Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Jan 8-14
Once a week, we gather stories about the media business, journalism, writing, communications, and freelancing—with a Canadian focus—and share them in Off the Wire. Who needs a water cooler?
From Canada:
- Media union hails Godfrey’s step down as Postmedia CEO [CWA Canada]
- Paul Godfrey steps down as Postmedia CEO, will remain executive chair [Globe and Mail]
- Is the future of journalism crowd-funded and community-driven? [Taproot]
- In Canada, police block media from covering break up of indigenous pipeline protest [CPJ]
- VICE launches new legal battle to protect journalist’s materials [Vice]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- Why 212 Rejections in a Year Was the Best Thing to Happen to Me [The Freelancer]
- With foreign bureaus slashed, freelancers are filling the void – at their own risk [The Conversation]
- How to pitch a solutions journalism idea to editors [journalism.co.uk]
- Do you sit all day? You need these 5 stretches [Freelancers Union]
- The man behind Vice’s push for freelancer insurance [CJR]
- An in-depth guide to annual planning for freelance businesses [Medium]
- 11 essential things to know before you go full-on freelance [Journo Resources]
- Get Organized So You Can Kill It In 2019: 10 Tips From Real People [Refinery29]
- 7 ways to keep your inbox under control and save your sanity [Freelancers Union]
Recently on Story Board:
- Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: Lessons from Katie Jensen and Vicky Mochama of Vocal Fry Studios: If I’m honest, for many years the only thing that kept me from freelancing was the fact that I didn’t feel good enough. No matter how many qualified people told me I was capable, complimented my work and prodded me to keep going, it wasn’t enough to make me feel “credible”…
Spot a story you think we should include in next week’s Off the Wire? Email the link to editor@thestoryboard.ca or tweet us at @storyboard_ca.
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: Lessons from Katie Jensen and Vicky Mochama of Vocal Fry Studios
By Cara Fox

(Twitter photo courtesy of @msangelamc)
If I’m honest, for many years the only thing that kept me from freelancing was the fact that I didn’t feel good enough. No matter how many qualified people told me I was capable, complimented my work and prodded me to keep going, it wasn’t enough to make me feel “credible.”
What I didn’t realize then was that feeling would never fully go away, even after j-school and a handful of successful gigs. In fact, there’s a name for it. It’s called imposter syndrome; the persistent inability to believe that your success is deserved and is a result of your effort or skills.
Last weekend, Katie Jensen and Vicky Mochama spoke about imposter syndrome at the annual Canadian University Press conference, NASH81: Refine.
Founders of Vocal Fry Studios, a Toronto-based podcasting hub that produces media created by under-represented groups, Jensen and Mochama delivered a powerful message to emerging journalists on how to overcome imposter syndrome and forge a rewarding career path in new media.
The Media Doesn’t Reflect Us
“Journalism is like any other industry,” announced Mochama, addressing the gala hall full of eager student journalists at the Hotel Arts in Calgary, AB. “It’s moving forward without being aware of how it’s holding people back.”
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Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Dec 31-Jan 7
Once a week, we gather stories about the media business, journalism, writing, communications, and freelancing—with a Canadian focus—and share them in Off the Wire. Who needs a water cooler?
From Canada:
- CBC Non-fiction prize open for entries [CBC Books]
- 2018 CAJ Awards call for entries [CAJ]
- Call for entries: 2019 Digital Publishing Awards [Digital Publishing Awards]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- How to use a dry spell to your advantage [Freelancers Union]
- 10 Ways for Freelancers to Stay Organized in 2019 [Brand Vixen]
- A Load Of Successful Journalism Pitches To Help You With Yours [Journo Resources]
- Tips for journalists negotiating personal boundaries online [IJNet]
- Why mentorship matters [Freelancers Union]
- Here’s how to brand yourself on Instagram [The Muse]
- 5 tips for becoming a successful digital nomad [Freelancers Union]
- The power of letting go [Freelancers Union]
Recently on Story Board:
- New Years Resolution #1 — Take Care of Yourself First: Those with chronic illness or pain don’t have a choice: they have to try and be as healthy as possible every day. So what’s the best way to manage your health while keeping your freelance career on track?…
- The 5-Minute Freelancer Q&A #38 — Angela Mombourquette: Angela Mombourquette is a Halifax-based freelance journalist who has written for such publications as The Walrus, Halifax Magazine, and the Chronicle Herald. She is also the author of the book 25 Years of 22 Minutes: An Unauthorized Oral History of This Hour Has 22 Minutes…
Spot a story you think we should include in next week’s Off the Wire? Email the link to editor@thestoryboard.ca or tweet us at @storyboard_ca.
