To Freelance or Not To Freelance

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Last week, I announced that I want my writing to reach a larger audience. Since then, I’ve been digging deep into the world of freelancing, finding out how to actually make this work.

I’m learning that freelancing takes a lot of time, between researching, reading, pitching, and writing. And so I’ve had to ask myself – why freelance? It’s one more thing taking me away from my “creative” writing, so it better be worth it.

Here are a few reasons why I think it’s worth it –

• Visibility: writing for different publications allows you to get your name out there. Also, it’s a good way to make contacts and network with editors and other writers. You never know how these connections might play out in the future.
• Money: even if it’s not a lot, it feels good to get paid for your writing. Writing is a skill, and I’d like to compensated for my ability the same way as engineer or massage therapist would be. That being said, it still might be worthwhile to write for a place that doesn’t pay, but only under special circumstances.
• Practice: my teacher tells us that everything we write is part of our “writing life,” even if it’s a thank you note. Freelance writing is another opportunity to hone your skills as a writer. We can always use more opportunities to practice writing clear, concise, and interesting prose.
• Portfolio: it’s important to have an arsenal of writing samples, specifically published pieces. Having a varied portfolio will beget more writing assignments, which will help your freelancing machine running.

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Here are some ways to be smart and efficient about freelancing –

• Do your homework: Take the time to read lots of different magazines to see what sort of content they are interested in. I find that it is better to do this upfront, but you can also commit to researching one or two magazines per week.
• Spreadsheets are your friend: Staying organized is super important when you're your own boss, so make sure to take notes on different magazines – what they are looking for, who is the contact, what is the word count, etc.
• Make a schedule: I get great satisfaction in checking items off a list, so I like to make a master to-do list at the beginning of the week to get organized. Some things to consider: Which articles will you work on this week? How many pitches will you send out? Keep track of where you’ve sent your work so that you can check back in with the editor if you haven’t heard from them in a week or two.
• Think outside the box: lots of places need writers, not just the sexy mags like Salon and Bustle. Think about something you're interested in, say knitting or kayaking, and get in touch with magazines about that topic. Also, you'd be surprised how little you need to know about something to write about it well. 
• Set aside time for unpaid work: This is SUPER important. It can be tempting to devote all of my time to paid work, but I don’t want to lose sight of the reason WHY I’m doing this. My freelance writing is in direct connection to my greater goal which is to have my writing reach a larger audience. Always keep sight of the bigger picture!

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The Importance of Mentorship

Yesterday, I spent an hour in the pool with a good friend, going over the intricacies of the free style stroke. I am a longtime swimmer, both on swim teams and for pure pleasure, and I have also taught swimming to youngins at Coral Gables' Venetian Pool. I must say that I learned so much about swimming by teaching it. I thought about different aspects of the strokes that I had never considered before. This is probably because I was learning from a champion swimmer who has made this her life.

My friend knows how to swim. She's swam all her life. But -- she's never actually been taught how to swim. She gets tired easily, she says. Her legs feel leaden after a few laps. I could see why after I watched her cross the pool once. Her kicks are inefficient and she isn't breathing properly. Yes, she can jump into the deep end of the pool and make it to the wall without drowning. The problem is that she won't do it the best way that she possibly could.

Which is where I come in. I watch her swim, I swim alongside her, I try my best to make sure my strokes are an example of what hers could be with some practice. I give her pointers and praise. Afterwards, she tells me what a difference our short time together has made.

"It's important to have a teacher," I tell her.
"I was just going to watch YouTube videos," is her response.

We live in a world where we can learn anything on our own. The internet provides us with a cacophony of resources for every hobby and craft. I am not against it. But I do believe that having a real, live teacher makes a world of difference. This breathing body can tell you all the same things that a Wiki How-To article can do, but you can ask questions and perhaps discover even more than you set out to learn. This person can give you the wisdom collected through their past experiences so that you can learn from their mistakes.

When I wanted to learn how to bake bread, I apprenticed for an artisan baker. When I wanted to learn how to grow food, I spent several seasons working alongside experienced vegetable growers, watching how they did things and asking why they made the decisions that they did. It's the same reason why I go to yoga classes even though I could very well practice by myself in my living room.

This is also the reason why I joined an MFA program. I wanted that living, breathing person swimming beside me who has spent a lifetime swimming miles upon miles in many different bodies of water. And luckily, I have found several of these mentors in my program.

