Blogger’s Desk: Time out for a sickie

Hey Wordsmith Laners

Will be on a bit of a time out this week, as I am overcoming a bout of tonsilitis which was swiftly followed by the flu. I’m carting a box of tissues around with me this week too, so not only is the writing suffering, but I am also lacking in style, smarts and savoir-faire! Oh the shame of it all. But alas, I shall be back ASAP with more wordsmith madness. Hope you have a better week than my immune system is letting me have

Interview: Laura Greaves, Freelance Writer

Tell us (in a nutshell) about your wordsmith career path so far:

I’ll be 30 next month and it’s a little scary to realise I’ve been writing for publication in one form or another for 15 years! I started out in my home town, Adelaide, as a student reporter on a short-lived youth newspaper called Y; it was put out by News Limited’s South Australian community newspapers division. My work there helped me land a cadetship and I started as a general news reporter on The Advertiser newspaper just a couple of months after my 17th birthday. I’ll be eternally grateful for my three years as a cadet journo. After a six-week crash course in shorthand and the basics of crafting a news story, we were thrown into the newsroom and basically told, ‘Be journalists now’! It was a steep learning curve but I loved every minute of it. I covered everything from car crashes and murder trials to business and sports news, eventually becoming both Youth Affairs Reporter and Fashion Editor simultaneously (a weird combo I know!) I stayed at the ‘Tiser for nearly five years, during which time I was named both South Australian and Australian Young Journalist of the Year.

In 2002 I upped sticks and went to London for 12 months – and stayed nearly five years! I had a few jobs there, including production co-ordinator at Conde Nast magazines, which basically entailed chasing agencies for advertising copy. I was terrible at it and hated every second of it! Next I became Features Editor of a big London suburban paper, which was loads of fun – I interviewed some big names there, including Jack Nicholson, Halley Berry, Reese Witherspoon and a pre-crazy Lindsay Lohan.

I moved to Sydney with my husband in 2007. After a short stint as a book publicist, I became Deputy Editor and then Editor of ACP Magazines’ Slimming & Health. It sadly closed last year – a victim of the GFC – and I decided to pursue my long-held dream of becoming a full-time freelancer. It was a pretty big gamble – particularly as I signed the mortgage papers for my first home the day I was made redundant – but I haven’t looked back!

Sorry, that’s a pretty big nutshell!  (Sarah: ‘Tis ok, shall refer to it as egg shell instead. Dinosaur eggshell.)

What are some of your current projects, and who are you writing for at the moment?

I’ve just finished a couple of features for Notebook magazine and my to-do list for the next few weeks includes stories for Madison, Dogs Life and Studio Brides, plus some in-house subbing work. There’s nothing like a bit of diversity! I’m also a part-time student – I’m studying screenwriting at film school – and as part of that I have a TV pilot and a feature film script to write. No pressure then…!

What made you get into freelance writing?

I think all journalists fantasise about being their own bosses! It was definitely something I’d wanted to try for a long time and when Slimming & Health closed it felt like the universe giving me a kick up the bum and telling me to give it a go. I’d been an editor and wasn’t necessarily professionally or creatively fulfilled, so I felt I owed it to myself to try freelancing.

You used to have a blog, but considering the weight of the material discussed (if you pardon the pun) you decided to shut it down. Do you ever regret this decision, or do you not find it essential for writers to have their own web space?

My blog was about weight loss and I wound it up basically because I was sick of getting nasty comments from people who had obviously missed the point of what I was trying to do with it. So no, I don’t regret giving up an avenue for people to judge me based on my thoughts on just one topic! But I do miss blogging and what is, for the most part, a really supportive online community, which is why my professional website (www.lauragreaves.com) now has a blog. At least, it has a blog page and said page will have words on it as soon as I get five minutes!

How useful do you find networking, and how would you recommend Wordsmith Lane readers network for their career potential, without coming across as pushy or annoying?

My mum always says, ‘It’s only the price of a postage stamp’. But that’s a bit 20th century, so these days it’s probably more accurate to say it’s only the amount of time it takes to fire off an email or Tweet. I definitely think it’s worthwhile electronically introducing yourself to editors and other writers you admire – you just never know what will come of it. I’d steer clear of follow-up phone calls though; from my own experience as an editor, I know that the incessant ring of the telephone is the bane of their lives!

I really think the most important thing when dealing with anyone at all, but especially someone who could potentially commission you, is politeness. It probably makes me sound like a right nanna, but there’s just not enough of it these days. I know I loathe receiving emails with just a press release attached and no message, or a message that starts just ‘Laura’. What’s wrong with ‘Hi Laura’?! Good manners are free, folks!

You seem to have a niche in the heath area? How important do you think having a niche is, and do you ever find it limiting?

I didn’t intentionally set out to become a health writer, but at the time I went freelance my most recent writing experience had been in that arena so it made sense to pursue it. And I must admit I find it fascinating –  there is SO much information out there on health, nutrition, fitness, weight loss etc. I really like the challenge of wading through it all and distilling it into something that a reader may find useful. But yes, it can sometimes be limiting. In the years I’ve been a journalist, I’ve found that many media outlets will base their opinion of you solely on what you did last. For example, I suspect I would really struggle to get a job on a newspaper now, even though I spent the first 10 or so years of my career on papers! My goal for 2011 is to challenge myself to write about subjects and for publications that are outside of my usual area of ‘expertise’!

What were some of the difficulties you encountered when trying to establish yourself as a writer? Did you rely on any tools, mentors, groups or writers centres/courses for help?

I did freelance briefly while living in the UK and found it really difficult there. It’s a much bigger marketplace and there’s loads more freelancers, so editors are generally reluctant to try an ‘untested’ writer. But since I’ve been freelancing here – touch wood – I’ve been in constant work. The only thing I sometimes find frustrating is approaching a publication I haven’t written for before and being told they have a full roster of freelancers and don’t want to see my ideas. I don’t understand that logic – where’s the harm in perusing a pitch? It might be the most fabulous idea you’ve ever read! Maybe some of your editor readers can shed some light on this?!

In terms of tools, I’m addicted to reading the blogs of fellow freelancers and I have freelance friends who are great to bounce ideas off (and have the occasional rant with over a glass of wine!)

Are there any other writing goals you’d like to pursue? Like creative writing, non-fiction books or even writer’s festival panels, for example?

Well, I have written a novel – haven’t all journos?! I did want it to be published but I don’t now – I know I can do better! Writing it was really just an exercise in proving to myself that I could finish something (and it took me four years!) Someday I’d like to write another one that perhaps is worthy of seeing the light of day. I’ve also got the two scripts on the go, and the further I get with them the more I’m feeling I’d really like to write for television as a ‘proper job’!

How do you brainstorm ideas and get your juices flowing?

I walk! Whenever I’m stuck for an angle or a lead, I take my dog out for a stroll and it seems to do the trick. Of course, sometimes I just feel thoroughly braindead and then I find the only thing that works is just sitting down and writing something – anything, even if it’s rubbish. (Who was it that said the art of writing is in re-writing?!) I do have a real problem with procrastinating, but I once I get going I invariably find myself thinking ‘why did I put this off?!’

What gets you inspired to write?

Honestly? Deadlines! I blame starting out in newspapers: if I don’t have a pressing deadline, I will do almost anything but sit at my desk and write. Being self-employed is pretty motivating, too: if I don’t generate ideas and write sparkling copy (!), I can’t pay my bills.

How do you keep up with it in the face of rejection?

Being an editor taught me that you can’t take rejection personally. A knock-back isn’t a reflection on your ideas or the quality of your work – it may simply be that the magazine published a similar feature not long ago, or they may have exhausted their freelance budget for that month. What I find a little harder to take is being ignored – no matter how busy I was as an editor, I always took the time to send a ‘thanks but no thanks’ email. Courtesy goes a long way! (Yes, I am the manners police!)

What is a typical day in the life of Laura Greaves, freelance writer?

When I first went freelance I tried very hard to stick to a 9 to 5-ish routine, but it didn’t take me long to work out that I am absolutely useless in the morning. So these days I tend to get up around 8am and spend a couple of hours checking emails, reading blogs and generally faffing about on the internet. Then I go for a run, do some errands, walk my dog, have lunch and, um, watch The View (hey, it’s research!) I usually start working (writing, interviewing, pitching etc) about 2pm and go through til 7pm (also known as wine o’clock!) Last week I met a friend for coffee on a Monday and it occurred to me that it was the first time I’d done that in over a year of freelancing – so I don’t know where people get the idea that all we do is have long lunches!

What are some of the perks associated with your job?

The freebies pretty much dried up the moment I left Magland, but really I think freelancing is a perk in itself! I work really hard, but I get to do it in my house with my dog at my feet. And I will never, ever cease to be grateful at not having to commute.

And what are your career aspirations?

Ooh, now there’s a question! It’s not very lofty, but really my chief ambition at this point is to continue to get enough work to allow me to keep doing this. I’m also pretty focused on pursuing a new/second career as a screenwriter. (Sarah: Well, stay tuned, we have an interview coming up with a screen writer soon to vary it up a little bit, plus an interview with astonishing first-time novelist)

What advice would you offer to aspiring freelancers and wordsmiths who want to follow a similar career path?

Work, work and then work some more. I think there’s a perception that freelance writers spend weeks or months on every article and only write one thing at a time, but for me I definitely prefer to have lots (and lots) of features on the go at once. It keeps things interesting and it’s better for the bank balance, too! Pitch to any and every title you can think of; don’t just go for the ‘glamourous’ mags. Think outside the square – those free mags you get in supermarkets and gyms and health food stores all have to get their content from somewhere!

And I’ll say it just once more: be nice to EVERYONE!

Ten in the Hot Seat:

1. Describe yourself in one word: Frenetic
2. Biggest accomplishment to date: Completing a full year as a freelancer without becoming homeless
3. You wish you wrote: Jane Eyre. The brooding! The passion! The breeches!
4. Can’t leave home without: At least one of my twelve thousand pairs of sunglasses
5. One thing you are currently writing: A TV pilot about the daughter of the devil
6. First thing you wrote: I literally cannot remember a time when I wasn’t writing. I was big on terribly clunky, rhyming poetry as a kid.
7. Addicted to reading: Biographies. Just finished Jack Dee’s Thanks For Nothing.
8. Top spot on your goals list: Go to New York for my 30th birthday, which I’ll be doing in four weeks’ time. Or 36 sleeps. Not that I’m counting.
9. If you were a character in a novel, you’d be: Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables. I actually spent a large chunk of my childhood thinking I was her!
10. The best thing about being a wordsmith: At the risk of sounding uber-corny, it defines me.

Blogger’s Desk: Let’s take a peak inside my head

And if we do (take a peak inside my head I mean), we’ll find lots of mini-Sarahs opening filing cabinets, sweeping brain cells, cleaning out desk drawers, and vacuuming away all the drama that I like to bog myself down with on a regular basis.

You see, right now, there are a number of things going on in my head (and they are not all wordsmith related):

• My inability to write. Or blog. Or pitch. I’m really sorry about my absence this week, but I dont have a lot to write about because the mini-Sarahs have swept my brain cells to the extent that I have nothing remotely credible to say. Except I feel like a cake from that cake shop in Mosman whose name I don’t know, and I wouldn’t mind a quick whisk to Santorini. See no credibility whatsoever.
• As such, I am going to try and get myself out of my pitching/freelance writing rut by setting myself a Pitching Challenge in September, which means that I will have to pitch at least one article a week to save my brain from literally frying itself in my absence. In addition to this, I will set myself a research challenge, where I have to read at least one thesis-related book (and make appropriate notes on it) each week in September as well.
• With regards to my blogging rut, I daresay it has a lot to do with the fact that I realised the more I blogged, the less I wrote. So I am just trying to reconcile myself with that fact for the mean time and try to find a way for those two parts of my life to work together harmoniously (and not at the expense of my stress levels). Moreover, I am thinking (long and hard believe it or not, with the portion of my brain that works at the moment anyway) about whether or not my adventures in style, smarts and savoir-faire evene belong on this blog, and whether or not I will need another blog for those girly parts of life I want to explore (but then again, where will I find the time to nurture that aspect of my life). I could turn it into a column for an online magazine though but that still wouldn’t solve my other blogging dilemma and that is whether to blog from my personal domain sarahayoub.com or to keep wordsmithlane separate to that (I know, you’ve heard this all before but trust me it is a legitimate concern that is pathetically keeping me up at night). And at the same time, seeing as though it is my blog, I really want to write about whatever I want. Style and beauty included. Especially because my writing life is not that great at the moment, and I don’t have anything remotely smart to say (case in point: this post) like Rachel Hills has everyday on her blog.
• I can’t stand waiting anymore for news on this election, nor can I bear the thought of going for another one. There must be something that we can work out. ANYTHING please. Can’t all the ministers do stuff? Do we really need a Prime Minister? (Note to everyone: I make no secret of the fact that I used to read Shop Til You Drop and eat violet crumbles in political journalism, and as such my political know-how is limited. I have been educated on some things thanks to friends Shalailah Medhora and Suheil Damouny of SBS, so I am not completely lacking in knowledge on the sitatuation anymore, BUT that does not mean I don’t come out with statements like ‘do we really need a prime minister’ every once in a while, especially when I am worried about the cost {of trees, time, money and adspace for things that I can actually buy} that a new campaign will incur).
• Also, there’s a small part of my brain that is wondering about really superficial things, like the Keratin complex I am doing on my hair this week. I sure hope it works, because I never GHD my hair unless my fiance and I fight about it, and I think everyone in my life is sick and tired of my frizz (mum, sisters, second cousin who always takes fiance’s side, best friend who has the honesty thing down pat). Apparently if I don’t respect myself enough to make my hair look reasonably presentable, then no one will respect me. Sigh. How can I devote the time to my hair when I have so many hang ups about things that matter, like the fact that I am a writer who can’t write?
• Another superficial thing that by brain is devoting itself to? My new brogues. When I was in London two years ago, ALL the girls were wearing these everywhere. In fact, my word assocation with the Tube is brogues. Anyway, I am in love with them, despite the fact that I probably look like an idiot wearing them and that fiance will kill me for wanting to “look like a man” and my bestfriend already said “they’re f**king ugly and I don’t even know why you bought them”. But they are so comfortable. I still don’t look like Alexa, but at least this guide provides a few tips as to how I can prevent looking like Elaine from Seinfield.
• I am also sick of trying to balance on my roller skates, as I jet to and from wedding appointments, work meetings, interviews (for the one story I am working on), my desk (where I am chained to email, thank the Lord for mobile mail), general life things (picking up dry cleaning, buying yoghurt for my breakfast) and weddings. In between August and February, I have seven weddings including my own. One just past, and I have one in September, two in October, my pre-wedding events in November, my wedding in December, a wedding in Jan and a wedding in Feb. Although I am not going to nag, last November I had a total of six weddings. Just in November.
• In an attempt to inspire myself, I am heading out to the newsagency today and buying a BUNDLE of magazines in the hope that I will be inspired enough to write. Even my book is devoid of attention. And someone (who is no personal relation or friend of mine and actually has a job in the industry) actually likes it.
• And finally, there’s a one day a week unpaid internship going in the advertising department of a major women’s lifestyle magazine (ACP). If you’re interested, email me and I will pass on to the relevant party. If I don’t forget in the meantime.
• Oh and I am bored. Overwhelmingly bored. So save me the boredom and comment: What’s going on inside your head?