New Year’s Resolution #1: Take Care of Yourself First
By Christine Peets

Toronto-based writer Paul Lima
If you choose to make New Year’s resolutions, you might notice the same themes arising year after year. They often involve trying to be healthier by getting more exercise, eating healthy food, balancing the work/life stuff, etc. etc.
Or, as Jerry Seinfeld would say, “Yada, Yada, Yada.”
Those with chronic illness or pain, however, don’t have a choice: they have to try and be as healthy as possible every day. So what’s the best way to manage your health while keeping your freelance career on track? I contacted three freelancers who all live with chronic illness and pain. They shared some interesting perspectives and strategies for taking care of the work while maintaining their health.
Figure out new ways to work, and be engaged
Paul Lima is a Toronto-based writer, writing instructor and business-writing trainer. He has been freelancing for more than 25 years and in 1998 he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Paul has published 20 books, with his latest two being about living with MS.
Paul notes that he has reduced his workload by 50 percent or more. He used to teach longer classes and conduct training sessions that ran from a half-day to two days. Now his classes are not in real time, so he provides material ahead of time and has weekly online contact with his students. His training webinars are now only two hours long. His advice for others who have a chronic illness?
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The 5-Minute Freelancer Q&A #38 — Angela Mombourquette
In this regular feature, Story Board asks Canadian freelancers to share a few details about their work habits and their strategies for navigating the ups and downs of freelance life.
Angela Mombourquette is a Halifax-based freelance journalist who has written for such publications as The Walrus, Halifax Magazine, and the Chronicle Herald. She is also the author of the book 25 Years of 22 Minutes: An Unauthorized Oral History of This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
She has been working recently as an instructor with the King’s Faculty of Journalism and is starting a job as the non-fiction editor at Nimbus Publishing in January.
Angela won the 2018 Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for the UC Observer feature “Why P.E.I. didn’t provide abortions for 35 years.” She took the time to speak with Story Board recently about her eclectic career, the joy of winning awards as a freelancer, and the value of bumping up your freelance skills through advanced education.
How did your Greber Award-winning story come about?
The backstory to that piece is, in fact, it wasn’t my idea. The magazine came to me. And I had never written for them before. They were looking for a writer from the east coast who wouldn’t write about PEI as an outsider. And so they just found me by searching for Atlantic Canadian writers. So there’s a good reason for anyone who’s a writer to have a website.
The UC Observer, even though it’s rooted in the United Church, is a very secular magazine. But they do publish kind of spiritual-related things and then they also have a social justice bent. They wanted to do a story about what was happening with abortion in PEI.
And were you interested right away?
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Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Dec 18-24
Once a week, we gather stories about the media business, journalism, writing, communications, and freelancing—with a Canadian focus—and share them in Off the Wire. Who needs a water cooler?
From Canada:
- National Magazine Awards call for entries [Magazine Awards]
- Changing public perceptions of mental illness [J-Source]
- Skill-sharing workshops help freelancers confront new world of work [Thunderbird]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- National Writers Union and National Association of Science Writers form partnership [NWU]
- 16 smartphone apps to delete before the new year [Fast Company]
- The Onion Goes Union: Humorists Ratify First Contract With WGA East [Deadline]
- Advice for freelancers taking parental leave [Freelancers Union]
- Hey freelancers, this new tool could make your life a lot easier [The Write Life]
- The Freelancer’s Guide to Taking Time Off [Medium]
- Tip of the day: How to achieve award-worthy investigative journalism [Journalism.co.uk]
- Freelancing: Expectations vs. Reality [The Freelancer]
Recently on Story Board:
- The Born Freelancer reviews the Zoom H4N Pro digital recorder: To get the best bang for my limited freelancer buck I needed hardware that not only met but surpassed my immediate needs and would encourage me to extend my recording skill sets…
- Submissions open for the 2019 National Magazine Awards: If you’ve written a great piece of magazine journalism this year, the time has come to make a submission to the National Magazine Awards. If your publisher isn’t planning to submit your work, you can submit it yourself — and the awards foundation even offers freelancers a discount on entry fees…
Spot a story you think we should include in next week’s Off the Wire? Email the link to editor@thestoryboard.ca or tweet us at @storyboard_ca.
