16 Tools For Freelancers

Every year on December 1st I publish a blog post reflecting on my freelancing career, a practice that gets a bit more awkward each year I work full-time for the vast majority of my income. This year is a particularly difficult one to make the case for freelancing, even on the side, given the proliferation of LLMs. So much AI-generated content is devoid of personality, rife with errors, and lacks the subtext and context of deeply researched and reported stories. And yet it turns out that  lot of people—and publications—think that’s just fine.. Meanwhile journalists are getting laid off left and right, or finding that the publications that employ them have become untenable due to censored content or questionable new business goals. Many publications are turning not to freelancers, but to AI to fill in the gaps.

I still believe that freelancing remains an important tool, even when solid gigs are harder to come by and pay less than they should. That’s because so-called stable jobs are not very stable these days. Keeping any type of job seems tenuous in the age of inflation and tariffs, furloughs and layoffs, and uncertainty in every profession. I’m still a fan of throwing spaghetti at the wall, and it’s a lot easier to turn the volume up on freelancing or ramp up consulting if you’ve kept it going than it is to get started or even to start over from scratch. (Though it’s never too late to get started.) 

Normally at this point in the post I’d discuss my book project to teach investigative skills to journalists and non-journalists alike, workshops I’ve taught in the past year, or the AP series I helped with that finally saw the light of day after several years of research and reporting. But instead I wanted to point out 16 things that have helped me over the past 16 years, and may be able to help you, too. 

Blogging platforms

Even if you don’t blog regularly, you’re likely to find an article you want to write that nobody will pay for, or maybe just want to promote your own services. Some kind of blogging platform can be helpful both for posting and for discovery. Substack is of course the big one, but I prefer Ghost because it’s a nonprofit tech company that lives its values–while Substack enables Nazi content. There is, of course, always Patreon, Medium, Beehiiv, and many others—the possibilities are endless. 

Coaching

Getting consistent coaching has always been a little bit out of my price range, but I have gotten sessions here and there on everything from productivity to resume reviews to breaking into freelancing. For over a decade I’ve been doing a two-hour annual review with Pamela Slim. Even though my day job includes twice-annual goal setting and planning sessions, I like to look at my whole life holistically, beyond just career–and you can often be more honest with yourself and your coach if they’re independent  If coaching is financially out of reach, group coaching, online coaching, or even peer coaching may be accessible. I also like splurging for a one-off session here and there, if you can find one. Most coaches will also do group calls for free as a marketing strategy.

Conferences

There’s something about talking shop with people in person, and it doesn’t always require a high price tag. Often there are free or discounted media passes, volunteer opportunities, and even organizations offering scholarships. And regional conferences are an excellent way to attend for free. Talks are great, but the hallway track is often even more valuable. No specific recommendations here other than to venture beyond journalism conferences to those covering a beat you cover or are interested in, and that there’s a bit of trial and error in finding the best fit.

Coworking

I only cowork a couple of times a month, but there’s just something about being around other humans after slaving away solo in your home. Some spots even have free coffee and snacks, networking and events, even classes or workshops. Just make sure to try before you buy–sometimes the most popular coworking spaces may not meet your needs. 

Digital Security

Even if your beat isn’t cybersecurity, you may find yourself working on a story that requires you to secure your digital devices. There are some great resources out there, ranging from Security Planner (disclosure, I work on it) which will help you make a customized plan, to Access Now’s Digital Security helpline (for personalized assistance). I also really like the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Freedom of the Press Foundation (disclosure: have done small freelance projects for both in the past) for their explainers. 

End-to-end Encrypted Messaging

Signal is a cool, free, easy-to-use app for end-to-end encrypted calls, video calls, and texts. There’s really no reason not to use it, and if any of your work is confidential,  it’s even more important. 

