Episode 372: Anna Altman

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I try to break it down into sections, when you get the end of a 1,000, or 1,500 words, you’ve made it to the next drop cap, and that feels important.

Anna Altman, Ep. 372

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By Brendan O’Meara

Anna Altman (@bananaaltman) is a freelance journalist and a social worker in training, and she just wrote and reported her second feature for The Atavist Magazine called “The Quality of Mercy.” It deals with compassionate release for the terminally ill and the one man at the center of it advocating for his fellow inmates.

In this episode we dig into how she arrived at this story and the unique challenges of reporting this piece in the ten-minute chunks Anna had with her central figure, Gary Settle, as they spoke through the prison phone system.

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Episode 283: Freelancing, Abundant Mindsets, and Writing from a Place of Anger with Jen A. Miller

Jen Miller
Jen Miller
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By Brendan O’Meara

Jen A. Miller makes her return to the podcast after nearly five years. She said it best, “I feel old…and tired.”

She has a new ebook out called Where to Find New Freelance Writing Clients and Turbocharge Your Career: A Road Map to Freelance Writing Success. It’s $10 and it just might alter the course of your life. I don’t say that lightly. She also wrote How I Made $135,000 in One Year of Freelancing. It’s not gloating. She tells you how.

Jen also is the author of the memoir Running: A Love Story.

In this episode, we talk about:

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Episode 261: Wudan Yan and Jenni Gritters Talk All Things Coaching, Freelancing, and Mindset Monsters

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By Brendan O’Meara

Wudan Yan and Jenni Gritters are back!

They host The Writers’ Co-op Podcast, and it is back for Season 3, a season in which they focus on coaching.

Lots of good stuff here including:

  • Why Jenni “left” journalism
  • Building confidence
  • Business plans
  • Mindset monsters
  • And freelancer archetypes

Follow Wudan and Jenni on Twitter, as well as @CNFPod, and learn more about them, their work, and their services at their websites.

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Episode 254: Elena Passarello on Weird Freelance Work, Podcasting, and Oatmeal Brain

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By Brendan O’Meara

A great pleasure to welcome back Elena Passarello to the show to talk about … jeez … just about everything.

This was very much a shoot-the-shizz pod, but when it comes to Elena, there are few people you’d rather be listening to. So if you dug episodes with Bronwen Dickey and Peter Brown Hoffmeister, you’re in the right place, CNFers!

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Episode 246: Jenni Gritters on the Freelance Life, Not Waiting for Perfect, and Sh*t Sandwiches

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By Brendan O’Meara

Jenni Gritters is here.

She’s a freelancer and she is not a struggling freelancer in the ways that many of us identify as a struggling freelancer, which is to say: we po’.

Jenni, @jenni_gritters, along with her co-pilot on The Writers’ Co-op Podcast Wudan Yan, are thriving. Through strategy and rigor, Jenni is a six-figure earner, this during the pandemic, this when many writers are struggling to make a go of it.

She turned her skill into money, which allows her to double down on her skill and do more projects that are more personal-driven.

I like to think of some content/branded writing gigs like when Jake Gyllenhaall does a blockbuster movie so that he can then do the art-house stuff he probably wants to do. Book your Marvel movie, then go write your memoir. Haha.

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Compliment yourself

Seth Godin has written that, as freelancers, we’re our worst boss.

We wouldn’t tolerate a boss who talks to us the way we talk to ourselves.

Meichi Ng, the brilliant cartoonist behind Barely Functional Adult, said,

I think I still don’t have a bulletproof way to silence that voice. But I try to focus on what friends told me. I try to focus on what I know to be true. That might be a bit more positive than what I’m thinking about at the time. And then, if anything, I just talked to friends about it. And I feel like it’s always a good reality check to have someone else tell you what they know about you as opposed to you kind of spiraling into darkness.

