Off The Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Oct 6-13
Once a week, we gather stories about the media business, journalism, writing, publishing, and freelancing—with a Canadian focus—and share them in Off the Wire. Who needs a water cooler?
From Canada:
- Five reasons Aboriginal journalists are turning to crowdfunding [J-Source]
- CBC introduces bullying helpline for staff in wake of Ghomeshi scandal [Globe and Mail]
- Mohamed Fahmy departs Egypt to begin trip home to Canada [Globe and Mail]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- 9 Things Freelancers Should Do To Get Higher Rates [Fast Company]
- This Startup Will Piss Off Publishers—And Make Freelancers Happy [The Freelancer]
- Commentary: Corporate media’s lack of vision threatens photojournalism’s future [Poynter]
- The 9 Most Important Takeaways From Freelancers Union’s Annual Survey [The Freelancer]
- 30 cranky bits of wisdom on the craft of journalism [Poynter]
- Huffington Post Staffers Seeking to Unionize With Writers Guild [Variety]
- Al Jazeera America digital workers vote to go union [Poynter]
- Why Politicians Better Start Listening to Freelancers [Time]
- You Screwed Up. How Do You Get Your Client Back? [The Freelancer]
- Major TV networks sign onto freelancer safety compact [Poynter]
Last week on Story Board:
- John Vaillant on high-impact non-fiction writing: Master storyteller John Vaillant delivered a highly concentrated dose of non-fiction writing advice last weekend at a day-long workshop in Vancouver that was part of The Tyee’s fall Master Class series…
- SABEW Canada hosts talk with Kevin Delaney: Toronto-area business writers, SABEW Canada is hosting another event this month that you won’t want to miss…
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.
John Vaillant on high-impact non-fiction writing
by Rachel Sanders
Master storyteller John Vaillant delivered a highly concentrated dose of non-fiction writing advice last weekend at a day-long workshop in Vancouver that was part of The Tyee’s fall Master Class series.
The author of the award-winning and bestselling books The Golden Spruce and The Tiger took an intense dive into the processes and narrative techniques necessary to create stories that grab and hold readers’ attention in a world filled with distraction. How do you know you’ve got a good story? And where do you go from there? These are questions you need to ask about every story you pitch — from magazine features to radio documentaries to non-fiction books. Here are some of Vaillant’s suggestions.
• So you’ve got an idea… but how do you know whether it’s worth pursuing? Vaillant suggests you use your own barometer of interest. If you’re fascinated by the idea yourself, it’s a good hint that the idea is compelling.
• How much research do you need to do before you’re ready to pitch a story? As much as possible. Vaillant estimates that he spent a year researching before he went to the New Yorker with the story that eventually became The Golden Spruce. When you’re trying to sell a story, you’re basically trying to get a investor, he says. Having solid research material can help with that.
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SABEW Canada hosts talk with Kevin Delaney
Toronto-area business writers, SABEW Canada is hosting another event this month that you won’t want to miss. Quartz editor-in-chief Kevin Delaney is coming to town and will be speaking with Elena Cherney, the Wall Street Journal’s Canada bureau chief.
The talk is scheduled for Wednesday, October 14 at the Toronto Board of Trade (First Canadian Place, 77 Adelaide Street West). Doors open at 6:30 and the talk will begin at 7:00.
Cherney will be asking Delaney about launching a media start-up, finding award-winning stories and the future of long-form journalism.
If you’re a SABEW Canada member this event is free. Tickets for non-members are $15. Complimentary drinks and hors d’oeuvres will be served after the talk.
You can get your ticket on this Eventbrite page.
Off The Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Sept 29-Oct 5
Once a week, we gather stories about the media business, journalism, writing, publishing, and freelancing—with a Canadian focus—and share them in Off the Wire. Who needs a water cooler?
