Hayli Morrison

August marks a time of change, personally and professionally. My husband is changing careers, we are moving to a new house, and I am shifting the focus of my business.

I continue to handle corporate communications as always, but am also directing energies toward magazine work as much as possible. In the past, I have written primarily for trade magazines, but am inching toward the consumer side of the industry.

I have always enjoyed feature writing, even during my newspaper years. Despite a primary focus on crime and courts, the rare opportunity to tell someone’s personal story in a feature article would present itself, at once a privilege and responsibility. There are many lessons learned from the lives of others, and it’s enjoyable to put those stories and lessons into words.

A wonderful online class about magazine pitching and writing with veteran freelancer Eric Butterman via JournalismJobs.com proved invaluable earlier this year. Within the last month, I landed three assignments with Entrepreneur.com, one of which MSNBC.com posted on its small business site as well.

There are two main takeaways from August. Persistence pays (especially as it pertains to freelance pitches), and times of change can double as times of opportunity, learning and excitement.