“First Fridays” Travel Writing Mentoring In 2022, I ran a bunch of online travel writing mentoring sessions, primarily to raise a little money for humanitarian efforts in the Ukraine but also to support writers at the start of their careers. It was also something to make me feel more positive and a way to do […]
A desk-bound day in the life of a Tokyo-based writer
A desk-bound day in the life of a Tokyo-based writer I’ve been thinking about work styles the last few months, wondering what changes I could make to the way I’ve been scheduling my time, finding out what works (and doesn’t) for others. For some background, I work at home and when my son was a […]
The business of being a freelance writer in Japan, part 2
And here is the second installment of notes from my presentation for the Society of Writers, Editors and Translators on the business side of being a freelance writer in Japan (the first is here: http://www.tokyofreelance.com/the-business-of-being-a-freelance-writer-in-japan-part-1). This time, it’s about vetting clients and assignments and some general thoughts on doing the job. PART 4: VETTING CLIENTS AND ASSIGNMENTS & […]
The business of being a freelance writer in Japan, part 1
[Updated March 2022] From time to time, new writers and students get in touch to ask for advice about becoming a writer, so I thought I’d post my notes from a presentation I once did (for the Society of Writers, Editors, and Translators) on freelancing from Japan. Some of it might be useful to writers […]
Micro fiction for kids – a workshop that worked
A few weeks ago I was invited to Hiroshima International School to give an author talk as part of their Reading Week program. That was the initial plan anyway, but rather than stand and waffle in front of a hall full of small kids, we instead came up with the idea of doing writing workshops […]
April 22nd event on travel writing in Tokyo with SWET
A quick update about an event I’ll be taking part in this April, a panel discussion run by the Society of Writers, Editors and Translators related to travel writing and producing tourism material. It’s free and open to non-SWET members, you just need to send an RSVP in advance so they can keep track of numbers. […]
Tokyo: Capital of Cool wins a NATJA Award
A very brief post to share some good news that appeared in my inbox earlier this week. One of my books, Tokyo: Capital of Cool, was given the Silver Prize in the “Travel book or guide” category at the 24th North American Travel Journalists Association Awards. This is my second NATJA Award, after Travel Pack Japan […]
Interview with Eye-Ai magazine
A few weeks ago I had the rare (for me) experience of being on the receiving end of an interview, when I chatted with Karen Riley of Eye-Ai magazine about being a writer in Japan. I’m used to new writers and students getting in touch to ask about how I got into writing and looking […]
More micro fiction – five new stories
A month or so ago, I posted something about micro fiction and why I’ve found myself drawn to writing it. Call this an update of sorts to share the following handful of micro fiction stories, each of which is either 50 or 100 words in length. […]
Assignment red flags and sniffing out potential deadbeats
Recently, I ditched an occasional client in relation to copyright infringement of my work. The details aren’t important here, but it did make me realize how fortunate I’ve been to have had so few deadbeat clients over the years. I’ve had some editors who have been inexperienced. Some have obviously not been the best of writers. […]