This week, we're chatting to Steve Colquhoun - a journo, editor and copywriter based in Geelong, Victoria. He started in media at the age of 17 after leaving school, cutting his teeth on mastheads such as The Age, Herald Sun and Cairns Post. He's also worked extensively as a motoring journalist - and since going freelance in 2016 has met the content needs of a variety of clients including Mercedes-Benz, Deakin University and NAB. We chat to Steve about... + what it's really like writing about the world of fast cars + the challenges that come with having motoring as a niche + how he finds clients and what a typical week looks like + setting boundaries when mixing journalism work with content + how to write effective pitches that are more likely to get the green light + his top tips on carving out a successful freelance career.  Find out more about Steve: His website: stevecolquhoun.com  Connect with him on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevecolquhoun   Read his ultimate guide to retainers on Rachel's List: www.rachelslist.com.au/blog/your-ultimate-guide-to-freelance-retainers    But wait, that's not all! Find out more about our upcoming conference, The Content Byte Summit thecontentbytesummit.com.au and sign up for updates >> subscribepage.io/IIvLBD  Find Rachel rachelsmith.com.au  Find Lynne lynnetestoni.com  Rachel's List rachelslist.com.au  Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded, an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Visit them here >> rounded.com.au  Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co   

Steve Colquhoun on working as a freelance journalist, copywriter and motoring writer

Hosts Rachel Smith (from Rachel's List) and journalist and content writer Lynne Testoni are serving up weekly short bites of advice, tips and strategies, plus special guests, for freelancers who make a living from using their words. We're shooting for 15-minute episodes, but can't promise anything because we can both talk the leg off a chair.

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This week Rachel and Lynne welcome investigative journalist Louise Milligan to the podcast hot seat. Louise talks about her work on Four Corners and her previous non-fiction books, Cardinal, The Rise and Fall of George Pell and Witness, An Investigation into the Brutal Cost of Seeking Justice, as well as Pheasants Nest, her newly released novel.   The discussion covers:  The creative process of Louise's first novel and how it differs from journalism and non-fiction How the book expands on the usual way we consume a crime story  Covering confronting issues in both fiction and journalism Gendered violence and how that played into the plot of her novel How she juggles writing novels with her journalism work Some of the stories she has covered and why she will never forget them  Trigger warning: Our chat with Louise Milligan covers some confronting topics, including sexual assault, gendered violence and suicide. If these topics are a trigger for you, you might like to skip this episode or come back another time. Pheasants Nest is available at all good bookshops. Connect with Louise on Instagram @milliganreports  and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100012038172584  This is your last week to secure Early Bird tickets to The Content Byte Summit, from September 12-14, 2024. The Early Bird discount ends on May 31. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au    Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au     Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com   Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au  Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

Louise Milligan on storytelling, investigative reporting and her new book, Pheasant’s Nest

We just love to meet freelancers who have managed to combine different types of writing into a successful career. This week, Rachel and Lynne chat with Caroline Riches, a news journalist for 25 years who works in the SBS newsroom part time and then does freelance writing work for the rest of the week. We talk about:  Balancing the two roles Why she loves the flexibility of casual work What newsrooms are looking for from casual journalists and how to get a foot in the door The stress of covering big news stories How great it is to be part of a newsroom and being surrounded by the big news stories of the day Where and how she secures agency work  Connect with Caroline at LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-riches-978656113/  Caroline's website is: https://www.carolineriches.com/  This is your last week to secure Early Bird tickets to The Content Byte Summit, from September 12-14, 2024. The Early Bird discount ends on May 31. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au   Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au     Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com  Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au ), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

Combining freelance writing and news journalism with Caroline Riches

This week, Rachel and Lynne are doing something different! They have turned the microphone over to some of their listeners. In this great compilation episode, listeners and former guests share some of their stories about difficult times as freelancers and how they recovered. It's all about real-life experiences and resilience - and learning from our mistakes. Thanks to the following people for contributing (and those who aren't listed here as they preferred to stay anonymous): Anf Chansamooth https://www.anferneec.com/ Rebekah Lambert https://unashamedlycreative.com.au/ Belinda Weaver https://www.copywritematters.com/ Susan Reoch https://theuxcopywriter.com/  Brook McCarthy https://brookmccarthy.com/ Caitlin Wright https://caitlinwright.com.au/ Claire Chow https://connect4social.com.au/ Ed Gandia https://b2blauncher.com/ Emma Lovell, https://www.emmalovell.au/ John Burfitt, https://jbmedia.com.au/ Monica Davidson, https://creativeplusbusiness.com/ Theresa Miller - media trainer - TM Media https://www.theresamiller.com.au/training And, don't forget about The Content Byte Summit, from September 12-14, 2024. Time is running out to secure the Early Bird discount, which ends on May 31. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au    Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au  Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au ), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details.  Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

Stories from our audience: when freelancing kicked you in the ass

This week Rachel and Lynne have a return guest - Jessica Mudditt. A journalist and author, Jessica has embraced risk and adventure to start her own publishing business, Hembury Books, which provides coaching and ghostwriting services to non-fiction authors.   Jess talks about what helped her decide to make this career shift, how and why self-publishing is a great option for many authors and some of the challenges of working in today's publishing industry.  We cover:   What it's like to have your own book in your hand  Writing her own memoirs  The publicity machine  How the ghostwriting process works  Coaching authors and mentoring them through the publishing process   Jess's first appearance on The Content Byte is here:  https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-content-byte/id1478510876?i=1000526237952   Connect with Jessica at Hembury Books: https://hemburybooks.com.au/ where you can also find her podcast.  Are you coming to The Content Byte Summit, from September 12-14, 2024? Time is running out to secure the Early Bird discount, which ends on May 31. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au       Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com       Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au  Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au  for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co     

Jessica Mudditt on leaving journalism to start her own publishing company

This week on the podcast, Rachel and Lynne are chatting with Natasha Dickins, a former magazine editor who has carved out a great career creating content for DIY clients. Natasha talks about her love of good tools and DIY projects and how she has turned this into a career. She talks about:  Her career writing in magazines Her love of being 'on the tools' Setting up her workshop on the mid-north coast of NSW How she uses her skills to create content for brands How she prices her content and includes package rates  Connect with Natasha via Instagram: @littleredindustries or via her website: https://littleredindustries.com/  Are you coming to The Content Byte Summit, from September 12-14, 2024? Time is running out to secure the Early Bird discount. Sign up for updates for the Summit (or snap up tickets) at our website: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au      Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au      Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com      Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au   Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au  for the details.  Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co 

Steve Colquhoun on working as a freelance journalist, copywriter and motoring writer

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