04.19.2015, 05:39 PM | #1 |
the end of the ugly
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 998
|
How'd you get into it? Any advice? It doesn't have to be creative writing just something in that field maybe even editing or whatever. I actually like writing and I find it fairly easy and seeing as I have a history degree, which is basically a writing degree, I figure I could do something in that field. much love.
|
|QUOTE AND REPLY| |
04.19.2015, 06:34 PM | #2 | |
invito al cielo
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: mars attacks
Posts: 42,567
|
Quote:
if you want full-time pro, ask gmku. he's writer AND editor. i've had a writing sideline and i left it to pursue other stuff but this is how it was: i used to hang around a popular blog and commenting often. apparently it was good and people kept telling me they wish i'd write there. so when they were hiring i applied and got a job there. they paid something like $150-$200 per article. it was specialized subject matter. i kept that going for a year but dropped it because i didn't want to focus on the subject. my interest was amateur but i didn't want to really become a pro on the subject matter. i could crank a nice article overnight but it would take days of my mental real estate. so while the labor of writing was pretty easy, the incubation process took long. i'd mull ideas over for a long time. it seems to me that to write non-fiction stuff you become a subject matter expert-- the more you do it the more authority you have. it's like a journalist with a beat-- you cover your beat & the longer you cover it the more you know about it, the more you know the better your work & better paid gigs you get, etc. it snowballs. the thing with me, i like learning stuff but i don't like overspecialization. i get bored shitless with endless "practice". i wanna learn something new once i know enough of a subject. overspecialization pays though! in a big economy like ours, the division of labor rewards specialists. i'm a voluntary dropout however so adiós to that. if you have expertise on something, can be anything really, start a blog and learn to monetize it. another avenue for side gigs could be self-publishing on amazon. most people get nothing but every now and then there's a success story. but if you want a real job then gmku is da man. |
|
|QUOTE AND REPLY| |
04.20.2015, 01:50 AM | #3 |
invito al cielo
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: behind you
Posts: 10,807
|
i made $50 on an xojane article that I should have edited a bit more and makes first dates uncomfortable in this age of google. but worth the $50!
__________________
fuck i'm frustrated, freaking out something fierce, would you help me? i'm hungry and i stuffer and i startle, i struggle and i stammer til i'm up to my ears in miserable quote unquote "art" |
|QUOTE AND REPLY| |
04.20.2015, 08:13 AM | #4 | |
invito al cielo
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: mars attacks
Posts: 42,567
|
Quote:
probably a good way to weed out the worthless! only the strong may apply. i like to operate anonymously and used a pen name-- always an option. -dom gato |
|
|QUOTE AND REPLY| |
04.20.2015, 09:14 AM | #5 | |
invito al cielo
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 18,510
|
Quote:
Just out of curiosity, what was the subject? |
|
|QUOTE AND REPLY| |
04.20.2015, 10:11 AM | #6 |
invito al cielo
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: fucking Los Angeles
Posts: 14,801
|
If you want to write for history you need to troll history periodicals, journals, and universities for a gig. Folks will give you a start similar to !@#$%! but you need a portfolio to vouch for your quality and expertise. You can use your college papers but you're going to need to revise them significantly so they don't come across simply as "college term papers" but they will be a "better than nothing" start. Cut the down and edit them to look like articles, essays, or blurbs. Remember though, historians are a scholarly bunch so the education is highly competitive, essentially Masters Degrees or go home. See A LOT of professors, instructors, and other university types like to make their hustle on the side free-lancing or writing part time. It boosts their own clout in their field and their resume and university folks don't make nearly as much money as the astronomical costs of tuition may suggest.
You can also expand your field to political analysis but this tends to be a crowded market for free-lancing.. Most people with history degrees become teachers or research librarians, the pay is more consistent.
__________________
Today Rap music is the Lakers |
|QUOTE AND REPLY| |
04.20.2015, 10:17 AM | #7 |
invito al cielo
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: fucking Los Angeles
Posts: 14,801
|
Also pay attention to the smallest details, historians are anal like that. Profession footnotes and references are a must, so if you are rusty better get up on your Chicago Format and make sure you are legit..
