The Content Byte

This week, Rachel & Lynne welcome mind, body, spirit expert Maggie Hamilton – writer, social researcher, former publisher and founder of Allen & Unwin's Inspired Living imprint – to discuss opportunities and challenges in the genre. Maggie explains why the genre appeals to her, share the most influential titles and authors in the space, and outlines common mistakes writers make when exploring this space. She recommends adding case studies, interviews, research, and broader references to spiritual traditions and thinkers, plus using universal language for international audiences. It's a broad and inspiring conversation, covering ghostwriting, speaking opportunities, traditional vs self-publishing, and the importance of early structural guidance. Maggie also previews her Writing NSW online course, covering submissions, readership, permissions, genre "languaging," and creating punchy chapters and introductions. The Elif Shafak book on Rumi is The Forty Rules of Love. Maggie's course for Writing NSW is here: https://writingnsw.org.au/whats-on/courses/online-mind-body-spirit/ Her website is: https://www.maggiehamilton.org/ Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: [email protected] for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co

This week on the podcast, Rachel and Lynne welcome back Lindy Alexander, to discuss how pitching is changing for freelancers and what it takes to get editors' attention. Lindy is an award-winning travel writer and founder of The Freelancer's Year and she explains why she created courses after readers asked about her pitching strategy, and describes the tighter commissioning landscape as budgets stagnate and editors become more time-poor. She outlines common pitching mistakes, including pitching broad topics instead of specific stories, writing lyrical but unclear subject lines, and not knowing a publication's voice, tone, readership, or sections. Lindy shares what gets commissioned now: concise, clearly angled pitches tailored to a particular vertical, with relevant sources where needed, and how strong pitches can build relationships with editors, even without prior contact. She also covers following up, learning from rejections, and balancing travel writing with running her Travel Writer Accelerator course. Connect with Lindy via: The Freelancer's Year The Travel Writer Accelerator Here are also the links to the call outs she mentions: Study Hall newsletter Travel writing call outs on IG Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: [email protected] for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co

This week, Rachel and Lynne discuss podcasting as part of a freelance content strategy with guest Caroline Winter, a former radio journalist and co-founder of POD Talk. Caroline shares lessons from creating her eight-part narrative series Sick as a Dog about the veterinary industry's mental health crisis and explains how her agency finds clients and produces podcasts for organisations. She outlines what new podcasters need, including clarity of focus, defined audience, strong preparation, hosting skills, consistency, and good audio quality — plus practical ways to test an idea's longevity. Caroline also covers agency realities such as pricing, client psychology, measures of success beyond monetisation, emerging podcast trends, and tools and habits that help her work efficiently. Connect with Caroline here: https://www.podtalk.com.au/ Listen to her work here: Sick As A Dog https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/sick-as-a-dog/id1675843578 The Widow Diaries https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-widow-diaries/id1820862923 Our People (CALHN) https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/our-people-central-to-healthcare/id1686295859 AgVic Talk https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/agvic-talk/id1528428798 Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: [email protected] for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co

This week, Rachel and Lynne are without a guest, as they share six small, actionable things they wish they'd done sooner in their respective freelance businesses, to become more visible, win better work, and run their businesses better. They discuss: How investing in professional headshots boosted Rachel's confidence and credibility How Lynne benefited from switching from a free Gmail address to a custom domain email Why Rachel put practical systems in place using tools like templates, trackers, Moxie, and Trello How Lynne found value in attending paid conferences and networking events to build relationships and create indirect opportunities Why packaging her services (including creating a services guide) helped Rachel clarify offerings and pricing And how regularly increasing rates – even in small increments – can keep up with rising costs while reinforcing value The professional photographer we mention is Simona Janek: https://simonajanek.com.au/ Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au ), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: [email protected] for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co

This week, Rachel and Lynne chat with Jo Butler about switching careers from book publishing to marketing and communications at the University of Sydney. Jo shares her journey of nearly 30 years as a book editor, publisher and literary agent, and explains why she wanted a new challenge, as well as the appeal of more stable income and working with colleagues again. She discusses: • how publishing has changed over the decades • what she misses about editing • what she wishes authors understood about publishing • why comms still feels like storytelling, and how her skills feel more appreciated in a university environment • how she mapped her transferable skills for the move • key skills for comms roles • what her week looks like in internal communications • the learning curve in university comms • her ongoing connection to publishing through teaching in the Masters of Publishing program, and what she covers • the 'hard truths' she shares with students • AI in publishing Connect with Jo via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jo-butler-bishops/ Read her blog on Rachel's List about book editing here: https://rachelslist.com.au/so-you-think-you-can-be-a-book-editor/ Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: [email protected] for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co