The down and dirty part of journalism, pt. 2

Let’s talk about getting paid… or how I didn’t get paid.

Remember that posting about  Tribune Co., declaring bankruptcy? Well, I brushed my brow when I read it. I’d just gotten a check from the company and I’d deposited.

But my sigh of relief came too quickly.  The check came back because the company refused to honor it. Yes, they stopped payment on their check because they weren’t/aren’t paying freelancers.  So I’m out $420 – the amount of the check and the fee for “bouncing” it.

I didn’t curse. I laughed. That’s how I know I’ve become a new woman, at least where my occupation is concerned.

What makes a good blog?

Merlin Mann answers the question in this posting at 43folders.com. Those of us who are trained writers should rejoice at some of his points.  We’ll see some stalwarts: attention to audience; presence of tone and voice…

I’d add another point. The ability to post regularly.

Now that I’ve got skills, what am I gonna do with them?

photo courtesy of Another Sunshine

I’ve got skills. I’ve got mad skills.

I can tweet on Twitter. I can hang out on facebook. I can create slideshows with Soundslides, doctor photographs with Photoshop, paste all that to a website that I created with the help of Dreamweaver.

So what the problem? It’s pulling it all together and getting paid – oops, my bad. Wrong lingo. Even though I have myriad capabilities, I’m finding it difficult to monetize.

Am I overcompensating? Probably. Stereotyped thinking says boomers aren’t adapting to the new media landscape; I’m trying to prove that thinking wrong.

Can I do too much? Is being able to do too much the flip side of not being able to do enough?

See, I’m getting conflicting information from the experts in the marketplace. All the (non-journalistic)entrepreneurial advice I’m receiving urges concentrating on a goal. No sweat. I want to create content. In the old days, I could simply write a story and email it to an editor.

But it’s an on-line world and mere words are not enough. If I blog for pay, I’ve got to find visuals to go with them. Or upload video. Or create audio. Not that I’d mind, but I’m only getting paid to write.

It’s like I’m getting dressed for a night out on the town, and I have to choose the right accessories to go with my outfit. And after I show up, looking G-gorgeous, my date doesn’t want to pick up the tab.

Freelancing: first, I should have done these six things

Reflection is the author of wisdom, and I’ve been thinking about a question sent to “Ask the Recruiter,” Joe Grimm’s career advice column on Poynter Online.

The poster thought s/he could make more money as a freelancer, than as a full-time journalist. (Don’t laugh, and don’t cry. ) When I read the posting, my first words were “You’d better talk to me, first.”

Actually, another friend had done that. And I gave her six things I’d wished I’d done before stepping out on my own. Well, let me change that. I did draft a business plan (tip #4), but the reality of freelancing was far different than I’d anticipated.

I guess that’s life, huh?
So, before you kiss the company goodbye, you should:

1. Line up a temporary job. Check with craigslist, Kelly services, anything. The point is to have a check you can depend on so you can control cash flow.
2. Create a website (if you haven’t already), or a blog that has a bio and links to your writing. Use it as an online resume. You can also do the same with linkedin.com if you wish.
3. Send a group email to all your contacts before you make the jump. (I recommend about 3 months, if you can do it that far in advance.) Tell them you’ll be freelancing full time and are looking for assignments.
4. Of course, create a business plan. Check with the Small Business Administration, or the Service Corps of Retired Executives for help. (In fact, do this first!!!)
5. Line up assignments that will have you working for about two to three months. That way, you won’t have time to sit around the house and worry.
6. While you’re working on your assignments, send out feelers for others. Always think at least 3 months ahead.

Three is a magic number.

Your day job doesn’t have to be your only job

I wouldn’t have written that headline about 8 years ago, when I was a full-time reporter in Cleveland, Ohio. If you’d asked me, I’d have said “Oh, I have one job. I’m a columnist.” The truth was, I had two jobs. I was a pianist at a church.

Don’t laugh at that gig. It gave me an extra $400 a month. But I didn’t take it seriously because it was my play job. My real job was filling the news hole at the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

I was thinking like an employee, not as an entrepreneur.

If I’d been thinking like an entrepreneur, I’d have realized I had a platform and taken advantage of it. I’d have published a collection of my columns, and recorded a CD of my compositions. In other words, I’d have used my job(s) to create another stream of revenue.

I took 8 years to develop an entrepreneurial mentality; self-employment hastened the shift. These days, though, every working person needs to think of  her/his career as business. Those of us in journalism are peering into a dark future. Newspapers and magazines are  cutting back as advertising diminishes. Employees – whether full-time, part-time or freelance – are expendable. Thinking like an entrepreneur is no longer a luxury. It’s a survival strategy.

That’s not my opinion. I’m quoting the advice of Joe Grimm, the innovative recruiter who just left the Detroit Free Press.

In 2007, I attended a conference where Grimm gave a presentation to mid-career journalists. He stressed the need to be entrepreneurial, to go for the essential job.  If you wonder what that means, take a look at his career.

Back in the 1990s, when print was still king, he was prescient enough to set up a website offering career advice.  That move expanded and reinforced his status as an expert – and brought lots of attention to his employer, the late Knight-Ridder.

In 2003, he began writing a career-advice column for the Poynter Institute. Five years later, he’s using that content to publish a book.

BTW, Grimm gave the audience another piece of advice: Don’t think that delay adds to quality.

That’s why this post is being published tonight.