7 Ways I Plan to Approach Freelance Journalism Differently in 2025
2024 has been busy, fruitful and thrilling—but I learned a lot about priorities and time management
A full 2024 recap post will come later, but this is not that. This is in response to being in the trenches of overcommitting. Before I get into everything, I want to say this has been my proudest professional year to date, and I am beyond grateful for every person, invite, interview and meeting I’ve encountered through work in 2024. It’s definitely been a surreal, pinch-me year. I feel valued, appreciated and respected. Nothing could be better. But obviously with more opportunities comes less time. I’m grateful to say I haven’t encountered any life-altering lessons or screwups this year. It’s more about prioritizing, being ok with saying no and simply just not overcommitting.
One of the biggest blessings of 2024 has been landing a contributor role with Forbes.com. As you can imagine, the opportunities have rushed in (and gratefully so). That said, it’s easy to get assignment-happy without completely thinking things through. Everyone has their own approach to journalism. I’m a features girlie. My articles are going to be in-depth and (hopefully!) profound. I can’t just phone it in. It’s not who I am. Therefore, my articles are going to take a lot of research and thought—which is great for the outcome, disastrous for time management.
I come from a traditional journalism background (mostly entertainment with some hard news), meaning deadlines were enforced like crazy. If Lindsay Lohan got a DUI, that was a 30 minute deadline, if Kim Kardashian’s cleavage was on display in a new photo post, that was a three-hour deadline, if I interviewed someone random on the red carpet at a Svedka launch party, that was a three-day deadline. The point is, there weren’t monthly deadlines. Articles went up daily and frequently. Sure, the interview with the former DWTS contestant at the Svedka party could have a little wiggle room, but these were not put on the back burner for weeks or months at a time. So, to me, I’ve always had deadlines ingrained in my mind. But what I’m learning more and more is that, depending on who you’re writing for, you don’t always need to stress. I’m not covering court cases and Kim K.’s cleavage anymore. I’m writing huge features. It’s just different. But, of course, if I’m given a definitive, set-in-stone deadline from a publication, I always stick to it.
Fortunately I have two industry peers I respect, who’ve been doing the whole Forbes thing for a few years now: Amanda Lauren and Yola Robert. They’ve been down my road and made it through with their heads high. I know they’ve both been inundated with pitches, and favors and all the things. They understand it’s ok to be extremely grateful and extremely overwhelmed at the same time. I also know they straight-up tell people when they’re tapped out for the year. Side note: Check out their work if you haven’t already. They’ve both done very well for themselves (at Forbes and beyond).
In addition to Forbes, I’ve been writing weekly for IPSY, and monthly for The Quality Edit, The Daily Beast, Molly Sims’ YSE Beauty blog, and Spa & Beauty Today—with a slew of odds and ends intermixed. Listen, everyone is busy so I’m not here to say one thing or another. The point I’m trying to make is that I’ve learned a lot about commitments and time management. Not only will my list below help me streamline my professional priorities in 2025, but it can hopefully help others. This pertains to publicists as well, for planning purposes and just general knowledge.
1. I’ll never guarantee a publish date or month. Like EVER.
There’ve been so many times when I’ve thought, all I need is two months, three months, mayyybe four months. But that was me not taking into consideration more timely or unexpected deadlines, other publications, life—and the list goes on.
I still have like eight features I’ve committed to through the rest of 2024 (I’m only referring to Forbes—not even my other publications), and my goal is to have them done so I can go into 2025 with a fresh slate. But, you know what? If god forbid a couple roll over to the next year, welp! We will all be ok.
As we enter the new year, I’m telling reps from here on out that I can’t commit to a publish date/month, but—unless something crazy happens—I can guarantee the piece will be be published. I understand there will always be timely content, and of course those pieces will be a priority. But if I interview a founder in January about her brand’s 20-year anniversary, it may not be until July that the piece goes live. Once I make that clear, I’ll feel so much less stressed about it and so much more excited about the project.
2. I won’t say, “let’s circle back in a couple months” if I don’t really want to circle back about it.
Something I found myself doing this year was trying to appease people who really put in the work (either with their brand or by the way they’ve tried to connect with me). Once I got to the middle of the year, I knew that my bandwidth for coverage was getting smaller and smaller. And as of a couple months ago, I finally started saying “I’m no longer accepting feature pitches.”
Regardless of the time of year, I think I have a clear sense of what will make a compelling story, and what I, personally even care to write about. While I do want brands to have a chance to evolve and grow since their first initial reach-out, if I know deep down that the topic or brand is either way too niche/complicated, not a personal interest or will take way too much effort to dive into, it’s fine to totally pass (which I do plenty) or say “I don’t have anything fitting now, but will keep my eye on it.”
I don’t need to say “let’s revisit this in a few months” if I truly don’t intend to cover. Now, don’t get me wrong, there have been plenty of times this year that I did want the brand or rep to circle back, but in 2025, I’m going to be completely clear (to myself) with my wording so I don’t give anyone false hope (and my inbox doesn’t suffer).
3. I won’t commit or allude to doing a feature unless I’m certain I’ll still have the time and passion for the topic three months later
Once again, as my Forbes opportunities arose, I often got assignment-happy. Oh yeah, this could totally be a story. Or we should cover that! I certainly don’t regret my excitement or any of the articles I’ve worked on (I’m proud of all of them). But in general, I guess you could say my eyes were bigger than my stomach? Like I bit off more than I could chew? There were many things that sounded exciting in theory, but they’d go on to take a very, very long time. But hey, it’s not like I would have known that from the get-go. Now I know, and I have to think more critically moving forward.
