The life of a freelance travel writer sounds like a dream gig (and one we have always wondered about) - so this week Rachel and Lynne are chatting with freelancer and columnist Dilvin Yasa. Dilvin talks about the reality of working as a travel writer. In our chat, Dilvin talks about:

• The challenge of getting your foot in the door if you live in the 'wrong postcode'
• How men's magazines taught her how to write well
• The reality of spending weeks on the road
• How she juggles the demands of a weekly column with family life
• How and why she published her books
• The secret to getting a pitch across the line with editors
• Her tips for aspiring feature writers

Connect with Dilvin on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dilvinyasa/

Just a couple more days to secure the Early Bird prices for The Content Byte Summit so visit here (and sign up for updates): https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au/

Find us: Rachel's website https://rachelsmith.com.au/

Lynne's website https://lynnetestoni.com/

Rachel's List https://rachelslist.com.au/

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded, an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. See https://rounded.com.au

This week, Rachel and Lynne welcome Jodie Spiteri-James from the Australian Society of Authors (ASA) to the podcast. Jodie is the Professional Development and Events Manager at the ASA and responsible for one of the society's most successful programs - Literary Speed Dating. With more than 20 years experience in publishing, Jodie talks about:

• The rise of e-books and audio books
• How the industry works
• How to get published
• How the speed dating events work
• Mistakes prospective authors make

Learn more about the ASA here: https://www.asauthors.org/

Connect with Jodie here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodiespiterijames/

Find out more about The Content Byte Summit (and sign up for updates) here: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au/

Find us: Rachel's website https://rachelsmith.com.au/ Lynne's website https://lynnetestoni.com/ Rachel's List https://rachelslist.com.au/

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded, an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. See https://rounded.com.au

Magazine editor and writer Melanie Hansch joins Rachel and Lynne on the podcast this week talking about her work as deputy editor of the prestigious Food and Wine magazine in the US. Melanie shares her career journey, starting as a food writer and critic in Australia and being mentored by publishing legend Donna Hay before moving to the States. She shares her observations on the differences between magazines in each country, why print is not dead and what it was like proving herself all over again when she moved to the US. It's an inspiring story and one that proves the value of hard work and talent.

Connect with Melanie on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/melhansche/?hl=en

Find out more about The Content Byte Summit (and sign up for updates) here: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au/

Find us: Rachel's website https://rachelsmith.com.au/

Lynne's website https://lynnetestoni.com/

Rachel's List https://rachelslist.com.au/

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded, an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. See https://rounded.com.au

Despite the move to digital, there is still some allure about glossy magazines. This week Rachel and Lynne chat with Hannah James, the deputy editor of Country Style magazine about what print magazines look for from freelancers, how to pitch ideas and, importantly, what they pay. She also takes us through the workload of magazine staff, how it has changed over the years - and why many editors aren't great at answering their emails.

It's an episode packed full of ideas on how to get your byline in a glossy!

Connect with Hannah via LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannahjames2/

Find out more about The Content Byte Summit (and sign up for updates) here: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au/ Find us: Rachel's website https://rachelsmith.com.au/ Lynne's website https://lynnetestoni.com/ Rachel's List https://rachelslist.com.au/

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded, an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. See https://rounded.com.au

This week on the podcast, hosts Rachel Smith and Lynne Testoni chat with Ed Gandia, a business-building coach and successful podcaster. Ed is also one of the two keynote speakers at our conference, The Content Byte Summit, being held in Sydney in September this year, flying in from the US just for us.

We talk to Ed about building a resilient business, dealing with the threat of AI, why strategy helps to set you apart and command a higher rate and, of course, what he's looking forward to doing on his trip to Sydney.

It's a great discussion with many 'aha' moments, and we think you will enjoy this taste of what Ed will deliver to conference attendees.

Connect with Ed at https://b2blauncher.com/ and listen to his podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/high-income-business-writing-podcast/id640055894

Find out more about The Content Byte Summit (and sign up for updates) here: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au/

Find us: Rachel's website https://rachelsmith.com.au/

Lynne's website https://lynnetestoni.com/

Rachel's List https://rachelslist.com.au/

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded, an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. See https://rounded.com.au/

This week, Rachel and Lynne are chatting with burnout coach Dex Randall. We know that when you work for yourself, the to-do list can be long and the pressure can be immense, which is why we felt this topic was really important. In our chat with Dex, we cover topics such as:

• what burnout is
• who gets it and why
• how you know you are in burnout and not just dealing with workplace stress
• where freelancers are particularly vulnerable
• how you fix burnout
• if burnout is the same for men and women

Connect with Dex at https://dexrandall.com/

His podcast is called Burnout to Leadership: https://www.burnouttoleadership.com/

Find out more about The Content Byte Summit (and sign up for updates) here: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au/

Find us: Rachel's website https://rachelsmith.com.au/ Lynne's website https://lynnetestoni.com/ Rachel's List https://rachelslist.com.au/

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded, an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. See https://rounded.com.au/

This week, it's just Rachel and Lynne as we discuss our big event for the year - The Content Byte Summit!

