Archive for September, 2007
So there I was, at a party in Las Vegas on Friday night, talking with a woman who I primarily knew through friends and family. And the woman wrapped up an anecdote by saying, “…but I get enough freelance writing and editing work to support myself.”
“Excuse me,” I said. “Did you say…?”
Today we sat down together and recorded a great conversation about writing for pay, from the jungles of the Philippines to the neon canyons of Nevada. That makes two new episodes of WFP in the works! (I knew there was a reason I packed my portable recorder.)
Next weekend I’m driving down to Portland, Oregon where I hope to grab some time with another freelancer who’s agreed to appear on the show.
Oh, hey - if you’re ever in Las Vegas, I highly recommend that you try two restaurants, one old-school and one new-school. The first is the Omelet House, a beloved local joint that serves huge omelets stuffed with all sorts of delicious things. (Even the “baby size” versions are almost too large for me to finish.) My favorite is the Bugsy Siegel, which contains big chunks of tender roast beef and red sauce. Seriously. It’s good.
The second place is the Firefly tapas bar, which has some of the best macaroni and cheese you’ll ever find, and mojitos by the pitcher. Generally speaking most cocktails taste like paint thinner to me; but this stuff was GOOD.
September 30th, 2007
Jaq Greenspon, whom I interviewed for the first episode of Writing For Pay, is using this podcast as part of his learning materials in the Advanced Composition class he’s teaching at UNLV.
Hello, Jaq’s students! I invite your comments, questions, and suggestions at this blog, or e-mail me at wade@writingforpay.org. Go Rebels!
(That invitation appplies to the rest of you readers and listeners too, by the way.)
September 22nd, 2007
We chat with Seattle-based freelancer Zia Munshi (and at one point, her pug Harry.)
- 0:20 - Wade is working from a noisy, noisy Starbucks. The resulting sound quality is not awesome.
- :43 - That second piece? Insanely hard to write, as it turned out.
- 1:11 - That barista in the background was hilarious.
- 1:39 - Zia Munshi joins us.
- 2:29 - Zia’s career trajectory.
- 3:38 - Getting that first ad agency gig.
- 4:19 - Young Zia’s six months in India working on a magazine for Americans.
- 5:35 - Projects: Like/Do Not Like
- 8:13 - Continually improving as a writer.
- 9:13 - Anathema words.
- 11:36 - How Zia finds freelance work.
- 12:10 - Advice for aspiring writers: the power of blogging, and putting together a portfolio.
Zia’s blog: www.ziamunshi.com
Music by Morgansorange
September 21st, 2007
Wade talks to freelance writer Zia Munshi about breaking into the advertising business, writing case studies, putting a portfolio together, and blogging to help your career. Also: using “impact” as a verb. (shudder)
Show notes at http://writingforpay.org
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September 21st, 2007
In a recent LiveJournal post, author Sean Williams says that he finds it difficult to give advice to aspiring writers for a number of reasons. One of the main ones is that in this game, there aren’t any rules.
I ask all of my guests for that sort of advice, but it’s not because I’m expecting THE answer from them–and you shouldn’t either. Jaq, Wolfgang, and (soon!) Zia all take different approaches to their careers, so the tips that they offer will be different. You might try one piece of advice, find that it’s not working in your situation, and try another.
Sean’s own advice is succinct:
- Read a lot.
- Write a lot.
- Write what you love but be aware of the market.
- Define your version of success and take concrete steps towards achieving it.
- Be professional at all stages of your career.
- Listen to everyone.
- Be visible.
- Challenge yourself, always.
- Never believe you’ve figured it out, because everything changes.
- Work hard.
Take out the references to writing and that’s pretty good advice in general.
I can only add, and I cannot make this point strongly enough: Do not covet your neighbor’s ox.
September 11th, 2007
