The country you choose to be your new home should depend on your experience and contacts. If you have few or no contacts with foreign editors and little or no appropriate published articles in your portfolio, then the best option is to pick a lesser-known country like Bolivia, or one with a notorious reputation such as Colombia. China and India are also so vast that prospects are good for motivated freelancers. The most difficult locations to make your mark are generally those places where journalists most want to live such as Paris, Rome, Rio Janeiro, and Buenos Aires.
It is also important to pick a country where you really want to learn the language and are interested in the local culture. If you are not a linguist and find the prospect of learning a foreign language daunting, avoid Serbo-Croat or Arabic and pick Spanish or French instead. Do some research and, ideally, make one or more visits to your destination of choice. Can you imagine getting on with the locals? Will you enjoy day-to-day life once the novelty has worn off?
What to do before you leave the UK
Again this depends on your experience. If you are already an established journalist in the UK, then getting regular commissions will be far easier. But if not, assume that you will be broke for the first few months. It takes time and a great deal of persistence to get regular commissions every month. Usually you will have to wait up to six weeks to get paid for a published piece, so it is wise to leave the UK with sufficient funds to pay your rent in advance for the first six months, and to cover your other living expenses for at least some of that time.
If you have little freelancing experience, you may need to supplement your income with a part-time job. One possibility is to get a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) qualification as it is usually fairly easy to get this kind of work abroad.
Before leaving the UK, set up meetings with foreign editors in London so that they know who you are and where you will be based. Get your vital contacts book organised before you leave, including up-to-date email addresses and phone numbers of all foreign and deputy foreign editors in the UK. As soon as you have settled abroad, send them your new contact details.
Finally, buy a copy of every single magazine and newspaper published in the UK and pack them in your suitcases. There is no substitute for having the original copy in front of you to get a feel of a publication before writing that all important pitch.
Settling in abroad - culture shock
Culture shock can happen to any expatriate irrespective of what you do for a living. To minimise it, start learning the local language as soon as you get off the plane. Get a private tutor or enrol in a language course.
If you play a sport, get involved with a local team. Most places have expatriate football/cricket/rugby teams. It will make you friends and open doors to potential contacts.
Do not expect to become best friends with other veteran expatriate freelancers. They are your rivals and will guard their patches zealously. Instead, introduce yourself to local journalists - they should have no axes to grind and might make useful contacts for story leads.
Lastly, don't mope at home waiting for the phone to ring or an editor to reply to your email. Get out and about; walk around your new city and get to know it well.
Making contacts abroad
It may sound obvious but contacts are made by getting on the phone and meeting people. A good starting point is to get in touch with press officers working with the national government and the main foreign embassies. Also get to know who the local and international NGOs (non-governmental organisations) are and what they are doing. Make contact with government ministries and set up meetings with them. Ask to receive press releases so that you can anticipate events and get invited to press conferences.
But often the best contacts are those you make in your everyday life - the taxi driver, the local store owner, the bartender. These people will be able to give you a good idea about what is going on. Keep a diary of the dates of local events, festivals and international summits hosted in the country and get involved.
Who is interested in foreign news?
There are hundreds of publications in English around the world interested in foreign news. All the main UK broadsheets are interested in foreign news and features. On average, for a news story expect to get paid around £90-£160 for 700-1,000 words. Features pay considerably more.
Of the UK newspapers, The Independent and The Guardian are the most interested in foreign features. Most newspapers have stringers on their books from across the world, but this does not preclude them from considering strong ideas from freelancers.
Below are websites that buy foreign news stories and use freelancers frequently:
Slate - an online magazine based in the US. Buys foreign news and dispatches. Pays from US$200 a piece.
WorldPoliticsWatch - based in the US. A new online magazine interested in foreign policy and international affairs. Pays US$150 a piece.
Noticias Aliadas/Latin American Press – a bilingual press agency based in Lima. Interested in social and development news from across Latin America. Pays US$100 a piece.
The following magazines and newspapers rely on freelancers:
The New Internationalist magazine – often uses freelancers to fill their currents and country profile sections. Interested in development and human rights issues. Pay from £125 a piece.
