Lu-Hai Liang

4 awesome things about being a freelance journalist and 4 terrible downsides August 31, 2014

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“If you work at a newspaper, progression is more obvious. The editor starts you off writing short pieces, nibs, round-ups, before giving you meatier reporting gigs, and then you become better known and start writing weighty features. When you’re freelance, progression is less clear”.

5 things to do upon arriving in a new country, as a foreign correspondent October 31, 2013

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“I’ve found these events the single easiest way of making the best relevant contacts in one go. In Beijing there are two particular hot-spots and that’s at The Bookworm (a bookstore), and regular lecture events given by professors and intellectuals in Wudaokou, a student area in west Beijing”.

4 Good & Bad Things about Living in Beijing November 12, 2013

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“And no, I don’t mean how big Beijing is. And Beijing is plenty big: the metropolitan area is about the same size as London, but with a population numbering a million more (12.7m). But actually, for an expat, Beijing can be surprisingly small”.

6 things I learnt about the freelance journalism market while I was in China September 27, 2013

[I wrote this blog post following my first stint in Beijing, a seven month stay from 2012 to 2013]

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“Simply because I was based in China, I felt like I had the access and privilege to write about the whole Asian continent. I wrote an article for The Guardian about job prospects in Asia, I wrote about India’s economics and entrepreneurs and of course about China. I did not have to be in China or Asia to have had written these articles. But simply by being there, my authority  to write about them increases”.

A freelancer’s journey in payment: my first 5 paid-for articles March 23, 2015

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“In my third year of university, I wrote a couple pieces for The Guardian’s student blog, like I mentioned, which were unpaid. I was glad of the bylines however and it did eventually lead directly to paid work from them, as well as two weeks work experience at Guardian HQ”.

4 ways to instantly improve your pitching February 3, 2014

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“If you can write a pitch where the editor can ‘see’ the story, see the characters and the setting, then you’re immediately inside the editor’s mind, a good place to be. Just a couple of good sentences that can bring a character or some aspect of the pitch to life”.