What It Takes to Ace a Video Interview: Tips for Setup, Prep, and Presentation

@AmandaLaymanLow

Amanda Layman is a B2B tech content writer and strategist with over 15 years of experience creating content for startups and enterprise brands. She founded Tigris, a content agency serving leading tech companies, and authored The New Freelance: A Book for Writers.

5 min read • Originally published January 28, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

@AmandaLaymanLow

5 min read • Originally published January 28, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

So, you want to be a freelance writer, huh? It looks really glamorous with little-known writers getting a bajillion views for their work on Huffington Post, or gaining overnight success with a single viral article or hilarious concept.

Freelance writing appears to be a quick and easy way to write about whatever you want for whoever you want, all from the comfort of your own home.

Wrong.

Freelancing is tough. I’ve done it for just three years now, and I’ve endured late payments, broken contracts and nail-biting periods of time with little or no food in the fridge. So, if you really want to do this, better be prepared.

Here are four things you absolutely must do before you even think of putting fingers to keypad.

1. Get Organized

With pitches going out and (hopefully) payments coming in, freelance writing can become a juggling act if you’re lacking an organization system.

For a rookie, here are the barest bones of an effective organization system: a calendar, a submissions log and a way to track your income. Your own system should make sense to you.

For example, I pin story ideas on a bulletin board so I can physically examine them, but I use Excel spreadsheets to track submission statuses, invoices and payments.

C. Hope Clark, creator of FundsForWriters.com, uses a hard copy calendar and organizes the rest using Excel spreadsheets. “I keep 13 queries outstanding at all times, whether editors, magazines, contests or [for a] copywriting gig,” she says. “When I receive a rejection, I stop and usually submit a rejected piece to another market and send a new piece to the editor that rejected me.”

Jodi Doff, essayist and blogger at OnlyTheJodi.com, uses the writer’s tracking system on Duotrope.com, along with a Google Drive spreadsheet with different tabs and timelines.

“Each spreadsheet is sortable by a number of filters such as deadline, payment, contacts etc. There is nothing on paper at all. It’s very geeky, and it makes me very happy,” she says.

Personally, I like to use Google Drive to store my finished pieces. Though no technology is infallible, it’s wise to back up your work on multiple platforms.

Computers get viruses, hard drives crash or your toddler may develop an insatiable curiosity as to what happens when she submerges your flash drive in the toilet. Be prepared!

2. Research and Read

In my opinion, the difference between a casual writer and a professional (read: income-earning) is all in the research.

It’s no coincidence that the moment I started making money writing was shortly after I started examining the market for paying publications and decided to pitch only those with which I was somewhat familiar.

You don’t have to be an avid reader of every publication you pitch, but you should submit a story with confidence that your piece will fit the tone and mission of that publication.

It’s not about you, it’s about them: Write and submit with the intention of making the magazine/website/newsletter better.

Here are just a few publications you should read to keep up with the industry:

Depending on your genre and interests, there are many more resources available to you. For example, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators offers worlds of information specific to the children’s market.

And don’t underestimate the value of word-of-mouth: All the veteran writers I spoke with said they learned about new opportunities through casual conversations with friends and acquaintances. Don’t be afraid to tell others what you do for a living.

3. Make Connections

The old school Rolodex may be slipping into extinction, but the act of making contacts in the literary world is evergreen.

There are a million ways to create and maintain professional relationships: social media, writer’s conferences, organizations and local groups, workshops and college courses.

Help other writers out: If you discover a new culinary magazine searching for writers, alert your foodie friend. Your colleagues will remember and return the favor in the future (and if they’re of the mindset that more for you means less for them, it’s not worth it to maintain the relationship anyway).

Don’t burn bridges and remember to keep in touch with editors you’ve worked with in the past. Like any other industry, editorial jobs get shuffled around, and when Jane C. Editor goes to work for a new magazine, you could be on your way to an assignment simply because you’ve already fostered a relationship with her.

So how do you build relationships with writers and editors? When relevant, I like to mention briefly in my pitch letters what I enjoy about their publication.

Be professional before you get personal: Turn in assignments as early as possible, respond promptly and succinctly to emails, and unless you’ve just lost your fingers in a freak chainsaw accident, don’t make excuses.

And for the love of Shakespeare, always use proper grammar and punctuation.

4. Flesh Out Ideas Before Pitching

The worst thing you can do, in my opinion, is send a sloppy pitch letter or poorly edited piece to your dream publication.

This isn’t to say you shouldn’t challenge yourself to pitch venerated publications, especially if you’re very familiar with what they publish.

But it’s much easier to build your body of work, get some help editing your pitch or story and then submit to The New Yorker than to fire off a submission at two in the morning on a wine-induced whim.

Create a strong first impression rather than spending time and energy recovering from a bad one: Before pitching a publication, Clark said she studies the masthead to find out who does what. She also looks for “archives of articles… I will also glance at the advertising in the publication or online to get a strong feel of the readership.”

Dominick also reviews the content of a publication thoroughly before submitting. “I look for circulation data and demographics on their audience/readership. I look at Alexa rankings for online opportunities.”

Again, the more time you spend getting organized and studying the market now, the more time you’ll have later to actually be creative and write.

My own piece of advice for rookies? Don’t quit your day job—or have a spouse, partner, roommate or really well-trained pet who can bring in some income, too.

Topics:

Journalism Advice

Setting Your Freelance Writing Rate: 4 Key Factors to Consider

Seasoned freelancers give tips on how to value your work

By Kristen Fischer

Kristen Fischer is a freelance writer, journalist, and copywriter with over 20 years of experience, currently serving as a health writer for AARP with previous staff roles at WebMD and WW. Her work has appeared in Prevention, Healthline, Woman's Day, Parade, and Writer's Digest, and she is the author of four books.