We are keen to share our excitement about the event, which is coming to Sydney in September - from the 14 to 16th, in fact. We chat about:

• Why we decided to do the summit
• What writers and content creators will get out of attending
• How keen we are to meet our keynote speakers - Ed Gandia and Jennifer Goforth Gregory
• How we feel about challenging ourselves to take the podcast to the next level
• What organising such a big event means
• Why we love the National Maritime Museum as a venue
• What we are most looking forward to during the summit
• Why the topic of AI?

Find out more about The Content Byte Summit (and sign up for updates) here: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au/

Find us: Rachel's website https://rachelsmith.com.au/

Lynne's website https://lynnetestoni.com/

Rachel's List https://rachelslist.com.au/

Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded, an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. See https://rounded.com.au/

This week on the podcast, hosts Rachel and Lynne chat with freelance writer and author Stephannie Wood. Stephanie shares her journey moving from being a staff writer to freelancing, the challenge of creating a viable career in long-form journalism as well as her journey to publishing her first book, Fake: A Startling True Story of Love in a World of Liars, Cheats, Narcissits, Fantastists and Phonies.

During our chat, we discuss:

• How to get a pitch over the line with editors
• The challenges of managing an over-flowing inbox
• What's involved in creating a popular newsletter

Sign up to Stephanie's newsletter here: http://stephaniewood.com.au/newsletter/

We are also thrilled to launch our newest venture - The Content Byte Summit - a conference for writers, by writers. Find out more about The Content Byte Summit (and sign up for updates) here: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au/

Find us: Rachel's website https://rachelsmith.com.au/ Lynne's website https://lynnetestoni.com/ Rachel's List https://rachelslist.com.au/

Thanks to our sponsors Rounded, an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. See why thousands have made the switch from spreadsheets and complicated software: https://rounded.com.au/

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains some distressing content, including discussion about child sexual abuse.

This week on the podcast, Rachel and Lynne chat with journalist and author Shannon Molloy. He talks about his two books, including his latest, You Made Me This Way, a powerful, yet harrowing tale that talks to male survivors of child sexual abuse. He talks about interviewing the men who are the core of the book, sharing his own story, and how he managed to cope with such challenging material.

He shares how his journalism background helped him to write the book and how he juggled creating the book while still working in a day job as a reporter.

Shannon also talked about his path to publishing his first book, Fourteen, and the process of it being adapted into a stage play.

Shannon's books are available at all major and independent bookshops. Connect with Shannon here: https://www.shannonmolloy.com.au/

You can also buy You Made Me This Way, here: https://www.booktopia.com.au/you-made-me-this-way-shannon-molloy/book/9781460761861.html

Shannon's first book, Fourteen, is available here: https://www.booktopia.com.au/fourteen-shannon-molloy/book/9781760851088.html

We are also thrilled to launch our newest venture - The Content Byte Summit - a conference for writers, by writers. Find out more about The Content Byte Summit (and sign up for updates) here: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au/

Find us:

Rachel's website https://rachelsmith.com.au/

Lynne's website https://lynnetestoni.com/

Rachel's List https://rachelslist.com.au/

Thanks to our sponsors Rounded, an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. See why thousands have made the switch from spreadsheets and complicated software: https://rounded.com.au/

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co

This week, Rachel and Lynne chat to copywriter and agency owner Sarah Spence. She shares her journey from freelancing to setting up her own agency, managing rapid growth and what she looks for when she's hiring freelancers. She also talks about what it's like being neurodiverse and how it helps her create a supportive and inclusive culture at her agency, Content Copywriting.

Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-spence-7413b930/

Learn more about her agency here: https://contentcopywriting.com.au/

We are also thrilled to launch our newest venture - The Content Byte Summit - a conference for writers, by writers. Find out more about The Content Byte Summit (and sign up for updates) here: https://thecontentbytesummit.com.au/

Find us: Rachel's website https://rachelsmith.com.au/ Lynne's website https://lynnetestoni.com/ Rachel's List https://rachelslist.com.au/ As always, thanks to Rounded https://rounded.com.au/ for sponsoring The Content Byte!

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co