First-person industrial complex. How utterly brilliant. And how profoundly telling, of us, of our careers, our writerly dreams and the psychological state that comes with it all (having a "complex").
I used to freelance a lot as well. For The Hollywood Reporter and Daily Variety, mainly, but this was for print. In the mid 1990's. So now I can't even find my name in their online archives—all I have is the print articles, scanned of course. Living in the SF Bay Area, you physically cannot survive on a freelance income. You need to figure out a different path. For me, it's running my own business, and being a highly versatile writer and strategist. But what I love about Substack is that no one tells me what I can or cannot write. This is my sandbox, and I love to play in it :)
Ha, Birgitte, I'd never thought about it before but "complex" is a very rich term here, as you point out. Funny. You're very very right about freelance income and how it's impossible to live on, and how Substack gives some room to play. Cheers!
I've been thinking about this a lot! Specifically the role editors, magazines, and other gatekeepers play in building writing careers. The landscape has absolutely changed, BUT I don't know if I totally agree with Leigh that an essay in a digital media outlet gets you nowhere (I subscribe to her substack and really enjoy her takes!) Funny enough, the NYTs Modern Love column reached out to me yesterday to write a follow-up to an essay I wrote for them a couple of years ago, and I began reflecting on how that essay launched my writing career. It was my first publication, I got my literary agent from that essay (even though I didn't think it was the great loll). Having your writing appear in major outlets I think does still matter--I think the central problem, at least for writers hoping to be traditionally published, remains, and that's that publishing houses are always trying to figure out what sells books, is it a viral essay in The Cut? Is it 100,000 followers on TikTok? And the answer continues to be a mix of: we don't really know and it depends and sometimes it helps and sometimes it doesn't lol. I think getting published in these outlets helps with credibility (many bigs substackers on the journalism side have these places on their resumes). What I feel is 100% true, and that I think you're getting at with this essay, is that writers give away too much of their power to gatekeepers. Things don't get published all the time for reasons that have nothing to do with the quality of the piece. The key is knowing when you've gotten a "no" because the essay etc needs more work vs because it's not a good fit, or they already picked up a similar essay. For some writers, being published in a certain caliber of outlet is more important than being published at all (Also see the Big 5 or nothing people lol). But I *think* many writers just want to write and be read, however that looks. As writer Torrey Peter says, when you find your readers, everything else (the presses and big magazines) follows. Thanks for writing this!!
You won the Modern Love lottery. 😊 I sold a book in 2015 off a viral essay in BuzzFeed. It’s not that this doesn’t happen anymore—it’s just that there are fewer outlets to pitch and fewer writers getting lucky in this way! So I can’t in good conscience counsel my clients to just “pitch a viral essay” to sell their books anymore. It’s not happening the way it was 10 years ago.
"writers give away too much of their power to gatekeepers". yes a THOUSAND percent! And I feel, personally, it's because many of us are so humble and self-deprecating. We're the opposite of tech bros. Ha.
I love this take on it - that it's a mix, and what works for some may not be what works for others, as far as getting an audience or an agent or a deal.
Really, really loved this, Cat. It's been a while since I was in the freelance writing arena -- I was back in the mid-2000s, which I can't believe is 20 years ago! -- but I remember, oh all too well, the yearning to get my stuff in those bigger publications, hoping the smaller ones would be a stepping stone on a set of stairs that would always be going up. I had some fascinating experiences, did some work I'm really proud of to this day, but ultimately it was just too financially challenging for me to sustain, so I went back to the UX design world (where I still work today, even though I write my newsletter on the side).
I was actually thinking about this over the weekend before seeing your essay in my inbox this morning. It's all *so damn hard,* isn't it? And yet, there's still a part of me that, if I wasn't doing it, would feel stifled -- there's a creative impulse in me that I have to let out, and would feel like I'm really letting myself down if I didn't. That doesn't make any of this any easier, but it does mean it's still better to be on the path than off it entirely. (I hope, anyway!)
