Abby’s visit to our class was very informative. She really had interesting insights into the life of freelancing that you can’t get from anyone other than a freelancer.

Abby’s description of the freelance life seemed organized, but you could sense the chaos that comes from the requirements of the job. There’s a lot of travel involved and pitching stories to different publishers also seems like kind of a hassle. Not to mention the extra work that goes into creating news by yourself, without the creature comforts and assistance you can get in a newsroom.

I enjoyed her advice to write for free in the beginning should you be so inclined. A lot of people get their starts writing for free. It’s a good way to start getting your name into publications and showing the industry what you’ve got.

I enjoyed Abby’s demeanor and really like the “bad bitch” attitude. That’s what she was called in the industry because, while she’s friendly, she was also direct and got her work done It’s something that I think most freelancers really need to embody when they’re going out into the world to work. Abby’s presentation really told us about having that fire to take the world head on like a good freelancer should.