Travel writing links roundup

May 29, 2013 Editor Advice advicetravel writing

If you’re planning to write about your summer travels this year, take a break from prowling for flight sales and hotel deals and check out a few of these travel writing posts we've run across recently:

• From the travel site Matador, here’s a post with 22 tips on how to become a travel writer… it's a great list, and most of it is relevant to writers of all kinds.

• Here's a fascinating interview with prominent travel writer Paul Theroux about his latest -- and possibly last -- trip to Africa.

• Should travel writers accept freebies? This post from the BBC takes a look at some of the ethical issues surrounding the travel writing industry and outlines the policies of a few of the major travel publishers.

• Edmonton writer Omar Mouallem debunked a few popular misconceptions about the travel writing genre in this post last week. The best tip: you don't actually have to leave home to start pitching travel stories.

• B.C. food and travel writer -- and writing instructor -- Don Genova sent us this link to an article with twenty ways to make your travel writing sing. Hints: find a fresh angle, develop an interesting narrative and find a specialty. And don't just gloss over the unpleasant details -- realism is what sets proper travel writing apart from PR.

Start-ups focus on getting freelance writers paid

May 23, 2013 Editor Advice adviceassignmintgetting paid

Last week we told you about Contently, a company that matches freelancers with brands and publishers who need writers. One of their tools allows writers to collect their fee instantly, as soon as their work has been approved. We had a comment from a Story Board reader confirming that the system works. Instant payment. No waiting by the mailbox, no…

How I Freelance with a Day Job

May 15, 2013 Editor Advice advicefreelance lifepart-time freelancing

by Daniela DiStefanoFor more than three years I’ve been a happy part-time freelancer. What started as a way to exercise my passion for writing and build my portfolio in University developed into a steady and profitable part-time business that’s now a highly rewarding part of my career.I didn’t become a freelancer overnight. I started as an…

Writers who do data journalism increasingly in demand

May 10, 2013 Editor Advice advicedata journalism

By H.G. WatsonAny freelance journalist has tools they rely on, whether it is a specific brand of pens or an addiction to Google News. But at the Ink + Beyond and Canadian Association of Journalists conference in Ottawa on May 2-4, Fred Vallance-Jones and David McKie encouraged writers to add a few new tools to their kit: those that help them…

Contently and the Rise of Content Marketing

May 02, 2013 Editor Advice advicecontent farmscontent marketingcontentlyfreelance opportunityfreelance portfoliosgetting paid

Prospects seem rather gloomy for freelance writers these days. With dying weeklies, draconian magazine contracts, and endless cutbacks at daily papers and the CBC, it’s sometimes hard to see how freelancing can possibly remain a viable career path. But amid all the journalistic despair there is one area of growth for freelance writers. It’s…

The Born Freelancer on the Care and Ethical Treatment of Interviewees, Part 2

April 26, 2013 Editor Advice adviceborn freelancerinterviewinginterviews

This series of posts by the Born Freelancer shares personal experiences and thoughts on issues relevant to freelancers. Have something to add to the conversation? Your input is welcome in the comments. In my last post, I wrote about caring for and ethically treating one of our most important freelance career assets, interviewees. In this…

The Freelancer’s Bible

April 16, 2013 Editor Advice advicebooksfreelance lifefreelancer's bible

Freelancing has its challenges, but there's more and more support out there these days for those of us who've chosen to hop on the freelance roller coaster. One of the latest freelancer resources comes from Sara Horowitz, founder of the U.S.-based Freelancers Union. Her new book The Freelancer's Bible has something for every freelancer, offering…

I Am Not Anonymous

April 10, 2013 Editor Advice amber nasrullafreelance contractstc mediatranscontinental mediatrouble spots

By Amber NasrullaI’d like to sit down with the person or people at TC Media who penned the new freelance contract. As Story Board reported last week, they’ve refused to negotiate improvements or meet with anyone from the Canadian Media Guild (CMG) saying they prefer to meet with freelancers individually. If I met them I’d ask: Do you value…

The Born Freelancer on the Care & Ethical Treatment of Interviewees

April 05, 2013 Editor Advice adviceborn freelancerinterviewinginterviews

They are among the most invaluable assets a professional freelancer can cultivate and yet their care and well-being is too often taken for granted and ignored. I'm talking about your list of "contacts" or sources or interview subjects. They are the life blood of any freelancer's career. I'd like to share some thoughts with you on dealing with them…

Freelancer tax tips

March 20, 2013 Editor Advice adviceexpensesfinances

As soon as Christmas is over I start to feel it... the creeping dread of the approaching tax return deadline. I usually ignore it until around mid-March, when I dig out my file full of receipts and spread them all over the kitchen table where they make my life miserable for several consecutive evenings.If you're starting to feel that creeping tax…