One thing I teach my students is you want to build a body of work you’re proud of.
In my career, I’ve had thoughts & a few pieces I regret + WILDLY uneven earnings at too many jobs.
But overall, I’ve made a body of work aligned w my values—& that does a lot for your peace.
In my career, I’ve had thoughts & a few pieces I regret + WILDLY uneven earnings at too many jobs.
But overall, I’ve made a body of work aligned w my values—& that does a lot for your peace.
It means the world to me when a Black trans teen writes to me about a piece I published about therapy in 2018, or someone whose sibling died of cancer writes abt a piece I wrote even before that. Only got a few hundred dollars for both pieces, written for different pubs...
...it’s hard freelancing and turning down bland & more stable work. But if you can hold on to do work in alignment w your values over time, you’ll grow, & your readers will grow w you & allow you room to grow. And you’ll feel good abt the work (even when your bank account hurts).
My father + Tom Robbins tried to teach me to never let an editor push me into something that didn’t sit right w me. It can be tough to say no, but it’s your name on the work & you want it to reflect your values, not anyone else’s.
And I think it was @CBMDP who taught me that editorially, you could be accepted or rejected for being who you are. You could also be accepted or rejected while trying to be someone else.
Why not let that judgment be made in alignment w your values & not in conflict w them?
Why not let that judgment be made in alignment w your values & not in conflict w them?
Stay with the work. Keep doing work you’re proud to have your name on. Take non-journalistic work (which may give you best material) before you have to take work that doesn’t feel right. & Learn new things from all kinds of reporting or non-reporting labor assignments.
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