Writing Coach Podcast 186: Pitch anything
WCP186 Archives, Vol. XVI: Pitch anything Once you tap into the power of presenting a story idea (or just about any other writing related project) in a way that connects the dots for the recipient about how it will be relevant/helpful to them, you can bring that frame of mind with you to pitch almost […]
WCP185 Freelance writing goals, Vol. VII
WCP185 Freelance writing goals, Vol. VII Six months into the year, let’s reflect on, and possibly revise, your annual goals. What you’re telling yourself about hitting-or not hitting-milestones impacts your ability to reach your goals. What are you working on believing about yourself? 🔗 Mentioned in this episode: WCP 160 Freelance writing goals: 5W1H goal […]
Writing Coach Podcast 184: Human rights reporting with Sara Cincurova
WCP184 Human rights reporting with Sara Cincurova Sara Cincurova is a freelance human rights journalist from Slovakia, focusing on migration, conflict, human rights, humanitarian issues, and women’s rights. She has written for The Guardian, BBC News, The New York Magazine, Al Jazeera English, Der Spiegel, Foreign Policy, The HuffPost, The New Humanitarian, Women’s Media Center […]
Writing Coach Podcast 183: Going backwards
WCP183 Going backwards When a freelancer says that they feel like they’re going backwards, often they’re hyperfocusing on a small piece of data instead of larger trends (e.g. a couple of weeks/pitches vs. quarters/years); or they’ve changed an important variable (e.g. pitching more competitive publications for the first time vs. Subscribe to The Writing Coach Podcast on Apple […]
Writing Coach Podcast 182 Archives, Vol. IV: Annoying pitches
https://writingcoachpodcast.libsyn.com/wcp182-archives-vol-iv-annoying-pitches Subscribe to The Writing Coach Podcast on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Audible | Android | RSS MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE Are your emails annoying your editor? Are you sending too many followups? Too many story ideas? Are all your messages getting on their nerves? If your pitches are half baked, poorly written, and an overall bad fit for the publication, it […]
Writing Coach Podcast 181: Curiouser & Curiouser
WCP181 Curiouser and curiouser Curiosity is a useful state of mind for freelance writers. Curiosity helps us identify great story ideas with unrecognized angles. Curiosity fuels our interest in improving our craft. Curiosity makes understanding the pitching process and other business of freelancing type processes fascinating. It opens up our imaginations to possibilities that we […]
Writing Coach Podcast 180 Learning mindset
WCP180 Learning mindset My first career in traditional education informed my work as a freelance journalist, and my work as a writer informs the coaching and teaching I do now online. This week I share a few of the mindset perspectives that have served me well through career shifts, and how building on prior career […]
Writing Coach Podcast 179 Pregnancy and parental leave
WCP179 Pregnancy and parental leave Today I’m sharing what it was like getting pregnant and having a baby during the pandemic. One of the things I got clear about early on was deciding what I thought I wanted my time off to look like (including how long, how “off” I wanted to be, and what […]
Writing Coach Podcast 178 Archives, Vol. XIV: Sources who want to review your draft
WCP178 Archives, Vol. XIV: Sources who want to review your draft Have you interviewed somebody who wanted to review your copy before publication? This is a surprisingly high-tension issue for many journalists, even thought it seems like it could be nipped in the bud with a simple, “Sorry, that’s against the publication’s policy.” Subscribe to The […]
Writing Coach Podcast 177: A new answer to “Why now?”
WCP177 A new answer to “Why now?” Usually when I’ve left a news hook out of a pitch, it was because I couldn’t come up with one easily, and hoped for the best. After all, there are evergreen stories out there. I’ve read and sold a few myself. Maybe you have too. Subscribe to The Writing […]
Writing Coach Podcast 176: Bombing vs brilliance
WCP176 Bombing vs brilliant Showing up to do your work regardless of your mood is distinct from ignoring your emotions and telling yourself things are ok when you don’t think they are. Today I share with you one of my client’s stories about how she was trying to push away the feelings that emerged when […]
Writing Coach Podcast 175: Writing in Community
WCP175 Writing in Community Writing together can be a powerful experience in terms of connection, camaraderie, and support in the creative process. This week we look at ways to make the most of writing with others IRL and virtually. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE The Writers’ Hour SHARE THE WRITING COACH PODCAST #WRITINGCOMMUNITY Subscribe and […]
Writing Coach Podcast 174 Archives, Vol. XIII: 100 reasons not to pitch today
WCP174 Archives, Vol. XIII: 100 reasons not to pitch today Running out of reasons to avoid pitching? I’ve got you covered with 100 reasons why you shouldn’t pitch today. Many of these can be adapted to be reasons why you should not write anything else today, like the article you were assigned last week, or […]
Writing Coach Podcast 173: One night stand mindset
WCP173 One night stand mindset Dating/relationship analogies come up a lot when we talk about our editors and publications. It’s common for freelancers to have a mix of short and long term relationships, which tend to reflect different mindsets, emotions, strategies, decisions, processes, and company policies. Subscribe to The Writing Coach Podcast on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Audible | Android | RSS […]
Writing Coach Podcast 172 Reason why chsbgdx (aka consistency)
WCP172 Reason why chsbgdx (aka consistency) In the middle of the night I emailed myself an idea I didn’t want to forget. I sat down with my freelance journal and phone in the morning to use the message as a prompt. Here’s what I typed: Reason why chsbgdx So helpful, right? Subscribe to The Writing Coach Podcast on Apple […]
Writing Coach Podcast 171 Seasons and cycles
WCP171 Seasons and cycles The equinox is the transition to autumn/spring, and it’s also the end of Q1. Seasonal and financial cycles impact us, as do many other cycles in our writing life. Some cycle frameworks aren’t that helpful, while others help us recognize that we’re not in the same energetic or growth phase at […]
Writing Coach Podcast 170 Archives, Vol. XII: Bridge thoughts
WCP170 Archives, Vol. XII: Bridge thoughts “How do I get myself to do this thing I know I should do?” The short answer is to change the thinking that’s blocking you from taking action. When you think differently, you’ll feel and act differently too. I don’t mean go through the motions and pretend to believe […]
Writing Coach Podcast 169: Do you need an X?
WCP169 Do you need an X? Do you need a blog? A subscription newsletter? A podcast? A TikTok account? A fill-in-the-blank thing that somebody (maybe you) is telling you is necessary to create and then continually update? Let’s examine your reasons why you may want to invest your time, energy, and money into creating content […]
Writing Coach Podcast 168: Wordle wisdom
WCP168 Wordle wisdom This is NOT an episode about how to improve your Wordle scores. Instead, let’s look at what Wordle can teach us about freelance writing success. Download my free guide on how to pitch. WCP 167 Organic tomatoes vs. Twinkies WCP 1: What’s your problem? Subscribe to The Writing Coach Podcast on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Audible […]
Writing Coach Podcast 167 Organic tomatoes vs. Twinkies
WCP167 Organic tomatoes vs. Twinkies When you’ve developed an evergreen story idea, it may be accurate to say that there’s no reason why the story needs to be told now. But that’s only true when we look at your existing pitch. Your angle, your slant, your point of view doesn’t include a perspective that makes […]
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