Interview Gabby McMillan, Writer & Editor

I don’t know Gabby McMillan personally, so I can’t write much about her. What I can say is that she’d be a dream to commission (because, despite my tardiness, she fired off the answers to this interview with such swiftness you could say she annihilates deadlines); that she has amazing taste (because I found her when she tweeted me saying that she loves wordsmithlane); that she gets the writing thing (because her novel has not seen her attend to it since February, and mine has had the same treatment from moi but since March); and that she’s a lot like me in that she wants freelance writers to be one big, happy, non-comp-etitive family who occasionally feed off one another’s inspiration (she’s starting a great writer’s networking club soon). See what she is all about below, and have a marvellous weekend. Happy Writing!

Tell us (in a nutshell) about your wordsmith career path so far:  
Ever the ambitious child, I entered writing comps, asked journalists in my former hometown Wagga Wagga for advice and, at the tender age of 18, moved to Canberra to study journalism and creative writing. While there, I wrote for free for BMA, Forte, Lip and The Brag. A week-long internship at hip-hop magazine Urban Hitz also led to a two-year paid writing gig (and a bootylicious CD collection). Three years later, I was in Sydney working fulltime as the chief sub-editor at ACP’s Disney Adventures and DisneyGiRL – a glorious place where it was okay for me to announce that I was Princess Jasmine in a former life. Next stop was DOLLY, as their deputy chief sub-editor and health writer. I was asked to edit a one-shot – the DOLLY 2010 Quizmag – which was an incredible experience. I also freelanced for Cosmopolitan and Weight Watchers Online during this time. After my teen mag stint, I was off to be the deputy editor of the land of breast pumps – I mean the deputy editor of Mother & Baby, Pregnancy & Birth, FamilyFun and Shopping 4 Baby magazines. Cue: life-shattering realisation that I want to be a writer, not climb the ladder to fulltime editor just yet.

What are some of your current projects, and who are you writing for at the moment?   
I’m currently the fulltime staff writer for Text Pacific/Pacific’s Weight Watchers magazine. I’ve put freelancing on the backburner for a few months while I sink my teeth in to the role (although keep your eyes peeled for the next issue of custom title Vital Health – I broke a promise with myself about taking ‘time out’ and wrote a story for them). My other projects are creative and seeking major rewrites: a chick-lit novel, a short film script and a children’s book.

What made you get into freelance writing?
At university, it was the most obvious way to build up my portfolio – and earn a piggy-bank-worthy amount of money on the side. Once I started fulltime work in Sydney, the pressing need to get published faded away, but my passion for writing kept me going. I also mainly worked production-based roles – sub-editor, deputy editor, managing editor – so I craved the creative freedom of freelance writing.

How did you score your staff writing gig at Weight Watchers magazine? 
Short answer: I saw it advertised, applied for it, had a job interview and started a month later. Long answer: this job and I were love at first sight. I am a fan of the Weight Watchers program, having lost weight with it three years ago, so I knew the content was right up my food-addicted alley. I arrived at my job interview with a bulging portfolio, clippings of my very own Weight Watchers slimmer success story and five words screaming in my head: I just want to write.

Do you find it hard to separate yourself from your full-time writing job when you have your freelance hat on?
I’ve stopped sniffing around for freelance opportunities – at least over the next few months while I get settled in the new gig. The ambitious side of me struggles with saying no to freelance writing, though. I had to turn down two projects recently and I was surprised how much I fretted over it. Once I’m ready to slip on my freelancing socks again, I’ll chat with my editor before heading out to market with grand ideas. Writing fulltime means I have to make sure extra activities aren’t a conflict of interest. In the meantime, I’m focusing on my job’s numerous copy deadlines and updating my website each week. I wish I could say my creative writing was underway, too, but it seems to have taken itself on a holiday to Aruba.

How important is your blog and website to you? Do you think it is essential for writer’s to have a web space? 
I do think it’s important for writers to have a web presence. I love ‘Googling’ people and am always impressed to see how many writers have their own site. It’s a quick and easy way for people to find out information about you. I hated the idea of someone ‘Googling’ me and it bringing up random pieces I wrote five years ago. I think it’s essential that your website represents you, though. I think of mine as me in website form: girlie, professional and a smidge cheeky. My blog is another matter – we’re currently in the middle of a love-hate relationship. Sometimes I wonder whether my time would be better spent toiling away on my half-written novel, but my blog calls my name and I come running. I have to remind myself that any writing is good writing.

How useful do you find networking, and how would you recommend Wordsmith Lane readers network for their career potential, without coming across as pushy or annoying?  
Networking is strange. I’m naturally drawn to websites like Twitter because I’m an internet geek at heart and this allows me to network with like-minded people. For others, they couldn’t think of anything worse – and that’s okay, too. I’m also organising a face-to-face club which will be a great opportunity for Sydney writers to get together and talk all things wordsmithery.