5 min read • Originally published June 15, 2015 / Updated March 19, 2026

By Kristen Fischer

5 min read • Originally published June 15, 2015 / Updated March 19, 2026

In the world of freelancing, one price doesn’t fit all jobs. That’s the beauty—and curse—of being a contractor.

Coming up with a fee can be challenging. Do you charge different amounts depending on the client or publication? How exactly do you figure out what a client wants, so you don’t wind up spending more time on a project and earning less as a result?

Here are a few things every self-employed professional should keep in mind when setting your freelance writing rate.

1. Your experience

First, it helps to get a ballpark of where you stand. Several factors go into setting your rate, such as where you live and how much experience you have.

In the magazine arena where most publications pay per word, it’s typically only the experienced writers who have bargaining power.

Those just starting out may want to work for less than the going rate in order to build clips. Kate Silver, a Chicago-based freelance writer who has penned articles for Men’s Health and Spirit, isn’t a newbie but says she can be “amenable” to a lower rate if the piece involves less research than usual.

Aubre Andrus, a writer from Chicago who creates marketing collateral and has written for National Geographic Traveler and FamilyFun, says she sets a salary goal for herself and calculates her hourly rate from there.

For her, the fact that she isn’t working on income-generating tasks 40 hours a week was a determining factor.

“This rate helps me devise my per-project fee and helps me decide if a project is worth my time,” explains Andrus. That, along with tracking her monthly earnings, has helped her stay on target to attain her salary goal.

Catey Hill, a California-based author and reporter who writes for DowJones, says she uses both a project and hourly fee system. Once you have a gist of your rate, you can see how it compares to market rates; then, use it to devise lump-sum fees and per-word rates.

2. The venue

Depending on what outlet you write for, the pay structure will differ. In general, magazines pay freelance writers per word, and larger, national pubs usually have bigger budgets to work with than online outlets or startups.

In copywriting, it’s standard to accept a project fee or an hourly rate, but working on site could net you an hourly fee. Meanwhile, proofreading typically pays less than copywriting and freelance magazine writing.

According to the Freelance Industry Report, 18.7 percent of copywriters earn from $50 to $59 an hour, 16.5 percent make $70 to $79 and 17.3 percent make anywhere from $100 to $150 per hour.

At least 46.2 percent of editors and copyeditors fell between the $20 and $39 an hour range. In freelance writing, 19.3 percent made $50 to $59 an hour, 10.1 percent made $20 to $29 an hour and only 12.2 percent earned $100 to $150 an hour.

Based on this information and your own market research, you can come up with a rate that you feel good about. You can always raise it over time as you build up more experience.

In knowing how different writing venues pay, you can save a lot of time and aggravation: For example, don’t even think of pitching an article at an hourly rate.

3. Your time

Whether you charge hourly or by the project, painting an accurate picture of what the project entails is key. Many copywriters find that clients aren’t always sure what they want for a website or brochure, while publication editors typically outline goals before they assign the piece.

To give a good estimate, you need to know how efficiently you work, and you can only do that by practicing.

“With project-based payment, you need to make sure that you are very clear on the assignment, so you don’t end up pricing your services too low,” Hill says.

Hill has had situations where an hourly-billed project took longer than expected. Instead of asking for more money, she honored her original quote. That seems to be the consensus in the freelance world, which is why it is so vital to master the guesstimating game.

That happened to Andrus when she underestimated the time it would take to copy edit a novel. “I sat on the couch all day and read it from start to finish in one sitting,” she recalls.

She didn’t charge the client extra for her mishap, but it taught her a lesson about the importance of assessing her time.

To gauge your own time, try an online tracker like Toggl or a stopwatch to see how long it takes you to complete certain tasks.

4. The scope of the work

You have to know, specifically, how much work is involved to establish your rate, no matter how you charge.

Emily Suess, a blogger and copywriter from Indiana who has freelanced for nearly a decade, says she asks clients in-depth questions to determine the scope of a project.

For instance, how long each blog post should be, what the lead time is, who provides topics and if she will need to use search engine optimization techniques on the content.

“When the client makes a request for something that lies outside of the initial scope, I let them know immediately and offer to prepare a quote for those additional services,” Suess notes.

Seasoned copywriters, journalists and editors learn to identify potential obstacles early and to ask clients if they foresee those situations arising.

If the client can’t give you specifics, think about situations that took longer than expected in the past and let him know that you will charge extra if those incidents occur with this project. For example, how many interviews will you need to conduct?

Are you expected to meet on site with a client or interviewee? How many rounds of revisions are typical?

Like other journalists, Silver says revisions are part of the fee you accept when you write for a publication.

In the magazine business, you don’t tell an editor how many revisions you’ll include as you would with a copywriting client; magazine editors expect that you will revise the work as many times as they see fit.

So, if multiple revisions of that website or promotional copy concern you, include at least one round of revisions in the initial fee and bill hourly for any additional rewrites that may be needed.

With magazine and online outlets, simply ask upfront how many revisions a typical piece goes through before you agree to the assignment.

In the end, it’s good to be mindful of what you want to earn, but don’t drive yourself crazy if you don’t always make that specific amount.

Your freelance writing rate will change (and hopefully, grow) as you move forward in your career.

Topics:

Resumes & Cover Letters

10 Creative Ways to Make Your Resume Stand Out (Real Examples From Pros)

How to give a cookie-cutter resume a fresh twist

By Joel Schwartzberg

Joel Schwartzberg is a workplace communications coach, speechwriter, and bestselling author whose books include "Get to the Point!" and "The Language of Leadership," with articles published in Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and Newsweek. He brings over two decades of senior communications and editorial leadership experience at organizations including the ASPCA, PBS, and Time Inc.

