What’s It Like To Be a Freelance Journalist?

What an exciting life! You travel the world and, when you come home, the editorial staff cannot wait to get their hands on your write-ups and photos. You are celebrated like a hero. At least that is what many blockbuster movies are telling us. So, here is the reality: 

When you start out in journalism, you will spend a lot of time at a desk in a newsroom, participating in meetings and making phone calls. The editors will send you out on research excursions, like documenting the 25th anniversary of the local rabbit breeders association or interviewing random pedestrians about their first kiss. Even though it can be boring sometimes, you learn how to think like a journalist, which questions to ask, which sources to use and how to write quickly and coherently. If you have a knack for the job, eventually you will be sent to do more important reporting, like on political events or traffic accidents. At this point you could actually settle down. Maybe the newspaper offers you a job, and maybe you accept it. Well yeah, the money could be better, but at least you learn something new every day. Being a journalist is a very diverse job, even if you are employed at a local news station. Do you want more?

Maybe you want to report on world-shattering stuff, or you want to go on adventures in rain forests or war zones. Tell this to your editor-in-chief. She or he will smile at you and say that the budget is barely enough to pay your monthly salary, much less to send you on trips around the globe. This was common in the 1980s and 90s, but these days only really big news stations still have this kind of budget. So basically, if you want to choose the topics you write about yourself, you need to quit your job and become a freelancer. This is a tough step. No one who has done it, will recommend it in good conscience. Making a living out of freelance journalism will be one of the hardest things you do in your life. So, before you act rashly, think thoroughly about what freedom really means to you. 

Imagine you are a farm horse in a stable. Every day the farmer gets you out to work in the field or run in front of a carriage. He decides what you do, and in return you get food, water and shelter. Your life is directed by someone else, but there is a lot of security. Still, you are unhappy, because you dream of freedom. Every night you hear wild horses neighing and wish to be out there, too. One evening, the farmer accidently leaves the gate open and you run. You find yourself alone in the woods, spending most your time looking for food and water, worrying about wolves. You realize that freedom is often inconvenient and filled with uncertainty. Will you regret your decision? Will you wish to be back in the stable? Or do you value your newly won, self-directed life so highly that you are willing to make sacrifices to keep it?

When it comes down to freelance journalism, here are the challenges of the wilderness: You have to come up with ideas yourself, fight for assignments and especially for money. There is a lot of competition and, when you start out, editors don’t know you. Why should they work with you? You need to convince them. It’s important to pick a niche - for example, specialize in nature, politics, economics or technology. Don’t study journalism, but study a few semesters of something else. This makes you more valuable to editors and more believable to readers. It is understood that you know how to research and write up stories. 

In the beginning, you will take on a lot of badly paid assignments just to get your name in well known publications. It will take two to three years until you can really make a living out of freelance journalism. During this time, you will question your choice many, many times. So before you jump headfirst into the shark tank, reconsider your motives. If you are in it for fortune and fame, you are not going to make it. What you need is a deep love for stories and an insatiable curiosity. You have to have talent, not only for writing, but also for finding stories - sometimes it can be a small detail, a subclause in an interview, that sends you on a new track. You have to be very stubborn and thick-skinned to cope with rejections and criticism. You need to be convinced that your work is important even if the pay often does not match up. Last but not least, you need to be lucky to be at the right place at the right time.

Finally, I will tell you why I found it worthwhile jumping head first into the unknown and becoming a freelance journalist seven years ago. I can write about what I feel is important. Independent press is an indispensable part of a democratic society. With some of my work, I have impacted and improved the lives of others. By making grievances public, solutions are often found more easily. I find my job rewarding because I learn something new every day. And, yes, I have been to exotic countries across the globe - camera around my neck and notebook in my hand. It was never easy, but I don’t want to miss a minute of it. By talking to all kinds of people, I learn what moves them. I like to think that all these new experiences and insights make me a better journalist and a better person. 

Adriane Lochner is a German freelance journalist, photographer and travel writer covering environmental topics worldwide. Before, she studied biology and completed her PhD in the United States. Starting in 2013 she worked towards becoming a journalist by doing a distance learning course and months of hands-on training at a local newspaper. Lochner spent a year in Kyrgyzstan learning about its culture, environment and people. Her stories were published for example in the German online edition of National Geographic or the British daily newspaper The Guardian. Currently, she lives in Southern Germany. In 2019 she wrote a book on forests which is soon to be translated into Russian and published by Azbooka-Atticus Publishing Moscow.