Do you think you have a niche, or is your writing portfolio more broad? How important do you think having a niche is?  
My writing portfolio is broad. I’ve covered everything from Chopper Read’s hip-hop aspirations and the rise of Zac Efron, to how to find the perfect cot for bub and fashion tips for hourglass figures. I even have a few published short stories and poems thrown in for good measure. My non-published creative works are much more niche – girlie, first person, light and fluffy, fun, truly ridiculous and packed with hyperbole. As long as you’re writing what you love, I don’t think having a niche matters.

What were some of the difficulties you encountered when trying to establish yourself as a writer? Did you rely on any tools, mentors, groups or writers centres/courses for help?  
The hardest part when starting out is getting your first break. Many editors won’t look twice at your pitches until you have ‘experience’, but you need someone to take a chance on you to nab your first byline. That’s why work experience, internships, writing for free and entering competitions are so important. I am the queen of mentors. During high school, it was my English Extension 2 teacher Cathy Edwards. During university, it was my Scriptwriting tutor Felicity Packard (who’s now one of the brains behind the Underbelly series). Now, it’s every writer I meet. I also make an effort to go to authors’ chats and ask them at least one question about their writing process.

Are there any other writing goals you’d like to pursue? Like creative writing, non-fiction books or even writer’s festival panels, for example?
I’d love to write books one day. Oh, just saying that makes me want to curl up in the foetal position under my desk. But it’s true.

What are your primary reasons for blogging? Does it get your ‘juices flowing’ in a sense?
Blogging makes me (and hopefully a handful of others) laugh and keeps the creative side of my brain switched on. I’ve found the more I blog, the more my brain opens up to new ideas.

What is a typical day in the life of Gabby McMillan? 
My day includes writing, researching, interviewing, transcribing, scouring magazines, going to showings, meeting PRs, working on our slimmer photo shoots and emailing. Lots and lots of emailing.

What made you decide to put the toolkit page up on your website [Gabby’s toolkit page is essential a question/answer post about breaking into the industry]? Have you had a lot of responses to it/questions about it?
Over the past five years, I have been asked countless times how I cracked in to the industry and I figured putting the toolkit page on my website would be the quickest way to answer everyone in one hit. I have received a few lovely responses about it, so that alone makes it worth it. It could probably be summarised in one sentence, though: “Don’t think, just write”.

You have won a few journalism and writing awards at an establishing level. Did they encourage you to push further when it was hard to get a job? 
Yes, I think so. They were a constant reminder that I had what it took; I just needed someone to give me a break. Getting a job in Sydney was tough. When you receive rejection email after rejection email, you can’t help but question whether you’re good enough. I had quite a few meltdowns and tantrums waiting for my fulltime magazine career to come to fruition – my poor family will vouch for that. I didn’t give up, though. I kept freelancing to make sure my portfolio was impressive until the offer for the Disney magazines gig came up.

Do you think you had it easier because you started out in newspapers and mags and were able to make contacts before you started freelancing? What advice would you give to someone who does work experience for a week or two, and then decides they want to freelance, without having had that concrete footing that a more regular stint gives?
Absolutely not. I didn’t have any contacts at the start so I had to build them up as I went, just like everyone else. I must have emailed hundreds of editors while I was university – you need to be extremely disciplined and organised to be a successful freelancer. Actually, I kick-started media work experience way back in Year 10 on the local newspaper, at the community radio station and TV station, so I’d recommend that path, too. While freelancing is fantastic, I think working fulltime reveals so much about the inner workings of the media. It also teaches you little but imperative things like house style, fair freelance rates and what constitutes good/bad writing. I would definitely recommend getting fulltime experience under your belt too, if possible.

What are some of the perks associated with your job?  
Meeting inspirational people every single month, the occasional free beauty or health product and working in an environment that motivates me to be a healthier, happier person. Getting paid to write fulltime is a perk in itself!

And what are your career aspirations? 
I love feature writing and I don’t see that changing any time soon. I go crazy when I’m not writing, so as long as stringing creative sentences is involved, I’ll be happy. It would be fantastic to publish a book one day, but I’ll have to master the art of writing 60,000 – 90,000 beautiful words first. A girl can dream, right?

What advice would you offer to aspiring freelancers and wordsmiths who want to follow a similar career path? 
Write – even on the days you don’t want to; never give up; build up your portfolio; create a strong, professional website that shows your personality; work on your writers’ voice; and ask yourself why you want it so badly and keep this answer somewhere visible so you stay inspired. Once you start getting freelance offers, my advice is: say yes to everything; edit, edit, edit your work; never submit a story in late; and aim to hand your feature in early if possible. When I was a deputy editor, I had to commission writers every month and the ones who handed their clean, tight copy in before the deadline won gold stars every time (and they were often the ones I’d re-commission the following month).

Ten in the Hot Seat:

Describe yourself in one word: Motivated.

Biggest accomplishment to date: I was blown away to win the writing awards at uni, but cracking my first fulltime magazine job in Sydney in early 2006 after months of job-hunting takes the chocolate-frosted cake.

You wish you wrote: the novel The Book Thief, the film American Beauty and the TV series Arrested Development.

Can’t leave home without: Eclipse mints.

One thing you are currently writing: a short film script.

First thing you wrote: a short story called Sammy the Spoon when I was five years old.

Addicted to reading: memoirs (think Eat.Pray.Love), dude-lit (think Nick Hornby and David Sedaris), TV series screenplays (think Seinfeld) and some chick-lit (think Helen Fielding).

Top spot on your goals list: Finish writing my novel. It’s currently ogling me from my third desk drawer because it hasn’t been touched since February.

If you were a character in a novel, you’d be: a combination of Liz Lemon and Bridget Jones – gluttonous and hopeless in every way.

The best thing about being a wordsmith: Seeing my name in print. After 12 years of bylines, the novelty hasn’t worn off. I hope it never does.

MT Blogger Event Blogger Love

So as you all know, I was lucky enough to be able to attend a great blogger event held by the fantabulous team at Maxted Thomas PR a few weeks ago, where I met some lovely bloggers I had never heard of before, and some of whom whose blogs I have been reading religiously since. So I thought, what if my lovely wordsmith lane readers do not know of these lovely people, so I sent them all an email with the request to write in to wordsmithlane’s lovely intern Megan, and voila, here’s a sneak peak at some of their blogs if you need some more bloggy reading in your bored 9-5 working life.

Elise Phillips @ Stuff That I Bought
Stuff That I Bought is a beauty and lifestyle blog where I hunt for the newest and the best (must be that Gen Y attention span). Stuff is built on a foundation of reviews and information mixed in with puns and Dad jokes. I occasionally have guest reviewers, but vet them very carefully because I take the trust my readers put in my site very seriously.

