Photo: andreahelenajacobsen via Flickr

Until several years ago, I typed up my interviews as they were happening. The process gave me a headache and made my fingers ache, but I didn’t want to add extra hours of work transcribing a recorded interview.

Now that one of my editors has agreed to reimburse me for some professional transcribing and inexpensive voice recognition programs are improving every year, I no longer need to multitask during interviews. I can focus on the conversation and not worry that my fingers are in the wrong position on the keyboard and the last few paragraphs I typed are gibberish. Continue reading →

Freelancers need to understand what editors want in a pitch to successfully sell story ideas. For example, some editors say they are too busy to read more than a paragraph or two while others want a detailed description of the story, a list of sources, and an explanation of why the freelancer is the best person for the assignment. In addition, freelancers need to know what a publication pays to determine if writing for it is worth the effort.

But it’s not always easy to find information about pitch requirements and fees; not all publications post freelance guidelines on their websites.

AHCJ’s market guides — there are 18 of them on the website — try to fill that gap. I am reaching out to editors so I can update the guides and add new ones. I am also adding dates to each guide so that members know how up-to-date the information is. Recently revised guides for The BMJ and Scientific American are now up on the AHCJ website. Continue reading →