Hi again, writer friends,
A few months ago, I had a call with an editor about working together. He walked me through the various verticals and told me he usually prefers freelancers to stick to one or two because then he can send them assignments. I told him I wanted technology and education, but really, I was open to anything that wasn’t luxury or lifestyle.
This surprised—and delighted—him. Nine out of ten freelancers he spoke to, he said, asked for luxury and lifestyle. So he has tons of writers for those beats, but not enough for many of the others. Which means there are a lot more assignments on “less desirable” beats to go around. And fewer pitches to compete with.
This wasn’t strategic (I truly have no interest in writing about luxury and lifestyle), but I’ve learned that offering to write about obscure or complicated topics that no one else wants to research can be a fantastic way of finding incredible stories and getting more assignments. For one agency, I was the writer who specialized in “agriculture in the developing world.” When those assignments came, they were mine and because I was the only one on their roster who wanted to do them, the agency was happy to pay almost double my rate.
As a freelancer, one of the best things you can do is ask your editors which areas or topics interest them but don’t get pitched enough. You can easily walk away with multiple assignments from that one conversation.
Two more deadlines and I’ll have finished all my assignments for September. Then I have a two-day date with my bed.
Cheers,
Natasha