The Evil "What If" Question—and How to Turn It Into Something Good
An encouraging tool + August resources for writers
Hi and happy August!
The Evil "What If" Question—and How to Turn It Into Something Good
I came across this screenshot on Twitter and immediately felt seen and supported:
I realized this same practice—aka turning anxious “what if” questions into excited “what if” questions—could apply to the concerns many of us have as freelance writers. What would happen if we changed our questions like this:
What if my pitch is rejected? — What if my pitch is accepted? What if this pitch leads to future assignments? What if this pitch is rejected, but the editor likes my style and keeps me on their radar?
What if I don’t get many assignments this month? — What if I do get lots of assignments? What if a more relaxed month is exactly what I need to push myself in my business, or to rest?
What if it takes me years to write for big name publications? — What if I pitch an editor there tomorrow and they love my idea? What if I have more financial success writing a bunch of shorter stories for smaller publications?
What if I get a mean comment on my article? — What if my article helps someone get the support they’ve needed for years? What if no one comments on my article and life goes on as usual? What if this article leads to more social media followers?
There’s a lot of good alternatives to the few bad ones, you know? While it’s totally understandable and common to worry—I know that firsthand!—I also encourage you to flip your “what if” questions. As my therapist reminds me, worrying won’t help the situation, and anything can happen.
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!
Writing/Freelancing Tips
My shortform article on how I’m making money as a freelance writer right now
A video on revamping a freelance business
A panel/workshop event on starting and growing a newsletter (Aug. 7!)
A checklist to increase your chances of getting boosted on Medium
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:
Charli Penn: Calling all my writer friends! This is part of If These Walls Could Talk, a new @AptTherapy series that explores the private, relatable, & sometimes surprising ways people live and experience their lives inside their home’s four walls. Pitches welcome!
Abe Brown: Pitch me some ideas! abe@theinformation.com. I promise The Information pays a living wage to its writers.
Ian Tucker: ATTENTION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY JOURNALISTS! Are you interested in writing for the Observer? I am looking for new writers and ideas for the Science & Technology pages of the Observer New Review. For an idea of the types of pieces we publish, please take a look at this thread…
Writer Jobs
Writing/Freelancing Resources
This website for finding people’s emails
Medium Day Zoom event (Aug. 17!)
Encouragement
My shortform article on the most valuable lesson I learned as an intern
I like what Meghan DeMaria writes in this newsletter, which revolves around this mantra: “Being caught up is not the goal.”
This Billy Joel quote I saw in The Guardian: “You don’t have to squeeze your whole life into your 20s and 30s trying to make it, trying to achieve that American dream, getting in the rat race, and killing yourself. You have a whole life to live.”
A friendly reminder that you’re not alone on the struggle bus
My Articles + Updates
I created two new resources, both of which are only $5! One shares pitching tips and the other shares Substack tips.
As you may have seen above, I jumped back into writing shortform stories for Medium this month! Here’s one called “The 1 Thing That Comforts Me When I’m Upset With God”
While outside of my niche, I enjoyed writing a HuffPost article about a travel trend called “soft travel,” which originated from a concept created by Nigerian influencers and Black women.
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 so much for the Substack link! I love the mindset reframing you've done here--what if it all works out?