There’s safety in the peloton, but only if you keep moving forward. Credit: Vzach
If you don't know me, I'm a freelance writer with bylines in publications like The Washington Post, MotorTrend, Car & Driver, Road and Track, Engadget, The Verge, Wired, TechCrunch, and many more. I also served as Editor-in-Chief at Engadget and at CNET's Roadshow. Between my time time freelancing and editing I've been in the game in some form or another for about 30 years now, and have learned a few things along the way. I'm happy to share.
Welcome to a new series called the Rules of Effective Freelancing. Back when I started this little newsletter, I kicked things off with a few pro-tips on how to be a good freelance contributor gleaned both from my years as a freelancer and from my time as an assigning editor.
Since then, this list has grown by about a factor of 10, and as I'm trying to grow things further, I thought I'd dive back in.
Once upon a time, I used to race bikes. Bicycles, that is, the kind that don't go very far or very fast if you aren't pedaling. I wasn't particularly good at it. My brief career never took me past the amateur ranks, and the lowest tier at that. I am proud to say I did get one race win under my belt, but a year later, a bad crash convinced me that there were probably better ways to spend my weekends.
I learned a lot in those years of racing, not the least of which being that concussions take a lot longer to heal when you're approaching middle age. But on a more positive note, I picked up an adage that stuck with me: If you're not moving forward, you're falling behind.