- If you trained, where? If not, how did you become a freelancer?
I originally trained at the NCTJ pre-entry reporter journalism course at Sheffield College in 1999.
- Do you specialise in any particular field and what areas do you write about?
My specialist field is health and nursing, although I am just as happy writing general news stories and features. I have also written about management and workforce issues.
- Which publications have you been published in?
I have had freelance features and news stories published in a variety of different newspapers and magazines including the Nursing Standard, specialist nursing journals and the Sunday People. Previous staff jobs include the Staines Informer newspaper and trade magazines such as Personnel Today and Recruiter.
- Which articles, in which publication, are you the most proud of?
I was particularly proud of a story I got into the London Lite, when I stumbled across a confrontation between students and police at Twickenham station. I interviewed the students, took photos and got statements from the police and it went in the next day.
- What are the best and worst aspects of freelancing?
The best aspects are being your own boss and being free from office politics. The worst thing is worrying about how you are going to pay the bills when you are going through a quiet patch.
I had wanted to go freelance for a long time but only wanted to do it when I was confident that I had enough contacts and experience to make it work. In the end the decision was taken out of my hands after being made redundant from my previous job at Nursing Times in August 2009. However since then I haven't looked back and am really enjoying the freelance lifestyle.
- Do you have any interesting anecdotes in relation to your experience as a freelancer?
I used to have a regular freelance stint at the Sunday People on Saturdays on top of my staff job on Recruiter. I had to spend most Saturday afternoons hanging around outside celebrities' houses asking people if they had slept with Lady Diana.
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