Successful freelance writer Barry Divola shares with us three things that he wishes someone had told him before he became a writer:

1. I wish I knew when I left high school that I could actually work as a full-time writer for a living. Then I mightn’t have spent years at university getting a BA and a Dip Ed and then a few more years doing other jobs while writing part-time on the side. I could have just got on with the job of becoming a full-time writer.

2. Editors not only say no, sometimes they completely ignore you. Repeatedly. Despite numerous emails and phone messages. Don’t take it personally. It happens to everyone.

3. Some things get easier – figuring out story structures, doing better interviews, getting a higher strike rate with story pitches. And some things are just as laborious and painful as they were in the beginning – transcribing interviews, dealing with lazy/useless/annoying PR people, managers and editors, story space shrinking year by year.

Are you considering the life of the freelance writer? Wondering how to start? How you get story ideas? How you write effective pitches? Who to approach? How to organise your time? And if you should wear pants? (Hint: yes). Barry will be teaching Going Freelance on Saturday 2 March, where he will answer these questions and more!