Journalism looks quite different now to what it was thirty years ago. Writers have the ability today to upload news within a matter of seconds. Stories can then be accessed instantaneously by anyone with a smartphone. Fundamentally, technology has changed the way we communicate.
What does journalism look like for a writer working in today’s digital-heavy landscape? Nadine Cresswell-Myatt is a freelance writer and editor who has been in the journo game for three decades. Her impressive portfolio includes freelancing for major Australian publications such as the Herald Sun and The Age. For twenty years she taught writing courses at Monash and Box Hill TAFE and her recent endeavours include upmarket travel writing covering food-related experiences, hotel reviews, local and overseas travel stories, and events.
Nadine shares her personal story with the CLS community, giving us an insight into how the industry has changed and what it takes to make it as a writer in 2020.
An interview with Nadine, Cresswell-Myatt freelance writer, print and digital
Q. Hi Nadine. Thank you for taking the time to share your story with us. We’ll start by asking when you first start writing professionally?
1988. The year my daughter, Harriet was born. I was on maternity leave from the Education Department. I used maternity leave as a chance to change careers and become a writer.
Q. Did you undertake professional studies in writing/journalism?
I’d been a primary school teacher for ten years I was also studying part-time at Monash. A B.A and an M.A in Literature. Reading fueled a love of words and bombarded me with well-crafted sentences. But uni is a terrible place for people who want to be freelance journalists. Academic writing is way too elitist. It’s writing for people on a higher planet. We need to write for mere mortals. During my maternity leave year I did some sessional teaching at Monash in the English Department and finished off a Grad Dip in Women’s Studies. Somewhere in that busy year of having a new baby I completed a short course in writing at the CAE. While I’d completed lots of studies previously this was the first time I’d sat glued to my chair. I never skipped a class. Even at high school, I remember the Year 12 coordinator bailing me up in the corridor and saying “Well, you did well considering you were never here.” And in uni, I once to my shame turned my alarm off instead of getting up and going to one of my exams. Not that I had even studied for it.
But when you really find what you are passionate about, you do everything in your power to be good at it. I enrolled in a non-fiction subject at Holmesglen TAFE; a professional and editing course. I attended the interview and thought I hadn’t got in because the panel crossed their arms and tutted at me “you are overqualified.” I also applied to Box Hill TAFE.
I was accepted into both. So I did both. Same year, different teachers so different perspectives. I had no intention of doing the Diploma as a qualification. I just wanted to learn how to get published. One of the teachers was a freelancer for The Age and had lots of practical advice. I also devoured EVERY book in both campus libraries on how to write and sell feature articles.
TAFE studies gave me what uni never did and that was practical skills. The government has it all messed up not allowing students today to backtrack to lower-level courses. Degrees may give you research and thinking skills but TAFE courses are like “finishing schools” they are practical — they get you work.
Q. At what point did you know you wanted to write professionally. Did something/someone inspire you?
I was an avid reader from a young age. Lots of reading under the bedclothes with a torch until the early hours of the morning. I used to make my mother act out scenes from my favorite books with me. She humoured me. The school desks in those days were sloped and wooden and had inkwells. I would stick a sheet of paper in a crack at the top of the desk and pretend I was typing. While lots of teenage girls loved fashion magazines I was fixated on a counterculture newspaper called the Living Daylights. I didn’t know it at the time but the writers were exponents of what was called New Journalism. It’s a style of writing that fused fictional writing techniques (such as scene-setting, description dialogue) into traditional reportage. I was inspired to write in that vein. Both Joan Didion and Helen Garner also wrote in this style and are good reads for getting a grip on how to move past reportage to engaging storytelling.
Q. You have written for high profile Australian publications such as the Herald Sun and The Age. Was it difficult to find work in this field?
In those days writers submitted stories by mail with a stamped addressed envelope so the editor could return the work. Usually, with a rejection slip pinned to it! Some writers would paper their walls with these slips. I would kiss the envelope before posting it. Hoping it might bring me luck. After about 17 attempts I was pretty ready to give up. But then an editor from The Age rang and said they would be running my review in Accent which was the women’s pages (read feminist slanted pages) that came out twice a week. I do remember dancing my daughter around the house singing “Mummy’s a writer. Mummy’s a writer.” There’s a saying a writer is only as good as their last piece. So once I’d been published in The Age it was easier to get published elsewhere.
It’s easier of course to write about what we know. With a background in literature, my first publications were book reviews. All that training in literature suddenly had an outlet. The reviews were for major newspapers and literary magazines such as ABR – The Australian Book Review.
As an ex-teacher, I started writing education pieces for the Herald Sun Learn section. The editor, Evelyn Tsitas provided quite a few tips on how to approach interviewing and which schools to visit. She would send me out to write a couple of stories a week even though I was a freelancer. I wrote for a few of her successors as well.
Somewhere along the way, I attended a talk by The Age’s travel editor. He told the packed audience of wannabe travel writers that it was impossible for us to break in. To me, it was like a red rag to a bull. I figured there was a way. I got in by writing around the area of travel, or by making my stories date related. They were so timely editors simply had to consider them. I had a few in The Age but more were in the Sunday Age. I’d also send to other Australian capital city papers and NZ newspapers.
But most of the work ended up being local travel stories for the Herald Sun. I’ve a strong interest in history so a lot were about the history of towns or buildings people could visit. I wrote for a series of about 4-5 travel editors so was at it for a few years.
Q. Tell us about some of your career highlights.
An early highlight was the night there was a knock on the door and an extended hand. “Hello,” she said “I’m Rosemary West. The Accent Age editor. I was just leaving the office and driving through Richmond and thought I’d call in. That Mother’s Day piece you sent me. I’ve lost it. Could you run me off another copy?” She held my baby for me and I raced upstairs. She could have phoned but I think she wanted to meet me. The next day she phoned to ask if she could send a photographer. The story was a touching piece on Mother’s Day and how mothers sacrifice for their daughters so that they can have the best chances. And I must admit that story makes me cry. Even today. If you can move yourself you know you have a good story. The photos of my mother myself and my daughter accompanied the story in the paper a few days later and she was nice enough to send me large copies of all the photos as well. So one is framed on my wall.
When I started travel writing I entered the world of famils (familiarisation trips). One of the most surprising emails I ever got went something like “Would you come to LA next week. Business-class tickets. Disneyland ……..” And such was life when I got back that I was off a few days later on another famil to various islands on the Great Barrier Reef.
These types of experiences are why travel writers stick with travel writing and don’t go back to writing book reviews or education stories. I still get a buzz breaking into new markets as well.
Q. How did you get involved in teaching writing at TAFE?
I was a primary school teacher as I’d initially bombed at uni. Remember that exam I slept through? Teachers college wasn’t hard to get into in those days and once I’d started teaching I went back to uni part-time to do all that other study. That by this time I really craved. I had study-leave for a couple of years from the Education Department. 3 days in the classroom and then 2 at Monash. Maybe if I’d had kids at that stage I would have seen teaching primary school as more of a vocation, but in those days I didn’t find it very intellectually stimulating hence the need to do the extra study as an outlet.
The teacher who I was studying writing under was going away overseas. She asked me to take over one of her other night classes, a short course in creative writing. That was my “in” into teaching at TAFE. With a growing portfolio of published pieces, teacher training and degrees I soon found myself teaching in the course where I had only recently been a student. I taught writing at TAFE, mostly freelance journalism for over 20 years. I only left when they closed the course and we were all retrenched. That was about 6 years ago. Then I taught in the same course but from home and all the work was online. I’d been distressed about retrenchment but now working online I discovered I could work from anywhere in the world– so I did.
Q. You have moved from writing for print publications to digital. Is it difficult for trained and experienced journalists to make that jump?
The bottom fell out of writing for newspapers perhaps ten or more years ago. A lot more stories were syndicated. There were a lot more unemployed journalists so there was a lot more competition.
I drifted away from freelance writing for a number of years. While still teaching, I started working in a bookshop and for a few years sold first-edition books online to collectors. I wrote a thesis. Not a great idea. I should have known my heart was not truly in it. During that time I also started writing for WeekendNotes — a what’s on style website. I like helping people find interesting things to do. New places to eat at and to visit. I like instructing. New places to eat at and to visit. Last time I checked my articles had 1 444 089 clicks. Writing for such a site you also get offered lots of experiences.
Yes, the jump is not easy to go online. You need to think about SEO. Well crafted leads aren’t a priority and it’s far more visual. I have had to learn to take photographs. Edit and load them online.
I’ve attended a few TBEX (Travel bloggers exchange) conferences in the US. Even though I don’t blog because I write for others, I have learnt a lot about social media.
Social media is energy zapping and there is an expectation to cover all bases. I mainly do Instagram, but also Twitter and LinkedIn. I dabble with Facebook and Pinterest. I have a website but find it hard to get around to updating it. That never ending list of things that don’t get done. I think it’s called life.
Since the internet it has also become much harder to find refreshing new angles and topics. Everything has now been written about even if someone has just blogged about it. Coming up with new ideas these days is more about cross-referencing lots of other stuff.
Q. What are the main differences in writing for print vs digital?
Journalism was short and sweet. Bang, bang, bang. Some might argue otherwise because digital posts have to be short to keep the reader’s attention. But I find more words creeping in when there is the freedom to do so. Herald Sun articles were around 700 words and sub-edited back from there. TravelAwaits, which is the present website I write for, is between 1300-1500 words.
Q. Which do you prefer and why: editing or writing?
Good question. I’m with Dorothy Parker: “I hate writing, I love having written.” The first draft can be totally grueling. And then you keep polishing it until the glimmer starts to shine. Finally you begin to feel proud of it and love being a writer again.
There’s also the issue of having taught writing for so long. The more you know about something the more conscious you are of every move you make. You kick yourself when you go to use an adverb, or add the word ‘very’ or ‘that’ to a sentence. Your brain keeps stopping your creativity and double questioning — all the time.
Once I have a firm draft, I love the editing because editing is what makes a piece. Sure there might be a few flashes of initial inspiration in there but most of the good stuff is the editing of the rest of the piece that makes these stand out.
Q. Would you say it is easier or trickier to find work as a paid writer in today’s digital-heavy landscape?
These days you don’t have to wait for an editor to accept your work. I know from TBEX some bloggers are making a good living by just putting their work out there and have millions of followers. Many are highly courted by the PRs and not only given amazing experiences but also great payments. On the other hand it’s trickier because of the new skills one needs in the digital landscape — an eye on SEO, headings, captions. Technology is always changing. The need to keep up is incredible. New social media platforms come and go. It’s hard to know where to put one’s energies.
Q. How important is it for a new writer to find his/her writing niche?
Write what you know. I wrote parenting articles when I had young kids and today most of my writing is for 50 plus travellers. So, I think yes, find a niche but the niche is fluid and changes course every few years. Truth is, some niches are also more competitive than others. It’s hard to break into travel writing for example.
A decade ago I was an expert in women’s literature. Now, I couldn’t tell you who the top 10 female writers are. The nature of freelance writing is this ability to pick a topic and run with it. As freelance writers and content creators we love to find out new things. We become obsessed with topics and then drop them.
Q. What advice would you give to those who are new to writing but would like to find paid work in this space?
In twenty years or so of teaching writing I have taught thousands of writers. And also given advice that has seen many of them break through to publication. Many of them have been multi-talented people. As well as being good at writing, they are perhaps artists, actors, musicians, fantastic cooks, and heading off next weekend to run in a marathon.
Writing isn’t something that can be pocketed away. To succeed you can’t get side-tracked for too long by all these other passions you have in life. When you get side-tracked by another passion that is then your passion. That is what you should be doing. Decide if it means more to you than writing and if it does — Kiss writing goodbye and on with the next chapter of your life. If writing is your main passion then don’t leave your muse for too long or it will certainly leave you.
As for paid work. The money is in – copywriting , business writing, PR work, science/technical writing (a friend of mine won’t write for less than $1 a word). Those of us who write about the things that really interest us and who pitch stories on those ideas will find it hard to cobble together an income just from writing. My writing has always been supplemented by adjuncts to writing such as teaching writing, or working in a bookshop. Though when I started a business selling books online from home then I did leave my muse for too long.
As a freelance writer you should try and have as many regular gigs as you can. Never put all your efforts and time into one market because “poof” it could be gone tomorrow. The guy that taught me at Holmesglen has since passed away from cancer. His parting words when I last saw him all those years ago was that pitching is far more important than writing. In other words, have lots of arrows out there at any time. Even when you have some work make sure to keep shooting those arrows. As you never know where they will fall.
Thank you Nadine for sharing your widsom. What a wonderful insight into the past and present world of journalism. Follow Nadine’s musings online at: Red Bag Will Travel and Instagram.