Wednesday, January 31, 2007

 

...But It's Not OK If I Do It...

I don't get paid for the things I'm best at. I suppose this is a tired old post on this blog, particularly on the MBW. Some of the things I'm good at, it would be illegal to pay me for them. The others, well, I've tried to get jobs doing them, but nobody will hire me for them.

So I'm stuck in TV. Not the fun and cool creative side, but the dull and ordinary operations side. I'm stuck in TV because, besided delivering pizzas, it's the only skill that I can prove to anyone that I actually have. My pizza delivery days are over folks.

There's no reason that I couldn't be doing graphics at an ad agency or newspaper besides that I can't prove to anyone that I can do that type of job. A goofy little web site isn't proof enough, I don't get paid for doing that, so it can't possibly be valid. I can't get a paying job in a field until I've had a paying job in that field. Fuck, I feel like I'm just out of high school and looking for a job again.

There's no reason that I couldn't be writing for a newspaper besides that I can't prove to anyone that I can do that type of job. This goofy little we site isn't proof enough that I can write well since I don't get paid for it.

That's actually where this is coming from. I read some stuff in an online edition of a newspaper and an associated web site last night. Two things struck me. First, I'm writing more on this stupid little blog in any given week than some professional writers. You know, people who get paid for writing. Second, in one instance, an article on a subject that I've written on many times on this blog, was done much more poorly than I would ever think of writing anything. AND IT ENDED UP BEING PRINTED IN THE DEAD TREE EDITION.

I'm way past the fact that I'm never going to get paid for writing. That's fine, I accept it, but when I see shit being printed, stuff that I could do a much better job at, well, it just pisses me off and I do what I do best, I bitch.

So I'll complain. It won't do a damn bit of good. And I'll just sit here and get angrier and angrier. Then I'll get over it and go on with my life. From what I've learned, that's a prerfectly acceptable way to handle things. Unless I do it. Fine for everyone else though.

BOJ

Comments:
I know your writing kicks ass BOJ! Here's a suggestion for you... write a small series of articles on a topic that you think would be of interest to newspaper reading types, and send a letter to a few newspaper editors with a synopsis of the articles and ask if they'd be interested in talking with you about publishing them in their paper. Maybe a beer reviewers column where you choose microbrews and regional brews (2 or 3 per article) and it would run once a week for a month. If it catches on at that paper, it could continue and eventually be syndicated to other papers.

Right now I know there are magazines and small mail-order newspapers out there dedicated to beer, but I don't know of any regular daily newspaper that runs such a column... could be interesting! People could even write you offering suggestions on beers for you to review.

~Quinn
 
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