Clarify Your Career Direction

Today’s episode -- the second of season 3 -- features a conversation with a freelancer named Hanna Merzbach. She’s new to the game; she graduated from college last year, and the pandemic threw all of her plans (which included teaching English in Japan) into chaos. She started freelancing as a way to dip her toe into journalism and she’s already found a lot of success with bylines and landing pitches. But she’s also interested in taking a staff job. In this mini-coaching session, Hanna and Jenni talk about how to use freelancing as a springboard into a full-time job, plus how to make connections. Hanna also wants to try her hand at writing about different topics and taking on various styles of journalism, which makes freelancing a good fit for her right now. They also talk about avoiding burnout, trying to up Hanna's rates, and figuring out who your ideal clients are. Sometimes, there are just too many possibilities in the world of freelancing, so it can help to narrow down what your ideal clients look like, and what they need. You can follow Hanna at @HannaMerzbach on Twitter, and @hannamerzz on Instagram. Patreon members also get access to some of the homework Hanna received, including a worksheet for determining your ideal client! And you can grab that business planning workbook (which we mention in the episode) here, too. Our e-courses will still be quite discounted through the end of May. If you’re looking for support on contract negotiation and/ or business planning, we hope you’ll check them out. If you enjoy this podcast, you may also enjoy Write About Now, hosted by Jonathan Small. Write About Now features in-depth interviews with successful writers of all types and stripes—novelists, journalists, screenwriters, ghostwriters, and more. Each week, Jonathan takes a deep dive into how the most successful writers master their craft, offering tips, inspiration, and laughs for both aspiring and professional writers. You can find it wherever you podcast.