Always be learning: Freelance Pod with Suchandrika Chakrabarti
I’d been writing a weekly newsletter for years before starting the Writing Coach Podcast, and I thought the shift in medium would allow me to do a better job of what I’d been trying to communicate in email. It’s been very successful in some ways. Podcasts allow for a lot more words than an email, […]
The Writing Coach Podcast 31: How do you feel about breaking into your dream publications?
Your dream publication might be high profile, high circulation, or high paying. It might reach a specialized, niche audience, or be pushing the boundaries of innovative types of multimedia storytelling. Maybe your dream publication employees your dream editor, who is smart and funny and prompt. Or maybe your dream publication comes back to you time […]
The Writing Coach Podcast: FB Live on Structure
This bonus episode is a replay of a Facebook Live talk, talking about structure and format. Click to listen to episode 28 of the Writing Coach Podcast: WCP Bonus FB Live on Structure Replay of a Facebook Live talk, talking about structure and format. Mentioned on this week’s show: WCP28 Listener Q&A Click here for […]
The Writing Coach Podcast 28: Listener Q&A
This week I’m experimenting with a new podcast format. You’ve sent me some great questions, and I’ve selected a few to answer that I think will resonate with the rest of you. On today’s Listener Q&A, we discuss: • The importance of following up • Managing your mindset when you’re devastated by client responses • […]
The Writing Coach Podcast 26: Decolonizing science writing with Sibusiso Biyela
Meet Sibusiso Biyela, a South African science communicator and journalist interested in decolonize science communication using indigenous languages. Don’t worry, I don’t speak science, so we’re talking mostly about language, storytelling, politics. Sibs normally writes in English. He recently completed a story about a newly discovered dinosaur species in his mother tongue, Zulu, which doesn’t […]
The Writing Coach Podcast 15: How Nelson Mandela taught me to write faster
Today’s episode addresses two questions I get asked all the time, but never together: How can I write faster? What brought you to South Africa? These are somewhat surprisingly interconnected for me, and today i’m going to share with you one of the lessons Mandela taught me–how to write faster. Listen to episode 15 of […]
The Writing Coach Podcast 14: Reporting behind bars with Shaheen Pasha
Listen to episode 14 of the Writing Coach Podcast: WCP14 Reporting behind bars with Shaheen Pasha Shaheen Pasha is an educator and journalist. Today we’re talking about her work training both university students and inmates as journalists at the University of Massachusetts. This isn’t jail porn. Subscribe to The Writing Coach Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Android, or RSS. Shaheen Pasha is […]
The Times, they are a changin’
If you’re old enough to know the song I’m referencing there, you need to check that your idea of what the newspaper or website you want to write for actually publishes isn’t from the same era. Reading a publication regularly doesn’t mean you’re ready to pitch it. For starters, you probably read like a reader: for […]
The Writing Coach Podcast 9: Longform articles and short documentaries with Christopher Clark
09: Longform articles and short documentaries with Christopher Clark Christopher Clark is a freelance journalist and filmmaker. He recently co-directed two documentaries about people living on the fringes of South African society for Al Jazeera and the BBC. Subscribe to The Writing Coach Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Android, or RSS. Christopher Clark is a freelance journalist and filmmaker. He’s reported from […]
The Writing Coach Podcast 8: Backstory of a New York Times travel feature with Sarah Khan
08: Backstory of a New York Times travel feature with Sarah Khan Sarah Khan is a freelance travel writer for the Wall Street Journal, Condé Nast Traveler, and Travel + Leisure. Today Sarah shares the backstory of her award-winning feature for the New York Times, “A Muslim American’s Homecoming: Cowboys, Country Music, Chapatis.” Subscribe to The […]
The Writing Coach Podcast 3/Travel writing: Pitching stories before or after the trip?
03: Travel writing: Pitching stories before or after the trip This episode addresses two of the most requested topics my readers told me they wanted to hear about: travel writing and pitching. Should you pitch your travel story ideas before or after you have a notebook full of notes? In theory, you can do it […]
Introducing The Writing Coach Podcast
Rebecca L. Weber’s Writing Coach Podcast features the sustainable strategies, mindset management, and creative skills development she uses to help independent writers around the world. Subscribe to The Writing Coach Podcast on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | | Audible | Android | RSS | or click on an episode below to listen. Listen to the Writing Coach Podcast Greatest Hits Playlist […]
Modern Journalist Toolkit 24: The confident writer
Do you feel writing is your true creative, personal, or professional calling, one that brings meaning and depth to your life, and that lets you bring real value to the lives of readers … or at least has the potential to? If the answer is yes (or you’d like it to be), yet you struggle […]
MJT23: Clichés, creativity, and Malika Favre
I highly recommend you click below and watch A Little Film About… Malika Favre. You’ve likely seen her illustrations before, and the short is beautiful to look at in and of itself. But I want you to pay attention to some of the things she says about her approach and her process, and how it can apply to […]
What freelance writers can learn from Cape Town’s Day Zero
As a freelance journalist based in Cape Town, South Africa, the full meaning and impact of Day Zero is revealing itself both incredibly fast (what about this? and that! and the other?!) as well as incredibly slowly (such as the city’s non-release of details about logistics, or queuing for water). What is Day Zero? In […]
Most popular posts of 2017
It’s that time of year when many people, including myself, look back at the year that’s been. Instead of tallying up all the items on my to-do lists that didn’t get done, I’m looking for things I did do. I invite you to try this as well. In 2017 I hit 20 posts in the […]
Modern Journalist Toolkit 17/Digital nomad: Freelancing on the road
When I saw this VW van in California a few weeks ago, I thought immediately about a recent article about #vanlife. Somebody who thought she could do her job remotely was surprised to find out that she couldn’t work on her computer during a bumpy ride, nor connect for calls in the middle of a […]
Modern Journalist Toolkit 14: Saving and organizing clips
[2019 update:] Click to listen to an adapted version of this post on the Writing Coach Podcast: The Writing Coach Podcast with Rebecca L. Weber: WCP41 Sorting and archiving freelance articles Whether your articles are published online or in print, you need to be able to make them readily available for potential clients to read […]
Modern Journalist Toolkit 12: What’s in my bag
When you’re out on a freelance writing assignment, you want to find a good balance between bringing everything you might need and packing light. I normally like to keep all my gear in a regular backpack. Some of you may disagree, and opt for something that is more stylish or that more plainly says, “Hey! […]
She blinded me with science
Despite my lack of technical training, I’ve interviewed a fair number of scientists. Right at the start of our conversation, I tell them that I don’t have a science background, and ask them to please explain things to me in layperson’s terms. Usually they get it that I’m not a colleague and keep things simple; […]
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