Freelancer Focus: Denyse Shannon

In this month's Q&A, Denyse Shannon shares her experience in Catholic media including her favorite projects and the lessons that she has learned along the way. She discusses what she has learned through her career and her tips and tricks to approach a freelance career with children. She is currently writing with Route Bay City.

What inspired you to pursue a career as a freelance professional, especially in Catholic media?

As a new mom fresh out of journalism school, finding a full-time job as a reporter seemed almost impossible. At the time, my husband had been in his career for 10 years already, and the newspaper near the small town we lived in wasn’t hiring. The next closest prospect would have been over an hour's drive away; a roadblock that at the time was impassable.

Freelancing wasn’t on my radar, but I started to write as stringer for a handful of newspapers. It was early in the days of fax and internet, and my landline had to be plugged into the computer to send copy. It also involved driving sometimes two and three counties away to cover events, or to get interviews for stories.

When our parish was planning its 125th anniversary Mass, I contacted the editor of our local Catholic newspaper about writing a story and was given an assignment. It was the first time I’d written anything surrounding the faith I loved so much.

From then on about once a month or more, I covered a story on the west side of the diocese, which became my beat. Over the next several years, I wrote regularly about events at the Catholic schools, people living their faith and loving Christ, and particularly covering the bishop’s visits. One of my colleagues started calling me “the Bishop’s paparazzi,” because every time he saw me in church with a camera and notebook, he knew the Bishop was there.

Throughout that time, I met people I wouldn’t have otherwise. I wrote under five different Bishops in my own diocese and even got to write about new bishops being installed around our state. After starting work as a Catholic writer, I also listened with an ear for the story at Mass, which gave me a different perspective at times.

Eventually, that newspaper group folded, and I was offered an opportunity to write for Faith Catholic Magazine in Lansing, and later another Faith publication in my local diocese. Magazines are different than newspapers in that I wasn’t covering an event that had already happened but writing to promote something or someone.

Can you tell us about a project you’ve worked on that you are particularly proud of?

It was one of my first articles in Faith Lansing that I was most proud of. I interviewed an attorney and law professor who was to be part of the Michigan Catholic Conference’s enrichment day on human trafficking. The professor talked about human trafficking as modern slavery and all the myths surrounding it. Not only was I proud of the writing, but also grateful that I learned so much in the process. I still have that interview even though it is nearly 10 years old.

There are so many other stories that still stick with me, including the many people living the “Little Way,” doing small things with great love. Choosing one of the most interesting is a challenge. There was the “Annunciation Tapestry” created for the university parish, and the priest who helped facilitate that; the installation of Timothy Schmaltz sculptures at several parishes and the interview I was able to do with the artist; or the story of “the Lollipop Man” - a crossing guard at a local parish school who loved his church family as much as his own. 

One of the most moving interviews I did was with a religious sister who founded a home for women leaving prison. She offered them more than a place to live rather than the streets after incarceration. She offered them a family where many had none. One of my favorite quotes from her was, “So many of these women are not just unloved, they can’t know love because they’re unfamilied.”

In the last couple of years, I had the opportunity to write a memorial of the priest who celebrated the first Mass I covered for the Catholic media. The years spent in the pews with him preaching were nothing compared to what I learned about him after he passed away. While I had memories of him baptizing my children, the people I interviewed about his life and ministry had perspectives I couldn’t see behind the vestments.

What challenges do you face as a freelancer, and how do you overcome them?

Freelancing for a career wasn’t my intent. I had visions of a career at a newspaper like many of the people I graduated from journalism school with. God’s plan for me was something different. A home and family that I was able to work around and with. There were many times, my three children in tow, I met an interviewee over coffee, shooting pictures for a story, or covering an event.

My editors were kind enough to allow me to take the children with me, with just a few simple rules. They weren’t to be subjects in my photographs, and I didn’t quote them on anything. They were usually well-behaved and knew when mom was working. Communicating with my editors about my family needs was paramount.

Ironically, my son recognizes when there’s a good story. I recently got a phone call about a police chase in front of his house, and he wanted to give me the scoop. Once he spotted smoke from a few miles away and said, “Mom grab your camera! We gotta go see what’s happening.”

Just as the industry has evolved over the years, so have the tools I use to not only keep track of myself and my submissions, but also the technology to do the writing. The old landline/modem process gave way a long time ago to email, and I have just about everything else I need for an interview in my pocket. Even though the transcription isn’t always accurate, I rely heavily on my smartphone for recording interviews and shooting some of my photos. I still take longhand notes and have a DSLR when I don’t have a photographer to shoot with me.

How do you stay motivated and manage your time while juggling multiple projects?

My favorite tools have always been a notebook and pens, but a few years ago, I bought myself a Christmas gift called a Remarkable. It has been the most valuable tool I could have gotten. While I never thought I’d replace pen and paper, this has for the most part. It has eliminated my need to have different notebooks for different projects because I can store all of them in the cloud on my Remarkable. I can take it anywhere, write on it as if it is paper, and keep what I need for later. With a touch of the screen, it can turn my handwritten notes into text.

Last year I bought the keyboard attachment, and can write a whole story on it, and email it to myself or even the editor right from my tablet. The best part of it is that it connects to the internet, but I don’t have the distractions of email, social media, or anything else while I’m trying to focus on work.

A few times throughout my career, I’ve been hired as a staffer at a couple of secular publications and in newsrooms. I’ve always hung onto my freelance jobs though, because that was the most fulfilling and constant work. It is work to chase the editors and publishers to get the next assignment, but it has never failed me. The other publications either shut down, or downsized, and I was in the first wave of layoffs.

Throughout the ups and downs of the media industry, I’ve also taken any opportunity I could to learn, whether it was through a writing group, photography class, video and audio editing. When the newspaper folded, I wanted to be able to adapt. I went back to school to learn digital media blogging, social media, and writing for broadcast.

Being flexible as a freelancer is important. The schedule, the hours, and the kinds of writing that I do changes frequently. I have always been proud of my ability to adapt.

 More ways to connect: 

• Her Website: https://aurealiawrites.wordpress.com/home/ 
• Her LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denyse-shannon-347279b