Why did you choose to become a freelancer?
By accident, initially. I was doing an NCTJ part-time while working full-time as a PR copywriter. Not having enough holiday allowance to do journalism work placements, I decided to risk everything and quit my job. My employer wanted to keep me on so I did my previous job on evenings, while interning on news desks during the day. Within a few months, I had so much freelance copywriting coming in that I’d doubled my full-time salary. So I stayed freelance. I now do a combination of journalism, copywriting and ghostwriting, and conference production.
If you trained, where? If not, how did you become a freelancer?
I did a part-time NCTJ at Sportsbeat in Wimbledon. This meant shorthand on Monday nights and Saturdays for almost a year! Since then, I’ve done courses at PMA in feature writing and pod- and vodcasting, and I’ve also done a real-life features course.
Do you specialise in any particular field and what areas do you write about?
I specialise in science, health and medicine, the environment and technology. My PhD was in climate change monitoring – I tested a prototype of a satellite-borne radar for observing whether the polar ice fields are melting. But my PR copywriting job was in the life sciences and healthcare. As well as freelancing, I now work part-time as an editor for a charity newsletter covering genetics and fertility treatment. So I’m pretty versatile.
Which publications have you been published in?
The Financial Times, Nursing Times, Science Careers, The Ecologist, the Biologist, Ethical Living and various local newspapers. My ghostwriting work has included an opinion piece in a national newspaper and countless pieces in pharmaceutical and biotechnology trade magazines.
Which articles, in which publication, are you the most proud of?
I’m an exacting craftswoman and always try to make my work something to be proud of. There’s nothing more satisfying than a job well done – thoroughly researched, beautifully written and delivered on deadline. But I’m most proud of my interviews of three survivors of the 1996 Canary Wharf bombing for the East London Advertiser. Interviewing a woman whose life and family were destroyed by the bombing moved me to tears and I feel humbled to have covered her story.
What are the best and worst aspects of freelancing?
The best: Choosing my own office stationery – it’s all polka dots and glitter. On a more serious note, I’ve always wanted to run my own business and I’m delighted that I can. I love the variety of work – no day is the same - and the opportunity to research ideas and pursue projects I’m interested in.
The worst: Filling in tax returns and all that jazz.
Do you have any interesting anecdotes in relation to your experience as a freelancer?
I once called a surgeon who seemed in something of a rush. I said: "Is this a convenient time to speak?" He said: "No, I have to rush back into theatre – there’s an acute case bleeding out on my table."
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