Why did you choose to become a freelancer?Being freelance gives you much more freedom with your writing. When I started out, I worked mostly for music magazines. It was great fun but if I'd been full-time, I could never have written environmental pieces, consumer features or publications for charities.
What areas do you write about?
I write mainly about ethical, social and environmental issues. In my time, I've turned my hand to pretty much everything: from case studies to celebrity interviews. But I now focus mainly on sustainable living, social enterprise and ethical business.
I also work as an editorial consultant - using a 'virtual company' of writers, designers, photographers, web developers and printers to create websites and publications for charities and businesses.
Which publications have you been published in?
I’ve written for the Guardian, the Times, Evening Standard, the New Internationalist, Geographical, and plenty more.
Which articles are you the most proud of?
I wrote my first book this year, called Your Ethical Business: How to plan, start and succeed in a company with a conscience.
It was the toughest thing I've ever done and I'm incredibly proud of it. It was published in spring 2007, has received excellent reviews in the national press and topped Amazon sales rankings for its category.
What are the best and worst aspects of freelancing?
The best is the amount of personal freedom and creativity. The payback is that you have to create your job from scratch. Most people just go into an office and get on with it. At 5pm, they go home.
As a freelance, you decide on where you work, who you work for, how much you charge, and when you go home (if you're not already at home). This takes time and effort - and that's before you've written anything.
As a freelance you find yourself in the most ludicrous situations. You can be on the phone talking to a foreign diplomat, while sitting in your pyjamas. I remember interviewing a government minister at Whitehall just a couple of hours before heading to Camden to review a Scandinavian heavy metal band.
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