November 11, 2024

Writers On Writing / Surviving and thriving as a freelance writer with Zoya Patel

‘The more you pitch, the more comfortable you become with rejection, with no response, and with pitching again. Editors want to hear from you, and rejection is never personal!’

Writers on Writing is our regular conversation with a writer or industry professional about the writing craft, industry insights, and their own practice. This week, we spoke to award-winning author and widely published writer Zoya Patel about working as a successful freelance writer, ahead of her online course Building a Freelance Writing Career.

How does one overcome the awkwardness of pitching for the first time?

It’s all about practice! And the more you pitch, the more comfortable you become with rejection, with no response, and with pitching again. Editors want to hear from you, and rejection is never personal!

Do you ever feel there’s a race between freelance writers to pitch timely articles first?

Yes, definitely – and it helps if you have an existing relationship with an editor when pitching timely content, so you can touch base with a rough outline and go from there. If you have a burning idea and it’s timely, don’t be afraid to get on the phone instead of email (as much as talking on the phone feels completely alien to me these days!).

Can freelance writers expect to make a living in the current media landscape?

I think it’s very difficult. Obviously there are plenty who do, but for me it’s been about diversifying the kind of work I do. As well as freelance writing, I do freelance communications and marketing work for organisations, and that makes my income viable. 

When researching publications to pitch to, what are the red flags writers should look out for?

Most reputable publications will have their submissions processes clearly outlined – if you’re writing for news publications or traditional media, you may need to track down the editor for the section you want to pitch to, but the process is usually straightforward, and if they accept your piece, they should discuss payment rates upfront. If there is no talk of fees, or if you have to chase to find out what the rate is, that’s a big red flag.

You’ve worked predominantly in online media; do you ever miss writing in print, or do your published books scratch the ’seeing my words on paper’ itch?

I miss editing a magazine for sure – there’s something beautiful about the design process bringing the work to life. But I also love online media and I feel like websites are doing a great job of integrating the reading experience more. I do love seeing my work in print though!

Zoya Patel is the award-winning author of No Country Woman (Hachette, 2018), a memoir of race, religion and feminism, as well as the novel Once A Stranger (Hachette, 2023). She was formerly the editor of Lip Magazine, co-host of the Margin Notes podcast, and founder of the digital literary journal Feminartsy, which published and mentored emerging writers from 2014 to 2018.

Zoya has won numerous awards for her writing and editing, and has been published widely, including in The Guardian, the Australian Financial Review, ABC, SBS, Junkee, Overland, Meanjin, Sydney Morning Herald and more. She was a 2020 judge for the Stella Prize, and Chair of the 2021 Stella Prize Judging Panel.

Enrol in Building a Freelance Writing Career with Zoya Patel, online from Wednesday 4 to Tuesday 10 December.

If you want to be the first to read great advice, prompts and inspiration from our incredible tutors, subscribe to our weekly e-newsletter Newsbite. 

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