Half-assed footnoting will cost you a job for sure
__________________
Today Rap music is the Lakers |
|QUOTE AND REPLY| |
04.20.2015, 10:50 AM | #8 |
invito al cielo
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Oxford, England
Posts: 15,225
|
I would have to say that I've been fortunate. My degree is in journalism with a minor in English, hardly the most lucrative of choices, on the appearance of it. But after a 10-year career in the air force, most of the rest of my working life has been as a paid editor and writer, mainly on salary with solid employers. Most of my experience has been in higher education and government; I was a writer and editor for a university relations office for a long time and for a while with the Forest Service, and I'm now what they call a "content developer" for a liberal arts college's alumni web site.
For a short time, I worked as a freelancer, and mostly because of my connections in the higher education world, I managed to make a very good salary. I haven't gotten rich, by any stretch of the imagination. But I've never been without a paycheck and enough change left over to buy an LP or two now and then and a cup of coffee on occasion. My advice, in hindsight, is to find an interest outside of writing and literature that you can write about, e.g., environmental science, politics, medicine, or whatever you find that you have a real passion for and that there is sure to be a paying readership (and publishers) for. Make that your minor or your other area of concentration so that you have some specialization to write about. I became fairly knowledgeable about environmental science and environmental issues in my university editor job, which put me in good stead for the position I got with the Forest Service. That's my story in a nutshell, SonikJesus. I'd be happy to advise further if you have any questions.
__________________
Ever notice how this place just basically, well, sucks. |
|QUOTE AND REPLY| |
04.20.2015, 11:08 AM | #9 |
invito al cielo
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: fucking Los Angeles
Posts: 14,801
|
Be sure to catch gmku during his posted office hours for advising.
__________________
Today Rap music is the Lakers |
|QUOTE AND REPLY| |
04.20.2015, 11:29 AM | #10 |
invito al cielo
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Oxford, England
Posts: 15,225
|
Cute.
__________________
Ever notice how this place just basically, well, sucks. |
|QUOTE AND REPLY| |
04.20.2015, 02:59 PM | #11 | |
invito al cielo
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: mars attacks
Posts: 42,567
|
Quote:
nutrition and beauty lolol, no survival in the jungle no urban pig farming ha ha ha winning at poker weird science sex for the unwary how to train a dog italian for beginners european film reviews how to have a lifestyle (i'd rather not say...) |
|
|QUOTE AND REPLY| |
04.21.2015, 05:45 PM | #12 |
invito al cielo
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: cybatraz!
Posts: 11,537
|
hmmm
write erotic novels....I think there was a famous sci fi writer that first did that for money. |
|QUOTE AND REPLY| |
04.21.2015, 08:37 PM | #13 | |
invito al cielo
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: mars attacks
Posts: 42,567
|
Quote:
yes! that's the self-publishing amazon angle. i've heard from people that when they wanna buy something the write a little story... and then start collecting ha ha. |
|
|QUOTE AND REPLY| |
04.21.2015, 09:16 PM | #14 |
the end of the ugly
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 998
|
thanks dudes. yea not really trying to go pro but I def would like it as a side gig. also i dont write like this i jus dont give a fukk on the social internet
|
|QUOTE AND REPLY| |
04.23.2015, 01:05 PM | #15 |
invito al cielo
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: mars attacks
Posts: 42,567
|
hey, you twos, just came in to post you this in case you're interested
http://lifehacker.com/choose-the-rig...m-y-1699725331 related articles posted on that page as well |
|QUOTE AND REPLY| |
04.23.2015, 01:51 PM | #16 |
empty page
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: away
Posts: 27
|
I'm not a writer but I've written for a living.
If you're serious about it and will be using a computer, learn a proper text editor (emacs or vi), learn a markup language (markdown or asciidoc) and learn a proper version control system (git). I'm also not a blogger, but if you're going to blog I'd advise you to learn HTML, learn a cms (wordpress is probably industry standard), learn basic typography and graphic design and take a look at the API of some major online publications like the NYT. Experience trumps any degree you might have. |
|QUOTE AND REPLY| |
04.23.2015, 02:01 PM | #17 | |||
invito al cielo
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: mars attacks
Posts: 42,567
|
Quote:
why?? they're not coders Quote:
maybe, but i've seen plenty shit-looking blogs make it big. wordpress takes care of the markup. i mean this is all good refinement but per pareto he needs to focus on the 20% that gets 80% of the audience. fuck the details & get started. Quote:
|
|||
|QUOTE AND REPLY| |