5 min read • Originally published March 3, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

By Joel Schwartzberg

5 min read • Originally published March 3, 2016 / Updated March 19, 2026

You’ve spit-and-polished your resume to a fare-thee-well, but can you make it stand out from the rest? How can you tweak your resume so it’s so unforgettable, the hiring manager not only has to call, but she also recalls your resume years after the fact?

Below, 9 professionals and 1 student share the unique, creative tacks they took that elevated their resumes—and helped them land jobs.

Follow their leads at your own risk—and possibly your own gain.

1. Add a Little Special Something

Julia Zangwill says the resume she sent to TV Land Digital for a designer position did not have a typical header. Instead, it led with this: “WHAT MAKES ME SPECIAL (besides what my grandma would say) by Julia Zangwill.”

It was a creative (and gutsy) move, but one that paid off. “The headline in Julia’s resume made it stand out from the others I was reviewing at the time; it showed a creativity and sense of humor that is important in our business,” says Jennifer Larkin, Sr. Director digital multi-platform experiences at TV Land. “And I still remember it three years later!”

Zangwill got the interview and the job (though her grandma probably expected as much all along).

2. Drop Names, Not Internships

While most people omit internships from their resumes once they’ve had a few real jobs, Jacki Garfinkel, senior director of social media at Nickelodeon, kept one in there: an internship with the Montel Williams show.

“I get asked about it on every single interview,” says Garfinkel. “I’ve even been told I was brought in for the interview strictly because of the Montel mention.”

It makes me wonder how effective a Montel Williams show reference works on Montel Williams’ resume.

3. Share Your Handiwork

Even with experience from Nickelodeon and Scholastic on his resume, Jed Weissberg, SVP of product and strategy at Mobiquity Networks, still makes room for another gig: puppetry.

“People are intrigued by it,” says Weissberg. “It’s almost always the first thing they ask about.” And when there’s an emergency in the office, who doesn’t start looking for the nearest puppeteer?

4. Face the Music

Simon Tam, a former marketing manager for Oregon’s “I Have a Dream” Foundation, put his dance rock band The Slants on his resume not to show off his musical chops, but to emphasize his marketing skills.

“I had been applying for marketing positions and, when they researched my band and saw how much brand exposure we had and how successful our marketing was, I quickly stood out,” Tam says.

5. Give an Answer in the Form of a Question

Bonnie Zaben, COO of executive search firm AC Lion, included experience as a Jeopardy! contestant on her resume.

“Lots of interviewers noticed and asked me about it,” says Zaben. “Most were friendly conversations about the experience, the selection process and Alex Trebek’s personality—it was a great conversation starter.”

But it also gave Zaben insight into her interviewers. One intrigued potential employer spent most of the interview aggressively quizzing her, leaving Zaben with an important impression.

“If this is how he conducts his interviews, then this is not someone I want to work with,” she says. “I waited until the 30-minute mark, made my excuses and never looked back.”

6. Put Your Best Numbers Forward

Nathan Hirst, a product manager with BlenderBottle Company, realized after six months of job searching that prospective employers valued statements of impact over job descriptions.

“Instead of putting something generic like ‘managed PPC accounts,’ I put things like ‘increased PPC ROI by 125 percent,’” explains Hirst, who says the change “made all the difference” in his job search (though there’s no exact percentage on that yet).

7. Play with Fire

Teague Hopkins, who runs a Web strategy group under his own name, says the one job he made sure to put on his resume was the hottest one he had: running a fire-dancing troupe.

“Without fail, I was asked about fire dancing in every single interview,” Hopkins says. “It was a great way to showcase my individuality and give me an entrance to talk about my leadership experiences.”

No wonder companies warmed up to him.

8. Drop Your Objectives

Wayne State University information officer Rasheda Williams says the best thing she did to her resume was not an addition, but an omission: dumping the “objective.”

“To me, listing an objective is pointless and it seems to limit the possibilities of you actually being considered,” Williams says. “If you’re applying for a position, then it’s assumed that your objective is to get the position!”

Williams instead uses that area to list her qualifications, which gave her “bragging rights and another chance to really shine.”

9. Humor Them

When Rebecca Maguire transitioned from stay-at-home mom to PR professional, she didn’t run away from her eight years of domestic work; she used it to showcase her humor—and some equivalent experience at the same time.

Maguire’s resume roles include “head of household management,” “director of preschool education,” CFO, head chef, housekeeper, chauffeur, nurse, zookeeper, gardener, personal shopper, stylist, groomer, social secretary and party planner.

“This ultimately led to the landing of my dream job,” Maguire says, “and I now run my own firm. When in doubt, humor always works!”

10. Rely on Your Peers

As an honors junior at Park University, Andi Enns had no fewer than six internships under her belt. The one thing that makes her resume stand out, she says, is a section called “peer review.”

The section contains the four most popular words her classmates suggested when she asked them to describe her: Determined. Intelligent. Strong. Entertaining.

At the four interviews Andi had for marketing and design positions, “every interviewer mentioned it,” Andi says. Considering two of the interviews led to offers, Andi could add one more word that describes her: Successful.

If you’d like your resume to stand out even more, consider getting the help of a pro. Mediabistro’s Career Services offer everything from a quick resume edit to several sessions of career counseling to tackle your CV, networking skills, career transition and more.

