I'm a Newspaper Woman—and other freelancing updates.
My mindset, list of rejections (full transparency), pay rates so far, and a few sweet triumphs.
Next week, I’ll serve up the Pinterest troll story that’s been so (unexpectedly) popular in the requests thread. If anyone else has requests for topics, by all means, join in with the comments section at What Substacks Should I Write Next?
Be sure to scroll to the Writer’s Digestive at the end of this post for the best resources I’ve collected this week for writers of all stripes.
I’m done playing it safe.
“Safe?!” you exclaim. “How is it ‘safe’ to marry in college during a pandemic, get into a German PhD program, then throw out those plans to move to Montana, have a baby, then move all the way to New York within the space of three years?”
Safe means something different to everyone. None of those things was really outside of my comfort zone. “Playing it safe” is more of a mindset than a list of actions. Someone could be playing it safe as a cave diver in Fiji. You wouldn’t know it on paper, but they would, deep down. “Playing it safe” belongs more in the realm of character than of plot.
I’ve played it safe in the past by:
reminiscing about years of teachers, leaders, and strangers calling me Highly Intelligent and Gifted.
giving up on dreams because I’m paralyzed at the thought of failure.
hoping friendships will “find me” instead of proactively seeking friends (probably because I’m scared of rejection).
saying “no” to good opportunities because I fear I’m not qualified.
dwelling in melancholy because sadness is familiar and comfortable.
traveling to new places and meeting new people in order to escape the hard work of being in old places and seeing old people.
These are just a few off the top of my head. These days, I’m trying to practice the opposite by:
focusing on developing grit and diligence instead of relying on flair.
accepting that even if I fail (over and over), my dreams are worth following.
jotting down people’s numbers and inviting them to fun activities that same week so we don’t forget each other.
saying “yes” to everything I can reasonably handle as the mom of a baby and the wife of a busy grad student.
choosing joy and peace, even when I have to work hard to find them (getting out of the house for a walk in the woods; sitting down at the table with my Bible and a journal).
loving the place and the people at my doorstep, no matter how messy and complicated they are.
I’m the happiest I’ve been in a while, and I thank God constantly for leading me through some hard soulwork to where I am today. Having a baby definitely compelled me to get my priorities straight, and I’m sure they’ll be further refined in the next five years here in Ithaca.
The reason I mention these ongoing character changes is that they’re quite necessary for freelancing because…
Freelancing isn’t easy.
Nor is it always fun. That doesn’t mean it’s not a net positive. I try to remind myself that I have no training in journalism, so I have to temper my expectations and turn everything into a learning experience.
Perhaps the best learning experience has been the constant drip-drop in my inbox. Most magazines follow an implicit rejection policy. What do I mean by this? Instead of taking the trouble to send you a polite notice that your work isn’t wanted, they ghost you. Many of them state this outright on their submissions pages.
I understand why this is the case.
Especially since the dawn of the affordable personal computer, the web writing world clamors with “new voices” who feel they have something “important” to say. It’s best that most of these voices never see the light of day (yes, I know I mixed metaphors horrendously; case in point).
Don’t pity writers for their tough slogs to publication. Envy us. For the logical outcomes of this mercilessness are good.
You are rejected many times and realize you’re no good at writing and give up. GOOD.
You are rejected many times and keep on trying even though you’re actually no good at writing, and this develops your strength of character and makes you immune to rejection. GOOD.
You are rejected many times and keep on trying because you know you’re good at writing, and this develops your strength of character and makes you immune to rejection AND improves your writing/pitching skills. GOOD.
Notice I didn’t include any success stories in this list of outcomes. That’s because I don’t think anybody should go into writing expecting to hit a jackpot. The median income traditionally published authors get from their books is $3,360 per year. The odds of getting traditionally published in the first place are 1-2%.
But some weirdos don’t feel alive unless we are writing regularly, so we dive headfirst into this industry like lemmings. Here’s my pitching spreadsheet so far. Note that it also includes part-time writing jobs and applying to platforms, so they’re not all articles.
In about 8 weeks, I’ve been ghosted 10 times (despite follow-up), rejected 9 times, and had 7 articles accepted. I’m still waiting to hear back from 3 opps with October 31st deadlines.
