Off The Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer July 19-25

Once a week, we gather stories about the media business, journalism, writing, publishing, and freelancing—with a Canadian focus—and share them in Off the Wire. Who needs a water cooler?

From Canada:

• Kirstine Stewart leaving job as Twitter vice president [Toronto Star]
• How to be a faster writer [LinkedIn]
• We need to talk about The Walrus in the room [J-Source]

From The U.S. and beyond:

• 7 Ways to Be a Successful Freelancer—and Book More Repeat Assignments [Mediabistro]
• 18 Unusual Habits of Famous Writers [Freelance Writing Gigs]
• Here are 6 reasons why newspapers have dropped their paywalls [Nieman Lab]
• 5 Things To Do When Business Slows Down This Summer [Freelance to Freedom Project]
• The Freelancer’s Guide to Smartphone Photography [The Freelancer]
• 5 client red flags you should never ignore [Freelancers Union]
• 5 Ways to Reinvigorate Your Small Business During a Summer Slump [Fundbox]

Last week on Story Board:

• The Born Freelancer on Averting Deadline Disaster After Data Loss: For a writer on a deadline it’s probably the worst nightmare imaginable. You have just spent hours honing your latest work. It could be the result of a glitch in your software. Or a sudden loss of household power. Or even that nearby cold cup of coffee suddenly dumping its contents into your keyboard. One moment it was all there on the screen. The next moment (or perhaps a few moments later after a reboot) your work is gone...

Spot a story you think we should include in next week's Off the Wire? Email the link to editor@thestoryboard.ca or tweet us at @storyboard_ca.