Revisiting Your 2023 Word & Holding Space for People With Low SES
Plus the usual goodies so you can finish the year strong!
Hi and happy December!
Revisiting Your 2023 Word
If you’ve been here since the start of the year or earlier, you might remember my January newsletter challenged you to pick a word that would help you set your writing-related intention for 2023. (This was before I combined my two Substacks, so don’t subscribe to the one linked!) Some examples I gave were peace, bravery, and connection.
If you chose a word, I encourage you to reflect back on it (without judgment!). What did you do this year that you’re proud of? What might need revisiting this month or next year? If a friend was in your shoes, what compassion would you give them?
& Holding Space for People With Low SES
Also, I want to hold space for people who don’t have the money and privilege that some of us have. Let me explain why this is coming up right now (other than the holidays and all that comes with that).
As you may have read, I’m in a clinical mental health counseling graduate program. For my ethics class, we did an online simulation and had a discussion after, both of which woke me up to how hard it is to live and survive financially for many folks.
One of the biggest things it made me think about re: freelance writing was writers who don’t have the time or bandwidth to pursue it, or not to the extent that they’d like to. (In other words, please ignore those LinkedIn influencers that say “We all have the same 24 hours in a day…”)
On a less serious but also valid note, I also resonated with this tweet about how it’s hard to take time off as a freelancer because you don’t get paid time off. So I’m here for those who understand that struggle, too!
That’s all to say I see you, I empathize with you (as much as someone in my position can), and I support you. Don’t blame yourself!
P.S. If you hold a lot of financial/career privilege like I do, I highly suggest you go through the simulation!
Writing/Freelancing Tips
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:
The Ferret on X: "CALL FOR PITCHES 📩 We're looking for investigative pitches to cover the festive period and the new year. We're looking for stories with a strong link to Scotland that can be delivered in the next month. Have a story idea for us? Get in touch at contact@theferret.scot. Fee: £270" / X (twitter.com)
Mikala Jamison on X: "💫CALL FOR PITCHES💫 The freelance grind stinks so I started a pub 2 years ago to do my own thing. Now I make some $ on it and want to use it to commission my first guest post in 2024 (& hopefully more later). Details below: (CC: @weischoice @Freelance_Beat)" / X (twitter.com)
Debbie Strong on X: "We're looking for writers who are parents to review and compare family-friendly vehicles for @BusinessInsider Send us your pitches! Email is in my bio #journorequest" / X (twitter.com)
Writer Jobs
Investigative Reporter, Health at WFYI (in Indiana)
Opinion Writer at McClatchy (in North Carolina)
Writing/Freelancing Resources
You can now message other media on Qwoted!
Get a list of keywords for your article topic (helpful for SEO)
Encouragement
“Read this if you think everyone is better at freelancing than you”
It’s okay (and good) to take a different path if you’d like!
Another example of how many rejections a now-popular author experienced (aka you’re not alone!)
My Articles + Updates
I’m proud of this essay I wrote for Human Parts :)
I got to write about Taylor Swift / Travis Kelce / social media creeping / red flags / friendship for HuffPost! It’s a win-win-win-win-win, LOL.
I wrote an article normalizing why group fitness classes can feel defeating, reminding participants that they aren’t at fault! I hope it’s helpful :)
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 :)