So, that’s about a 25-30% acceptance rate. I’m hoping to see that number go up as I establish myself and connect with editors. I’m still plugging away at about two pitches/submissions per week.
Let me know if you have any tips for me, or any questions about how I’m tracking these or formatting my pitches!
Pay varies radically.
In early September, I wrote a blog on my first freelance publication.
I was paid $25 for this article. Now, the publication is no longer paying contributors, presumably because there are people willing to write for them for free. I, erm, might be guilty of that. But only after a bait-and-switch. They accepted my pitches, and then told me in a footnote that I wouldn’t be paid anymore. My most recent article for them includes some shameless self-promotion, and they posted my bio with a link to this blog, so maybe it will be worth my time for the exposure. But unless I see some significant results, I’m not pitching them again in the future because I feel that if they are making money as a publication, they should not be squeezing it out of writers for free.
The local newspaper pays between $30 and $50 per article.
The American Spectator is paying me a $100 honorarium for a 900 word essay.
Medicinal Media is paying me $350 for an 800 word article with expert quotes (meaning I’ll be doing interviews as well as writing).
Places like Cosmopolitan pay as much as $1 per word, but you usually have to be a seasoned reporter with a knock-down idea and a solid reporting plan to write for them (it’s a good goal though!).
I’ve toyed with the idea of copywriting (ad writing) because it pays well. But I’m not sure I could do it. The best marketing advice I’ve heard is, “Sell people transformation. Nobody wants to be who they are. Sell them who they want to be.” That made me sad. So many people think they can buy their way to happiness and self-acceptance. But I believe that these things come free. God’s grace can’t be bought. Love can’t be bought. The things that make life worth living are not bought and sold, and I don’t want to manipulate people into believing they can be. Don’t let ads use their Freudian mind-tricks against you!
The newspaper gig is my favorite.
Helping out at the Ithaca Times has been great so far. The publisher there is happy to serve as my instructor in the mysterious ways of journalism, should I need guidance. My main goal in this is to develop my reporting skills and get to know my local community.
In my previous job, I was the newspaper of the economics department, and I really enjoyed being a know-it-all. I knew who had published that semester, on what topic. I knew which students were proactive club leaders. I knew which alumni were successful. I listened to their career stories. Though I had taken the job out of desperation for a rigid schedule to stop my mental health from spiraling, getting to know people through the news got me invested! Leaving was bittersweet. I have blankets and baby clothes that bring specific faces to mind. And I will definitely drop in if I ever visit Bozeman.
Can I develop a similar love for the city in which I live by working for the paper?
We will see!
I’m already excited for Veterans Day. After writing a piece on local celebrations, I want to attend them all. I want to meet Robert, the old guy from the VFW who doesn’t have a cell phone but played phone tag with me on their landline for days. I want to stand below the McGraw Tower at Cornell as, far above me, a musician plays the Marine’s Hymn on the chimes. I want to stand on the Village Green in Dryden as the rifles salute in puffs of smoke.
I am grateful for so much. There are so many stories swirling around us, waiting to be told. There are just as many waiting to be lived.
I’m done playing it safe.
It ain’t gonna be easy.
But, my, isn’t it exciting!
If you liked this post, please let me know in the comments. Any feedback is very valuable to me and keeps me going!
Writer’s Digestive
The best videos, articles, and podcasts I’ve collected recently for writers of all stripes. There aren’t many this week—sorry! But I don’t ever want to stuff this section with useless crap, so if I didn’t collect much, know that what I did collect is top notch.
For Novelists and other Book Writers
This book is a good dose of reality for anybody hopeful about publishing. By this I mean, it will probably dash your hopes, at least temporarily. But it may also strengthen your resolve and prepare you for a whole lotta hard work. I don’t believe it sold very well, and I think it’s because it told the truth. (Instead of selling instant transformation, like those sicko copywriters.)
I’m glad I started off my day with this! Keep going. I and many others, love your word-treasures and your posts are insightful and uplifting. You’ve got it! Thank you for this!
Just found you through Ruth Gavskowski. Hope I spelled that right. I’m a mother and freelancer too and love that you’re sharing your journey! It’s a wild (but fun) one!