Business Freelancing: How to be successful as an

independent journalist

Monday, April 13, 2015, 2 p.m. ET

Have you ever thought about freelance business writing? Are you an independent journalist looking for a way to up your game and your portfolio of business? Then SABEW’s next training session is for you. We’ll address how to get started in freelancing and how to cultivate regular customers. We’ll also cover the business aspects of being an independent journalist, and we’ll hear an editor’s perspective on pitches and the working relationship between freelancers and editors.

Listen to the the call: April 13, 2015

Moderator

Bryan Borzykowski. Bryan Borzykowski is a Toronto-based business editor and writer. He covers investing, personal finance, small business, technology and other topics for the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star and Canadian Business. He also writes for a number of American publications, including the New York Times, CNBC, BBC Capital and CNNMoney. Bryan’s authored three books and often talks business on CTV. He is a member of SABEW’s Board of Governors.

Panelists

Michelle Rafter. Michelle Rafter is a business journalist covering work, tech and finance for consumer and business publications, and managing editorial projects for online publishers and other organizations. Rafter writes the twice monthly On the Job column for the Orange County Register, and has had recent stories in the Wall Street Journal, MSN Money, NBCNews.com, Purple Clover, Edmunds.com, and Workforce Management.

Daniel Ray. Daniel Ray is editor in chief of CreditCards.com, a personal finance website focusing on credit and debt issues. He has been writing and editing consumer-oriented stories about money and personal finance for 15 years. He started his career at The Miami Herald, and before joining CreditCards.com, he was editor in chief at Bankrate.com. Dan has won multiple awards, including six Best in Business awards from SABEW. He was one of 25 online personal finance editors invited to the Personal Finance Online Summit, an event held at the White House in 2011 and again in 2012. Dan has worked with freelance writers for 20 years and even was one himself briefly, until he discovered that while freelancing offers great freedom, chief among them is the freedom to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Marcia Turner. Marcia Layton Turner is an award-winning business writer with expertise in small business and personal finance. In her 15+ years as a freelance writer, Marcia has written everything from books and e-books to newsletters, advertorials, white papers, case studies, website copy, articles, and blog posts.  She has worked with corporate clients such as Comcast, Kodak, Chase, PNC Bank, Chrysler, and American Express, as well as educational institutions, consultants, and financial service firms. Her work has appeared in Businessweek, Entrepreneur, Black Enterprise, MyBusiness, and Woman’s Day, as well as numerous trade journals. Online she has written for CNNMoney, Amex OPEN Forum, and Next Avenue. She has authored, co-authored, or ghosted more than 30 non-fiction books, most with major publishers.

Questions about teletraining? Please contact Mary Jane Pardue at MJPardue@MissouriState.edu or Kimberly Quillen at kimberly.quillen@arizonarepublic.com.

Presented as a member service by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers.