What if you loved to pitch?
What if you loved pitching, and/or knew you were really good at it? What would you do differently? If you’re avoiding pitching as frequently as ambitiously as you would if you were great at it, then you’re choosing to experience all the things you were hoping to avoid: silence from editors, not earning enough, and […]
The Writing Coach Podcast 18: The creative process with Emma Philipson
Emma Philipson is the author of the very funny new book about the creative process, “Don’t just give up – quit!” She teaches creativity to adults in her native Sweden and shares her own process as well as what she teaches today on the podcast. In this episode Emma talks about using your creative muscles, […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
Freelance Writer Breakthrough: A new mini course
Register for the Breakthrough mini course (free for a limited time). Want a behind-the-scenes look at the best strategies for reaching your freelance writing goals in 2018? Please join me for a new mini course, which includes some of my best tips to help you build and sustain the freelance writing career you want. We’ll […]
The quarterback, the quiet friend, and “effortless” assignments
(Psst … Registration for Freelance Writer Bootcamp is OPEN. Click here to join the last session in 2017.) Recently I got an email from a new-to-me editor who works at a publication I’d never heard of. If magazines were high school archetypes in a teen movie, and the New York Times was the football quarterback […]
Modern Journalist Toolkit 19: A new answer to “Why now?”
In South Africa, “now” means sometime in the near future. “Now now” means even sooner. And when an editor (anywhere in the world) asks why your story is important now, they mean when the piece will be published and read. That could be tomorrow, in three months, or a year. Anticipating this aspect of your story […]
Freelance Writer Retreat near Cape Town, South Africa
Registration for the Freelance Writer RETREAT near Cape Town, South Africa, is now open. Two days of workshops focused on boosting your confidence, skills, and bottom line as a freelance writer. Plus, penguins. Imagine if you could easily generate freelance article ideas that delighted you, your editors (or the editors you want to write for), […]
7 ways your environment impacts your writing and creativity
Is your surrounding environment helping or hurting your creativity? As a freelance writer, you may feel like you’re supposed to be able to work anywhere. Maybe you’ve done great work under stressful conditions. But small environmental stresses can build up over time and erode the confidence, stamina, and support that lead to your best work. […]
Modern Journalist Toolkit 18: How to leave a conference full of freelance article ideas (but not tote bags full of brochures)
The first time I went to a large trade show as a freelance writer, I wandered around, mindlessly stuffing free tote bags full of every single brochure and pamphlet on display. When I got home I was completely overwhelmed. I had no idea how to coax those stacks of paper (most of which was a […]
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 […]
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