Forum Freelance Fund competition re-opens
After suspending its 2020 competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Forum Freelance Fund has now re-opened for applications. The fund offers bursaries of up to $2500 to help Canadian freelancers — and foreign freelancers working for Canadian media — pay for hostile environment training.
The new deadline for the FFF is September 14, 2020.
The re-opened competition has longer periods during which courses must be chosen and taken, adjustments that were made to accommodate the complications caused by the pandemic. Winners will have up to 18 months to choose a course, and another 6 months to complete it. Bursaries must first be applied to course fees. The remainder can be used for travel costs.
There is also a separate new competition this year that is offering smaller bursaries for virtual safety courses. There are at least 15 bursaries of $400 available for virtual training courses. Applications for these new mini-bursaries will be awarded on a continuing basis until the funding runs out.
For more information on either of these bursary competitions, see the Forum Freelance Fund website.
Review: Two books that will boost your storytelling skills
by Michael Strickland
An increase in my pulse rate accompanies the uptick in my attention. I missed that the first time, in the fall of 2019. Now, less than a year later, I’m watching for the subtlest of changes.
I sit up a little bit straighter, pajama-clad legs pushing against the familiar couch cushions, as I brace for a change in my environment. Primal instincts stir, prompting me to pay attention.
It’s probably nothing. But, hey, you never know when something might eat you.
Stories That Stick
As I read Kindra Hall’s book for a second time, preparing to write this review, I appreciate her mastery of the basic business story a bit more. Taking a breath to relax, I slip back between the pages of Stories that Stick: How Storytelling Can Captivate Customers, Influence Audiences, and Transform Your Business.
A great narrative hijacks your attention, transporting you into the story, triggering visceral emotions like love or hate, and imprinting an impression that lasts beyond the final word. I was often reminded of that when reading Hall.
That’s unsurprising. She’s President and Chief Storytelling Officer at Steller Collective, a “hyper specialized storytelling agency.” So while her book offers a great road map to creating quick little tales that captivate, influence and transform, the real delight lies in her non-stop storytelling.
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Are you having a CERB summer?
by Steven Threndyle
It will soon be Labour Day and, as the vast majority of public health officials predicted back in March, COVID-19 is still going strong.
One thing that will end is the $2000 per month Canadian Emergency Relief Benefit (CERB), a massive injection of federal money that was dispensed to just about any worker who lost their job or income from mid-March until mid-August.
Unlike Employment Insurance benefits that paid full-time employees must pay into, CERB arrived with remarkably few strings attached.
A fiscal snapshot released by the Government of Canada last week reported that when the pandemic began, roughly 2.9 million people in Canada were self-employed, equivalent to 15 percent of all workers.
By May, 40 percent of self-employed individuals said they had applied to CERB compared to 12 percent of private-sector employees and five percent in the public sector.
So, what comes next for Canadian content creators?
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Halifax freelancer’s firing an unfortunate reminder to watch what you tweet
An incident in Halifax this week is a sad reminder to freelancers everywhere of the dangers of social media.
A long-time freelance arts reporter had their radio columns at CBC canceled over a crude tweet about the son of Nova Scotia premier Stephen McNeil.
CBC has in place Code of Conduct and Social Media policies that have been criticized as being too far-reaching when it comes to the right to free speech, not only for employees but for freelancers as well.
While freelancers are not considered to be employees of the CBC, its Code of Conduct makes it clear that the same standards apply to them and other contract workers.
But the precarious nature of freelance work means that independent workers are without the protections afforded by employment standards or collective agreements when they run into trouble over public posts.
The CBC’s Social Media Guidance document offers advice to anyone involved in broadcast journalism:
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Pandemic University Offers Special Discount to CFG Members
If you’re looking for some professional development during the last few weeks of summer, you might want to browse the writing webinars available online through Pandemic University.
It’s a pop-up writing school for, and by, locked-down and quarantined writers. They’re offering suites of short and affordable creative writing classes online.
By taking their classes, you’re helping to support artists who’ve suffered financially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Classes are just $20, but CFG has secured a discount for our members of 25%, so they would be just $15.
And, just as with the CFG’s professional development webinars, you’ll also be able to view a recording (and any tip sheets) from the webinar online after it’s over in case you couldn’t make the live session or want to watch it again.
If you are a CFG member and you’d like to take advantage of this discount, check your email for a message that was sent out on August 1 for the discount code. If you didn’t receive that message you can email organizer@canadianfreelanceguild.ca for the code. For more information about the cost and benefits of membership in the CFG check out this webpage.
Just one more way The CFG is helping you to be the best freelancers you can be!
The Born Freelancer on Knowing When to Leave the Party
This series of posts by the Born Freelancer shares personal experiences and thoughts on issues relevant to freelancers. Have something to add to the conversation? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.