Financial Planning

Monarch is a great way to keep track of your finances, including recurring bills, something that can be a challenge when your job is very feast or famine.. It’s only $99 a year. (I also really like Nectarine for financial advice, Ramit Sethi’s books and podcast and Masterclass, and going to an accounting firm like Fox Tax that specializes in freelancers.) Financial advisors are sometimes awful, can promise low hourly fees without mentioning their minimum number of hours, try to double their fees for couples, or only provide ongoing support for people who don’t need it. There are even some firms that make you wait for months for an intro call, rave about their flexibility and how excited they are to work with you, and then refer you to the exact type of services you said you didn’t need, so choose carefully! 

Invoicing

I used to use Freshbooks for invoicing until they raised their rates with no notice, and then switched to Wave, which is completely free for a starter plan that allows unlimited estimates, invoices, bills, and bookkeeping records. You only have to pay if you accept credit cards. And you can easily resend unpaid, past due invoices. (I like to attach invoices with final drafts of stories–they are less likely to get “lost.”)

Legal Hotlines

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has a legal hotline available to journalists and media lawyers. They can’t help with contracts, intellectual property issues, or labor and employment laws, and contacting them does not create an attorney-client relationship, but they can answer some questions and put you in touch with local attorneys who may provide legal services for free or at a discounted rate. 

Library Apps

It gets expensive to buy every book you want to read, but you may not have time to go to the library each time. Libby is a free library reading app that allows you to borrow ebooks, audiobooks, magazines and more from your local library. Your library may have other electronic resources as well. 

Newsletters and Podcasts

If you’re freelancing on a certain topic because you’re interested in it, you probably want to keep track of what’s going on but without having to spend hours a day on it. I personally subscribe to This Week in Security and listen to a handful of tech and security podcasts (and a bunch of cooking and baking ones, just for fun. Whatever medium you like, make sure you’re keeping up with what’s going on. And if you dread doing this, it might be time to switch beats. 

Online Communities

There’s so many to choose from: Study Hall, Freelance Success, the Freelance Writer’s Den, and more. Many charge a monthly fee, some are free (like Binders Full of Women Writers.) And of course there are always Slack and Discord channels for just about every subcommunity and subculture and scene. I like these for keeping tabs on what’s going on, which places are accepting pitches, which publications don’t pay, and so forth. I also really enjoy good curated social media, which right now for me means Bluesky and Mastodon. (I even work with the Lockdown Systems Collective, which has a great tool called Cyd that helps people delete their old tweets for free and migrate them to Bluesky for a small fee.) 

Professional Organizations

I like Investigative Reporters & Editors (IRE), but there’s also groups like American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), ones that focus on specific beats, like Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ), Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ), National Writers Union (NWU), and specific affinity groups like the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), the Journalism & Women Symposium (JAWS), the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), the Indigenous Journalists Association (IJA), The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists (NLGJA), and probably more I’m forgetting. These organizations have resources, webinars, workshops, conferences, events, and much more. (Every once in a while there are organizations like Freelancer’s Union that aren’t run by freelancers and aren’t exactly a union, but it may still be worth checking out a local meeting to see what the vibe is like.) 

Self-Care

In order to freelance successfully, you need to be able to regulate your emotions so you’re not completely thrown off for hours every time someone “forgets” to pay you for the umpteenth time, edits errors into your work, sends a rejection email or no response at all, or when you read your email or the comments only to learn that someone is wrong on the internet. There’s no one-size-fits all solution here, but definitely find something that’ll help you relax, whether it’s Yoga With Adriene videos or sound bowls or acupuncture or just turning off your phone and watching comedy.

Speaking Training

I give a lot of talks at conferences, but my speaking training through Vital Voice Training went beyond that. Not only did we cover ways to structure a talk, and how to rehearse for it, I also learned my communication core values, and ways to prepare for high-stakes meetings. Even if you can’t afford the training, the blog and resources are also invaluable. And there are tons of other resources for speaking, from Toastmasters to community college classes, that you can tap into.

Task Management

I have used tons of task management tools and Todoist is my current favorite. It’s also freemium. And you can set up recurring tasks for those things you need to do every day (like sending two to four pitches). There are a million other options including Teux Deux, Trello, Wrike, a notebook… just find one that works for you. 

I hope this list has been helpful, even if there's only one thing on here you haven't already thought of! As always, please let me know what I've missed.