Your guide to building a successful freelance career in media and creative industries. Go Freelance covers finding clients, setting rates, managing your business, and navigating the unique challenges of working for yourself.
208 articles
From the lede to the kicker, here's Mediabistro's handy glossary
Updated March 24, 2026 We're always getting questions about what certain obscure (or sometimes not-so-obscure) publishing terms mean. To help, we're rolling out Mediabistro's media glossary. So, freelancers and media-job-seekers: Bookmark this bad boy and…
Celeste Mitchell
When you're trying to get a freelance assignment from a magazine, you know that your first step is to have a fantastic idea. You gather the information you need to sell the idea, and then…
Celeste Mitchell
Glamorous celebrity profiles and hard-hitting investigative reports may be the domain of the feature well. But when it comes to shaping a magazine's identity, expressing its voice, and keeping readers engaged issue after issue, back-…
Samantha Melamed
So here's a question we've been hearing a lot: "I'm a freelance writer for magazines and newspapers, and my friends tell me I should develop an expertise. Does this make good business sense?" Listen to…
Celeste Mitchell
There are plenty of authors who write for love of the craft. But most of us also want our carefully crafted words to be read by the masses—and maybe rake in some royalties along the…
Andrea Williams
As an official judge for the Erma Bombeck Writing Competition, I read a lot of essays, the quality of which fluctuated from powerful to pointless. Despite this range, what struck me most were the handful-and-a-half…
Joel Schwartzberg
In the spring of 2006, Amy Sutherland was looking for ways to promote her second book, Kicked, Bitten and Scratched. When her first idea—pitching magazine and newspaper editors stories related to her book's subject—didn't pan…
Michaela Cavallaro
There is intrigue in our daily lives, our reactions to events and the harmony or dissonance between our goals and realities. All of these can become inspiring and salable personal essays. But crafting your experiences…
Amanda Layman Low
As print newspapers and magazines continue to shutter or lay off staff, one thing remains evident as we move further into the 21st century: Digital has officially taken over. And while scoring a gig with…
Andrea Williams
An insatiable appetite for world news. A feeling that the world outside your country’s borders is beckoning you. A frustration with the quality of political discourse on foreign policy. If any of this strikes a…
Hampton Stephens