✨NE W   W O R K S H O P ✨

AUGUST 6, 2024 | 6 - 7 PM EST + 30 MINUTES FOR Q&A

Note: This workshop is being held live over Zoom.

I started writing about chronic illness (and health in general) after I was formally diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic inflammatory disease. 

I love writing about the body, but it can be a tricky thing. It’s personal, sensitive, and complex. That means knowing just where your boundaries are, and who you’re publishing with matters.

In this workshop, I'll share insights into how I worked my lived experience into my career as a full-time freelance writer (for the past 6+ years). Some things we’ll cover:

✨ What do you feel comfortable sharing with others? 

✨ What can you write to *actually* help people? 

✨ How can you fuse personal experience with clinical research & expert insight? 

✨ How can you find readers?

✨ How can you earn money (without selling your soul) writing about chronic illness?

✨ Personal essay vs reported work

In this 1-hour plain-speak workshop, I'll spend the first 30 minutes sharing how I got into writing about my own chronic illness—and how I landed paid assignments for online magazines, sold essays to books and anthologies, and connected with organizations that platform writers who are chronically ill. 

During the second half of the session, I'll help you brainstorm ways to find your voice, find your niche, and find your audience/clients.

You will get a downloadable checklist for starting your writing journey....because honestly, it's a process—and having an organized foundation can help. 

✨A B O U T   M E ✨

My award-nominated work can be found in The New York Times, Medscape, The Sleep Foundation, HealthCentral, Twill.Health, GoodRX, MDLinx.com, WebMD, Medical News Today, Creaky Joints, Healthline, EndocrineWeb, BodyLogicMD, PlaquePsoriasis.com, and AxialSpondyloarthritis.net. I've also written about chronic illness for SELF Magazine, Burn It Down (an anthology edited by Lilly Dancyger), and a book of autofiction I'm currently working on. 

I was a finalist for Health Union's Social Health Awards in the Revolutionary Researcher and Creative Contributor categories, in addition to serving for two years on Health Union's Pillars Leadership Council. I've served as a writer and community moderator for AxialSpondyloarthritis.net for several years.

Reach out to Lisambasile@gmail.com with any questions.