AC Shilton
AC Shilton is an award-winning freelance journalist covering fitness, food, the outdoors, and environmental/social justice issues. She's Outside Online's Eat and Drink columnist and is a regular at Runner's World, Bicycling, Men's Journal and YES! Magazine. She's also the investigative journalist behind the Netflix docu-series The Innocent Man. Day to day she writes about a variety of topics — anything from improving your bike fitness to choosing the best beer for summer.
What does your writing work look like lately?
My proudest recent accomplishment was working on the Netflix docu-series The Innocent Man, which played a teeny, tiny role in getting one likely innocent man out of prison after more than 30 years. He's still not totally out of the woods, since the state of Oklahoma may choose to retry him, but I got a picture taken of him out as a free man on Christmas Eve which was amazing to see.
Currently I'm working on a few long form investigative features, which are my favorite type of work...though they are not lucrative when you figure out what the per-hour rate comes out to!
Tell us about your work on the Netflix docu-series. What was the process like?
It was such an interesting process because TV is so different than print. Mostly, I learned how much harder it is to get people to talk when there's a giant camera involved. I gained a LOT of respect for documentary filmmakers!
But, it was also so fun to work with a team. Freelance writing can be so lonesome. That's really my least favorite part of the gig. Having a crew to bounce ideas off of and to tell you when you were digging down a rabbit hole that was a waste of time was really great.
What's the weirdest writing job you've had so far?
I briefly edited a tiny local magazine that had a column written in the voice of a gopher tortoise. Some weeks the column was nothing but reptile-inspired knock knock jokes. That was a weird gig.
What was the final push that made you decide to go freelance eight years ago?
My husband's job moves us around about every three years. We moved to Naples, Florida and the local paper would not hire me without a journalism degree. I freelanced for the outlet and won a bunch of Florida Press Club awards for it, and yet, they would not hire me. It was maddening. In hindsight, it turned out just fine though, because it forced me into freelancing and that's worked out very well.
I've heard you say listening is a huge part of your journalism work. How can writers become better listeners and learn to ask better questions during interviews?
I think listening is tied to empathy. If you don't care for someone, what's the point of listening to them? Seeing your sources as humans with important stories to tell helps you really tune in to what they're saying, not listen with some preconceived notion of what they might say. Also, mindfulness and learning to be fully present during an interview is really helpful.
If my mind wanders for a second, I lose the thread of the conversation and I know my subject knows it. Interviews should be mentally exhausting. If you aren't at least a little bit tired at the end of them, you're probably not putting enough effort into listening carefully and asking good questions.
As for how to ask better questions...I don't really know! I guess my best advice here is to not be afraid to sound really dumb (I always ask really dumb things because I don't want to assume anything and then be wrong!), and to not be afraid to challenge something that doesn't seem to track. If someone is bullshitting you, don't be scared to ask about it right then and there.
What's a common misconception about your writing work that people often get wrong?
I have found that the general public doesn't really understand how journalism works. I think general literacy on how journalists do their jobs would be useful in this moment when there seems to be so much distrust in the medium.
What's your best tip for fellow writers?
Focus on finding a few repeat clients if you possibly can. I've been so fortunate to have a few editors with whom I've developed long-term relationships. These relationships are like gold to me and I'll do just about anything to maintain them.
My other tip is to take time to cultivate relationships with other freelancers. I lean pretty heavily on a few other freelancers when it comes to navigating contract negotiations, ethical grey areas, and just needing someone to vent with.
