Paths to the future
On Thursday, I met with an editor who's been a great support to my career over the years. Over chai latte and tea in a coffee shop on the margin of gentrification of the Downtown Eastside, he told me something that was considerable food for thought.
The way to make it through the fabled dollar-per-word barrier of freelancing, he says, is adopting one of two strategies:
The first is the path of the stylist. You develop literary chops and practice Tom Wolfe-style New Journalism. What you write about is less important than your particular artistic interpretation of it. You build a literary reputation and get called upon by editors for assignments.
The second is the expert. You develop in-depth knowledge of and contacts in a particular field so you can stay abreast of new developments and be ahead of the curve. You become known to editors as the go-to person for that topic. Write enough features on something, and that can eventually turn into a book deal or speaking engagements.
Of the two, the former sounds like the harder path. Literary stars come and go, decided by the vagaries of fashion. Expertise has staying power. Secondly, trying to write stylistically sounds exhausting, as if it isn't hard enough to write at all. More utilitarian prose is less flashy but is more accessible.
I have my niche topic, actually my niche of a niche topic, but the editor suggest that I have broader interest expertise: sex and tech. However, I have no interest in writing relationship advice or tech journalism pieces either.
The way to make it through the fabled dollar-per-word barrier of freelancing, he says, is adopting one of two strategies:
The first is the path of the stylist. You develop literary chops and practice Tom Wolfe-style New Journalism. What you write about is less important than your particular artistic interpretation of it. You build a literary reputation and get called upon by editors for assignments.
The second is the expert. You develop in-depth knowledge of and contacts in a particular field so you can stay abreast of new developments and be ahead of the curve. You become known to editors as the go-to person for that topic. Write enough features on something, and that can eventually turn into a book deal or speaking engagements.
Of the two, the former sounds like the harder path. Literary stars come and go, decided by the vagaries of fashion. Expertise has staying power. Secondly, trying to write stylistically sounds exhausting, as if it isn't hard enough to write at all. More utilitarian prose is less flashy but is more accessible.
I have my niche topic, actually my niche of a niche topic, but the editor suggest that I have broader interest expertise: sex and tech. However, I have no interest in writing relationship advice or tech journalism pieces either.