What would you say are the best and most challenging things about being a freelance writer? 
 
The best part is the flexibility to craft what “work” looks like for you. Getting to schedule in a mix of journalism and copywriting and project coordination means I don’t get stuck too much doing one thing and I don’t have to work 9-5 five days a week. 
 
The most challenging thing has been managing workload and payments. Commissions/projects tend to change in frequency and invoices can be late, so sometimes I have to scrape to make ends meet when work is slow. It’s really a balancing act of finding work that feels meaningful to you, work that expands your skill-set, work that benefits the world, and work that pays well – it can be frustrating and demoralising when this feels out of balance, but I’m learning to accept that things will fluctuate at times, and that’s okay. 
 
What’s on your career bucket list for the future? 
 
I would love to interview more musicians who I care about – people like Phoebe Bridgers, Taylor Swift, Clairo who are really changing the narrative for women / queer artists in the music industry and countering the minimisation of being “sad girl” artists. I’m really passionate about that space and think their work is really really cool.
 
Also helping to form a solid IRL music community in London… coming soon! 
 
What would your advice be to aspiring journalists starting out in the industry?
 
There’s so much practical advice I’ve learned the hard way already. If you’re freelance, keep a separate savings account for taxes and move 20 percent over as soon as your invoices come through – don’t touch that money if you can. Learn how to write a good pitch (lots of magazines have examples or guides on their websites) and make sure there aren’t spelling/grammar errors, sign up to freelance newsletters (BRICKS Learner’s Platform and Sian Meades-Williams have great ones), go to events and make friends with people, don’t be afraid to reach out to editors for coffee via email – the worst thing they can do is say no. When you reach out, make things as simple and easy as possible for them. They’re probably super busy or overwhelmed with emails. Attach your CV and quickly list who you are and what you do / why you’re reaching out. 
 
If you’re struggling to get your pitches read by bigger places, reach out to smaller publications that will mentor you and you can improve your skills and help progress as a writer. I started out writing at BRICKS which I still love helping out at / writing for, and I’m so grateful to have learned so much there – it gave me a lot of confidence for working there and elsewhere.
 
Also, read LOADS of writing and practise! Be intentional with what you read and how you read it – get a feel for the types of magazines you’d like to work at (what type of articles do they put out? what voice, subjects, style?). Learn to write fast, have clean copy, have good grammar, find good angles. Follow the writers you like on Twitter and Instagram and look out for job call-outs, share your work on social media and post when you’re looking for work – you never know who will see it.
 
Be attentive to who's interesting and what’s happening and what people are saying in the spaces around you / spaces you're passionate about – then think about narrative and the “why this matters”.