Topics:

Get a Media Job, Get Hired, Resumes & Cover Letters

Career Transition

6 Tips for Submitting Freelance Writing Clips That Win Assignments

How to put your best work forward

By Meena Thiruvengadam

5 min read • Originally published October 15, 2015 / Updated March 19, 2026

By Meena Thiruvengadam

5 min read • Originally published October 15, 2015 / Updated March 19, 2026

For journalists looking for freelance or full-time work, making a good first impression is all about the clips. Often requested before a story is assigned, clips are simply your writing samples or published articles.

But how do you know which articles—and how many—to send? And how can you wield your power with the pen (or keyboard) if no one will give you that first byline?

Fear not, freelancer. If you’re new to the biz or simply trying to break into that dream publication, there are some tried and true steps all writers can take to put their best clips forward.

1. Lead with your best work

Instead of trying to show the diversity of your writing or the most famous person you’ve interviewed, only highlight the very best pieces in your portfolio.

This isn’t the time to build to a crescendo of editorial greatness. Editors are pressed for time, so give them the goods quickly.

“I’m looking for several things in a clip,” says Thomas Mucha, editor of GlobalPost, an online international news site. “First, of course, is overall excellence, accuracy organization, a logical structure, good sourcing, top notch reporting, etc.”

Beyond that, Mucha says he looks for clips written with verve, wit and style and pieces that are smart, engaging and logical.

He also says he likes pieces that can pull him through until the end, making him feel as if he was in good hands during the entire read.

2. Pick clips that fit your pitch

Think about it this way: If you were looking for a decorator to renovate your bedroom, would you hire the person who’s only done kitchens? Didn’t think so.

So, if you’re pitching a travel story, send a link to your story on “The Real Miami: The Best Reasons to Leave South Beach.” If your idea is to interview an up and coming ingénue, send a blog post you wrote for Indie Wire.

“For new writers especially, I’m looking for clips that show you’ve done this type of story before,” says Jeremy Saum, executive editor for Afar.

However, not having a clip on that specific topic doesn’t mean you should automatically count yourself out for assignments in a new genre.

“If you have an idea for how to approach a topic and can show a great interest in it, then your lack of clips might not disqualify you,” says Christy Karras, a veteran freelance writer and former editor of Yahoo!’s Visit Britain pages.

When she’s pitching a story on a new topic, freelance journalist Angela Shah, who has written for Time, Forbes Asia and The New York Times, says she sends clips that illustrate her ability to write the type of story she’s pitching.

“When pitching a story about an Olympian in Afghanistan, I sent the editor clips of profiles I’d written,” she says. “While I haven’t written a sports story in a long time, I have written about individuals, their struggles doing work they loved and their hopes for success in their profession.”

3. Pay attention to voice

The tone of your writing is equally as important as the subject. Editors want to know that you can not only write well, but that you can do so for their publication and audience. Does the mag feature a lot of lists or snarky blurbs?

Then, highlight work where you showed a sense of humor. If the outlet leans to reported pieces, you’ll want to pick clips that are more serious in tone.

Karras explains, “As with any job, you want to show that you know something about the publication in question, so matching your writing samples to the voice of the publication is important. I’ve had people submit samples that read like college papers, which doesn’t work at all for my current travel and lifestyle specialties.”

Front-of-book articles typically require a livelier writer. “You don’t have to have an attitude or be sassy, but your writing has to have a voice and have some life to it,” says Saum.

For features, Saum says he looks for pitches that have depth. “We like to see features that are driven by something bigger than ‘I went here and did this travel story,'” he says.

4. Show off your reporting chops

Remember, you’re not just selling the story idea—you’re selling yourself, too. So, your samples should demonstrate why you’re the best person to write the story and highlight subject matter expertise, reporting skill and creativity.

Karras suggests choosing clips that suggest problem-solving abilities, show new ways to organize information around a theme or make an old topic interesting in a new way. She also recommends using clips that prove you can locate the best possible sources on a topic and smartly synthesize what they have to say.

Shah says she tends to choose stories she believes show off her writing and editing skills.

“That could be a deeply analytical magazine feature on the finances of a major city-state that shows my ability to digest complex information and write about it in an engaging way, it could be a news story on a crackdown in the Gulf that shows an editor how well sourced I am in an environment that might not be very friendly to journalists, or it could be a feature profile that I think displays some narrative chops,” she says.

“It just depends on the message I’d like to get to the individual editor.”

5. Don’t overwhelm your reader

Just because you may have written hundreds of articles relevant to a pitch or position, doesn’t mean you should send them all to your would-be editor. If an editor requests a certain number of clips, meet his or her requirement.

If he or she leaves that decision to you, select two or three of your best and most relevant pieces —no more.

“I send three clips,” Shah says. “Editors have short attention spans; we have to be able to grab them quickly.”

If an editor doesn’t request clips, Karras suggests mentioning in your cover or query letter that you have clips available should he be interested in seeing them.

6. Perfect your delivery

Once you’ve decided how many samples to send, the next step is deciding how to send them. Some publications make their preferences clear on sites like Mediabistro, Writer’s Digest and through their own submission guidelines, which are often available on their websites.

“If the editor specifies, do what the editor tells you to do,” says Karras, who prefers clips sent as Word attachments.

Other editors like links, but don’t expect to win any favor by simply directing the reader to your website. It can be perceived as laziness, and a busy editor may not be willing to spend time perusing your site.

When pitching new editors, Shah suggests getting recommendations from mutual colleagues if possible. “Being able to say that someone they know recommended you goes a long way in gaining their trust in your expertise,” she says.

Topics:

Be Inspired

How Kazeem Famuyide Networked His Way from Intern to Bleacher Report Creative

Sometimes it’s really about who you know

Ayana Young is a communications and PR strategist with 15+ years of experience spanning media relations, lifestyle brands, professional sports, and publishing.

5 min read • Originally published October 30, 2017 / Updated March 19, 2026

Ayana Young is a communications and PR strategist with 15+ years of experience spanning media relations, lifestyle brands, professional sports, and publishing.

5 min read • Originally published October 30, 2017 / Updated March 19, 2026

Vital Stats:

Name: Kazeem Famuyide
Industry:
Digital Content Editorial
Years in Industry: 10
Current Position:
Creative at Bleacher Report
Past Positions:

Writer, No Script with Marshawn Lynch
Founder/Editor-in-Chief, Stashed Magazine
Host of the Flagrant 2 Podcast
Host of Kaz In The Morning on Satori Radio
Senior Editor at Hip-Hop Wired
Online Editor, The Source

Education: SUNY- Purchase College
Social Media:

Twitter: @RealLifeKaz
Instagram: @RealLifeKaz

What was your first real job in media?

I got a job at The Source magazine fresh out of college.

I started out as an intern and was playing basketball for my college at the same time. On a daily basis, I would go from class to basketball practice to The Source, and I wasn’t getting paid.

My first real big break came from a story I did on Drake. I knew some famous people and had relationships with them before they really blew up, like Drake, because he performed at events that I helped put together for my college. After Drake’s second concert him [sic] and I got the chance to kick it. After we spoke I put a story together about him and brought it back to The Source’s editor. From then on they began asking me for content, and after a while I was like “Listen, I’m not giving you this [content] until you guys give me an actual job.”

A few months later I was hired as a staff writer.

You went from intern to editor at The Source magazine—a monthly hip-hop music, politics and culture magazine—in a little under two years and then moved on to create your own publication, The Stashed. How did The Stashed come about?

I was done with people telling me what was hot and what to cover. I believe if you give readers substance, they’ll take it.

So once I got an opportunity, I seized it. One of my good friends at Hip-Hop Wired called and asked me if I had ever met Steve Stoute, which I hadn’t. So she set up an introduction, and once we got to talking it turned out Stoute wanted to create a blog for his marketing agency, Translation. They had been trying to create a blog for a long time, but it didn’t really register to them that nobody wanted to read a blog about a marketing agency. I explained to Stoute, that you had to create a blog in the presence of the marketing agency, but still speak in the spirit of what you want that company to be, and it’ll work. And that’s how The Stashed was born. I had stepped into such a perfect situation there because you’ve got Steve Stoute, one of the most iconic and great minds of this industry, mentoring me, and on the back end I was kind of introducing him to the social media and digital content generation.

What kind of skills or mindset did you need to finally step out and start your own publication?

Self-confidence is key.

I was about three or four years into my career, and still working my way up. However, I was already starting to feel burnt out. I remember someone saying to me, “Man if you had the perfect situation, what would it be?” My response was: “I feel like I could run my own publication better than a lot of these people.”

Outside of your media career, you helped to create the HennyPalooza event series. How did the idea come about?

If it wasn’t for my connections in media, I’m not sure HennyPalooza would have lasted or blown up as much as it has.

HennyPalooza started three years ago as a house party amongst friends for a couple of years. As it got bigger and more people began to come so did our celebrity friends; our first celebrity guest was actor/ singer Mack Wilds, but I think our first big artist was the rapper, Pusha T.

I happened to be kicking it with my good friend, rapper Wale during Howard [University] Homecoming in Washington, D.C. and he mentioned that we should check out Pusha T’s concert. Once Pusha seen [sic] me, he remembered that I had interviewed him a few times and was like “Yo, whatchu doin’ out here?” I told him about Hennypalooza, and he responded “That’s tomorrow? It’s here?” Meanwhile, I’m psyched that he even knew about it and then actually showed up!

Now that you’re at Bleacher Report, and you have your own podcast what is your ultimate career goal?

One of my long-term goals is to be a media mogul.

I want to continue to be an industry playmaker creating controversial, boundary-pushing media. Because I’m not really motivated by money anymore. Pushing a genre or doing something nobody’s done before motivates me. After a while, all that stuff [like money] is going to come, but if you’re not reinventing the wheel every time or reinventing yourself, then you’re not really living up to your full potential.

I’m still young, I still have all this energy, and I feel like I have so much to give this industry. Between my work ethic, my connections and knack for bringing people together I figure, why not keep going?

Looking back on your career thus far is it fair to say relationship building helped you progress in your career? How important is relationship building?

Yes, for sure it did! I learned early on that relationship building was wildly valuable.

No one wants to work with somebody that is difficult, or they don’t get along with, but everyone would build someone who’s personable and genuine. Not saying that you need to kiss everyone’s butt or anything like that, but networking is extremely valuable in this industry and usually separates you from potential competition.

What advice can you give to an aspiring media professional in regards to interning and then demanding more from a company?

The best advice I received when I was younger was “work for free or work for the full price, never work for cheap.”

I built my name up to the point where people had to start paying me for my services.
I did my best to prove my worth because a lot of the time, a magazine like The Source did not have to pay you because they have a million other writers. Starting out I had no track record, and nothing to lay my hands on. As long as I was getting my byline in the magazine and people were seeing my work, that was good enough for me. It wasn’t until the point where I knew my worth—and I knew I could be something of value—that’s when I finally started making demands.

All of the success I attained in my career was from hard work, networking and just being outgoing. So above all else, just be yourself.

Topics:

Advice From the Pros, Be Inspired

Productivity

How to Become a Six-Figure Freelancer: Tips from Writers Who Did It

Three steps to achieving freelance financial security

By Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

Andrea Williams is an author, journalist, and columnist for The Tennessean with over 16 years of experience in journalism and 20 years in copywriting and communications strategy. Her work spans national outlets and high-traffic digital brands.

