| Back to Home > Bulletin Board > Media Issues > Topic: full time + freelancing |
Topic: full time + freelancing
| Author | Message |
| natfan | Posted – 4/29/2008 7:49:25 PM | show profile Just wondering if anyone out there has been able to do some decent freelancing while also working a full-time job. My job is 9-5, not very flexible (i.e., can't just step out to take calls). While I've managed do do a few stories in the last year, it is pretty difficult to only contact sources during evenings, weekends or my lunch break. Has anyone else been in this situation? Any words of advice? Sympathy? |
| reporterwriter | Posted – 4/29/2008 8:00:58 PM | show profile It's how I started, and did this for many years before freelancing full time. It's not easy, and there are sacrifices, but it's fun. Sounds like you have it wired -- evenings, weekends and breaks. |
| natfan | Posted – 4/29/2008 8:37:19 PM | show profile But were you able to squeeze in some interviewing during your full-time job? I feel unprofessional leaving messages with sources saying that I only have specific windows during which they can reach me. |
| candylilacs | Posted – 4/29/2008 9:47:01 PM | show profile That's what a cell phone is for. Just give the times you will be available. Schedule your lunch hour accordingly. I usually take my lunch from 2-3 to take calls or call people back. It's not easy and can be stressful, so don't go overboard on the freelancing and jeopardize your job. Good luck! c. ------ http://www.mswritesguide.blogspot.com |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 4/29/2008 10:15:46 PM | show profile It's not unprofessional, really. When I set up interviews with sources they often give me a choice of times in their schedule. The thing you have to do is make sure you get adequate time until your deadline and then call up sources to set up interview times. If possible, look for sources in different time zones. If you live in the East, you arrange for interviews with Pacific Coast people at the end of their workday and your early evening. --But were you able to squeeze in some interviewing during your full-time job? I feel unprofessional leaving messages with sources saying that I only have specific windows during which they can reach me.-- |
| WordyBird | Posted – 4/29/2008 11:30:07 PM | show profile East Coaster here, and I did what Dribble mentioned: California sources. Also, if it's a big piece and you need to do a number of interviews, there's nothing wrong with taking a personal day or a vacation day or two and scheduling a lot of them back to back. It's a lot of talking, but you may find that you get on a roll with asking questions--and your current employer doesn't need to know what your personal day is for or what you do on your vacation. That's your time to do with as you wish. |
| WritingEd | Posted – 4/30/2008 12:06:08 AM | show profile West Coast sources save the day for me, as well. It also helps that a fair amount of my regular freelancing involves some interviews that can be done by email without hurting the outcome of the reporting too much (you really have to come up with good, pointed questions if you're doing this, though).If you give people the option of responding to a particular question or two via email or by a scheduled phone interview, a lot of people prefer to bang out an answer by email. And I, too, have taken days off from my day job to get freelancing done. The types of articles you do also can make it more or less difficult to conduct interviews during off hours. For instance, if you were interviewing a teen it wouldn't seem all that weird to ask what evening he or she is available to talk, whereas if you're writing about a work issue you're likely to find sources want to talk during their work day. As for experts, consultants often operate with a 24/7 mentality, and I've rarely encountered a problem getting them to talk at times I'm available. It helps if you admit to the PR person arranging the interview that the assignment is not for your day job and that you're hoping so-and-so might be available to talk at xx and yy times. That way the media person can smooth it over with the source for you. I have rarely found a source who was not accommodating, but at the same time I do try to contact more people than I think I'll need to account for the possibility of some of the interviews not working out. |
| candylilacs | Posted – 4/30/2008 2:02:04 AM | show profile Hey, I'm on the West Coast, so that advice may not help you, either. As I said, it takes planning but can be done. And as others have said, I have been able to talk to sources after 5 p.m. and on weekends. Rarely does it happen during work hours, but once in while you may have to take a few minutes off --- a good time for a break. One of the reasons it's good always to have a notebook or PDA to write on. DO NOT USE EQUIPMENT AT WORK. Very bad karma. c. ------ http://www.mswritesguide.blogspot.com |
| cynnamonshticks | Posted – 4/30/2008 6:04:56 PM | show profile It's tough It's really, really tough sometimes to juggle a full time gig with freelance. For the past year, I've been trying to juggle a full-time job, freelance work and part time school. Working ranges from transcribing an interview in my pajamas on a Sunday morning in a rare, quiet moment (good) and having to pull over on a busy Southern California freeway on my way to class so I could interview a source who called me a couple of hours before he was supposed to call (very, very bad). In the latter situation, my pen ran out of ink and I had to write with a red crayon. Like others on this board, sometimes I have to take a day off from my day job to work on freelance. Natfan, you can also try to email sources? Granted, its much better to interview people in person or over the phone, but if you are truly, truly desperate, you could ask some questions through email, but do a shorter, follow up interview over the phone at a time that works for you. My job is also 9-5, and I've noticed that when interviewing sources on the East Coast (I live on the West), I can schedule interviews as early as 6 a.m. PST because of the time difference. It really blows, but you gotta suck it up sometimes. I hope I made sense and I hope I helped in some way. |
| WritingEd | Posted – 4/30/2008 6:13:36 PM | show profile I just want to add that typically I don't mention the scheduling situation upon first contact with a source (nearly always by email for me, which means the person typically responds by email and the phone tag part of the equation is taken out). After I get a response, I'll mention that I am hoping to be able to schedule an early morning or evening (or even weekend) time to talk. This way, the source is considering the article itself rather than reading a long explanation, before anyone has agreed to anything, about why saying yes might be difficult for them. Often I'll get people who really admire my pursuing other projects while holding down a full time job. And some PR people are thrilled because they have made a new editor contact as well. |
| candylilacs | Posted – 4/30/2008 9:49:57 PM | show profile The red crayon is hilarious! Have you done the bank of any available envelope when you can't find a notebook, too?!? Any piece of paper is fair game. Yeah, even though you tell them call me at 2 p.m. on Thursday and it's all set....damn it if they don't call at 11 a.m. and say, "Can we do this earlier? I want to go golfing today." ARRRRRGH! And yes, I've even done an audio slideshow at 6 a.m. for an East Coast metro. You know I was all coherent and scintillating for that one! Anyway, it can be done, just some added pressure to your day. c. ------ http://www.mswritesguide.blogspot.com |
