Interview with Writer Empish Thomas
1. How long have you been writing?
I have been writing since the 90s in college taking journalism classes. However, I didn’t start writing as a professional until about 2005.
2. What drew you to becoming a freelance writer?
It was a way for me to break into professional writing. In those early years, I only had my college clips and I had just become disabled. I was afraid no publication would take me seriously if I applied to journalism positions. Freelancing allowed me to not have to disclose. I would work from home, conduct all business on phone and through email and no one would be the wiser. And it actually worked.
3. How did it feel when you first got published?
Fantastic! Again, at the beginning of the journey I was disabled and not confident people would take me seriously. So, when I pitched my first story and it was accepted, it was truly a great feeling.
4. What are some of the challenges you ran into when you started freelancing? How did you overcome them?
The challenges for me were disability-related. I am blind and work in a visual space. So, I had to get sighted help to read magazines and newspapers to me. I needed to keep up with trends and how to pitch to publications. During that time, most publications were print only and few were online.
5. What are some of the things you use to help you with freelance writing?
Besides some sighted help for reading publications, I use a screen reader on my desktop computer. I use a mechanical keyboard for my fingers. I type and don’t use a mouse so this kind of keyboard is easy on the fingers and hands. I also use my smartphone with accessibility for the blind. I will use it as a personal dictionary and thesaurus.
6. Are there any books you can recommend to anyone interested in becoming a freelance writer?
Two immediately come to mine. I am a non-fiction, journalistic writer, so the Associated Press Style Book is essential. It gives all the do’s and don’ts of writing for magazines and newspapers.
Another great guide is Who Said What: A Writer's Guide to Finding, Evaluating, Quoting and Documenting Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism by Kayla Meyers. I am still reading this one, but in the first chapter I was quickly impressed. Great nuggets of wisdom on how to document sources and do online research.
7. Please describe your typical workday as a freelance writer.
My day starts off with the regular morning routine: shower and breakfast. I also add exercise in the a.m. Then I get to my desk and review my things to do for the day. Some days is pure writing while others is reading and researching info. I squeeze in responding to emails and posting on social media.
8. What was the hardest market for you to break into and how did you succeed?
I have not tried to break into a new market yet. This is actually on my list to do. My writing has always been in the disability space. But the work is not steady, so I am branching out to the health and wellness arena. This industry is closely connected to disability so I feel confident that I can break in soon. I am already helping a college friend write posts for her nonprofit on sickle cell. I am sure with these new clips I can land an assignment.
9. What's one thing about freelance writing that surprised you after you were at it for some time?
The fact I could do this for the rest of my life. When you start a career, especially these days, there is no guarantee of longevity. People come in and out of jobs all the time. But I am still here, writing and enjoying it. I can actually see myself continuing way into retirement age but maybe not at the same level or pace.
10. What advice do you have for a writer thinking of becoming a freelance writer?
Work on your craft by reading everything. Well, maybe not everything, but read a lot. As you read, pay attention to sentence structure, words used and how the writer tells the story. Great writers are usually avid readers.
ABOUT EMPISH:
Empish J. Thomas is a freelance writer, blogger and accessibility consultant. She writes human interest and lifestyle pieces along with blog posts about vision loss. She was a diligent and long-time career columnist for 17 years with Dialogue Magazine. She also ventured into broadcast journalism by hosting and producing a radio show called Eye on Blindness with the Georgia Radio Reading Service for 3 years.
When Empish is not working, she is writing about her life on her blog at www.empishthomas.com. She is an audio description movie enthusiast and shares that excitement as a council member for Descriptive Video Works. Empish’s other passions include reading audiobooks and listening to podcasts. Read blog posts by Empish Thomas on the Visually Impaired: Now What? blog.