5 min read • Originally published October 15, 2015 / Updated March 19, 2026

By Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

5 min read • Originally published October 15, 2015 / Updated March 19, 2026

While many freelancers begin their careers with high hopes of financial success, most find it difficult managing the constant cycle of pitching, writing, invoicing and chasing past-due checks.

Yes, it’s hard out there on those self-employed streets—but there is hope.

We talked to three freelancers who have banked six figures at least one year of their freelance careers. Follow these sure-fire steps and you’ll be ascending from dollar-menu dining to true financial security in no time.

Plan in Advance

It sure would be nice if writers could just jot down their yearly income goals and then wait for the assignments—and checks—to magically show up. But you’ve heard it before: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

The key to an effective income earning strategy, says Kelly James-Enger, a 17-year veteran freelancer, is to focus efforts on what you can control and to stop stressing about what you can’t.

“You can’t control how many assignments you get, but you can control how many pitches you’ll send out each week,” she says. “Even if you haven’t seen those [pitches] turn into [an assignment], you know that you’ve met [your] goals. And there’s plenty of research that shows that meeting goals makes you more confident and spurs you on to meet more goals.”

“When you’re beginning and you don’t have any assignments on your plate, all the time you have should be spent on pitching,” says Linda Formichelli, co-founder of the Renegade Writer blog and author of the eBook Write Your Way Out of the Rat Race and Into a Career You Love.

“So if you don’t have a job and you have 40 hours a week that you want to write, those 40 hours are spent pitching and networking.”

“If you want to make $60,000 in the coming year, that means if you work five days a week and you take two weeks off for vacation, you [need to] make $250 a day,” she explains. “So if I take an assignment that makes $1,000, it should take me about four days of work. If I take on a book proposal that pays $3,000, then I know that should be about 12 days of work or I’m going to lose money.”

In addition to meeting regular marketing goals, Enger also suggests keeping track of what she calls a “daily nut” —the minimum dollar amount that must be earned on a daily basis to stay on track toward income goals. It’s sound advice for writers who may already have regular assignments, but wonder if they should drop them to chase higher-paying gigs.

Still shooting for $100,000-plus? Your daily nut is about $400.

Seek New Markets

When you first took the freelance plunge, you probably knew immediately which of the glossy magazines you wanted to write for—perhaps Glamour or GQ. Then, reality set in. Most of your time was spent crafting super-detailed pitches that may or may not have generated an assignment, and the measly checks in your mailbox left you dreaming of a well-paid 9 to 5.

So now that you know how much you need to earn each day, it’s time to find as many new buyers as possible for your work.

“Writers think that if they want to make a lot of money they have to pitch the biggest magazines because they pay the most,” says Formichelli. But, she warns, those are so difficult to break into that “not many people make a living writing only for the consumer magazines.”

As a veteran freelancer, she has shifted her writing focus to include trade (business-to-business) and custom publications (like the ones you get from your credit card or insurance company). It’s a strategy she suggests for other writers who want to earn more cash, too.

“A trade magazine might pay 50 cents a word, or a custom-published magazine might pay $1 a word, but they’re a lot easier to break into,” Formichelli explains. And, she adds, the added advantage for writing for diverse markets is that editors tend to re-assign more frequently to freelancers that they like, which often eliminates the perpetual time suck that is pitching.

Formichelli says that the best way to break into trades and customs is to send a letter of introduction with a few paragraph-long story ideas. To find a list of publications to write for, visit the Custom Content Council or Free Trade Magazines.

Turn Up the Volume

Time is certainly one of a freelancer’s most important resources. Once the assignments start rolling in, doing the most with the 24 hours in each day can make all the difference between ramen noodles and lobster.

A large part of the reason why Miranda Marquit, a freelance blogger and author of Confessions of a Professional Blogger: How I Make Money as an Online Writer, cleared six figures in 2013 is because she writes a lot. As in, 30 to 40 blog posts per week. And with fees that range from $50 to more than $500 per post, it’s easy to see how the dollars add up fast.

So how can you become a speed-writing, money-making freelancer?

“I’ve been writing about finances for about six years, so I have that kind of general knowledge base to draw on,” says Marquit. “If you specialize in a particular area and make that your area of expertise, then you can start picking up speed.”

Focusing on health, fitness and nutrition also means that Enger is on top of the latest happenings in her industry, which makes for timely, relevant pitches. And after years of conducting hundreds of interviews, she has countless numbers of experts on speed dial. Enger also agrees that honing in on a writing niche is a good way to churn out assignments quickly and make more money, as she details in her book Ready, Aim, Specialize!: Create Your Own Writing Specialty and Make More Money!

“Number one, you’re not writing from scratch each time,” Enger says. “Because I’ve written workout stories before and I’m an ACE certified trainer, I don’t have to look up how to safely perform a squat or what muscle groups this works.” A niche can also be developed in the types of stories you write, not just the topics you cover, added Enger.

“I know a writer who specializes in doing content for employee newsletters and in-house publications,” she says. “So that’s not really a specialty in terms of subject area, but it is a specialty in terms of the kind of work that she does and the kinds of clients she writes for.” In either case, specializing creates a level of skill and expertise that makes writing more—and earning more—automatic.

The Takeaway

Though it may require a paradigm shift, earning significant cash is totally doable as a freelancer.

Being clear about your goals, seeking new markets and then hustling hard to get those assignments turned around quickly is really all it takes. As Enger, Formichelli and Marquit have proven, “six-figure” and “freelancer” don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

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Go Freelance

Healthcare on a Freelancer’s Budget: 5 Ways to Cut Costs

Tips for handling your healthcare on a fluctuating income

Ayana Young is a communications and PR strategist with 15+ years of experience spanning media relations, lifestyle brands, professional sports, and publishing.

