This Week: How to Become a Successful Freelancer (and More!)
If you're a writer who's always thought about going freelance but aren't sure where to start, this week's Open Book chat is for you. Join us Thursday at 2 p.m. ET.
It’s a funny time to be a freelance writer, to put it mildly. For many, a day in the life might look like pitching a whole slew of outlets before finally finding a home for your story, and spending more time on the admin side of things than actually writing. Often outlets don’t pay a ton, you may have to chase down your paychecks regardless, and sometimes you just stop hearing from editors altogether.
Of course, there are exceptions and ways to make a go of it that work. Fortunately, freelance writer extraordinaire Amelia Edelman — whose work has appeared on/in The New York Times’ T Brand Studio, NPR, Travel + Leisure, Lonely Planet, Parents, Gloria and so much more — has agreed to let us pick her brain about how she’s managed to create a successful freelance writing career. We’ll ask her about how she…gets coveted, interesting assignments; became a regular travel writer; finds and tracks all her assignments; the pros and cons of starting an S Corp, and so much more.
In short, Amelia has a successful freelance career in a day and age when that can be a difficult achievement. We want to know how she does it. Come join us this Thursday at 2 p.m. ET via Substack Live to find out.
Our live sessions are free to all — to receive a recording, and view our entire archive of live videos, become a paid subscriber today. And to make sure you never miss an Open Book, add this entire series to your calendar.
A reminder, too, that we’ve got Writers’ Room this Wednesday morning!
If you’re new to it, at the midpoint of each week, members of our community meet up to share a virtual space and write together. Writers’ Room is held at both at 8 a.m. ET and again at 8 a.m. PT every Wednesday. You can choose to join whichever time works better for you — or even for both.
Click this Zoom link to join us for either session on Wednesday.
(If you are asked for a passcode, enter: 824784)
We hope to see you at one or both of these happenings this week!
One more thing before you go. If you are also a subscriber to our sister site, Narratively, you may have seen the live video we posted over the weekend, but ICYMI… We hosted our first-ever virtual “live” party last week to celebrate the winning essay of the 2025 Narratively Memoir Prize contest, and the writer behind it. We shared the recording here. If you were unable to attend, click through to hear Andrew Printer, the winner, read an excerpt from his riveting essay and answer questions about it. Enjoy! (Again, just a reminder that to check out our recordings, you do need to be a subscriber. If you only have a Narratively Academy subscription but would like to view this vid, feel free to reach out to us to get a free link to watch this video, our treat.)
