard and fast rules that work for everyone, but what has repeatedly worked for me is leaning into community. In DC, where I am based, I meet up monthly at a coffee shop with a group of local freelancers. (The same group where I first met IIJ Founder Katherine Lewis.) Someone sets a timer for five to seven minutes, depending on how large the group is that month. Then, each of us has the floor for the allotted time to discuss our successes and challenges and to ask for help from one another. As a result of these gatherings, I’ve learned a ton from my colleagues and feel less lonely as a freelancer. They are generous in offering freelancer advice and introductions to editors. Being part of the group has been one of my key strategies for maintaining my pipeline of work over the years.
I’ve also joined several other freelance communities, including the Association of Health Care Journalists, the Journalism and Women Symposium, and the Institute for Independent Journalists. The IIJ’s webinars, conferences, podcasts, and Slack community provide valuable resources for honing pitches, finding editors, and understanding new ways of seeking revenue, like newsletters.
The constant hustle for work isn’t easy. I periodically reassess my decision to be a freelancer. A year and a half ago, I went back into full-time journalism work, but then left. I decided that the benefits of setting my own hours and working where I wanted to work outweighed the anxiety of uncertainty. Thankfully, my communities were there for ongoing support.
What works for you? Share some of your strategies with the IIJ Slack community. We’d love to hear from you.
-Bara Vaida
See You in the Mile High City!
How can publishers and news organizations successfully tap into freelancer networks for reporting projects? Join us in Denver at the Collaborative Journalism Summit on May 16 for a panel discussion led by IIJ Editorial Director Ann Marie Awad, freelance audio journalist Ruxandra Guidi, and Emily Lytle from the Reynolds Journalism Institute. The three will address how freelancer talents can be leveraged for ambitious reporting projects and how to shape sustainable collaborations. As an added bonus, the panel will demo our Freelance Quick Start guide!
Want more in-person connections? If you are attending the Collaborative Journalism summit and are looking to deepen your network, join us for a freelance meetup at 5 p.m. MT, on May 15 at Wonderyard Garden & Table. RSVP here. This is just the first of our many summer freelance meetups! Please join us.
Replay: How to Pitch Marketplace, Salon and More
Revisit our webinar from last fall. During the discussion, editors from Marketplace, MIT Technology Review, PC Mag, and Salon provided broad outlines of the types of stories to pitch. Marketplace’s Amanda Peacher is looking for small, relatable stories connected to the local or national economy; MIT Technology Review’s Rachel Courtland wants stories about real-world technology impacts; PCMag’s Alan Henry is looking for technology stories, and Salon’s Troy Farah is seeking science and health stories focused on the intersection of power and health and animal science.
For more details on rights, rates, and contract terms, check out the full recording.
Has the IIJ Helped You? Please Share!
Have you taken an IIJ business course or workshop? Do you make it to our conference every year? We’re looking for people who have participated in IIJ events in the past to share their experience in a short video. We’re looking for stories about what you learned, your biggest ‘a ha!’ moment, or ways the IIJ has changed your business practices. These testimonials will help us make the case to possible IIJ funders, so we can continue bringing you useful programming. See more detailed guidelines here. Please email your submissions to info@theiij.com.
Pitch Calls and Other Opportunities
☺️ Pitches Wanted: Lifestyle and Wellness Stories
(h/t Study Hall) If you have been looking for a forum to pitch your health stories, Anna Borges at SELF magazine is looking for reported stories based on a personal experience that are focused on mental well-being, work, culture, family, friendships, romantic love, and sex. 💰Rates start at $500, with short and quick news stories starting at $450 and features starting at $800. More information at Study Hall. Anna’s email address is anna_borges@condenast.com.
🚜 Wanted: Farm Journal Contract Writer
Farm Journal is seeking a freelance reporter to cover national agriculture policy and politics. The reporter would be contracted to write original news stories on policies having an economic impact on farmers, ranchers, and the produce industry. 💰Budget up to $5K/month to file regular web stories and appear at least once a week on Farm Journal’s broadcast programs. More information here.
🚸 Possible Full-Time Freelance Gig Covering Child Welfare
Fostering Media Connections, publisher of the non-profit news site The Imprint, is seeking an experienced journalist to cover child welfare issues in Minnesota. While the job is listed as a staff position, the outlet says they are “open to a contract arrangement with an experienced freelancer.” The newsroom is virtual, but the reporter must reside in Minnesota. 💰Salary of $58,565, including subsidized health insurance and matching retirement contributions. More details about the position can be found here.
✍️ Wanted: Boston-based Reporter to Cover Latino Communities
The Latino Newsletter is seeking an entry-level freelance multimedia journalist to cover the Latino community in the greater Boston area this summer, between May 22 and Aug. 15. The journalist will produce up to four text and video stories a month highlighting local issues. The position is open to anyone who is eligible to work in Massachusetts. Student journalists are encouraged to apply. 💰Pay is $500 per story (total budget is $2,000 for four stories). More details here.