5 min read • Originally published October 25, 2017 / Updated March 19, 2026

Ayana Young is a communications and PR strategist with 15+ years of experience spanning media relations, lifestyle brands, professional sports, and publishing.

5 min read • Originally published October 25, 2017 / Updated March 19, 2026

Whether you freelance full- or part-time, it’s not uncommon for your finances to fluctuate occasionally. You may go through seasons that are financially lucrative. At other times, the amount of money in your bank account might be downright scary. No matter where you’re at in your career, having adequate access to healthcare is usually at the top of the priority list for most people. But, if you’re forced to choose between paying for rent, food, or your health, healthcare often gets put on the back burner.

If you have a chronic health condition or you just need to get something checked out by a doctor, adding an extra bill can put some serious stress on already strained resources. These five tips will help you manage your healthcare on a freelancer’s budget, so your health doesn’t have to suffer during the slow times in your career.

Don’t miss the open enrollment for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act

This year, the open enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, is shorter, and it begins on November 1st and goes until December 15th in the states that use the HealthCare.gov website. Nine states that run their insurance exchanges through a state-run website have extended their open enrollment to a variety of dates. Those states include Colorado, Minnesota, D.C., Rhode Island, Washington, California, Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut. Check with these states for specific details.

If you miss open enrollment, you’ll only be able to obtain insurance through the Affordable Care Act if you qualify for a special circumstance. These are qualifying events like a job loss, marriage, divorce or becoming a U.S. citizen.

Not sure if you’re eligible for a plan through the Affordable Care Act? For 2018, you must be a U.S. resident, a U.S. citizen or national (or here lawfully), not incarcerated, not enrolled in Medicare, and not have job-based insurance through an employer.

If your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is no higher than 400% of the federal poverty level (FPL), you’ll qualify for a subsidy to help you pay your monthly insurance premiums, or you may be eligible for Medicaid. Like previous years, if you choose not to enroll in an insurance plan, you’ll be subject to a penalty for every month you remain uninsured, which will be due at the time you file your taxes the following year.

If you’ve never looked into insurance coverage through the ACA, now is the time to do so. For many freelancers, having an insurance plan through the Affordable Care Act can be a saving grace in case of an emergency or illness.

If possible, use an urgent care clinic instead of an ER

Many urgent care clinics accept a wide array of insurance plans, and your copays are typically far less than emergency room visits. Urgent care clinics are equipped to handle a variety of non-life-threatening issues like skin rashes, bronchitis, urinary tract infections, colds and flu. Some clinics have the diagnostic capabilities to treat fractures, strains, sprains, lacerations and other injuries. If you need medications, some facilities stock a supply of regularly prescribed drugs at a reduced cost to patients. Additionally, many clinics will offer discounts to people who pay for the appointment out-of-pocket.

Before you go to the clinic, check the urgent care’s website as well—some clinics maintain an online listing of prices so you can plan for the cost.

Shop around for your prescriptions

Did you know not all pharmacies charge the same price for prescriptions? The cost of medications can vary from one location to another, even within the same city. There are two discount programs which can compare drug costs and help make them more affordable.

The first program is GoodRx. This program examines medication costs and offers discounts on prescriptions from popular pharmacies all across the country. Whether you’re insured or uninsured, you can take advantage of this service, and there are no financial guidelines to qualify for it. For example, a specialized thyroid medication not covered by insurance would cost $40 per month. The GoodRx coupon reduces the expense to about $18.

The second program is Prescription Hope. While the cost of brand-name drugs can be through the roof, this company helps patients gain access to over 1,500 brand-name medications for $50 per month per medication, regardless of the retail cost you might pay at the pharmacy. But you must meet income guidelines to use this service, and it differs depending on the size of your family.

Ask your doctor if they are a member of any discount lab services

Many doctors understand that the skyrocketing costs of healthcare and lab work make quality care out of reach for some people. To offset your costs, ask your doctor if they have a membership with programs that provide lab services to patients at discounted rates.

One such service is the Professional Co-op, which administers routine and commercial lab tests at steeply cut rates for uninsured or underinsured patients. To use this service, your doctor must be a member of the cooperative, and you must have your lab tests completed at a LabCorp in your area. Right now, there’s no database available to indicate which physicians are a member of this program, so you’ll need to ask them.

If your medical bills are mounting, ask for a payment plan

Some providers will reduce the cost when a patient pays their bill in cash. Others may allow you to pay a portion of the bill each month or use a service such as Care Credit—a credit card service which lets you spread your payments over a designated amount of time (like six months or one year) without accruing interest. After the specified amount of time, the interest on these types of credit services is generally higher. Finally, if you’re financially strapped, some medical facilities may offer income-based repayment plans or a sliding fee scale, which allows you to pay what you can afford each month.

Managing your healthcare needs on the sometimes unpredictable income of a freelancer can be stressful. Utilize these resources and research your options, so you have a game plan in case you require medical attention or emotional support. Knowing what’s available to you can help put your mind at ease as you tackle the financial highs and lows that come your way.

Topics:

Business Basics, Go Freelance

Journalism Advice

5 Ways Fiction Writing Prepared Me for Nonfiction Freelancing

From rejection letters to deadlines, fiction writers already have the skills they need to thrive as nonfiction freelancers.