Elise Phillips @ The Nail File
The Nail File is a nail polish resource for Aussie women with swatches, trends, how to’s and care tips for your tips. With a personal collection of over 200 polishes and a new colour painted on every few days, I am translating my passion for lacquer into an online help guide. I haven’t had guest posters yet as the site is still young, but I am open to the idea.

Tammerly Holmes @ Pink Diva Beauty
Makeup artist Tammerly Holmes founded Pink Diva Beauty in 2006 when she founded a mobile makeup business which services the Central Coast, NSW. Four years on she runs Pink Diva’s Beauty Spot which contains over 450 product reviews from over 100 brands. She loves to educate her readers with beauty news and tips and regularly runs beauty competitions on her blog.

Corrine @ Frock & Roll
Frock & Roll is a lifestyle website with a fashion, rock and roll and nonsense flavoured TWIST! I created Frock & Roll because I wanted to be able to discuss things like style, blogging, music and travel in a non-serious, fun way – because life shouldn’t be taken too seriously and hey, it should be fun at least 95% of the time, right?!

Anita @ Love Vulcanella
Love Vulcanella is where I talk about all things beauty, life and whatever tickles my fancy. I like to give honest reviews of all types of products. However, my main focus is on accessible beauty items that anyone can get their hands on and are not too hard on the pocket money wise. I like to keep things light and bring a bit of humor to my blog and sometimes I don’t mind looking silly, for example photos with a face mask on in my pyjamas. I’ve also recently dabbled into the world of YouTube videos and am also enjoying that part of it as well.

Valerie Chan @ ponikuta
People often ask me what does ponikuta means and how do you pronounce it, it’s really simple actually. Ponikuta is a word/pen name I made up 12 years ago and it got stuck and just say it like how you’d spell it (po-ni-ku-ta)! I started blogging some 6 and a half years ago and have always been very keen to share my journey with others whether if it’s beauty, food, movie or books. Throughout the years, beauty has somewhat became the spotlight of the blog due to my passion for all things beauty related. I have never dreamt of being where I am right now and I have certainly never set out goals for the blog. As always with everything in life, I’d like to ‘go with the flow’ with my beauty blog.

Holly Curtis @ Am I There Yet?
My blog, ‘Am I There Yet?’ is primarily a beauty based blog. It includes product and service reviews, musings on beauty and also the odd post on my journey to ‘making it’ as a writer; hopefully in beauty! (Hence the name, Am I There Yet?) As a fairly new blog, I am open to evolving as time goes on and taking on advice from others. I would also be open to having other writer’s guest post for me, as long as what they are offering fits within my blog’s theme and tone.

Nikki Parkinson @ Styling You
There is so much information out there in the fashion and beauty arena, that I don’t blame you if you don’t know where to even start.   That’s where Styling You (hopefully) is here to help. I’m a former fashion and beauty editor and magazine editor based in Queensland and I use that experience plus that of working with my personal and corporate styling clients to edit down a bit of the style information overload out there.   If it’s new on the beauty counter and I think you should give it a go, I’ll trial it (or a guest blogger will) and let you know whether it’s worth spending your hard-earned cash on.  And if it’s a new fashion trend landing in a chain store or boutique near you soon, I’ll let you know whether to steer very clear or embrace it immediately.  I’ll even give you my two cents worth on how to style it up for certain events and occasions.

The thank you post

Good Morning lovely wordsmiths, and welcome to another week of navigating the freelance writing road that is wordsmith lane.

I hope and trust that you have all had a marvellous weekend, high on the support that came out in full force for me when I was a little down last week. I thank each and every one of you for your feedback, but to those who wrote in with positive ‘hold your chin up high’ comments, I am especially indebted.

You see, over the last three months or so, I’ve been meaning to write this feature on-spec for this publication that I really want to write for. Apart from the Madison article, this was the only pitch/feature on the boil for me, as I have been having a very tough time productivity-wise and have been extremely low on energy. I have not had any success writing because I have not been doing any pitching. And this particular article, which I really wanted to get out, just wasn’t being written.

Ofcourse, being exhausted did not help. Neither did my shameless sooking (which to me at least, was more venting). And then after a few comments and a nasty email, I was like ‘Woooaaahhh’ and just had to take a step back and re-evaluate everything. Especially because I freaked out and thought perhaps the majority of my readers felt this way about the blog but just did not tell me, and I was just sitting there yap, yap, yapping away to disinterested people who were gaining nothing from my lessons except the suspicion that I am a stuck-up writing snob of sorts.

So basically, that post had to come out, if only to assess if the blogging thing was worth your time and mine. And I got many lovely responses that just put my mood on a level it has not been in in months. NO KIDDING. And it’s funny, because said mood perhaps coincided with the fact that I had very little time with my laptop over this weekend, which is not only unusual but also something I try to avoid.

Miraculously, said reduced time and the beautiful wordsmithlane reader comments zapped at something in me on Saturday, and post-brunch at Kazbah’s in Balmain with gorgeous SBS jouno Yalda Hakim, I came home and wrote. For two hours straight. Two and a half thousand words to be precise. And I finished my big on-spec article, for the big magazine that I don’t want to name in case I jinx it, the very same article that I had been struggling to write for months on end.

So thanks for being great enough to bring some wordsmith mojo back. And despite all your overwhelming support for the blog, there are some things I juust need to get out there while I can:

• I am re-evaluating the need for beauty posts here on Wordsmith Lane. I mean, so many of you are these amazing beauty bloggers, so I don’t really need to keep going with the beauty content in full-force. Occasionally, I will post beauty bits and pieces in the Life Snapshots section, especially when there’s another Benefit or Burt’s Bees or Trilogy product that I need to harp on about. That said, I will be doing some beauty writing for Trespass magazine, so there will be features from those post republished on the blog, in the Writing Portfolio section.
• I don’t know if I can handle blogging everyday anymore. I don’t want to deliberately force myself to post quantitive posts at the expense of quality, so I ask you to place me in your google reader, or to subscribe to my feed, so that you can still continue to receive your wordsmith lessons and my usual rants and ravings even if you have no idea about my posting schedule (which at this point in time, does not exist).
• And even though I won’t be doing beauty stories per se, I’ll still be pursuing my need for a life of style, smarts and savoir-faire as per usual, as that is more in line with my personal ‘Sarah Voice’ than anything else that is decidedly non-wordsmith. And I am still going to try and post videos, because I had so much fun doing my Brows with benefit video.

And with all of that, I am over and out. Thanks so much again everyone, I hope you all have an extremely productive wordsmith week x

Following some feedback

Hey there Wordsmith Laners,

When I started this blog in July 2009, I was pretty down in the dumps. At the time, I’d been suffering from situational depression for a few months, which made it hard to write (let alone do other things, like be my normal self). I had also been made redundant from a job that I did not actually like, which made things ten times worse. I was out of a job for five months or so, and in that time, all I wanted to do was WRITE.