The Born Freelancer Reviews the Zoom H4N Pro Digital Recorder
This series of posts by the Born Freelancer shares personal experiences and thoughts on issues relevant to freelancers. Have something to add to the conversation? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.
OK, so nobody will ever accuse me of being an impulse-shopper.
I’ve been looking into buying an up to date portable digital recorder for years. I even found a long-forgotten reference to this fact in a post of mine on this site from 6 years ago!
Meanwhile, I’ve made do with the audio recorder app on my cheap smartphone. It was basically adequate for print interviews on the go but not any good for broadcast interviews or stereo recording in the field. (I’m sure more expensive phones could do a better job but I don’t want a more expensive phone.)
All this came to a head recently when I attended portions of the Vancouver Podcast Festival where I found great inspiration and motivation to create my own. My smartphone would no longer do. My research told me the cheapest options were not the best; they would not allow me to grow.
To get the best bang for my limited freelancer buck I needed hardware that not only met but surpassed my immediate needs and would encourage me to extend my recording skill sets.
My decision
Submissions open for the 2019 National Magazine Awards
If you’ve written a great piece of magazine journalism this year, the time has come to make a submission to the National Magazine Awards. If your publisher isn’t planning to submit your work, you can submit it yourself — and the awards foundation even offers freelancers a discount on entry fees.
The Freelancer Support Fund offers a 50 percent discount on registration fees to freelance writers, photographers and illustrators. The discount applies to your first two award submissions. The final deadline for submissions is January 18, but if you get your entry in by January 11 you can also take advantage of the discounted early bird submission rate.
The National Magazine Awards have 18 writing and visual award categories, including feature writing, investigative reporting, fiction, photography and many more. The winner in each category will receive a $1000 cash prize.
For more information about the submissions process, check out the National Magazine Awards Foundation’s website.
Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Dec 11-17
Once a week, we gather stories about the media business, journalism, writing, communications, and freelancing—with a Canadian focus—and share them in Off the Wire. Who needs a water cooler?
From Canada:
- The case for indie news media taking federal dollars [The Tyee]
- Alberta Press Council to shut its doors [Alberta Press Council]
- The 2018 CAJ Awards are open for nominations [CAJ]
- Advice on getting started from 7 successful freelancers [The Freelance Hustle]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- In a chilly year for the news business, union organizing is smoking hot [Poynter]
- How Freelancers Can Manage Seasonal Affective Disorder [The Freelancer]
- A law firm in the trenches against media unions [CJR]
- Slate’s newly unionized writers and editors give OK to strike [Bloomberg]
- New York Magazine’s staff is unionizing [BussFeed News]
- Freelancers, get ready for the coming recession [Forbes]
- How to conduct difficult interviews [The Open Notebook]
Recently on Story Board:
- The Fine Art of Picking a Niche: This isn’t an article about whether you should choose a niche. I believe that specialization is key to stand out from the writer-saturated landscape. Jack of all trades and all that. Still, for most of us, picking a writing niche is difficult, especially if you have diverse interests or experience…
- Bargaining on CBC freelance issues underway: In November members of the CMG freelance bargaining subcommittee met with CBC management to begin negotiations on provisions for freelancers in the CMG-CBC collective agreement, which expires March 31, 2019…
Spot a story you think we should include in next week’s Off the Wire? Email the link to editor@thestoryboard.ca or tweet us at @storyboard_ca.
The Fine Art of Picking a Niche
By Nkiru Asika
This isn’t an article about whether you should choose a niche.

Heather Greenwood Davis
I believe that specialization is key to stand out from the writer-saturated landscape. Jack of all trades and all that.
If your writing business is still new like mine, (I launched as a B2B lead generation writer in July), then you cannot afford to be a prima donna about your niche. My clients so far haven’t necessarily fallen into the lead generation or even B2B subset. So, in reality, my current niche is “people that pay.” Followed closely by “people that don’t suck.”
But I firmly believe that when you focus on an industry or a particular type of content (like Gordon Graham, who has marketed himself successfully as That White Paper Guy), your reputation as an expert will help you attract more business, and command higher fees. You will also be able to write that content better and faster than any generalists.
Still, for most of us, picking a writing niche is difficult, especially if you have diverse interests or experience. There’s a tendency to second guess yourself to a standstill.
I had the privilege of interviewing three very different writers who have all found their sweet spot, either by accident or design.
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