New piece, of which I am insanely proud

In the eighteen months or so since I first went full time freelance (if you don't count the temp exam and library work...) I have, gradually, built up a network work of trusted freelance voices who can be relied upon to give useful, positive advice while also warning against, and sympathising about, the shit bits of freelance life.

In the main, this has been done through conversations with people on Twitter and through subscribing to a range of newsletters for journalists and freelancers. My three favourite newsletters are Anna Codrea-Rado's The Professional Freelancer, Sian Meade-Williams' Freelance Writing Jobs and the Journo Resources newsletter, helmed by Jem Collins.

In addition to klaxoning jobs for journalists, Jem has also been looking to extend the team working on the site. With this in mind, I applied late last year for an editorial assistant job on the platform that was part time and remote working with the added bonus of London Living Wage. I didn't get it but Jem sent back a really lovely, long email in which she explained why I hadn't got it and that she would like to work with me at some point in the future.

At first I thought she was just being nice, but when another opportunity to work on the site came up, I applied again. Although I didn't get it, Jem reiterated her desire to work with me and asked if I had any ideas for articles for the advice section of the site.

Journalism Twitter had been awash with an ongoing debate about personal essays in the wake of the Caroline Calloway/Natalie Beech piece for The Cut and, while I don't write personal essays myself, I was very interested in the ethical debate that the piece seemed to have ignited. I pitched an idea around this to Jem and, to my joy and surprise, she loved the idea and gave me the nod to proceed.

I loved researching the piece as it gave me the chance to approach a range of writers and editors, many of whose work I'd been following for some time. People were very generous with their time, and I really enjoyed emailing and talking to them about the complex issues around the personal essay as a format, and how to write and commission these pieces of work responsibly.

The completed piece was published last week on Journo Resources, and I am insanely proud of how it's turned out. Jem is a terrific, friendly, attentive editor to write for and I look forward to working with her again.

Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash