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Topic: Defining Yourself
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| Author | Message |
| vilmoszv | Posted – 1/28/2005 2:40:20 AM | show profile I pose this question: Who are you in terms of your work? Most professions require that an individual define himself through an area of specialty. As writers, however, we're defined by things which are mutable: Curiosity, artistry, unobtrusiveness, observation. Our craft such as it is can theoretically span the gamut from children's picture books to feature films, from journalism, to advertorial writing, to dramatic reenactments to spinning romantic yarns. Can you do it all and be successful? Or do you stake out a territory -- which itself runs counter to the writerly instinct -- and someday be the go-to person for writing about nutrition for menopausal women (no judgment there; just defining a narrow sector). Furthemore, can you truly follow your passion in writing if you are constantly buffeted by concerns of financial survival? |
| eriksherman | Posted – 1/28/2005 6:51:07 AM | show profile Wow, what a great start to a thread. I write because I am driven to understand, and I like the sound of my own voice. (Just ask my family.) I think that for personal satisfaction and professional success it's necessary to create a group of ''specialities,'' even if they seem unrelated. So I will seem like someone who covers ''scuba diving'' to one publication and a business writer to some others, and a food writer to yet others. Have several territories so that when things get lean in one, you can keep going in the others. As for passion versus financial survival, obviously you must manage the latter. But there are plenty of examples of people who have succeeded in writing, composing, and art while supporting themselves doing other things. So, sure, do the money work, and if necessary fit in the things important to you. ------ Author of "Geocaching: Hike and Seek with Your GPS" - hidden at a bookstore near you... |
| limericks4all | Posted – 1/28/2005 10:43:49 AM | show profile As with anything in life, I don't think there is a ''right'' way. At the moment, for instance, I am working on health articles for a couple of national consumer magazines; some articles for business trade magazines; a ghost written corporate piece; an advertorial on technology; a business newsletter; and a humorous novel. I care about the projects to varying degrees. Some I am passionate about; some bore me but I want the money. Most writers end up specializing, sometimes because of interest, sometimes because of circumstance -- it's easier to get gigs about subjects you've already written about. But many writers have many specialities -- some people think of me as a business writer, some as a technology writer, some as a health writer, some a humorist. It depends what they are buying from me. |
| caitlinkelly | Posted – 1/28/2005 12:00:15 PM | show profile I don't think you can ''do it all'' and expect to be financially successful at every endeavour at the same time. Or be very good at it! Some people are so adept they can easily shift from one style to another, and I admire them enormously - like a classical pianist who can play jazz or blues with equal style and passion. You can make a living writing a variety of things, like the above messages make clear, but if you're secretly dying to ''really'' be(come) a published poet or produced screenwriter or playwright that may come in time, but at the same time as cranking out a lot of well-paid copy? How many hours do you sleep, relax or connect with people outside of your work? Some people are wildly ''successful'' in their work as writers, of whatever genre, but their personal lives, or health, a crumbling mess thanks to their singleminded devotion to their work and to the detriment of those who would like to be included in their lives, even spouses and children. I agree that you can take the skills you mention into a number of arenas and it's an interesting question. After writing for more than 30 years for newspapers and magazines, I'm not feeling some huge urge to prove my ability to do so, but am hoping to write more non-fiction books, as I loved doing that and found it more satisfying than much of the bill-paying journalism I've cranked out over the decades. But it's financially very risky, and that's a challenge in itself. Writing a book, if you take time away from your revenue-producing work to do that, can cost you lost income and work relationships, plain and simple. So pursuing your passion can be expensive. By the time you've acquired the skills or insight to write books worth reading, (or plays or films worth watching) your mortgage or kids' needs or the high costs of self-bought health insurance may conflict deeply with your need to express your ideas in new, fun formats. If you're happy with ramen and a small studio, compromise is easier, but if you're also balancing the emotional and financial needs of others, that balance is more challenging that simply picking what next medium to try. Great question. Thanks. ------ Freelance writer Caitlin Kelly, has written for The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and other publications. You can read samples from her new book at blownawaythebook.com |
| CumbersomePsyche | Posted – 1/28/2005 12:17:38 PM | show profile doing it all I think that this cannot be framed as an either/or question. There are times when doing everything is precisely useful to the job and times when it's best to excise huge parts of the resume and focus. I am a person who has done everything and for a while it made me appear diffuse and unfocused. It's hard to convince a person that you really can do it all. And actually it's probably unlikely that a person can. No doubt there are areas which are more appealing than others, places you naturally tend to want to be. And no doubt, those are the most competitive and difficult places to get into. So I suggest a gradual moving in that direction, strategically channelling yourself as it were. In the meantime, have a bunch of different resumes and clip sets ready to go. I have found that has time goes on the distance between what I want to do for myself and what I have to do to pay the bills has become less. |
| vilmoszv | Posted – 1/28/2005 3:35:03 PM | show profile Erik and lim, I admire you for your ability to compartmentalize. It takes inner fortitude to be available for a range of topics without falling into the trap of self-labeling or defining yourself through any one particular piece you are writing. As writers, we're often called upon to do bland service pieces. Writing another diet or nutrition article can make one wonder, ''Am I a diet-article writer?'' Doubt yourself and suddenly you are extricating each and every grudging word from your computer, like pulling Jello up through a syringe. (You IV Jello addicts know exactly what I'm talking about.) Caitlin, I tend to concur with your well-articulated assessment. One must know that the pared-down living circumstances you describe are an option -- a painful one (and a gamble) -- for those willing to sacrifice in that manner. And I know people who have lost that gamble. I edited one major national magazine for a few years and got a call from a once successful TV writer (a friend) in his 50's who had never diversified and was desperate for even a front-of-book assignment. I couldn't get him one: I gave him information on how to develop and fashion a query letter, and I am sure he could be a successful magazine writer within a short period of time. But frankly, I wish I'd pulled a rabbit out of the hat for him. I regret not doing that because I have been in his position at various times. At the same time, he had quite a good run in a lucrative industry and naturally didn't see the lean years coming. (Caitlin, by the way, I read an excerpt of your book -- I think it's great. Hope you have a long and successful run as a non-fiction author.) |
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