Freelancer in Focus August 2008 - Andy Moore

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Email: andrew.moore@watchwords.co.uk Telephone: 07970 757462 Website: http://www.watchwords.co.uk Area of Expertise: Writing, editing

Description How have you found working freelance? What are the highs and lows, the frustrations and the bonuses? Frustrating at first then extremely rewarding. I launched my own business, WatchWords, in 2003 which provides journalism and copywriting services from Edinburgh. My website, www.watchwords.co.uk, went live that same year. The highs are having the freedom to write about any subject you want to and working your own hours. Conversely, the lows are working on your own, chasing payment and watching too much Youtube! What are the biggest challenges for you throughout the second half of 2008? Juggling part-time work with looking after my 18-month old son. Also managing new and exciting projects that are bearing fruit after spending the first half of the year networking. WatchWords is now focussing on long-term editorial projects - for example, web copy and brochures - alongside writing for magazines and newspapers. My last publication count was over 40 titles. Has Freelancers in the UK helped you? We’d like to think so but how? Yes! By giving my business more exposure to magazines, publishers and independent organisations. I secured a web writing project for the Countryside Council for Wales through Freelancers in the UK. Who’s your favourite actor/actress and why? Don't really have one - but Robert De Niro scores high for his sheer acting legacy, and not always for being the hard man. I enjoyed the film, Heat, when big-time crook De Niro casually meets detective Pacino over a cup of coffee. The scene depicts them as professionals, not rivals - but both readily state they will kill each other in the line of duty! See Andy's entry at www.freelancersintheuk.co.uk/products.php?productId=415 and his own website is at www.watchwords.co.uk