Maybe look at your work, imagine it being done by an employee, and imagine giving that employee a figurative pat on the back. It always feels good when the boss recognizes your work. So recognize it in yourself.

Pocket passer

In a recent conversation I had with the freelance writer and journalist Pete Croatto, he said pitching outlets is a lot being a quarterback.

You have your first option for big yards. Then you go through your progressions.

Sometimes you check down, sometimes you tuck it and run. Maybe you take a sack or punt and wait for the next possession. It does no good to keep throwing into triple coverage.

It’s an apt metaphor: move the sticks.

Episode 208: From Floundering to Freelance Superstar with Wudan Yan

Wudan Yan

This episode is sponsored by Scrivener, by writers for writers.

“That was always my understanding that if you want to be a freelance journalist, you’re probably going to have to do a lot of things that you don’t want to do, so it creates time, space, and resources for you to dig into the things that you want to do.” — Wudan Yan

By Brendan O’Meara

You know when an episode is especially juicy? Of course you do! and this is one of them.

Wudan Yan is a freelance superstar. You can find her on Twitter (an amazing follow) @wudanyan. She’s one of those wicked smaht people who breaks things down and makes things supah approachable and, damn, maybe you can make a go of it, too.

She’s a Seattle-based journalist and co-host of The Writer’s Co-op, a business podcast for writers. Wudan got internet famous for a blog post she wrote about chasing late fees for the $5,000 she was owed. Unfortunately this is the ugly side of freelancing, chasing late payments like Pac-Man on a ghost.

Instead of me linking up to so much of her incredible work, just go here and dig in. Get some coffee. Pour in some delicious vegan creamer into your coffee (I prefer Oatly’s barista creamer) and settle in for some world-class journalism, bruh.

Be sure you’re subscribed to the show wherever you get your podcasts and consider leaving a nice review on Apple Podcasts. They help.

Keep the conversation going on social media, @CNFPod across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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Episode 197: Eva Holland — Coping by Going into Reporter Mode

Eva Holland
Eva Holland (Photo credit: GBP Creative)

By Brendan O’Meara

Eva Holland returns to the show after a long, long absence.

In this episode, you’ll hear some of the advanced advice she knows and wants to know regarding freelancing, the nexus of memoir and deep reportage, participatory antics, and overcoming the imposter syndrome of stepping out of her comfort zone.

I’m hesitant to include or first interview because it is a rough production. Eva was great. Me on the other hand …

In any case, Eva has a new book out called Nerve: Adventures in the Science of Fear (The Experiment, 2020) and it is a trip.

“I knew right away I would be writing about my mom’s death. I knew that immediately,” Eva told me, and that was what triggered a years’ long journey into fear and her relationship to it.

Follow the show @CNFPod on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Email the show with questions or kind words creativenonfictionpodcast@gmail.com. If this show means something to you, please consider leaving a kind review on Apple Podcasts.

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Episode 172: Christopher McDougall — ‘Running with Sherman,’ ‘Born to Run,’ and Finding Your Stride

By Brendan O’Meara

“Like all writing is re-writing. All reporting is re-reporting.” —Christopher McDougall (@chrismcdougall)

This was a thrill. This was a blast. I know you’re going to love this too. Christopher McDougall, the bestselling author of Born to Run, Natural Born Heroes, and Running with Sherman is here to talk about his books, but also the speed bumps of his career.

How did he get his start? Where were the hiccups, and how did getting fired from a pretty steady gig in Philly turn him loose to write the book that effectively changed his life? Yeah, it’s all here, baby.

Keep the conversation going on Twitter @CNFPod and @BrendanOMeara. Instagram has been a little lax of late, but that’s @cnfpod. It’s all a mess, man!

Hope you’ve been enjoying the CNF Snacks that I’ve been putting out on Monday. Creating without Judgement and Be a Fan are the first installments. The tapas of CNF Pod.

Thanks to Bay Path University for the support and for Riverteeth’s promotional support.

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