Just recently, I learned Transcendental Meditation from a great teacher, Prudence Bruns, the inspiration behind The Beatle's song, Dear Prudence. I have dabbled in meditation for many years, but it has never clicked for me like it did during this training. Every time we met, I had more questions for her. She brought in past experiences, or the experiences of her pupils, and taught us a great deal in a short amount of time. I hope to continue learning from her as the years go by and my meditation practice deepens.

And so, I urge you to seek out a mentor in your craft. Perhaps there is a skill you've been dreaming to learn. Find someone in your area who is an expert in this, and offer them a hand. People don't generally turn down help. It's in working alongside them that you will have the opportunity to learn from their wisdom and experience. A few hours spent working alongside a skilled quiltmaker or master beekeeper could prove to be invaluable in your development as a quiltmaker or beekeeper. Not only will you gain the knowledge, but you might gain a lifelong friend in the process.

Embrace the Remix, Cultivate Creativity

I love being in a place of learning! Yesterday, we had the good fortune of meeting with Dr. Henry Jenkins, a media scholar from the University of Southern California. He sat in on our Teaching First Year Composition Practicum and spoke with us about the ever-changing role of media and technology in our lives. He writes about participatory culture and digital media.

As educators, it is our task to keep up with the times while maintaining academic standards. We need to make our information relevant in order for it to matter to our students.

Dr. Jenkins explained to us that a lot of educators and academics he meets find it difficult to incorporate new technologies into the classroom, and they are baffled by his willingness to embrace them.

“Yes, it's true,” he told us. “I learned how to think in graduate school. But I have also kept on thinking since then.” I thought that was a profound statement that speaks to many people’s reluctance to flow with the changing times. Rather than hold back the tide, Dr. Jenkins leans into digital culture. After all, it's here to stay.

Dr. Jenkins reminded us that everything is a remix.  Even Melville was a master re-mixer of his time, shifting genres from chapter to chapter in Moby Dick. We may not see it this way now, but it was revolutionary for the time. So what did Dr. Jenkins do to get people reading this classic book? He asked them to re-write it. 

He calls this participatory learning: getting students engaged in a text by asking them to apply it to their world. What would the whale trade look like today? Who would Captain Ahab be? But what Dr. Jenkins is really promoting with this project is giving students the chance to pursue their own interests and passions. This is where we find the key to learning.

Unfortunately, our education system does not make writing accessible to the youth. As Dr. Jenkins remarked, “If we taught sex education like we do writing, we’d die out in a generation!”

But actually, according to Dr. Jenkins, this generation writes a lot. They just don’t think of it as such because it’s not writing in the traditional sense. Maybe it’s a blog post about the Jonas Brothers or a response on a World of Warcraft forum; the internet houses hundreds of different ways for people to connect and communicate with one another. Because this writing is not happening with pen and paper or in a classroom, does that make it any less valuable? And how can we bring the kinds of communications that happen naturally over the internet into the classroom?

I was intrigued by Dr. Jenkins' stance towards social networks and digital media as a learning tool, and I think there’s a lot of wisdom behind it (speaking of social networks, you can now follow The Restless Writer on Facebook!). Why not use a blog post or a Youtube video to explore the rhetorical situation? Instead of banning Wikipedia, how about analyzing how it works by tracing the history of a Wikipedia page? Digital culture can be a friendly point of entry for students to embrace learning and writing.  

According to Dr. Jenkins, and I agree with him, we should be moving towards a creative society, and anything that we can do to get people thinking and acting creatively is valuable.

As someone who has apprehensions about the internet and social media on the whole, I found his point of view fascinating. But what will happen to reading books? I asked him. The novel isn’t going anywhere, he reassured me. We need to keep in mind that communication is the key, without getting caught up on the particular mode of communication. There are multiple literacies, and each mode of communication serves a different purpose. How-to books, for example, are probably not as effective as how-to videos. On the other hand, novels as a self-reflexive form are valuable for conveying the "inter-states" of being. Novels ask a reader to imagine what a world looks like, while film asks their audience to figure out what the characters are thinking. They both require imagination, the key to creativity.

And so, fellow writers and friends, I’ll leave you with this last question: 

What does writing do that other technologies don’t?

Thanks for reading, and I hope you'll check out this short video with Dr. Jenkins!