My inspiration for this blog came from the fact that when I started out as a freelancer a few years before, there was not many places I could turn for some REAL advice on breaking into the industry, let alone as a freelancer. There were PLENTY of things I had to learn from my own, and I copped a lot of rejection in those early years, and made a lot of mistakes that I learnt from.

I figured that I didn’t want this difficulty to be the case for everyone who wanted to freelance in magazines or journalism. I wanted to help. I wanted to give them the content they weren’t really getting anywhere else, whilst sharing with them my own wordsmith journey. In all its mistakes, faults and glories. I remember excitedly telling a big time magazine writer about my idea, and she laughed and told me I better be charging for all that content I was giving away. But I never have, because it was never about that.

In the past two weeks, I have gotten some feedback about my blogging. Apparently I need to be more humble. I shouldn’t speak to you as though you are my students, and I shouldn’t be proud of my achievements or successes the way that I am. I should reply to all your comments. And beauty blog in a manner that doesn’t resemble advertising. I shouldn’t say that I am a good writer either.

So I am going to lay my cards on the table, once and for all. I am going to say what I am about, and what I think, and suss out whether or not I should keep blogging to begin with. It’s not that I want to silence the critics, because I believe in free speech and know that criticism is an essential part of the game. But I also know that keeping this blog up and running costs me time and money. Money because I fund things like domains and applications on wordpress (and occasionally prizes and the like), and money because I have lost a lot of time that I’d otherwise devote to freelance writing to blogging. That’s right, I blog more than I write these days, because my readership has grown and I thought I would devote more time to the demand, even at the risk of my bigger career. And you know what, it’s not just that.

Most writers don’t get to come home from their full-time jobs and drink a glass of wine on the couch at the end of the day, and I am one of them. I come home after working eight hours, have dinner and a shower, and try to blog or write until 11pm, which is when I go to sleep. My shoulders actually hunch over because I am always hunched over my laptop, and when I go to the osteopath to get treated for my back, I am always berated for spending too much time at my computer. What I am trying to say is that this blog doesn’t serve a lot for me. At the risk of sounding arrogant, I do this to help you guys out. Because I genuinely care about your career goals. This means that some of the time I could otherwise devote to my own writing career, which I make money off, is coming to this blog. And there’s no point in me running it if you are not enjoying it, or thinking that you don’t want to learn from my lessons. (And FYI, those bars you see for ONYA and Trespass are not for advertising, they’re my support for friends who have done really well to start and work on online mags that serve Gen Y.)

Anyway, another criticism is my lack of replies to your comments. But I just have to say, when I do get comments that require a response, I email that person directly. And I have developed some great relationships with some of you. In fact, one reader sent me an email two days ago, to thank me, because I put her in touch with one of my contacts for some casual temping work, and she now has a job at a women’s lifestyle magazine at ACP. Sometimes, people ask me questions (via the comments) that they might not want the answers to broadcast for other readers to see, which is why I like to keep things private.

I’m also sorry if my confidence has come across as arrogance. People who have read this blog since its establishment would know that I am a woman of many issues and insecurities where my writing is concerned. I have made a lot of mistakes, get a lot of rejection and work really hard for whatever successes I have earnt. Moreso, how could I possible motivate and encourage you if I was always negative? Why would you bother pursuing freelance journalism if all you heard was the bad bits? a big part of it self-esteem and self-motivation in the face of rejection, so when I say ‘I am a good writer’, it is me attempting to go on despite my setbacks. I think if I was arrogant I wouldn’t bother trying to help people out, I would want to hog all the advice to myself. Plus, I don’t mean to speak to you as students. That is SO UNINTENTIONAL. I teach sometimes too, so I am sorry if that comes across in my writing. I just consider so many of you my ‘baby wordsmiths’ and I want your success more than YOU KNOW. And lastly, I am not being a show-off when I say I have a lot to do. And immodest when I say I am exhausted. I really am exhausted. I work five days a week, do the usual housework, blog, try to write, stress about everyone else’s problems (that’s just me), plan my wedding, go to uni. I juggle. It’s part of the reality, it’s really not a lie.

And finally, I am sorry if my beauty posts sounds like advertisements. I get a lot of press releases and invitations to things, and a lot of opportunities to endorse many a product. About 20% of these make it to the blog. I make it my mission to write about things that I LOVE or things that I have tried. Yes, maybe I suck as a beauty writer, but it was never in my big plan. I started writing beauty because a lot of you asked about the industry and I couldn’t dish advice out on a subject I knew NOTHING about. So my beauty writing is a learning curve. And when I rave about a product in a story or open letter, it’s because I actually loved it. You can tell which products I like because they are always featured: Benefit, Trilogy, Planet Earth & Burt’s Bees (esp their cuticle cream and blemish stick). And Nivea body moisturisers, and the scent of anything by MOR (which I just recently discovered) float my boat too.

So that’s it. That’s me, stripped bare, cards on the table. The thing is, I am not invincible. I still have not developed my thick journalist skin. Things still hurt. Especially when they’re coming from people who don’t actually know me. I am a non-fiction features writer. I can’t write my intentions to make sure they’re not misread, and you can’t feel my emotions when I write. So what comes across as arrogance is just me encouraging myself in the face of discouragement.

So where do we go from here? I am thinking of eliminating my own personal writer’s journey from the blog; no more tales from my own experiences and no more lessons in skills textbook (especially when those lessons stem from my own). I honestly don’t want to sound like a sook, and I don’t want to be misinterpreted. You might be sick of me, or you might want to learn your own way. Either way, Wordsmith Lane can change enough to be a generic writer’s blog with writer’s interviews and writerly news. Up to you guys.

In the end, I can’t help thinking that this is still a personal blog. MY OWN. Which makes me entitled to my own thoughts and opinions. But at the same time, criticism gets me bad. Maybe I am still in the early stages of my career and very unequipped to deal with criticism (depsite what I think). I value your advice and your feedback. If you want change, I will do my best to accomodate.

A lot of stuff to think about and plenty to mull over this weekend. As for me, I’m over and out.

Interview: Nicole Haddow, Freelance Journalist

You asked for her, and now you get her! It seems quite a few wordsmiths can’t get enough of freelance journalist Nicole Haddow, who, at 27, has done quite well for herself where women’s magazine features are concerned. She’s been published in RUSSH, Cleo and Madison, among others, and is the type of person who seems to fit seamlessly into the pages of our favourite magazines. Thank you Sharon Green for alerting me to her fabulousness, I think I have a new wordsmith girl-crush. I hope you all enjoy the interview

Tell us (in a nutshell) about your wordsmith career path so far:

Arts/Professional Writing was the third degree I started, and the only one I completed. I was first published in RUSSH magazine in my final year at uni. I had multiple features published with RUSSH, and then I landed a contract with Lonely Planet. My time at LP was bliss on a stick. Loved it. Then, I landed a role at boutique publisher Niche Media. It was a small company, so I was charged with everything from coordinating photo shots, to writing and editing stories. I think I gained about 12 years worth of experience in 12 months, and with that experience I projected myself into the Sydney stratosphere and landed at ACP magazines.

