This week Rachel and Lynne's guest is Jenny Valentish, a journalist, author, and writing coach, joins the conversation to share her career journey from fanzines to freelancing for The Guardian. She also talks about her new book, The Introvert's Guide to Leaving the House.

Jenny dives into the importance of structured feedback in writing groups, the challenges of memoir writing, and the value of teaching practical writing tools. She also shares why she likes to be quite strict about her weekly schedule and how her six-week writing workshops provide a supportive environment for writers to improve their craft and form important connections.

Connect with Jenny via her website: https://jennyvalentish.com/ or look at her courses at https://www.valentish.net/

Details about her book: https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/The-Introverts-Guide-to-Leaving-the-House/Jenny-Valentish/9781923135109

Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au

Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au

If you have questions you'd like us to answer in our next Q&A episode, just send them here. 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: [email protected] for the details.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co

This week Rachel and Lynne are chatting with Michelle Newell, a narrative strategist based in Melbourne/Naarm who shares her expertise on using storytelling for content strategy and branding. During our chat, we talk about:

• How freelancers can transition into thought leadership – and why they should
• Why you need a unique point of view
• How to leverage personal branding
• How to handle a fear of visibility and trolls
• How to secure speaking gigs, enhance visibility, and charge premium rates for your services

Connect with Michelle via her website: https://thestorytelling.biz/

or on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-newell/

Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au

Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au

If you have questions you'd like us to answer in our next Q&A episode, just send them here. 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: [email protected] for the details.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co

This week our guest is Toby Schmitz, actor, screenwriter and now novelist.

It's a fun chat, talking all things books, reading and writing.

Toby shares insights into his upbringing in his family's second-hand bookstore, his motivations for writing, how his debut novel 'The Empress Murders' came about and why he chose such an amibitious work as his debut. He delves into the creative process of adapting a play into this novel, the challenges and rewards of publishing, using palm cards to plan his novel and what he is writing next.

The Empress Murders is out in bookstores now. Follow him on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tobymschmitz/

Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au

Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au

If you have questions you'd like us to answer in our next Q&A episode, just send them here.

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: [email protected] for the details.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co

This week we are trying something new - which might become a regular episode. We are answering questions from our listeners, using our years of experience and some of the knowledge learned doing this podcast for the last six years (thanks to all our amazing guests).

This week's questions include:

• The ethics around including past clients in future articles or commissions
• How to break up with a client
• How to pitch to a new editor or client
• How to avoid procrastination

We hope you find this discussion helpful and thanks Tracey, Stephanie, Ros and Natalie for these questions. If you have questions you'd like us to answer in our next Q&A episode, just send them here.

Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com

Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au

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: [email protected] for the details.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co

In this week's episode, co-hosts Rachel and Lynne chat with Georgia Rickard, an award-winning journalist turned content strategist. Founder of the popular Georgia's Media Circle on Facebook (a great group for writers and PRs), Georgia shares her journey from being a travel writer to becoming the youngest magazine editor in Australia at 23. She discusses:

• the importance of building a personal brand
• the challenges of making oneself visible online,
• and the evolving landscape of freelancing with the rise of AI

She also talks about how and why she set up Georgia's Media Circle, and her upcoming event, Brand Camp, which is designed to help creatives build and monetise their personal brands. It's all about the value of authenticity, confidence, and adapting to new industry trends. Georgia's Media Circle is here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/georgiasmediacircle Georgia's agency website is: https://wearegeorge.co/ Details about Brand Camp are here: https://www.georgiarickard.com/brand-camp And if you use the code RLIST100 you can get a $100 discount on the cost. Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au 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: [email protected] for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co

This week on the podcast, Rachel & Lynne are chatting with former journalist, now educator, writer and editor, Dan Kaufman, about something they all feel passionately about - the craft of writing and editing.

We have a lot of feelings about this topic, as we chat about the essential skills freelance writers need, including:

• the importance of mastering the basics of writing
• the declining emphasis on subediting and what it means for journalism
• the need for critical thinking, attention to detail, and self-editing
• the use of AI in writing and why Dan hates it!

Connect with Dan through his website: https://mediasurvival.com/ Dan's next public workshops are: Press release writing and media pitching on 6 May https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/press-release-writing-and-media-pitching-course-live-half-day-webinar-tickets-1254147331429) Sub-editing and proofreading on 13 and 14 May (https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/sub-editing-and-proofreading-short-course-webinar-over-two-half-days-tickets-1254191824509) Dan is offering an exclusive 15% discount code to his courses for podcast listeners with the code: contentbyte Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au 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: [email protected] for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co

This week Rachel and Lynne are chatting about freelancer websites with Michal Eisik, a copywriter and course creator who shares her expertise on creating effective websites and freelance portfolios.

We discuss:

• the importance of having a well-designed, easy-to-update website
• the value of client testimonials, and how to manage clippings and case studies
• website analytics and user behaviour
• whether you should display pricing on your website
• Michal also provides insights into different approaches to using your website for lead generation, along with a list of must-have tools for freelancers

Whether you're a freelance writer, copywriter, or creative, this episode is packed with actionable advice to help you succeed.

Connect with Michal at https://www.michaleisik.com/

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: [email protected] for the details.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co

This week on the podcast, Rachel & Lynne are chatting with successful screenwriter Josephine Barrett. Josephine is an acclaimed novelist, teacher and script writer, writing and editing successful TV shows, series and movies.

She talks about:

• The difference between script writing and script editing
• How Home & Away helped her refine her craft
• How she secures regular work
• How teaching writing inspires and helps her to be a better writer
• How she makes a good living as a creative
• How she organises her day and maintains a disciplined approach to her work

Connect with Josephine via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephine-barrett-bb872a24/

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: [email protected] for the details.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co

This week, Rachel & Lynne are chatting with content creator, agency owner and now author, Sara Howard. Sara has just released her first book, Beyond Solo, which is the guide she wished she had when she started her agency - all about how to grow your business and all the different models you can choose from.

Sara chats about:

• What success looks like – and why it means different things to different people
• Different agency models, from collectives to companies, to hybrid models
• How she created a positive culture at her agency
• Why she included a lot of tools and frameworks in her book to make it practical
• How to work with clients as you grow
• The importance of good systems and processes

The free resources associated with her book are here: https://www.beyondsolo.co/shop

Connect with Sara at Writers Australia, https://writers.net.au/

or through Beyond Solo at https://www.beyondsolo.co/

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: [email protected] for the details.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co

This week on the podcast, Rachel & Lynne are chatting with one of their favourite editors, Rob Johnson. A former journalist and now publisher at Engage Media, Rob talks about what he values from freelance writers and why editors like himself rely on good pitches from their contributors to put a great publication together.

He chats about:

• Whether it's ever acceptable to use AI in a pitch or a story
• How ideas from freelancers help him as an editor
• Why he welcomes a new angle on an old idea
• Why a writer needs to do some research
• How to create a good system for generating story ideas
• Why it's important to know the publication's audience

Rob's article for Rachel's List about how to pitch is here: https://www.rachelslist.com.au/blog/how-to-pitch-and-get-a-yes/

The Rachel's List Pitch Tracker is here: https://www.rachelslist.com.au/toolkit/product/pitch-tracker/

Engage Media is at: https://engagemedia.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: [email protected] for the details.

Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co