Click here to look at Arsalan Mohammad's full freelance profile on Journalism.co.uk.

Why did you choose to become a freelancer?
I've been a freelancer twice in my career - thus far that is. I've reached the outer limits of frustration and exasperation with office politicking, unappetising catering solutions, the marketing department and begun to dream of serene, placid existence, a cup of coffee, laptop - then, rudely, reality crashes back in.

Do you specialise in any particular field and what areas do you write about?
I've been specialising in Middle Eastern contemporary culture, in particular the Arab art scene and film industry, for the past four years, as well as filing travel and lifestyle items for titles in the Middle East and Europe.

Which publications have you been published in?
I worked at Nuts magazine at IPC in London, before the average page's word count decreased in direct proportion to the size and vivacity of the pictures. I moved to Dubai for tax purposes (I love saying that) and worked as staff on various titles there, before going freelance again.

I was at a glossy showbiz title, Ahlan!, which was rather like a localised version of Hello!, with endless pages of beaming Dubai types at parties. I rather quietly edited a TV/film/music pullout, which no one read.

I then went on to editing film and art sections at Time Out Dubai for a couple of years, which was incredibly good fun. I still write for it from time to time.

Finally, I worked at The National, a rather serious daily in Abu Dhabi as its art writer/critic/editor (we never quite agreed on the title), after which I went freelance.

Since then I've written for inflight magazines, style titles, lifestyle publications, the Saatchi Gallery's online magazine, a Tehran culture site and even the Dubai Film Festival, which gave me a rather lively interview with Oliver Stone.

So, while life has been somewhat financially alarming on occasion, I've had huge fun and enjoyed the breadth and diversity of my jobs. Most of my current batch of jobs come from the Middle East, as I'm fortunate enough to be able to shape pieces for that very unique market.

The remainder of my jobs come from people elsewhere, wanting insight into Dubai and these I particularly enjoy doing. I'm currently in Berlin, where the English-language media is very small indeed, so am relying on work from abroad.

What are the best and worst aspects of freelancing?
It's a tricky business, freelancing. On the one hand, one has a fair amount of freedom in what one writes, for whom one writes for and when; on the other hand, there's the dreadful business of drumming up work, sending, tracking and ultimately frantically chasing up invoices, and those periods when the cupboard is bare and no money in the tin.

I look at my friends with sensible jobs, guaranteed income and the ability to rattle small change in their pockets and tout Blackberries, just like proper adults, and I wonder what the hell I am doing.

But on the whole, I like it, it suits me. I can go from writing about Iranian film directors to tacky hotels in an instant. I can do plenty of copywriting on the side and if I wake up feeling like death, I can work from bed.

Do you have any interesting anecdotes in relation to your experience as a freelancer?
It's hard to pick one specific anecdote but very early in my writing career I was on tour with a band in Italy. They were playing a music festival deep down in the south, which was, allegedly, taking place only by the generosity of some very influential local gentlemen.

Unfortunately, the rather avant-garde aspect of the ensemble's playing displeased some of these fellows and we found ourselves rather encouraged to leave town as fast as possible the next day.

So we went to Naples on a pre-war train and ended up staying in a dilapidated castle. One of my heroes, John Cale kept popping up at the most unexpected moments during that week, so I would have to say, that was indeed an interesting experience.

Outrageously, the magazine that commissioned me rejected my 8,000 word, breathless, blow-by-blow account of the trip and only printed a nugatory 2,000. But I didn't mind too much - it was the first piece I had printed as a freelance.