What are some of your current projects, and who are you writing for at the moment? 

I’m currently working on features for Cleo and madison. What are they about? You’ll just have to buy upcoming issues of the mags to find out. I also write for family and kids’ titles to keep things interesting…

What made you get into freelance writing?

The eventual realisation that nothing else was going to make me happy. I was sitting in a marketing lecture (my second attempt at a degree), reading a feature in Harper’s Bazaar because I wasn’t at all interested in the lecture and I thought, ‘this is where I need to be – magazines’. At that moment I gave into my love of mags and embraced instability.

How important is your blog/your website to you? Do you think it is essential for writer’s to have a web space?

I have my blog to thank for a lot of my current work. I started it when I didn’t have much work on but I thought it would be a good marketing tool to sit alongside my portfolio website. I have a friend who knows madison editor, Lizzie Renkert – my friend flicked my blog link to Lizzie and before long I was having coffee with their features editor and working on my first article for them. In this competitive market, you have to find a clever way to differentiate.

How useful do you find networking, and how would you recommend Wordsmith Lane readers network for their career potential, without coming across as pushy or annoying?

I’m all about building genuine relationships with editors. When you send a pitch email, do it with a tone that assures the editor you understand the voice of the publication. Over and above that, offer to meet in person and buy the editor coffee. I always offer coffee to perspective editors. Caffeine donations get you everywhere. They can only say no, and sometimes they say yes.

Do you think you have a niche, or is your writing portfolio more broad? How important do you think having a niche is?

I’ve fallen into a niche I wasn’t planning. My first feature for RUSSH was an account of a personal experience. From there, I wrote another first-person feature for them about my quarter life crisis. Now my features for madison and Cleo are anecdotal first-person style too. It’s great to have a niche, but it’s also good to show diversity in your portfolio, which I also do.

What were some of the difficulties you encountered when trying to establish yourself as a writer? Did you rely on any tools, mentors, groups or writers centres/courses for help? 

My university course was invaluable. I had some stellar lecturers. Friends in the industry were great to bounce ideas around with. I also recommend some work experience to gain a working knowledge of magazines from the inside.

Are there any other writing goals you’d like to pursue? Like creative writing, non-fiction books or even writer’s festival panels, for example?

Absolutely, I’m open to everything. I’m sure there’s a novel in me somewhere, but you can’t write if you don’t live. I’m not convinced I have enough life experience at the age of 27 to pen something great. And I’d prefer to wait until it spews out naturally than to squeeze it into being.

What are your primary reasons for blogging? Does it get your ‘juices flowing’ in a sense?

I blog in equal parts: self-discipline and self-indulgence. It’s also one of the ways I build relationships with other people in the industry. I take an interest in other writers and their creative process and share mine too.

What is a typical day in the life of Nicole Haddow, freelance writer?

There’s nothing typical about my days. Some days I’m in the office at ACP, other days I’m at home smashing out a feature. Sometimes I’m out in the field conducting a social experiment for a story. Just last weekend I had to go bar-hopping for work purposes. The only constant involves chasing my word count and more work!

What are some of the perks associated with your job?

The biggest perk is that my job and my life intersect because I write a lot about personal experience. Something crazy might happen to me and I’ll think, ‘there’s a story in that’. Writing from bed never gets old. The occasional goody bag doesn’t go astray either.

And what are your career aspirations?

I love the idea of being a full-time staff writer on a women’s magazine. Although, I dare say there’ll be an enmeshing of print and online in years to come, and therefore the gig I’m dreaming of might not even exist yet. In short, I’m keeping an open mind.

What advice would you offer aspiring freelancers and wordsmiths who want to follow a similar career path?

Start writing now – no excuses. Send completed articles to editors if you’re still making a name for yourself. Once they know you they’ll accept pitches and ideas alone, but until then you need to give them everything you’ve got. Start blogging. Look at things from a different angle. Get creative. Seek out mentors. Read.

Ten in the Hot Seat:

1. Describe yourself in one word:  Capricorn.
2. Biggest accomplishment to date: Not giving up after seemingly endless rejection.
3. You wish you wrote: The Time Traveller’s Wife. It’s sustained poetry. Gorgeous.
4. Can’t leave home without: my iPhone. I’m addicted.
5. One thing you are currently writing: A cautionary tale about modern dating.
6. First thing you wrote: a bi-annual letter to all of my friends diarising our high school adventures. My first published piece was called ‘driving the lesson home’ for RUSSH in 2005.
7. Addicted to reading: magazine features and biographies.
8. Top spot on your goals list: more feature writing jobs than I can poke an invoice at, and an invitation to cover the couture shows in Paris for one the Australian women’s titles (dream big, right?).
9. If you were a character in a novel, you’d be: I aspire to be any of Maggie Alderson’s heroines. They’re quirky and stylish, funny, acknowledge their imperfections and have wildly wonderful leading men in their lives.
10. The best thing about being a wordsmith: I can do it anywhere, anytime.

Guest Blog: The 10 Commandments (of Magazine Work Experience)

A Guest Blog by Magazine Work Experience Chick Bethilee Keamy

Girls who want to work in magazines take note: Bethilee Keamy has done work experience at a few ACP glossies (like Cosmo & Shop), interned at CoverGirl Australia and is one of two current beauty interns at ONYA. And she knows what she’s on about (and dare I say it, she writes VERY well for a newbie to the game – which means she does her wordsmith homework). So read on as she uses her ACP glossy mag experiences to divulge to you (rather nicely I might add, given the competitiveness of the market) the top ten ways to make a great impression when you step into magazine land for the first time. Of course, her advice is not just limited to glossy magazine work experience placements, but starting jobs of all kinds. Thanks for sharing Bethilee!

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The 10 Workie Commandments
So you’re about to venture into the glossy world. It’s exciting, it’s petrifying and if you let it, has the ability to be the best week of your life. Remember that 98.64% of the girls who have secured their place on the masthead started their venture as you are now: as a workie.

Use these tips, a sprinkle of ingenuity and a bucket of confidence to rock your work experience. Have fun and be sure to pack a pair of flats in your handbag!

#1 Do your homework
An unprepared workie is her (or his) own worst enemy. Before the big week you should have memorised the masthead, stalked the Twitter account and asked any and all connections for their words of wisdom. Walking into the office knowing who you’ll be working with, what you’ll be doing and what’s news around the magazine will not only give you more confidence but will also demonstrate that you have a vested interest in the title and those who work there.

