Ebola as a geography teaching tool
On a nonstop flight from London Heathrow to Cape Town last week, I had to sign a compulsory new form stating that I didn’t have any ebola-like symptoms, and that I would notify … er, somebody, possibly the Department of Home Affairs, though they didn’t provide any sort of literature for me to take with, […]
How do you answer, “Who do you write for?”
Like most questions about freelace writing and journalism, the real answer here is, “It depends.” When sending a query to a new-to-me editor, typically my bio line lists a few credits tailored to the publication. If, say, it’s a enviro/science story, I’ll mention Discover and Ensia; architecture editors find out about Dwell; education editors are […]
Face in the Kenyan Crowd
These have been boom years for cartography geeks, and talking with Juliana Rotich–the Kenya-based, MIT-trained innovator behind crowdmapping sensation Ushahidi, as well as many other BAFA projects–was one of those interviews that makes it easy to love being a journalist. The creation of a healthier ecosystem in Nairobi’s Silicon Savannah where entrepreneurs can thrive depends […]
What I wish I had known about freelancing (and how it helped me get into this Sunday’s New York Times)
When Tiffany Markman asked what I wish I had known about freelance writing when I started out, I had to think about it. I had the tremendous advantage of first working as part of an editorial team at a publication that paid and treated its freelance writers well. One brand-name type journalist handed in sloppy […]
Download a free copy of “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.” I hate spam and will never share your info.