It's Okay to Focus on Staying Afloat
Giving you all the comfort (and tips, resources, paid gigs, etc)
Hi & happy April (Fool’s Day)!
It’s Okay to Focus on Staying Afloat
Time to admit some experiences/feelings I’ve had that you may or may not have also had:
Seeing a call for pitches from a dream publication, and feeling pressured to pitch them (even when I don’t really have the time or ideas for it).
Seeing big bylines in other people’s Twitter bios and wishing I had them in mine.
Feeling like I “shouldn’t” only stick to the same publications; I need to branch out some too for money or…pride?
Feeling like I’m not giving my all to my freelance career if I’m not going after every dream under that umbrella.
I’m not sure how to feel about these feelings. Sometimes they motivate me; sometimes they’re just unhelpful and untrue. Sometimes I feel ashamed of how much I worry about big bylines; sometimes I acknowledge that it’s understandable why. Sometimes I push myself in these areas; sometimes I don’t.
I’m not completely saying goodbye to those goals forever.
At the same time, I want to remind myself that I don’t have to meet 100% of them, 100% of the time. Or at least not right this second.
It’s okay to focus on staying afloat. To pitch publications you’re used to, to not pitch your dream pub, to not aim for higher-paying publications.
Sometimes, you just need to do what works so you can make money and give yourself free brain space for other things.
I mean, hey, that can be beautiful/awesome/applause-worthy, too. It’s important to be gracious, I think, about what you do have. I wrote about this a bit in a shortform article called “‘Living the Dream’ as a Freelance Writer Doesn’t Look Like I Thought it Would.”
Give yourself permission to do what you can and what you’ve done.
Updates / Housekeeping
As mentioned in a previous newsletter, paid subscribers have the opportunity to promote themselves! We’ve got some writers there so far who are offering resources, community, and so much more. Connect with them here!
Taxes are due April 15! Need some advice? I asked accountants about common tax filing mistakes for a HuffPost story.
Writing/Freelancing Tips
Self-promo tips and insights I gained from a course worth $125
Give fun names to your to-do list items to help with motivation/mood!
Upcoming intensive on reporting & writing with an anti-oppression lens
Pitch Calls
GENERAL NOTES FOR THE PITCH CALLS BELOW:
If the story is about a marginalized community, you probably need to be in that community to write the piece.
Mentioning my name in your pitch won’t help, unfortunately!
Who Pays Writers can be a helpful site to get an idea of how much publications pay.
Pitch calls:
Ben Smoke: PITCH CALL OUT: i’m looking for pitches for features doing deep dives into sub culture, interesting or weird events or places for the huck site. i’ll drop some examples of what i’m looking for below + our submission guidelines (please make sure you read them!)...
Emily Krivograd: For @thisisinsider, I'm in search of freelancers who shop at Costco, Trader Joe's, and/or Aldi and want to share their favorite finds! No previous writing experience needed. If interested, fill out this form (more details there). Rates start at $175.
Chris Azzopardi: *Attention, LGBTQ+ writers!* It's that time of year again—my call for Pride pitches, after locking in some really terrific ones! Special attention given to stories leaning into defiant joy and stubborn hope in the face of a challenging political and social era for queer folks.
Writer Jobs
Writing/Freelancing Resources
Encouragement
My Articles + Updates
I was thrilled to see that a publication I write for, Parade, publishes Bible verse articles! I got to write one on encouraging verses :)
I’m becoming more active on Medium again! My most successful story in March was: “15+ Lessons From a $125 Self-Promo Course That Revolutionized My Mindset and Methods,” published in The Startup.
Want More? Here Are Other Ways I Can Help
Don’t forget about my approved pitches document and Medium guide and coaching/editing services and writing checklist set and worksheet packet for writers!
More of my content: (1) my writing Twitter // (2) my portfolio // (3) my resource set // (4) my newsletter with tons of writing jobs and pitch calls // (5) my Instagram
(BTW, my Ko-Fi shop is here!)
This newsletter is free, but if you’d like to donate, my Venmo is @AshleyBroadwater, my PayPal is paypal.me/aebroad, my CashApp is $ashleybroadwater3, and my email for Zelle is ashleybroadwater346@gmail.com :) A huge thanks to donors!
That’s all for now! Thanks for reading this month’s newsletter. As always, feel free to reach out if you have any questions :)
Thank you for this!! Comparison helps no one!