Welcome to Freelancing With Tim, a newsletter designed to help you better navigate the world of journalism — and get paid doing it. If you like what you’re reading, please consider a paid subscription. For $6/month or $60/year, you’ll get an extra newsletter every week, access to the full archive of Zoom panels and workshops, invites to subscriber-only events, discounted access to paid workshops, and so much more. Click here to see options for subscribing.
Hello friends, happy New Year! Can you believe we made it to 2022?!
I’ll be brief this week, since we all know the first week of January isn’t for real work, but for recovering from (and mourning) the holiday break. So, just a few quick things before we get to this month’s panel and workshop schedule:
We have a ton of new subscribers who’ve joined our community in the past few weeks, so if you’re new here, welcome to FWT! To get a sense of what it is exactly you’ve signed up for, I’ve put a few ~best of~ posts at the bottom of this post you can check out.
I am now offering pitch feedback sessions in addition to one-on-one coaching! Book a timeslot for either one here.
Starting next month you’ll be able to buy ad space in this newsletter. If you’re interested, email tim@freelancingwithtim.com and put “Ad space” in the subject line.
For paid subscribers: Don’t forget to include your 2022 goals in a comment on this post so we can all keep one another accountable!
On to the events! (All times Eastern.)
Jan. 16 @ 3 p.m.: Pitch perfect: Everything to know about pitching stories: This panel will cover everything from the nitty-gritty components of structuring your pitch to the high-level, “Is this even a story?” questions.
Jan. 20 @ 5 p.m.: Contracts, rates, platforms, and more: The business of freelancing: Freelancing is about so much more than just filing on time, and this panel will go over everything from negotiating a contract and setting rates to building a platform and branding your business. Nothing's off-topic, so bring all of your questions!
Jan. 23 @ 4 p.m.: Workshop: The art of structuring a longform feature: Join me as I lead a deconstruction exercise of a longform narrative story and give you tips on how to use those tools in your writing.
Jan. 27 @ 5 p.m.: Workshop: Everything to know about selling and writing a nonfiction book: Not sure where to start? Unclear on best practices for writing a proposal? How do you find an agent? We’ll cover all of that and more in this workshop.
Jan. 30 @ 3 p.m.: An introduction to the basics of being a freelancer: Are you new to the freelance life? This is the workshop for you! We'll cover all the basics of being an independent journalist, including invoicing, negotiating contracts, finding work, building relationships with editors, writing strong first drafts, and more.
Feb. 1 @ 5 p.m.: Workshop: How to write better personal essays: Not sure how to turn a personal story into an essay you can sell? Wondering how to structure a personal essay? How do you even pitch one? We’ll cover all of those questions and more in this panel featuring some brilliant essayists.
See you on a panel this month bye ily!
-Tim ❤️
Jobs Board
Here's a selection of job openings from Mandy Hofmockel’s Journalism jobs and a photo of my dog newsletter. Check out dozens of other roles on her list, then sign up for weekly updates each Monday.
Associated Press, multiple locations | Multiple openings, including News Editor, Climate Accountability; News Editor, Climate and Environment; Newsperson, Data Journalist, Climate and Environment; Investigative Data Reporter, Oceans and Fisheries; Output Producer; Video Output Editor; Photo Assistants; Temporary Videojournalist, Religion and Faith; Temporary Newsperson, Religion and Faith; Temporary News Director, Education Network; Temporary Newsperson, Education; Temporary Newsperson, Data Journalist, Education; Global Sports Editor; Manager, Audience Engagement; Senior Designer; and more (Source: @JoshCornfield via Twitter)
Grist, remote friendly | Deputy Director, Audience (Source: @jrstahl via Twitter)
MLK50, Memphis | Government Accountability Reporter (Source: @wendi_c_thomas via Twitter)
WNYC, New York | Sr. Product Manager (Source: Sam Guzik via LinkedIn)
Center for Public Integrity, Washington, D.C. or remote | Reporter (Source: @mattderienzo via Twitter)
Oh, a few other things …
• Welcome again to our new friends! To give you a sense of what you can expect from this newsletter, here are a few favorites from the archives:
And a few other favorites available to paid subscribers (click here to see options to subscribe):
• Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram!
Okay bye ily!
-Tim ❤️
Thank you Tim. I'm confused on how to sign up for these workshops with the subsriber discounted rate? Or, is that the rate? Also, are these recorded? I attended the one on longform but arrived late. Any chance that will be sent out? (Thank you!! 🙏🏼)