Why did you choose to become a freelancer?
I became an editor of a pan-European technical magazine at the age of 27. While I was proud of my acheivement and I enjoyed being a journalist, I did not enjoy being an editor and managing a team of journalists. My talent is for writing science and technolgy stories, not for managing people! So I decided to go freelance because I knew freelancing was purely about writing.
I also grew up with parents who worked for themselves, so for me it was a natural career progression. I must confess though, that I would not have had the courage to go freelance if my husband had not been so supportive - I have the luxury of not being the main breadwinner and that takes off a lot of the pressure. Another reason for going freelance is that I wanted to have a family and also have a portable job in order to support my husband's career. If we ever have to move because of his career, it is not a problem for me - I can work anywhere!
If you trained, where? If not, how did you become a freelancer?
My training was on the job. The only reason I was able to succeed as a freelancer is that I had had three permanent roles beforehand. This meant that I had excellent contacts at three publishing houses as well as other contacts that I had made during my full-time employment. I literally just set up an office at home and told everyone that I was now freelance. That was eight years ago and I have not looked back since.
Do you specialise in any particular field and what areas do you write about?
I specialise in science, engineering and technology. I have a degree in chemistry and write about a huge variety of subjects - nanotechnology, materials science, photonics, electronic engineering, biotechnology etc. With every article I write, I learn about a new area of science and that is what I love most about my job. The last article I wrote was about hydrogen fuel cell cars, and before that, I edited a magazine celebrating the 50th anniversary of the laser - the variety of subjects keeps me interested.
Which publications have you been published in? Which are you the most proud of?
My work has appeared in more than 40 publications, but I guess the ones of which I am most proud are New Scientist, Science and Nature Photonics. A few of the magazines I have worked for have appeared on the 'guest publication' section of Have I got News for You, most notably Asian Plastics News, which is published in Chinese.
What are the best and worst aspects of freelancing?
There are many more advantages to freelancing than disadvantages. I love the freedom it gives me - I can fit the work around my children, I can only accept work that I want to do and I do not work in the school holidays. I can work in my pyjamas if I want to; my commute to work is about two minutes up the stairs; and in my lunchbreak, I can do some gardening if I want to.
There are no distractions - while this can be a little lonely sometimes, I find I am so much more efficient than when I worked in an office. I currently work about 18 hours a week and achieve just as much as I did when in full-time employment. Some people find freelancing from home difficult because you do have to be very disciplined, but I find it suits me very well.
The one aspect of freelancing that I had not appreciated when I first started is that you are only as good as your last article. There is a much greater pressure to write quality copy than when you are employed on a magazine because if you work is not up to standard, you can simply be dropped. You also have to be good at marketing yourself. As a freelance journalist, you have to recognise that you have many more skills than simply writing and if you want to be a success, you have to market all those skills to the right people to get work. For example, editing, proofreading, writing press releases, doing market research, media training, organising conferences etc etc.
Free daily newsletter
If you like our news and feature articles, you can sign up to receive our free daily (Mon-Fri) email newsletter (mobile friendly).