From Canada:
- Vancouver Island’s Alberni Valley Times to close [J-Source]
- Rogers Media to “reimagine” Next Issue subscription service as Texture [Canadian Magazines]
- Independent journalist Joey Coleman to revive his Independent Record [J-Source]
- On My Own: The Challenge of Freelance Isolation [Living Freelance]
- The Globe wins at 2015 Online Journalism Awards [J-Source]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- Half of U.S. freelancers wouldn’t take a job no matter what [TechCrunch]
- How to Use Facebook Groups to Find Your Next Freelance Writing Gig [The Write Life]
- This is what the state of freelancing in the U.S. means for the future of work [Fast Company]
- 6 tips for getting gigs as a freelance journalist [Poynter]
- 22 Places to Write When You’re Tired of Working at Home [The Write Life]
- Should you be friends with your clients? [Freelancers Union]
- 9 tools to help you record and transcribe interviews [The Write Life]
Last week on Story Board:
- The 5-Minute Freelancer Q&A #24 — Caitlin Kelly: Caitlin Kelly is a Canadian writer based in New York City. She has been writing for clients such as The New York Times, Smithsonian, More, and Marie Claire for over 20 years…
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 5-Minute Freelancer Q&A #24 — Caitlin Kelly
In this regular feature, Story Board asks Canadian writers to share a few details about their work habits and their strategies for navigating the ups and downs of freelance life.
Caitlin Kelly is a Canadian writer based in New York City. She has been writing for clients such as The New York Times, Smithsonian, More, and Marie Claire for over 20 years. She is a prolific blogger with more than 15,000 blog followers worldwide. She also works as a writing teacher and a private writing coach. Caitlin took the time to speak with Story Board recently about writing rates, building your online presence and the importance of having a posse. The conversation was fascinating and wide-ranging. Here are some highlights:
On tweeting:
When I wake up, the very first thing I do is I flip open the laptop and I tweet. I don’t tweet automatically, I see what people are doing. And the reason I do that is that I’m really interested in what’s going on in the world. The minute I wake up, even if it’s 6 in the morning, it’s already 11 in England, France, or beyond. So that helps me see what’s going on globally and it helps me jump into conversations that are already ongoing. And there’s a reason that I do this. I don’t tweet because it’s a fun thing to do. I enjoy it, but it’s strategic. I want to be out there. There’s a motto that I came up with and it’s three things: “be visible, be audible, and be credible.”
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Freelancer’s Survival Guide Master Class next weekend in Vancouver
If you live in the Vancouver area and are new to freelancing, there’s a crash course coming up this weekend that will teach you everything you need to know to set yourself up as an independent creative worker.
Award-winning freelance food and travel journalist (and CMG Freelance Branch president) Don Genova is leading this day-long seminar, called The Freelancer’s Survival Guide, as part of The Tyee’s fall Master Class series.
The course is scheduled for this Saturday, October 3rd from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lunch and coffee (and post-class beer) are included in the $200 registration fee. The fee for this workshop also includes a year-long membership in the CMG Freelance Branch (worth $150).
If you are already a member of CMG Freelance, you qualify for a $50 discount on the course. If you’re a member and you’re interested in signing up for the course, please email freelance@cmg.ca for a discount code before you register.
To register for the Freelancer’s Survival Guide, check out this page on The Tyee’s website.
Off The Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Sept 22-28
Once a week, we gather stories about the media business, journalism, writing, publishing, and freelancing—with a Canadian focus—and share them in Off the Wire. Who needs a water cooler?
