Words for sale!
It’s a pretty good life, working as a freelance writer. I get to read lots of cool stuff by smart writers, learn new things, and puzzle out pretty ways to put words together. At the end of most days, I can point to something that hopefully educates, entertains, enlightens or otherwise makes someone’s day a little fuller than it was before. Not a bad gig.
Like any job, though, there are challenges and frustrations. Like fruitless pitching, unstable paychecks, confounding edits, dry spells, the sometimes overwhelming pull to know at least a little about pretty much everything in order to stay relevant.
On the other hand, those challenges and frustration have a flip side. Like the excitement of coming up with what feels like a good idea, working with talented editors who make you look better, the freedom and creativity that often come with dry spells, knowing about some fascinating people, places, and things.
It’s because of that push to be relevant that today I’m switching my web site from a beautiful, but static format to this more utilitarian, but livelier way of doing things. I already know it comes with its own set of benefits, challenges and frustrations. Mostly, I’m a smidge worried about this blog. It demands attention, calling for reasonably interesting ideas and words that may be difficult to muster. We’ll see.
So, in the spirit of a Shel Silverstein poem wherein a little boy offers up his little sister to the highest bidder…
Words for sale! But not just any words. Carefully chosen words, affectionately assembled into useful little packages like magazine articles, op-eds, press releases, key messages, media plans, and the occasional self-indulgent essay.