So don't think I've been doing youth work for my whole life and then suddenly sat up and decided I wanted to be a journalist. No, no, no. If you would read the sidebar 'About me' (over there -->) you'd see that I've written articles, features and film reviews for several publications, and now classify myself as a freelance writer.
I think freelance is quite vague, but sounds pretty good. I think I'm justified in saying that I'm a freelancer: I have been paid by several publishing companies for my work. But I am also looking for a full-time job.
I'm only 24, I want to have a proper job that I enjoy, and I don't reckon that many people my age are successful and full time freelancers. You have to have contacts for that... or so I'm told. A couple of weeks ago, I temporarily came out of my stupor where all I did was surf the net all day looking at various job boards and company vacancy pages over and over again, and I decided to actively pursue a freelance career.
So... I spent a couple of days researching who the features editors were at various magazines and put together a selection of pitches for them. I sent emails to different categories of magazines: film, bridal, general culture, men's and women's. In total I sent about 54 emails, each outlining multiple feature ideas and some background about me. And I've had a response from exactly 14 responses. One of them was very brusque, and I quote: "Sorry - ideas not for us. Kindest regards," and she didn't even sign her name, just left her digital signature to sign off. Nice.
A couple of people have expressed an interest in one or two of my features, and said they would get back to me. And two or three have said that I should try pitching again with slightly altered ideas. So I have, and we will see.
But overall, I felt a bit annoyed. People in this industry don't seem so nice. As if they haven't got time for you.
But, back to the history. So I have worked at various places before, but none of my contacts are very helpful. There don't seem to be any jobs out there.
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Please employ me. I am good.
About me
I'm a freelance writer specialising in film and culture. I've had work published in Total DVD and the Sunday Times Magazine, as well as in the giant coffee table books Superyacht and New York.
I've always been into film and popular culture, although before I decided to make these areas my career, it was more based on the fact that I enjoyed going to the cinema, reading books, listening to contemporary music and generally enjoying life around me.
Choosing what degree to study at uni, I settled on English with Film for no other reason than that it sounded fun. I'd always liked English - reading and writing were my strengths - and film, well, why not?
Two years into my degree at King's College London, I realised that I did actually want to pursue a career in this field. So, I told myself, I'd better get a move on in terms of work experience. I began writing for Kings's newspaper, Roar, as well as for the London Student paper. I also contributed a couple of articles to a New Zealand fashion e-zine, Thread, and film journal, Bright Lights.
During that summer I worked - for free - at various magazines, newspapers and publishing houses, including Total Film, Total DVD, NME, The Jewish News and Penguin. Although I didn't earn money, I gained experience and assurance that this is what I want to do.
The following summer I secured two internships, one at Tatler and one at The Sunday Times Magazine. I was called back into The Sunday Times a couple of times for some shift work. By then I was looking for a full-time job.
A few months and what seemed to me a few million job applications later, I was appointed freelance Assistant Editor at Gloria, a publishing house specialising in huge-format, luxury coffee table books on diverse topics. I contributed to the books Superyacht and New York. The websites for these books can be accessed by clicking on the following links:
Superyacht
New York
I am now writing freelance features and working on my first novel.
I've always been into film and popular culture, although before I decided to make these areas my career, it was more based on the fact that I enjoyed going to the cinema, reading books, listening to contemporary music and generally enjoying life around me.
Choosing what degree to study at uni, I settled on English with Film for no other reason than that it sounded fun. I'd always liked English - reading and writing were my strengths - and film, well, why not?
Two years into my degree at King's College London, I realised that I did actually want to pursue a career in this field. So, I told myself, I'd better get a move on in terms of work experience. I began writing for Kings's newspaper, Roar, as well as for the London Student paper. I also contributed a couple of articles to a New Zealand fashion e-zine, Thread, and film journal, Bright Lights.
During that summer I worked - for free - at various magazines, newspapers and publishing houses, including Total Film, Total DVD, NME, The Jewish News and Penguin. Although I didn't earn money, I gained experience and assurance that this is what I want to do.
The following summer I secured two internships, one at Tatler and one at The Sunday Times Magazine. I was called back into The Sunday Times a couple of times for some shift work. By then I was looking for a full-time job.
A few months and what seemed to me a few million job applications later, I was appointed freelance Assistant Editor at Gloria, a publishing house specialising in huge-format, luxury coffee table books on diverse topics. I contributed to the books Superyacht and New York. The websites for these books can be accessed by clicking on the following links:
Superyacht
New York
I am now writing freelance features and working on my first novel.
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