4. Say yes to less (I’m already on my way)
I want to be clear and say the events and trips I attended this year were incredible. I don’t know if it’s from all the money brands were able to save amid the Zoom-ridden pandemic or what, but I’ve been so impressed with everything. So I’m not going to sit here and say these moments were a waste of time. They’ve all had so much thought put into the production and the guest list and so many other components. And I’ve genuinely enjoyed them (so thank you to anyone who invited me to an event or trip this year). I’ve also been happy about all the meetings I’ve taken. You seriously never know what may come of someone you sit down with for an hour. Sure, sometimes it doesn’t lead to much, but a lot of the time it does. It’s always nice to connect with industry peers, and I’ll continue respecting those correspondences.
Therefore, I don’t feel like my time was wasted in those senses. I think it’s a lot more related to time management. So, for example, yes, I do love a good event, but if I miss XYZ event, will it kill me if it means I’ll have way more time to take care of things I actually have to do? Do I need to say yes to every facial, every meditation, every hair launch, every champagne-filled boutique opening? No. I need to analyze every invite and ask myself what I’m getting out of it, and if the benefit outweighs my alone time.
And by no means is this directed at anyone. Every case is different—I’m just getting better at really prioritizing what I need to do. I will always support my friends/close colleagues, first and foremost, so that’s not an issue. And if it’s a brand or PR agency I’ve always wanted to connect with, count me in. I’m just going to be better at tapping into what I actually need to get done, versus what I can do for fun.
I’ve definitely cut back a bit and have been better at setting personal boundaries, and I’m proud of that. It can be hard to let people down, but you also have to protect your energy and time. So I feel strong about that going into the new year.
5. *Aim* to leave at least two weekdays completely bare on the calendar each week
Once I hit the middle of the year, I definitely made a point to try leaving all my Mondays completely bare. No calls, no events, nothing. Like literally not even stepping outside. Obviously there are things out of our control, and if something important falls on a Monday, you can’t just cancel the world. But what I plan to do moving forward is plan things out as far in advance as I need to, in order to ensure I have two (at least one) weekdays completely bare each week. If that means cramming six things into one day, so be it. Having two bare days on the calendar each week (at least during the daytime) will do wonders for my mental health and productivity. This is where the joys of freelancing come into play. I need to use them to the best of my advantage.
6. Be even more clear from the jump with a publicist if I’m only hopping on a call as a favor
It’s always tough when you agree to a 1:1 mtg (IRL or otherwise) with a rep’s client. No matter what (even if it’s purely informational/for brand awareness), it’s only human nature for the client to walk away with the hope this may lead to something. I totally get it, that’s normal. And there are many times in which it will. But there are other times when you take a meeting to help a friend—or you do genuinely want to meet with the client, but you don’t see coverage on the near horizon, or you’re simply just too busy. It’s important to be crystal clear with the rep so that you’re off the hook and the client doesn’t have false hope.
7. Open PR gifts or packages as they arrive, versus a bunch at once
This is an area where I have majorly slacked in the last two years. It only leads to piles and delays. I just push packages to the side, and then before I know it, they’re no longer new to share on social media or even potentially relevant to what I’m working on. I vow to open within three days of arrival (if I’m present to open it). I apologize to anyone who has sent me a package in the last two years. If it took me forever to get to, it absolutely was not personal! This is something I can easily tend to. I liked the idea of opening all at once and posting on IG Stories, but I’m just going to post as I receive from here on out. Too much stress and hassle. Also, does anyone else struggle with this? LMK! I’m so grateful for everything I receive, but I need to be better about managing those deliveries.
In other professional news… I’m thrilled to share one of my proudest career pieces to date. I had the incredible honor of writing a 30-year tribute to Stila Cosmetics for Forbes.com. I interviewed the brand’s CEO Michelle Kluz, CMO Mary Rodrigues, Global Beauty Director and Head of Artistry Charlie Riddle, and celeb makeup artist Molly Greenwald—all of which were an absolute delight to chat with. The nature of our correspondence really set the tone for my thoughts towards the piece from the jump. It’s obviously impossible to pack 30 years into one article, but I did my best to capture the essence of the brand past and present, while diving into any notable highs and lows.
In personal news… I dyed my hair black last week, and I’m obsessed!
ICYMI… last week I shared the easiest way to hook an editor into your pitch.
In terms of holiday gift guides… I know the Substack community goes wild. I haven’t determined what I’ll be doing with those just yet, but I like when my GGs are niche and impactful. Stay tuned, I promise to keep you guys posted.
From a close PR colleague: NYC Luxury Fashion Show Opp 10/22 (gifting and editorial opps) Working with a brand who is flying in six high-end South Asian designers to showcase in NYC for the very first time. They’ve previously dressed Beyonce, Cardi B, Mariah Carey, Priyanka Chopra and many more. We're looking for brands who'd be interested in placing products in gift bags for the VIP attendees, or in a larger sponsorship at the show. Also looking for editors who want to attend. MSG ME IF YOU WANT MORE INFO
I also have opps for someone whose client simply wants more exposure/guaranteed social media coverage. Large media event looking for anyone tied to an event photo booth, beer, wine or spirits brand that’s open to event donations, general product for media/influencer gift bags or raffle (can essentially be anything), anything whatsoever related to party decor. Will share more info upon interest.
Is there untapped media territory you’d like to dive into next? Shoot me a note and let’s chat!