Hello friends! I hope your summer has been going swimmingly (and you’re surviving all these heat domes everywhere — right now it’s 101º here in Denver as I type this).
So. August! New month, all kinds of new beginnings (good luck if you’re gearing up for back-to-school), a new season on the horizon ... so why not take a look back at the year so far, right? Or, better yet, at our freelance careers so far!
The traditional path for journalists — start at a local newspaper, then a regional one, maybe get promoted to an editor/manager role, try to land a job at a national outlet — is basically dead and an unhelpful (even harmful?) framework for anyone in media today. Even if we’re lucky enough to ride that wave, job security doesn’t exist anywhere, so what brass ring are we chasing nowadays?
Who knows! The answer to that is different for every journalist, and it changes. (I even thought I caught my brass ring until I realized there really isn’t one brass ring.) But to me, the more helpful frame of thinking about this is whatever our “brass ring” may be, are we actively taking steps to get closer to it?
Hence the treadmills and ladders. One keeps you moving with what you already have, one gets you moving toward something you want.
Hi, and pardon the interruption! First, thank you so much for reading FWT — it really does mean the world to me, and I’m so thrilled that you’ve chosen to be a part of this community.
FWT exists to provide resources to help journalists thrive in this weird, difficult, and frustratingly opaque industry, all with a little more confidence and clarity. If this newsletter has helped you pitch smarter, make more money, understand the business better, or just feel a little less alone out there, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription. Subscriptions start at just $7/month or $70/year, and help keep FWT going and growing, with more guides, workshops, resources, and advice for this community.
Either way, I’m so happy you’re here!
Of course, this is far from a novel concept, and we’ve all probably heard of or thought about variations of it. But since we’re on the cusp of a new season (sorry we’re at the beginning of the end of summer, I don’t control the clocks!), now is a perfect time to check in with yourself and see whether you have fallen into the treadmill trap this year and might have forgotten to work on your ladders.
Put another way: Is your entire calendar full of busywork and maintenance work? It’s okay if it is! For a lot of freelancers, busywork and maintenance work pay the bills. Nothing wrong with that, and it can be a very comfortable routine to settle into. As we all know, in the freelance life, any consistency in work can be a welcome reprieve from all the grinding.
But, because we’re checking in with ourselves this week, be honest: Is your calendar filled with only busywork and maintenance work? Again, it’s fine if it is, but when time and other commitments allow, actively step off the treadmill and onto the ladder. Maybe that means pitching a dream publication, or finally getting your newsletter off the ground, or diving into a new area of coverage. Or something else entirely! There’s no wrong answer!
What matters here is that we’re doing something to move up the ladder. I’ll use myself as an example.
FWT has a little wind beneath it after some medical issues took me out of commission earlier this year, so getting back into my routine has been my ladder. But now that things have somewhat stabilized, I’m nearing treadmill territory and starting to think about new things. To get very specific, I’m in the super early, brainstormy phase of launching a course over the month of September or October. Super exciting! (And much more on that later this month.) I’ve always wanted that to be a major component of FWT, but for one reason or another — and there’s always an excuse not to do something, right? — I’ve never gotten it off the ground. But as I was doing my own self-check around treadmills and ladders this summer, it felt like time to get off my own treadmill and actually put real effort and time into developing it.
So now, it’s your turn: Have you been running on a treadmill for a while and ready to hop on the ladder? Or are you currently on your ladder and climbing up step by step? Whichever it is, take a little time this week and see where you’re at and how you’re feeling.
One last, parting thought, and a mild detour. Though not exactly our focus today (and at the risk of even further muddling this tortured metaphor), my friend and mentor Justin Bank, now of the Independent Journalism Atlas, said something to me early in my career that I still think about all the time: As we build our careers and progress, don’t pull up the ladders behind us; throw down ropes. So whichever particular ladder you’re on, don’t forget to throw down some ropes for the rest of us. (That little nugget was a driving factor in why I started FWT in the first place.)
Good luck out there, and have a lovely week!
The FWT store is officially open!
At long last, I’ve just launched the Freelancing With Tim Store! This is the spot where you can access recorded workshops, including sessions on Travel writing, launching newsletters, using social media to find work, and much more. I’ll be regularly adding new workshops and other products to it, but take a look around and pick something up if it looks interesting!
Oh, a few other things …
A few posts for paid subscribers recently: The exact text of a pitch sold to STAT for $1,800; Freelance careers are built in the gaps; The only pitch format you’ll (mostly) ever need; A handy guide to sorting out your sources for a pitch. If you’re interested in upgrading, just click below!
Got a pitch that sold recently? I’d love to feature it in a future edition of our #pitchesthatsold series! Email me at [email protected] and put “#pitchesthatsold” in the subject line. Can’t wait to see ’em!
How much were you paid for your last assignment? Feel free to contribute to our ongoing freelance rate database here. I’ll be publishing updated results of this survey next month!
Got a question about freelancing or the wider world of journalism? Let’s hear it, and I may feature it in a future Q&A post! Fill out this form with your question(s).
I offer one-on-one coaching! Is your story falling apart and you need a second set of eyes on it? Want a seasoned perspective on a pitch you’re kicking around? Interested in talking about careers and/or building your freelance business? Maybe just want an edit on a story draft? I’ve got you covered! Click below to book a one-on-one coaching session to talk about pitches, story ideas and development, editing, careers, or anything else you might need help with! (Paid subscribers get 33% off any one-on-one session.)