❤️🩹 Mental Health Reporting Resources
Covering mental health and working with vulnerable sources requires sensitivity and nuance. To equip journalists with tools for identifying, approaching, and interviewing vulnerable sources, the Poynter Institute and the Carter Center have created a free, self-directed webinar led by Poynter’s Kerwin Speight, and mental health reporters Mary Hall and Aneri Pattani. Leave the webinar knowing how to craft nuanced stories that portray mental health challenges with accuracy and dignity. Enroll anytime here.
🎓 Investigative Reporting Scholarship
Columbia Journalism School, in partnership with the Reynolds Foundation, is offering scholarships to its summer investigative reporting course, which takes place from July 7-25 on Columbia’s New York City campus. The scholarship is open to journalists and editors living and working in Latin America, including Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean. The scholarship covers the full cost of the program, round-trip airfare, ground transportation, and lodging. Apply here by May 15.
🏆 Why You Should Enter the ASJA 2025 Awards
(advertisement) The work you do as an independent journalist deserves recognition. The American Society of Journalists and Authors' annual awards program has some 30 categories open to all freelance journalists, book authors, and content writers. Several award categories have $500 and $1,000 cash prizes! Award entries must be freelance-written and published in the United States during the eligibility period. Deadline for entry is May 16. More details here.
Interesting Reads
📖 For journalists, the Trump administration’s deletion of public data sets has been hugely alarming. How are we going to tell evidence-based stories about our country when we can no longer rely on federal data? But University of San Diego communications professor Nik Usher sees this as a moment of data reckoning for journalists. Usher calls for us to acknowledge that flaws and bias have long existed in government data: “This moment of journalistic outcry over government data deletion can be a transformative one.”
📖 IIJ founding leader Meena Thiruvengadam went down memory lane in a conversation with the newsletter ‘My First Byline’ where she reminisced about her first paid stories in a San Antonio kids magazine during college. Her first byline that she clearly remembers appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune, where she wrote about the construction of a new lap pool. “At the time, it felt wild to think about interviewing people and writing an entire article in a day,” she said. “Now, it’s wild to think about how much live event coverage I’ve done and how many articles I’ve written under eight-minute deadlines.”
📖 When covering tragic events, journalist Erika Hayasaki knew it was part of the job to get quotes from people who had been traumatized. But the experience left her with the uneasy feeling that her task felt less like “telling a story versus taking a story.” Hayasaki – an IIJ leader – was featured on the first episode of the Nieman Storyboard podcast, discussing the inspiration for her newsletter “The Reported Essay,” which aims to help individuals learn the tools they need to tell their own stories, rather than putting it in someone else’s hands. Listen to the interview here.
Calendar
🗓️ May 15 and 16 - IIJ will present a panel at the Collaborative Journalism Summit in Denver, Colorado! Join IIJ Editorial Director Ann Marie Awad, freelance audio journalist Ruxandra Guidi, and Emily Lytle from the Reynolds Journalism Institute for a session on building sustainable collaborations with freelancers. We’ll also be hosting a networking event - RSVP here!
🗓️ May 29 to June 1 - Join IIJ leader Shernay Williams at the Association of Health Care Journalists' annual conference in Los Angeles for a freelance meetup on Saturday, May 31 at 5:30 p.m. PT. RSVP here!
🗓️ June 19 to 22 - The IIJ will present a panel at the Investigative Reporters and Editors conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. Join IIJ Editorial Director Ann Marie Awad and New Orleans-based freelance journalists Rita Harper and Carolina Murriel for a discussion on building systems that work for independent journalists. We’ll also be hosting a networking event – RSVP here!
🗓️ 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. Register for the workshop before space runs out! 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 leader Erika Hayasaki for a freelance meetup during the Asian American Journalists Association's annual convention. 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. 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. Join IIJ Editorial Director Ann Marie Awad, Atlanta-based freelance journalist Christina Lee, and the Association of Independents in Radio for 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 DC - RSVP for details!
ICYMI
Want more of the Freelance Journalism Podcast? Check out these recent episodes!
🎧 Wudan Yan on adding new services to your freelance business
🎧 Pitching Alan Henry at PCMag your cybersecurity stories
🎧 Finding your niche with freelance journalist Gil Asakawa
🎧 Can you make $3k a month on a newsletter? Lex Roman explains how
🎧 What to do when you've been sued, with freelance journalist Lisa Kwon
🎧 Freelancing across genres with Fin Leary of We Need Diverse Books
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Subscribe on your favorite podcast app, and please leave us a five-star review!