From Canada:
- La Presse to cut 158 positions as it eliminates weekday paper [Montreal Gazette]
- Mohamed Fahmy to teach at University of British Columbia [Metro Vancouver]
- Media union raises alarm over CBC real estate selloff plans [Globe and Mail]
- The Western Magazine Awards have been cancelled [Masthead]
- CBC announces plans to sell off all buildings in midst of election campaign [CMG]
- The Productivity Tips That Have Helped My Business [The Freelance Hustle]
- Mohamed Fahmy, Canadian journalist, pardoned by Egyptian president [CBC]
- New $3,000 award for freelance photojournalists [J-Source]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- What to do when a client “dumps” you [Freelancers Union]
- Raise your freelance writing rates: 4 steps to help you get paid what you’re worth [The Write Life]
- 10 ways to stay healthy while working from home [Mashable]
- ThinkProgress to Unionize With Writers Guild of America [New York Times]
- Why isolation is a more serious problem for freelancers than you think [Fast Company]
- Beware of Byline Snatchers: How to Protect Your Freelance Writing Identity [The Write Life]
- Do Freelance Writers Need Insurance? [Freelance Writing Jobs]
Last week on Story Board:
- The savvy freelancer: Being clever about recycling extra material. Tips from Rose Eveleth: Successful freelancers need a diversity of skills. One specialized skill that has always intrigued me is the ability to repurpose similar material in multiple places…
- Vancouver social for factual TV workers: If you’re in Vancouver and work in factual television, you’re invited to a social gathering and information session hosted by the Canadian Media Guild next week…
- Vancouver freelancer meet-up next Tuesday: Vancouver freelancers, there’s a casual meet-up happening next Tuesday, September 29th at 6 pmat the Big Rock Urban Brewery, at 310 W 4th Ave…
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 savvy freelancer: Being clever about recycling extra material. Tips from Rose Eveleth.
by Lesley Evans Ogden
Rose Eveleth shares sage advice about freelancing over breakfast in Calgary. Photo by Lesley Evans Ogden
Successful freelancers need a diversity of skills. One specialized skill that has always intrigued me is the ability to repurpose similar material in multiple places. It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately, mainly because I’ve realized I’m not very good at it. As a feature writer who frequently conducts long interviews with interesting experts, I’m forever collecting intriguing extra tidbits that make me think “wow, cool, that’s a great story in itself.” Sadly, the vast majority of those ideas are never used, so lately I’ve been wondering how to make better use of that bonus material.
That skill of successfully “recycling” material is one of the things that intrigues me about Rose Eveleth, an incredibly prolific freelance journalist based in Brooklyn, New York. She is the producer of the podcast “Meanwhile in the Future,” for Gizmodo, a podcast editor for Story Collider, a columnist at BBC Future, the founder and creator of Science Studio, an editor at Smithsonian Magazine, and a contributor at a myriad of other places. Lately I’ve seen her stories on prosthetics and body implants pop up in BBC Future, Nova on PBS, Motherboard, Mosaic, Gizmodo, The Atlantic, and Modern Farmer to mention just a few. When I contacted Eveleth by email to ask about her skill of cleverly repurposing new aspects of the same topic, she said, “It’s something I think about constantly.”
I had the pleasure of meeting Eveleth this weekend at a reunion in Calgary celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Banff Science Communications Program. Eveleth has been a faculty member with that program since 2014. She majored in genetics in her undergraduate degree, then completed a Master’s in science reporting at NYU in 2012. “I’ve been freelancing ever since,” Eveleth says, “and I love it. I would not do anything else.”
While sitting down with me over breakfast, Eveleth generously shared some tips on how she ingeniously makes use of the “extras” from one story as material for the next.
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Vancouver social for factual TV workers
If you’re in Vancouver and work in factual television, you’re invited to a social gathering and information session hosted by the Canadian Media Guild next week. Come and enjoy a drink and some snacks and learn more about the CMG’s campaign for fairness in the factual television industry.
The event is scheduled for next Thursday, October 1st, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Wicklow Pub (610 Stamps Landing Vancouver).
You’ll be able to pick up a copy of the new Guide to working in Canadian factual TV production and have any of your questions about the CMG’s campaign answered.
Please register for this free event on this Eventbrite page.
Vancouver freelancer meet-up next Tuesday
Vancouver freelancers, there’s a casual meet-up happening next Tuesday, September 29th at 6 pm at the Big Rock Urban Brewery, at 310 W 4th Ave.
If you’re in the Vancouver area, you’re invited to drop by for an evening of conversation and freelance camaraderie. Members of CMG Freelance have booked a private room for the event. When you arrive, ask the host or hostess for directions the upstairs boardroom.
You’ll be able to order food and drinks in the boardroom, and the group will move into the general pub area after 8 p.m. for more conversation.
Hope to see you there!
