Writers are the most generous people on the planet. Well, most of them anyway.
I asked a few experienced journalists for tips on how to make my upcoming transition smoother, career-wise, and not only did I get a huge list of tips, but one amazing and generous writer e-mailed me a list of some of her major contacts at national publications! And before this exchange, we didn’t even know each other.
If this writer ever needs a contact, a place to stay, or even just a friend, you can bet I’ll be more than happy to return the favor.
It is easy to see other writers as your competition, and many people do. After all, you’re vying for the same few spots in major magazines, you’re pitching the same editors, and sometimes, you’re even trying to sell the same story (rare, but I’ve had it happen).
But that’s a short-term view. There is nothing and no one who can match the camaraderie shared by fellow freelance writers. If you’re working for the same publications, you can compare notes about easy or tough to work with editors. You can compare pay rates. You can share which editors are buying and which ones aren’t. You can get contacts. And you can get support and friendship when things aren’t going right.
All that is very important, especially in a job that requires that a big chunk of your time be spent alone, in front of a computer screen. It sounds silly in my head as I write this, but some of my freelancer friends, a couple of whom I’ve never met, have helped me get through my tough times and celebrated with me, my successes.
No matter how supportive my family and friends are, they don’t understand intimately the pain of having a story killed, the annoyance of chasing payments, or the joy of receiving a personal rejection from Rolling Stone magazine.
Repeatedly, after having stories killed and feeling like a failure, I’ve asked friends and found they had similar experiences with the same editor or that the publication that owed me money owed them, too. I’m fairly sure I’ll hear of a magazine’s demise or financial troubles before it becomes public because I have a well-connected network of writers and editors, who in turn have a well-connected network of writers and editors, and someone or the other is bound to find out. And that information travels fast!
Many writers interact with other writers simply for the networking. I’d say take it a step further. Get to know people. Not because you can get anything from them, but because in the end, we’re all in this together. And if we don’t look out for each other, who will?
As journalists we have a strange relationship with one another. While we compete on particular stories, we are all in the same boat when it comes to making contacts in the industry and among editors. I’m very happy to share contacts with other journalists both for contacts for stories that I’ve already reported on, and for editors who might be interested in hearing pitches. But there is always an element of competition on individual stories. I’m working on a piece about Somali piracy right now, and a as far as I know, so is every other reporter in this hemisphere, so no one wants to give up a good inside source.
But in these tough economic times, it makes sense to network as much as possible with other reporters. So many people helped get me gigs when I Was first starting out, that I more or less owe new reporters a similar service.
[...] So, Gawker asked freelancers for the worst late payment offenders among print publications, and got some answers. The lists are by no means exhaustive, and they’re also not completely reliable. One person’s complaint does not make a publication a deadbeat, but enough of them should make you think before pitching. So do your research and talk to other freelancers. [...]