I was twenty years old when I started freelance journalism. I was a college senior who hadn’t yet graduated and hadn’t taken a single formal journalism class. In fact, I had no experience other than working at my college newspaper earlier that year, getting a C in my high school yearbook elective, and in elementary school, reporting on my class’s school field trip. To say that I felt afraid, inexperienced, and a fraud is an understatement.
To be fair, there is a lot about the journalism industry that, rather ironically, takes knowledge for granted. The first time an editor asked me for an invoice, for example, I panic-called three friends and my mom to ask what that was and how to put one together. The first time I did an interview, I forgot to research who I was interviewing and ended up asking them questions that I could’ve easily found the answers to on their website, the same questions that no doubt every interviewer has ever asked them. I didn’t stand out, I wasn’t engaging, and I mumbled and often had to repeat myself.
And I’ll never forget the first time an editor didn’t reply to my email no matter how many times I left follow-ups, which left me feeling discouraged and abandoned or like I’d done something wrong, not knowing that a no-reply rather than a straight-up no is common industry practice. When you work with mainstream publications, there are so many things you’re already expected to know, like what a “pitch” or “beat” is, that your payment won’t come for months, and that you might end up shopping around the same story idea for months on end. I only learned these things on the job as I went alone, always feeling jealous of colleagues who seemed to have everything figured out.
Journalism is all about revealing the truth, saying what everyone else won’t talk about, spotlighting what has gone invisible, bringing justice to or speaking up against something you know is wrong. For me and many others, it’s become a way to express and practice my social justice activism.
But it can also be incredibly frustrating and full of gate-keeping practices. Just to get one editor’s email address, I’ve had to go through unimaginable hoops because they were from a popular publication that made them coveted and untouchable. I’ve accepted absurdly low pay for my work. I’ve accepted feedback that didn’t resonate with my values. I once waited a whole year to get paid. I know full-time journalists who work long, unforgiving hours and those in freelance journalism who spend the same amount of time on work without getting paid, including finding (and pitching outlets).
For so many, especially those who are women, queer, disabled, low-income, and BIPOC, a career in the mainstream industry isn’t always sustainable or kind. But they need us, not the other way around. They need our perspectives. They need something different. If journalism is about saying what hasn’t yet been said, we’re the ones with the sharpest tongues. Our identities as marginalized people help us notice what others won’t. But if they won’t welcome us, it’s up to us to make our own spaces.
That’s why I’ve partnered with LatinaMedia.Co to bring you the Freelance Journalism 101 Retreat, a one-day, in-person event in LA with workshops, panels, and discussions where you’ll get the chance to learn everything I was never told – how to come up with ideas for stories, how to conduct an interview, how to put together an invoice, how to advocate for yourself and your work, how to build a brand for yourself online, how to balance work and self-care, and so much more. Featuring an all-Latina line-up of experienced freelancers, the event is a crash course for freelance hopefuls so that you’re better prepared to be a force in an industry that needs our voices. All attendees will also get a free journal and pen, and coffee and food will be available for purchase on-site.
LatinaMedia.Co was one of the first publications that ever published my work and gave my words a safe home, and I so appreciate their support in developing my vision. I hope that this event will be a chance to bring you closer to a just-as-fulfilling career in making the stories in our heads come alive–all on our terms.
Buy tickets for the Freelance Journalism 101 Retreat at juniorhighla.com!
