Discover more about successful freelancing and our school with these articles!

How to Break In — and Flourish — as a Food Writer
Food not only sustains us, but nourishes our senses of identity, heritage, and nostalgia. Here journalist and instructor Naomi Tomky tackles some common questions about getting started and also thriving as a food writer.

Timely Pitches and Trend Forecasting for Freelancers
The ability to spot trends as they’re forming can help freelance writers beat the competition and land great placements. Here Flora Tsapovsky — who teaches Timely Angles for Freelancers — shares insights on forecasting, timely pitches, and the fine art of follow-ups!

Underrepresented Journalism Sources: Avoid the “Pale Stale Male” Trap
Honey badger alumna Sakshi Udavant shares over 20 resources to increase representation of women, and folks in the BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ and disability communities, etc.

Timely Angles and Trends in Freelance Writing
Editorial publications’ rhythms can seem inscrutable from the outside. How far in advance should you pitch? What role do timely angles play in breaking into titles? And how do you find those news hooks and trend ideas anyway? Flora Tsapovsky — who teaches Timely Angles for Freelancers — reveals all the scoop in this Q&A!

Pandemic Pitching, A Primer
The coronavirus crisis has caused ad budgets to shrink, forcing lay-offs and freelance-freezes at many outlets. This means pitching will be more challenging for a bit. Our founder and instructor Amanda Castleman offers some recommendations for flourishing in our new normal…

How Creativity Can Help Us Cope with the Pandemic
Write Like a Honey Badger Instructor Alex Leviton had to evacuate her Seattle rental twice during the COVID-19 outbreak because of asbestos exposure. From temporary digs, she discusses how imagination and creative play can help us all deal with coronavirus fears and lockdown pressures. This Q&A also explores how to set aside “productivity porn” and performance pressure, charting your own course through the pandemic disruption.

Researching New Freelance Journalism Markets
WLHB Founder Amanda Castleman
Over 20 resources to help with the eternal bugbear: what to pitch — and where and to whom and how much will it yield?

5 Easy Steps to a DIY Writer’s Website
WLHB Co-founder Amanda Castleman
You don’t need a designer. Or even a site-building service like Wix or Weebly (which can trap your content in an expensive, proprietary format that won’t export smoothly, should you change hosts). Set aside a few hours, open a Blogger or WordPress account, and have at it.

Damn Right: I Do Make a Living Writing About Food
WLHB Instructor Naomi Tomky
Last month I billed $9,300 writing about food and travel as my full-time job. I’m not a dude or a staff writer. I don’t live in New York and I didn’t come into this with any connections. I make money as a food writer because I run my freelancing like a business owner (I mean that in the least Donald Trump-y kind of way), not a creative.

PRESS ABOUT WRITE LIKE A HONEY BADGER AND OUR TEAM

Final Countdown to CIJ’s 2022 Freelance Conference
Write Like a Honey Badger is proud to sponsor The Center for Independent Journalism (CIJ) 2022 conference, held online March 11–12.

What Beats a 4-Day Workweek? A 10-Month Year
Inc magazine quoted our founder Amanda Castleman about the importance of breaks!

How to Make 2022 a 10-Month Year
Contently featured our founder Amanda Castleman, talking about how work retreats can boost writers’ creativity and productivity, and the importance of boundaries in business relationships!

Successful Pitches Shows Freelancers the Way
The Columbia Journalism Review featured our instructor Naomi Tomky and her database of successful pitches, along with other great resources for emerging authors! “I want someone who is 25 who just got laid off from their restaurant job to be able to go in and find a pitch,” Tomky says. “I don’t want any barrier to entry.”

The Monika S. Jones Travel Writing Master Class Scholarship
In 2008, the extraordinary Monika S. Jones won a scholarship to WLHB founder Amanda Castleman’s weeklong Writing Rome workshop. Now she’s paying it forward and funding a spot in the Travel Writing Master Class starting 9/11/20, as she celebrates defending her PhD!

Paying it forward (a travel writing course scholarship)
Medium: Former scholarship winner Monika S. Jones wrote a beautiful piece about her inspiration for funding a Travel Writing Master Class scholarship 12 years later to give back!

Building a Creative Travel Blogging Business
Lisa Niver, The Plug by Xomad
“In terms of pitching during COVID-19, [Instructor Amanda Castleman] told me to remember “Be extra, extra patient with yourself and others. With 27 years of experience and a good reputation, I’m getting ghosted right now. So are A-list friends, who normally have to shoo away clients. It’s just going to be the unpleasant new normal for a while. All the crickets and rejections are absolutely no reflection on you, your work, or even the idea. Remember, even when you’re not landing work, you’re improving your skills and getting on editors’ radar!”

How to Become a Travel Writer: 3 Writing Courses I Recommend
Leyla Giray Alyanak, Women on the Road
“I’ve taken three of the courses [Amanda Castleman] led before launching Write Like a Honey Badger. At times, her simple line-by-line improvements have helped shoot my own prose right off the page.

“What I also like is that this female-owned school is dedicated to increasing diversity in the media and offers a needs-based scholarship each term to POC, LGBTQIA and non-binary authors. Remember, over 70% of national bylines are still male. Write Like a Honey Badger wants to change that by empowering more voices to report with the verve of the world’s most ferocious animal!”

Workshop: How to become a Master Travel Writer
Lola Akinmade
The first time I realized I wanted to be a travel writer, I was deep in the forests of Fiji with a burning itch to share what lay in front of me with the world. And when I did eventually branch into travel writing, I muddled along for so many years and wished I had access to such a wonderful opportunity to work with Amanda Castleman back then.

Why? Because I recently had the exquisite privilege of working with her as editor on my book, Due North, and I emerged on the other side of the process so much stronger in just a few weeks!