Marisa Wikramanayake

writer, journalist & editor ~ I help you tell stories.

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Services
  • Journalism work
  • Editorial work
  • Events
  • Free resources
    • Perth & WA Literary Calendar
    • Women who review
  • My Patreon
  • MEAA FAQs
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Services
  • Journalism work
  • Editorial work
  • Events
  • Free resources
    • Perth & WA Literary Calendar
    • Women who review
  • My Patreon
  • MEAA FAQs

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,410 other subscribers

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.
Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.
  • Top down shot of two people sitting across from each other a table having coffee with just their arms and cups in view
    Blog,  Editing,  Freelancing,  Mentoring,  Writing

    10 Important Things You Need To Know About Finding A Mentor

    January 14, 2021 / No Comments

    Marisa Wikramanayake talks about the ten most important things you need to know before finding or getting a mentor and how not to mess it up.

    Read More

    You May Also Like

    KSP cat by Ashleigh Hardcastle via KSP Writers Centre

    Day 2: A cat is here!

    May 30, 2018
    An image of two hands writing in front of a computer screen with a phone on top of papers on a desk

    How to easily track pitches in Google Sheets as a freelance journalist

    January 7, 2021
    City of Lights by Sammu on Flickr.

    Sri Lanka, December 2015 – February 2016

    December 5, 2015
  • A mug full of coffee on an open planner
    Freelancing

    How I am planning for the next financial year as a freelancer – despite Covid-19

    June 26, 2020 / No Comments

    This may seem strange to you. In a world that increasingly seems to offer little prospects for freelancers, why would I plan for 2020-2021? Or at least plan to continue freelancing? Reasons it’s hard on Australian freelancers: Closures & shutdowns of sections, papers and magazines and budget cutbacks leave freelancers with very few places to pitch to. The knock on effect of restrictions and budget cuts and shutdowns means no work for other businesses that would hire freelancers for other work. More and more in-house journalists becoming redundant means a larger community of freelancers. There is a disparity in who amongst freelancers are eligible for government support thanks to the…

    Read More

    You May Also Like

    Freelance writing plans for 2017

    January 6, 2017

    How to network at an editors' conference

    January 14, 2013

    The NYWF-ty List

    October 11, 2018
  • Freelancing,  Journalism,  Mentoring,  Updates,  Writing

    Mentoring Cher Tan via Writers Victoria

    September 13, 2018 / No Comments

    I am now a mentor with Writers Victoria. It is pretty cool. Let me explain. I am trying to become a mentor on the IPEd/CSE mentoring program which caters to just editors but at the moment, I am also now a mentor for Writers Victoria. Writers Victoria is a writing centre for the state of Victoria in Australia. They hold events, run workshops and so on but one of the services they offer is mentoring. The Writers Victoria mentoring scheme operates like this: you apply for mentoring and Writers Victoria assess your application. You also nominate someone you want to mentor you from the list of mentors on their website.…

    Read More

    You May Also Like

    Surviving university as a journalism student

    February 13, 2015
    Marisa Wikramanayake works on a story as a journalist and in this post showing you how to write a freelance pitch

    How to write a freelance pitch to an editor

    September 17, 2021
    writings in a planner

    How to successfully set goals and plan for 2022

    January 11, 2022
  • Blog,  Freelancing,  IPEd 2017,  Writing

    Mentoring writers as an editor and writer

    September 15, 2017 / 1 Comment

    This blog post is intended to be a summary and cheat sheet on my part of the mentoring panel on 15 Sept 2017 at the IPEd 2017 Conference in Brisbane. Proceedings will be published online by the conference organisers so you can always check those out for more information but here are my tips, tricks and my experiences of mentoring writers as opposed to mentoring editors. First, a definition of mentoring and what I mean by it: I don’t mean actively editing a writer’s work but more reading it and discussing how they go about developing the story, how they go through the process and if it’s a business/practice related…

    Read More

    You May Also Like

    A photograph of a microphone by Michal Czyz on Unsplash

    How my business will change for the better in 2021 and why

    December 17, 2020

    Where you will find me in October 2018

    October 11, 2018

    Gin & Tonic Update #3

    February 21, 2019
  • Marisa Wikramanayake waiting to present during the IPEd Conference freelancing workshop in 2013
    Events,  IPEd 2017

    IPEd Conference 2017 is next week and guess who is going?