@AmandaLaymanLow

6 min read • Originally published March 21, 2014 / Updated March 19, 2026

@AmandaLaymanLow

6 min read • Originally published March 21, 2014 / Updated March 19, 2026

When I was a devoted writer of fiction only, I understood the minuscule odds of my “making it” as a published author, but I believed I was different. I believed that my work ethic, my focused creativity, and the sheer longevity of my commitment to writing (I wrote my first terrible novel at 12, my second terrible novel at 19) set me apart from the dabblers. I believed I deserved success because I wanted it. But all the wanting in the world couldn’t change the industry fact that writing fiction for a career is rarely sustainable. At best, it’s a supplement or hobby; at worst, poverty.

Making the freelance leap, reading books about writing for money, and meeting with other professionals pointed me toward one truth: When you’re getting started as a full-time freelance writer, nonfiction is what pays. I fought against this intensively. I earned $50 in a short-fiction contest and several unpaid publication credits in a couple of literary magazines before I bit the bullet and tried my reluctant hand at nonfiction.

To my surprise, the transition was nearly seamless. Nonfiction wasn’t dry and boring. It also wasn’t as intimidating as I imagined: I didn’t have to become a bloodsucking Rita Skeeter to “get the story.” Plus, I got to learn about an array of topics. I wrote articles on running a home daycare, caring for sugar gliders, and the difference between traditional and Roth IRAs. My work became even more exciting (and personal) when I started writing and selling essays on the madness of new motherhood. Now my career is both diverse and satisfying: I write on women’s health, body-image issues, parenting, and the media. I do technical writing for IT companies. It’s amazing to think I wouldn’t be doing this array of interesting work if I’d remained in my fiction bubble.

That’s not to say my years of toiling over characters and plotlines weren’t worthwhile. As quickly as I realized nonfiction was the key to earning income as a freelancer, I also realized my fiction had actually done quite a bit to prepare me. Here are my top five reasons fiction made me a better freelancer.

1. It gave me thick skin.

Although I’m still a blubbering mess if someone in real life implies they don’t like me, I’m cool as a robot when reading rejection letters or emails. I wasn’t always this way. In my teens and early 20s, I’d waste a day or two brooding when an agent or editor said my work wasn’t right for them.

After years of querying and nail-biting and stalking the mailman (or later, the Gmailman), now I see rejections as nothing more than business decisions. That’s what it is, after all. If a publication can’t make money off my idea, it’s not my personal fault as a human being, and I’m not destined to die alone in a sea of unpublished manuscripts and tears.

2. I was able to hone my craft.

I noticed, even in my early days of freelance writing for content farms, that fiction had bestowed on me a sense of proper wording, pace and flow. Even the driest of my technical writing requires elegance and clarity, both of which come from the delicate wordsmithing required of fiction. Another element of craft I learned from writing fiction, what I call “first-draft fearlessness,” is essential, regardless of the type of writing you do. You’ll hear it again and again: Great writers are great editors.

I don’t wake up, pour out 1,500 tidily arranged words onto my computer screen, email it to my editor and start my next assignment. Instead, I write a sentence, rewrite it ten times, stare out the window, tweak another word, get up to refill my coffee, practice my one-liners for when I get invited on The Colbert Report, and write some more. Then I reread everything, rewrite again and email my editor with an attached draft that never quite feels complete. The craftsmanship of writing, the act of sitting down and doing it, is more or less the same for all types of writing.

3. Generating ideas came naturally.

When I wrote only fiction, I kept a little notebook nearby at all times in case an idea would strike. It’s no different with nonfiction. Having trained myself before to hone my curiosity and keep my eyes and ears open for ideas, it comes naturally now. I’m likely to come up with an article idea, a turn of phrase or an untapped market while I’m driving, playing blocks with my 2-year-old or taking my lunch break.

If you can invent a villain or dream up a plotline or a setting, you can develop a pitch for a nonfiction article. In fact, at times, I actually feel like nonfiction requires a higher level of inventiveness than fiction. I remember running into logistical issues with my novels or stories and simply “writing in” a new character or object to solve it. With nonfiction, however, you have your information, your facts and experiences, and it’s up to you to sculpt what you have in a compelling way.

4. I had deadlines down pat.

If you’re a fiction writer and you don’t set goals, you’ll never finish anything. It’s no coincidence that half of the books out there on the craft of fiction weigh in heavily on the subject of time management. No one’s ever going to be breathing down your neck, pushing you to finish that chapbook of magical realism vignettes or the paranormal horror novel haunting your dreams.

Most fiction writers will confirm that life, family and friends always seem to get in the way of writing fiction. So, if despite these odds you’ve completed a work of fiction, no matter how unrefined it is, you have the discipline you need to meet editorial deadlines.

5. It taught me persistence.

When writing fiction, do you know how many agents and publications I queried, how many false starts I endured and how many hopeful correspondences never came to fruition? Ugh, me neither, and I don’t care to know. Getting my fiction noticed and published felt like a crapshoot, and the only way to improve my odds was to keep sending stuff out there. That action of constantly reaching, keeping multiple stories circulating in the querysphere, and never wallowing for too long was an amazing gift to my nonfiction career. Persistence as a freelancer is pitching a new idea to the editor who rejected your first idea. It’s complying with an extensive rewrite. It’s chasing down the perfect expert for an interview, no matter how elusive they are or difficult their PR agent is.

It’s essential to survival.

It’s for these five reasons that if you’re a struggling fiction writer who wants to make a living I can’t recommend nonfiction highly enough. I was an extremely unlikely candidate for nonfiction freelance writing: I was never a staffer on my high school or college newspaper. I didn’t have a technical writing or communications degree. I never took a journalism class or a creative nonfiction class, and interviewing people gives me anxiety. All I was really good at was storytelling.

As it turned out, that was plenty.

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