With recent news from the publishing world from the likes of HuffPost, The Pool, and Buzzfeed it’s got freelancers on their feet and thinking about what a career looks like when markets change. Being a freelancer isn’t always easy but it also comes with great perks and for some industries or crafts it’s an essential model of work. Samira Shackle who has been a freelancer since 2012 shared her learnings from the last few years, she is a freelance journalist for the Guardian, Prospect and many other publications. She is also currently Deputy Editor at New Humanist.

1. Get yourself a buffer fund. Work out what you would need to cover your basic costs for a month and keep it in a separate account. You WILL get stuck waiting for payments and it is a huge relief to know you can still pay rent. If you use it, top it back up when you can.

— Samira Shackle (@samirashackle) January 30, 2019

2. Pitch a lot, pitch everywhere. Think widely about places you could write for – international publications, online only, special interest mags – and research the kinds of pieces they run (reported, opinion, word lengths, subject matter) and rates.

— Samira Shackle (@samirashackle) January 30, 2019

3. Develop a thick skin. I’m sensitive by nature but don’t take rejection personally. It doesn’t mean you’re stupid or have bad ideas. Go back to the editor with new ideas, repurpose the rejected pitch for another mag. I’ve had stories accepted after 2 or 3 rejections elsewhere.

— Samira Shackle (@samirashackle) January 30, 2019

5. Follow up on pitches. Lots of editors have flooded inboxes so won’t reply immediately or might miss your email, especially if it’s a cold pitch. That doesn’t mean they don’t like it. I usually send a brief follow up email after a week or so.

— Samira Shackle (@samirashackle) January 30, 2019

7. Try out writing for lots of places. The longer you’re freelance, the easier it’ll be to work out which places are not worth your time because the rates are too low for the level of work or because they’re so consistently late to pay.

— Samira Shackle (@samirashackle) January 30, 2019

8. Make lists all the time. As you get more busy, it can be difficult to keep on top of contesting demands, deadlines, interviews, and admin. No one else is keeping track of your workload and usually no one is reminding you about what you have to do and when.

— Samira Shackle (@samirashackle) January 30, 2019

Look into copywriting, teaching, public speaking, doing reports for think tanks, editing shifts etc. They can all bolster your income and provide some stability in an unstable profession.

— Samira Shackle (@samirashackle) January 30, 2019

11. Invoice immediately! Plan in time for admin, otherwise you don’t get paid. Remember to factor in the (shitty) fact that most places only pay after publication – so if you’re spending 6 months on a project, that’s 6 months before you get paid. Put money aside for tax.

— Samira Shackle (@samirashackle) January 30, 2019

13. It can be isolating to suddenly work on your own, so try to offset that. For me, that’s trying to keep my freelance work to office hours so I can socialise at the weekend and in the evenings, and having freelance friends (hi @calflyn!) I can talk to and bounce ideas off.

— Samira Shackle (@samirashackle) January 30, 2019

Okay think that’s it for now – hope that’s useful!

— Samira Shackle (@samirashackle) January 30, 2019

Samira Shackle

How I Am Thriving as a Freelancer, 7 Years On