The Times Higher Education Supplement – relies heavily on stringers to provide news about higher education across the world. Pay from £120 a piece.
The Times Education Supplement – as above but buys news about primary and secondary education. Pay from £120 a piece.
Travel writing
Travel writing is a harder market to break into than news, being highly competitive and a little cliquey. The best way to start is to write for a travel guide book. The Rough Guide, Footprint and Lonely Planet like to employ freelancers living in-country. Pay is not good but it is a great way to travel and really get to know the country you have made your home.
How to pitch foreign news stories
Pitching a foreign news story is no different from pitching any other kind of news and or feature idea. Make no mistake – pitching a story is the most important skill a freelancer needs to perfect. As a freelancer starting out, more of your time will be spent pitching stories to various foreign editors than actually writing them.
In less than 250 words, give a brief but focused summary of what you will cover in the piece and your angle. Include a few questions that you will raise in the article and the possible answers. Finally, include a peg (ie an indication of what makes it newsworthy) and the names of people and organisations you intend to interview.
Take great care and time writing pitches and make sure that you have already figured out the piece in your head. Do not expect an editor to sort out your muddy thoughts for you. Send 2-3 recent relevant clips if possible with your pitch.
It is common to let editors know that, unless you have received a reply within five weeks, you will pass the idea on. Do not be afraid to chase up replies but usually most editors will reply promptly (within a month) if they like an idea.
Finally sending a pitch that is relevant to a particular publication is almost as important as writing it well. Bear in mind the political stance of each publication.
To save on your telephone bill, and to ensure you have a 'paper' trail, send pitches by email.
Coming up with foreign news stories
Ideas come from chatting endlessly to local people and reading. In a typical week, freelancers may interview a whole spectrum of people, including indigenous leaders, politicians, business leaders and students. Ideas will arise from these meetings.
You also need to become a news junkie. Part of your daily routine should be to sift through all the local media, from obscure university journals and trade publications to the best-selling national newspaper. Pay particular attention to local newspaper editorials that allow you to get a feel for the important and controversial issues of the day. Look out for trends and stalk controversy. In the same way as newspapers are divided into sections (such as the environment, business, women's pages) divide your story ideas into the same categories.
Do not get stuck in the capital city but travel around the country for further inspiration.
Also keep a close eye on the type of foreign news stories that are being published back at home.
Photographs are important
On the odd occasion, I have earned more money from the photos I have taken than the published article. Most editors will say whether they need photographs but always check before writing your piece. Do take photographs whenever you can and always take pictures of the people you interview.
The pitfalls of life as a freelancer abroad
In general, freelancing is not a well-paid job – leave that to the city stockbrokers. The most difficult part is not knowing when, and if, you will have work each month. There are no guarantees and no monthly pay cheques to look forward to.
Freelancing can also be quite isolating. There is no daily banter and drinks after work with office colleagues sharing your daily experience to help you let off steam. It is also a constant cycle of pitching, waiting and writing.
In a good month, a freelancer might get up to nine articles commissioned. But, generally the reality is that they are lucky to get an article a week commissioned - an average of £400-600 a month.
Why it is the best job in the world
Freelancing gives you the freedom to be your own boss and explore the world on your own terms. If you are good at pitching ideas, you will get to write about what really interests you and what you believe is important.
Living abroad and getting paid for it while not being part of the rat race and daily drudgery back home is both liberating and exciting.
Getting paid in sterling and/or dollars while living in a developing country does give you more purchasing power. Earning as little as £450 a month should give you a decent lifestyle.
Useful books to get you started
Travel writing, by Don George published by Lonely Planet. A thorough survey of the industry with useful advice, though at times a tad discouraging, from well-established travel writers.
My trade, by former editor of The Independent, Andrew Marr. Gives a brief but true insight into the lives of foreign correspondents (see chapter 6).
Any book by John Simpson for inspiration and the just get-up-and-go feeling.
Writers' and Artists Yearbook. A good reference book but can get out-of-date quickly.
Anastasia Moloney is a freelance journalist currently based in Colombia
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