Dear Allena,I was recently on a phone interview with a subject for a magazine article (thank you, by the way, for your great info on conducting interviews for freelance writers). My subject mentioned something that had happened in the news in his career field that morning, and I drew an absolute blank! I was mortified! How can writers ever keep up with everything that is going down in the world when we are always juggling other stuff? How do other writers do it? I am dying to know!
Excellent question! I understand you completely! I feel like a master juggler, too. We should all just quit writing and go get our unicycles and juggling balls, I swear!
Well, that being out of the question, I do have a few ideas for you on how to stay informed as a freelance writer. First, though, before I start he list, know this: you will never know everything. It's just impossible. What you should do is stay focused on news about your area of writing (journalist? creative writer?) and then also be sure you are knowledgable about your niche area. Ok, ready?
Busy Freelance Writers Know What's Going On in the World
I know watching the news in the morning probably isn't on your to-do list when you have 3 kids to get out the door and 6 articles to write (or 6 kids to get out the door and 3 articles to write...) But passively absorbing the morning shows while you finish your coffee can give you a boost! I find CNN is the best bet for this, as they cycle through a great variety of subject areas: money, politics, national news, international news. Or, if you'd like some lifestyle-type ideas, check out one of the more informal morning shows from the major networks. Doing this saved me once when I interviewed a low-level politician from a state that had just passed a controversial bill. Since it wasn't my state, I had no idea it had happened. And since the interview was about a personal achievement, the bill may not have come up in my research. Find ways to absorb the news, even passively!
Busy Writers Still Make Time to Read
Right now I have 3 magazines sitting on my desk that have articles that I wrote published in them. Now, I'm not just going to cut out and scan my clips for my writer's portfolio, but I'm also going to read these magazines cover to cover. Know why? They're in my niche. They cover the movers and shakers in my industry. These are the people, themes and happenings that I need to know. It is likely that, from one of these magazines, I'll find my next pitch.
Freelance Writers Make Use of Internet Tools
In the morning, this is my routine. I check my iGoogle page (it's my home page anyway), and there are the latest blog posts from all my fellow freelance writers! But wait...what's this? If I click this tab, there are the latest posts from one of my niches. Oh, and tab #2? Yup, that's my second niche! I then head over to my Facebook and Twitter to see what's going down. Now, I don't just follow fellow freelance writers and/or friends and/or my 16-year old babysitter to make sure she's behaving. Nope, I also follow all those people, companies and news stories that are leading the areas in which I like to write. Last, I check my email, and I find Google alerts. If you don't know what Google alerts are, I definitely recommend that you check them out.
These three things, all of which (sort of) fit into my day, took between 10-20 minutes to set up, and take up about 5 minutes (each) of my day. Yet, I feel fully informed about both the career side of freelance writing, what my fellow writers and publishing professionals are up to, and what's currently "the haps" in my niche areas. Pick one and try it!