#2 Smile, no matter what
At times your placement will be breathtakingly amazing, but at others mildly lackluster. It’s important to remember that amazing or not, your smile wattage should always be at maximum. If you’re asked to photocopy? Smile. File invoices? Grin. Take the rubbish out? Beam. A smile is the best way to convey that you’re enjoying your time and who doesn’t love another happy face around the office?

#3 Put in the hours
The workday may officially start at 9am, but you can bet that when you walk in at 9am the office will already be in full swing. Dedication is key in the magazine industry and the simplest way to prove yours is to show up early, stay back late and make sure you’re on time for your lunch breaks- especially if it’s deadline week.

#4 Make your intentions known
So you want to write features? Are a self-confessed beauty addict? In love with styling? Let your Editorial Coordinator know! More often than not, they’ll ask you on your first day and this is your chance to speak up and get every opportunity to work within the department you love. It’s also worth thinking about what you want to achieve from your placement. If you want to secure an internship, ask what it takes to score the gig. As the saying goes you’ve got to be in it to win it.

#5 Learn as you go
It’s important to remember that the Editorial Coordinator has a job to do –  a job that does not entail babysitting you. Once you are taught how to do something, remember it. Take notes if you need to. On day one you’ll learn how to collect and distribute the mail. This means on day two you should be able to master the mail run without instruction. Remember your routines, coffee orders, mail call, recycling runs; your autonomy and forethought will not go unnoticed.

#6 Initiative: take it
There’s a lot of down time during a placement, so rather than hover awkwardly as you await your next task why not create your own? Don’t try to tackle anything too drastic without consent but do make an attempt to complete little jobs. Empty the recycling bin. Tidy the delivery desk. Organise the back issues into chronological order. It’s the small tasks that will be appreciated the most and prove that you can work independently to benefit the team.

#7 Have ideas? Voice them
Every workie has their place, but if you get offered the opportunity to speak up then do so! Whether it’s offering to help with a quote for a feature, a vox pop or completing some extra research for a story the Beauty Editor is compiling, chirping up and chipping in is a great way to prove your value. It paints you as a thoughtful, committed workie who is willing to go the extra mile. And it’s that extra mile that could score you a permanent internship!

#8 Say thank you
As your week progresses you should be thanking various members of staff. If you loved helping the Fashion Editor on her shoot, say thank you and let her know. Not only is it basic manners but if gives you yet another opportunity to convey how much you are enjoying your placement. And when it comes time to say goodbye, a personalised hand written thank you note never goes astray.

#9 Make friends with the interns
The interns you come across in your travels can be your most valuable contacts. Firstly, they’re generally more approachable and have more time to chat with you, which means they can impart all kinds of wisdom. Secondly, interns are also usually first in line for any magazine positions that open up across they board so it’s an easy way to make friends who can keep you in the loop in the future.

#10 Follow up
So you’ve had a fabulous week, fallen in love with glossy-world and can’t wait to get back there. So what now? It’s time to make contact. There is a fine line between keeping in contact and stalking so be wary, but do keep your contacts in the loop. Send an email through to the Editorial Coordinator and anyone else you worked closely with. Keep it genuine and express your gratitude and desire to return one day.

Guest Blog: Why experience at community newspapers can often prove a little more valuable than more glamorous pursuits

A Guest Blog by an Anonymous Wordsmith Lane Reader.

This account of work experience was originally published anonymously for Upstart, and recently submitted for publication on Wordsmith Lane. For the sake of my own mind (I get confused far too easily) I’m going to call her Lauren, and I’m thankful to her for sharing her experiences with you. And coming from someone who did not learn a whole lot during work experience at ‘bigger’ media outlets, I think you will really benefit by what she has to say. Enjoy x

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I feel like I am in mourning. I have recently left my job as a journalist at a regional community newspaper after two years and I will miss it. But it has been a very interesting experience.

I was offered the job half-way through my degree after doing work experience at the paper. I have been working there two days a week ever since. That’s why I would suggest to any student the value of work experience, and not overlooking sometimes boring community newspapers for the more ‘glamorous’ or ‘cool’ media such as fashion magazines.

It has been an amazing experience that not only gave me experience as a working journalist but as a photographer, receptionist, database gatekeeper, website updater, broad range journalist – I have written on everything from sport, music and hard news, to feeling like a pseudo counsellor at times for interviewees. I also started as an untrained photographer so having the confidence to give things a go is important for young aspiring journalists.

I now understand almost every facet of a newspaper from what the graphic designers do to what the publisher does, the importance of advertising revenue for a free newspaper, respect for the owners of the paper, and how the printers can make costly mistakes.

In an average week , I would take up to nine photos and write up to nine articles of all sizes. You don’t have to be as fast a writer as you would in a daily newspaper, but you do have to be organised. I may have spent a day and a half getting all the interviews and photos done to then spend an afternoon writing articles and putting it all together.

Right from the start it was very much a sink or swim environment. Yes, I had other staff members to help me but like may newspapers, we were underresourced so there was not a lot of time to sit down for a chat. I just had to think hard, have an eye for detail, be thorough in my work and network with people in the region. Apart from university, there was never any further training either.

However, there were many good things about working there. I had a lot of creative freedom with the photos, and I developed a good working relationship with my editor that would allow me to put forward the stories my contacts suggested. I also got to interview many celebrities such as Arj Barker, Bertie Blackman, Little Birdy, Darryl Braitwaite, James Reyne and Ray Martin, as well as meeting and interviewing many politicians.

Yet there was also a lot of frustration with pay issues because the pay was very low. I had a very low hourly rate yet I was still required to use my own car while I conducted the work of both a journalist and a photographer.

Also, a lot of the content I produced was advertising driven. This was often a problem because when a client decided to advertise with us, the sales staff would promise them a free editorial. However, many clients didn’t understand that the editorial was separate from their advertising and often demanded to see the editorial before it was published, to ensure it was what they wanted it say.

This really sharpened my integrity and respect for the profession – it is important for journalists not to feel bullied or pushed into writing for their advertisers. Instead, you have to keep respect for your audience in the back of your mind. Although, it was difficult when some clients spoke in ‘advertising’ speak during their interviews, which was hard to incorporate into the article and make it sound genuine.

Writing about so many advertisers though, has given me a thorough knowledge of many different kinds of jobs. I also live in the town where a lot of them were based, so I now know who is good to go to for services, who is nice and it has been interesting hearing from people on all the different issues they are having in a community. I also enjoyed writing about new businesses, and helping them attract more customers with the articles I wrote.

Overall, it was a life-changing experience that I will never regret. For students who want a broad range of experience in the media, community newspaper.