In my last column I wrote about using the current crisis as a catalyst for change by moving into freelancing.
Today I want to explore the opposite side of the coin. Namely, using this crisis as a catalyst for change by leaving a freelancing career for a more conventional 9 to 5 one.
Heretical for a site devoted to freelancing?
Hardly.
Perhaps one of the best kept dirty little secrets of professional freelancing is this:
Many of us will need to take a break from it occasionally and some may never return.
To leave or not to leave: these are some questions
Part 1 – money
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People before protons: How to pitch a science story
by Monte Stewart
Yasmin Tayag, Tim Lougheed, Leah Geller and Mark Lowey
Tim Lougheed has been guarding his secret for years.
If he has his way, editors will never pry it out of him.
“To other people, I will call myself a science writer,” he said. “If I’m selling a story, I will never use that term.”
And Lougheed is adamant that he will not disclose his preferred subject area, either.
“The way to sell a science story is to never – ever, ever – use the word science,” said Lougheed, who is based in the Kingston, Ont., area. “I always lead [the pitch] with the story first.”
“I think: This is just a story. When you’re doing the pitch and you’re coming up with that lede, you put [the idea] together as if it would fit into any category whatsoever and say: This is a really cool story about why this angle does that.”
Such moves have paid off. Lougheed has been freelancing full-time about animal research, microscopes, isotopes, phosphorous, fuels and several other science-related matters for about three decades.
“I started with science, and it’s been very good to me – let’s put it that way,” said Lougheed, who was a staff writer with the Windsor Star, Sault Star and Queen’s University communications department before becoming self-employed in 1991.
New COVID-related freelancing opportunities
WEBINAR: Making the Most of Your Interviews (on any media platform)
For Paul McLaughlin, calling an interview a success comes down to just one thing.
“It’s very simple. It’s if I’ve accomplished my goals,” he says.
McLaughlin, one of Canada’s most experienced interviewing trainers and author of the book, Asking Questions: The Art of the Media Interview, says knowing what you need is one of the keys to scoring a good interview.
“For example, with a feature article, it’s because I’ve gone after what I call a ‘DnA.’ That’s a mnemonic I’ve made up for ‘details and anecdotes,'” he says.
“So have I got material that’s good? Do I have something that’s golden? I’m always trying to find some gold in the interview. You’re likely going to be surprised and there are things that you can’t anticipate but if you have a goal, you have a better chance of accomplishing it.”
McLaughlin is the former interviewing trainer for CBC Radio and TV and has taught interviewing at the Ryerson School of Journalism and in York University’s Professional Writing program. He’ll share some of the lessons he’s learned conducting thousands of interviews for both broadcast and print in an upcoming Canadian Freelance Guild webinar called “Making the Most of Your Interviews (on any media platform).”
It will cover interviewing for both print and broadcast, advanced preparation techniques, and establishing trust and rapport with an interviewee.
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Rory Peck Awards open for submissions
Freelance video journalists living anywhere in the world can now submit their work for the 2020 Rory Peck Awards.
The awards come with a cash prize and focus on international news and current affairs, with one category dedicated specifically to local journalists and field producers. Work submitted must have been broadcast in the past year.
The awards have been celebrating the work of freelance journalists working in news and current affairs worldwide for 25 years.
The deadline for entries is Monday, August 10. For more information or to submit your work for an award, see the Rory Peck Trust website.
WEBINAR: Pitching for Success – Sell That Story!
You have the story. You know you can write it and deliver it. But how to get the editor’s attention—and a green light to proceed?
CFG Founding Member Sandra Phinney will take you on a journey down the freelance “pitching for success” path in Pitching for Success – Sell That Story. This workshop will cover:
- today’s most common complaints from editors (and how to capitalize on that knowledge);
- how to analyze magazines, newspapers and websites before creating a pitch;
- tips to make your query jump off the page;
- sample pitches/queries will be included, along with a real-life email trail with an editor, from pitch to filing story, including negotiating the best rate.
Sandra’s been a journalist and author for the past 20 years. Markets come and go but she continues to be a prolific writer and pulls off some interesting assignments. She’s penned four books, contributed to several travel guides and her articles have appeared in over 70 publications. She’s also won several writing/photography awards that have kept her humble.
This one-hour webinar happens on Tuesday, July 7th from 12 pm to 1 pm Eastern Time. It will be conducted using the Zoom platform. It is free for Canadian Freelance Guild members and costs just $25 for non-members.
Your link to the Zoom-platform session will be sent to you shortly before the start time. Please be on time.
You can find more information about the cost and benefits of membership in the CFG right here.
To register for Pitching Success click here.
