Masterclass: Freelancing for Life

This masterclass will provide all the useful, practical information you need to be able to do what you love – but also pay the bills.

We’ve brought together professional writers and industry insiders for a whole day of advice on establishing yourself as a business, diversifying your career, undertaking internships, strategic planning, marketing, working in arts management, invoicing correctly and, most importantly, how to balance creative and corporate work. Packed with useful information to establish yourself as a freelance writer and stick it out through boom or bust.

10:30am  –  Keynote

Prolific writer Clementine Ford shares tips, tricks and war stories from her varied and successful freelancing career.

With: Clementine Ford

11:00am  –  Time Is Money

How much of your day should be dedicated to pitching and writing for corporate gigs, and how much devoted to actual creation of new work? Hear from these writers about how they organise their days, handle invoicing, keep track of pitches, balance paid work and manage to find time for their own creative practice.

With: Luke Ryan, Ronnie Scott and Elizabeth Flux

12:00pm  –  The Art of the Essay

Traversing the borders of the personal and the political, and exploring the intersection of literary and journalistic modes, join these acclaimed artists for an in-depth discussion about the art of essay writing.

With: Nick Feik, Becky Harkins-Cross and Maria Tumarkin

1:00pm  –  Lunch

2:00pm  –  Out of the Box

Many writers make their name in one area, but that area can overshadow other (sometimes unrelated) ideas and insights they have to offer. What are the risks of a writer having a ‘brand’ tied to particular issue? How can they escape a pigeonhole without alienating their initial readership? How should emerging writers deal with being prematurely categorised?

With: Ellena Savage and Amy Gray

3:00pm  –  Freelancing 202

So you’ve set yourself up as a freelancer and things have been going okay… sort of. A panel with advice for freelancers with 1-2 years experience who need some direction to grow their business without increasing their workload (working smarter not harder) and a guide to finding the publications/outlets they really want to write for to sustain their interest and their income.

With: Adeline Teoh, Gillian Terzis and Liam Pieper