The Freelancer’s Daily Read: MediaBistro

For freelance writers of all kinds, there’s perhaps no site that’s as vital to keeping up with the publishing industry — from the perspective of writers and creative professionals — than MediaBistro.com. Packed with years’ worth of feature articles, blog posts and message boards detailing the trials, tribulations, challenges and issues facing the freelance writer over the past half-decade or so, the site is considered a daily must-read for those hustling their way through this business.

And hustle they must do, because today’s economic times are particularly tough for the freelance writer, even though they follow several years of downsizing that have left the magazine business a shadow of its former self, in terms of the opportunities that once were available to writers in the industry as well as the handsome per-word rates freelance writers especially could once command.

The good news is that MediaBistro tackles all these issues and more head-on, with a New York sensibility (it was founded and still operates from its headquarters there, though now it is part of a larger communications company called Jupiter Media) that can often spill over into either snarky or clever, depending on your perspective and likely the part of the country in which you live.

The site’s two best assets, for my time and probably most freelancers’ needs, are the job listings and the message boards. Yes, most of the jobs listed are located in New York and in California. But let’s face it, that’s also where the publishing industry is largely based, and where many, many writers go at least once in their careers to take their shot.

One note of caution about the message boards — though many of the posts are helpful (and probably 99% of those who post are sincerely trying to be helpful or just get advice with problems and issues they’re struggling with), you’ll no doubt come across posters who share Cassandra-like tales of woe about their lot as freelancers working today vs. the life of the writer decades ago, posts I like to categorize as “everything sucks and nothing’s as good as it used to be.”

Like every other professional field today, freelance writing is challenging and often economically difficult to do, given the rates that many magazines are paying. But that’s just as characteristic of the business world overall today, so there’s no doubt we’re all in the same boat together.

Get to know MediaBistro by visiting their site.