    September 6, 2017 / No Comments

    Yay! I am off to the IPEd conference! And then of course you would ask “Yeah, ok Mari, what does IPEd stand for?” IPED: Institute of Professional Editors. Professional society of editors working either in-house or freelance throughout Australia. Basically, once every two years, somewhere in a state capital, the IPEd conference is set up and run by the local branch of IPEd. In 2013, it was our turn in Perth and yours truly was the IPEd Conference convenor. Yes. There is a video on the about me page. Go watch it. We were cool. In 2015, the IPEd Conference was in Canberra but I could not go. I was…

    Read More

    You May Also Like

    Marisa Wikramanayake waiting to present during the IPEd Conference freelancing workshop in 2013

    Where have I been?

    May 5, 2013
    Workers in black t-shirts outside a Fairfax building with flags protesting job cuts and the takeover by channel nine as part of the union MEAA's campaign.

    MEAA Update for August 2018

    August 27, 2018

    Diverse and need a writing group?

    October 23, 2016
  • Freelancing,  Writing

    My year in writing: 2016 and the freelance writer life

    December 16, 2016 / 2 Comments

    Marisa Wikramanayake writes about what 2016 has been like for her as a freelance writer, editor and journalist and what it meant for her career.

    Read More

    You May Also Like

    Freelancing Friday: A day in the life

    April 23, 2010
    Annuncia Il Suicidio In Chat, Lo Incitano e Si Impicca In Diretta Su Skype via Hot Gossip Italia on Flickr

    Protected: How to interview people via Skype video

    April 2, 2015

    14 easy rules to simplify your workflow and life as a freelancer

    June 4, 2013
  • Freelancing,  Journalism

    Mentoring: the why and the how of doing it

    December 6, 2013 / No Comments

    If you were to ask me if I was a mentor, my immediate answer would be “No.” “No. I’m not.” But I’d have to correct myself. It’s not quite true. I’m not set up as a mentor with a mentoring program. I don’t have regular meetings with a mentee of any sort. But yes I do end up mentoring people or being in a mentor like position quite often, very unofficially. And that’s because I believe that it is important. 1) I learn a lot from having to help or train or teach or supervise someone in their work. What I usually end up doing is having to really think…

    Read More

    You May Also Like

    How to get started in journalism

    November 29, 2013
    A phone with messags on its screen sits on a desk in front of a lit up keyboard

    My 10 Compelling Reasons For Running Youtube Livestreams Right Now

    January 22, 2021

    How to deal with late payments as a freelancer

    January 26, 2019
  • Freelancing,  Projects

    Mentoring

    October 16, 2012 / 2 Comments

    At a Society of Editors (WA) meeting tonight, I was asked to be a mentor by an enthusiastic wannabe editor. I was both amused and flattered. She made a distinction between advice and ongoing support – someone who would show her the ropes and keep her from freaking out too much along the way. You have to admire her enthusiasm and the fact that she stepped forward and asked. It got me thinking. When I first started I desperately wanted a mentor too. I didn’t get one. These days, I blog about what I know and as I said to someone this week, I am happy to meet up one…

    Read More

    You May Also Like

    25+ ways I automate my workflow, or how I am trying to become a cyborg

    May 23, 2013

    Surviving university as a journalism student

    February 13, 2015
    Mentoring and mentorships for writers

    9 unexpected helpful lessons learnt as a freelance writer in 2016

    January 27, 2017

Blog Stats

  • 100,170 hits

Support my work

Become a Patron
Follow along on Twitch
Hire me
  • Link to Marisa Wikramanayake's Facebook Page
  • Link to Marisa Wikramanayake's Instagram
  • Link to Marisa Wikramanayake's Twitter channel
  • Link to Marisa Wikramanayake's Patreon channel
  • Link to Marisa Wikramanayake's Twitch channel
All rights reserved. © 2022 Marisa Wikramanayake