Media luvvies - changing direction? Anyone done it?

[30andLurking]

Hi there
I'm a freelance journo-slash-editor-slash-proofreader-slash-PR-slash whatever will pay the bills this month.

When I did my journalism training the advice was very much "if you can build yourself a specialism then do so because you'll always have an advantage", so after about 7 years working in one particular field I went freelance a couple of years ago and have built up a few clients doing related work in that niche.

Problem is I'm bored witless of it. It doesn't feel like a proper 'grown up' job, doesn't command much respect, and I'd like to change direction. Trouble is, absolutely no idea how to do it?! Anyone managed it? Got any tips?

I've applied for a few jobs and pitched some non-related stories to editors, but as I haven't had any replies I can't work out if it's because I don't have experience in the relevant field, although ex-colleagues of mine went on to build interesting careers in lots of different areas of media so I know it can be done. Or the alternative, more tragically, because I'm just not good enough, although I always used to feel quite confident in my abilities.

I suspect there are lots of MNers who went freelance and had to adapt, so please share your wisdom!

anyone?

It is not a good time for journalists. For a year I did some tutoring as I couldn't afford to waste time pitching for no result. The competition is huge so if you don't get the work it is not personal or a reflection on how good you are.

Consider your hobbies or what you really like to do and see if you can carve a niche there.

For me volunteering showed me the way (and not for the first time). Through training from charities and various non paid posts I am now specialising as a parenting/breastfeeding writer. This has landed me a few paid jobs but it is still early days...

I know the feeling, though, sometimes I feel my life is not that exciting. I used to work inhouse so lost a bit of sparkle as home working is hard and quite mundane

Have to say that I tried making it as a freelance editor/writer after my DTs were born but found it too hard. Think I'd left it too long (four years out is a long time in journalism) and didn't have the contacts though had worked as content manager/desk editor for various prestige publications, mainly online.

When I was pg, I did a variety of short-term contracts/freelancing and found I either had too much or too little work.

Now retraining as a teacher - less money but better hours I hope but am hoping to combine it with a bit of writing/editing if I can.

Agree with goldenpeach re finding a specialism/niche though.

Hi ladies, just found your replies.

The problem is my specialism/niche IS my hobby. Or it was, anyhow. Now I feel like I've combined work and pleasure for so long that I no longer truly enjoy my hobby, and it doesn't give me enough of a challenge/satisfaction as a career. It was great, and I felt very lucky, for a while - but after the best part of a decade I've had enough!

I need to get my va-va-voom back and feel passionate about it - or something new - again, because at the moment I'm massively undermotivated (a new thing for me, used to be able to work 12 hour days without even really thinking about it).

I know there are a lot of writers etc on here, many of whom presumably came into lifestyle/family writing after doing something else, so any practical advice would be fab!

Have just seen this post.

I've worked on several of the national newspapers and have been freelancing for 10 years - every now and then I'll go back to a paper for a few months as a commissioning editor just to brush up my skills or if freelancing is thin on the ground.

If you specialise too extremely then you will restrict yourself and your worth. Let's say you write about gardening and you pitch an idea to me that's about love and relationships - if I Google you and a load of gardening stuff comes up it would put me off. Unfair, probably, but true.

Whilst working as a journalist will stand you in good stead in PR - the reverse isn't true I'm afraid. I think you need to decide on an area and stick with it - it could be that you're coming across as too flighty.

You need to cultivate contacts. Commissioning editors get so many ideas pitched to them that it's sometimes hard to reply to everyone - but i always reply to people I know or who have had dealings with.

Newspapers and magazines will always want real life: birth, deaths and marriages - love, sex, relationships, trends etc.

I can only advise on the journalism side but if that's the area you want to stick with then I'd recommend a trip to WH Smith - buy a load of mags and newspapers, really look at what they're doing and take it from there. You'd be amazed how many people will pitch an idea that's totally inappropriate for the publication.

Good luck - it is very hard at the moment but there is work out there.

Thanks all - Nancy, the gardening analogy is a good one.

Lets just say I worked on a gardening magazine for quite a few years, rose up the magazine rank, did lots of fun gardening-related stuff, and it was all great.

Then a couple of years ago I decided to go freelance for home-related reasons, and lots of people in the gardening world said 'Ooh, are you freelance, we'd love you to do X, Y, or Z' and I ended up with LOTS of work, and was earning more money than ever before and making more contacts than ever.

Then the credit crunch happened and PR budgets were slashed. The work dropped off. And now I'm really bored of writing about 'gardening', and the never-satisfied-with-anything bit of me says I'm not a 'real' journalist until I've been published in lots more titles, writing about other things. Which brings me to the problem you identified - if I pitch an editor a new idea and they see that I always write about gardening then they won't consider it. So I end up taking bits of PR work which could further jeopardise my chances of being considered as a serious journalist for the money.

So how DO I get around this? I even considered applying for unpaid work experience (again!), just to get myself into a few new offices - but I don't know if editors would think I'm too old and too specialist to even let me do that!

More developments since my last post, I got more work, which is great.

There has been a similar debate in a journo forum - yours is not an uncommon problem, there are a few people who are fed up about writing on XZ and want to move into another area.

I wanted to specialise in something as my cuttings were too varied to be taken seriously against competition so the way I played it is volunteering for suitable charity and write lots of content for them. Last year I joined Suite 101 and started writing articles in that subject and others I fancy but don't have enough cuttings to be credible, then used my parenting experience to become product tester. At the start the money was minimal but it's getting in now. So I'd advise to have a cushion of savings before doing a switch. Or perhaps keep doing what you do just to give you enough money to be able to diversify.

I'd loved to know what you go for...