Terrell, wow, yes, I really really feel you on the freelancing points. It's all so damn hard, uh huh, agreed, and I'd feel stifled and frustrated without it. Cheers. What a funny business this all is.
Catherine, a good article...and mostly accurate...the ladder has morphed into an M.C. Escher style device: sometimes your climbing a ladder, other times your going down a staircase, then perhaps gliding on a conveyor belt. The main thing is you are "not yielding;" you keep moving, experiencing all life has to gift you. That's why it's the PRESENT.
Our capitalist consumerist society, rather those ruling and perpetuating it, are all aglow now that AI has arrived - now even writing can be obtained on the cheap.
This is so true it hurts. I work in the theatre, the death knell of which has tolled since its inception.
We are so quick to subscribe to the *systems* of doing things - the *way* theatre is produced, the *way* novels are published - none of it is really dying. We are changing; it is changing. The systems are the messenger, not the message. Maybe it is time to enlist better ones.
It's hard because it can feel like multiple jobs rolled into one: it's *doing* the work and *learning to do the work* a new way. And part of that work is not getting jaded and weighed down by the negativity surrounding the concept of evolution. Because ultimately, isn't that the point?
It is the blessing and curse of the creative mind -- always wanting to forge a new path forward to the unknown, but then...we have to forge a new path forward to the unknown.
As someone sort of new to the 2024 publishing scene, I've been pondering this a lot.
When crappy things happened to my kids as they were growing up, I used to say to them, "And how might this be an opportunity/" (Yes, I was that mother 😂)
Now that they're grown & flown (and out of earshot), I have no one else but myself to ask that question of – most recently, pondering and re-pondering the whole how to publish my books conundrum.
I'm thinking this BIG5 sad state of things might be just the obstacle I've needed to do the indie route, put together my own imprint and get my books out there.
Oh I loved this so much, Cat. I could go on and on. It's all so true (you had me at "the hour of our death approacheth like a pizza in the Domino’s Tracker.") And also? I have those same pots and pans banging in my own head ... It's all too easy to get mired into depression with all this. Most lately, I am trying (feebly!) to alter my perceptions of what I want/reasonably expect/demand from my own writing. For me, Substack is definitely a step in the right direction.
Thanks again for writing. I will be re-reading this many times!
Ah, Sue, thanks so much for the kind words. Big fan of YOUR Substack - insightful yet unobtrusive, which is a feat at any time but even more so when the world's this noisy. Always look forward to your posts.
Isn't there embroidery on a cushion that goes something like this: Life's a bitch, and then you die. Yup, can't argue with that. God only knows why we write when there might be some other avenue that would-- I don't know-- pay off? I suspect we are all crazy in some way yet to be discovered. Maybe they will find a vaccine for it.
The best moment of my writer’s life was many years ago when I decided that my attitude had to shift from “pick me, pick me” to “I pick me.” I’d already built an email list so it wasn’t that move so much as how I directed my career from then on. I thought of myself being in business. Creating a market for what I had to say.
The ladder has always been disappearing- 32 years into this gig I agree with that wholeheartedly — and I have stopped worrying about it. Maybe that’s age — for sure it’s part of it — yet I still have big writing goals I just recognize there’s multiple ways to achieve what I want.
I always love your articles and how you think Cat! 🌟☄️
If you go to Barnes & Noble or Books A Million, they have dozens and dozens of seemingly prosperous print magazines for sale across the spectrum. I wonder who writes all the articles for these publications now? Staff?
I'm always amazed to see that too. My impression (admittedly it's been months since I was last in a B&N) is that many (most?) of these are more niche, as opposed to classic general-interest magazines, which have either disappeared or are much-reduced versions of themselves. Not unrelatedly, I do think there are still lots of "writing" opportunities out there, just not necessarily in those classic, prestigious consumer publications: alumni magazines, blogging/ghostwriting for companies, trade publications, some of those niche magazines on the B&N shelf, etc.
They do seem to be highly specialized... And when you look on the inside cover region they always have a staff of significant size. So I wonder if most magazines are just doing all the articles in house now vs. this past market for freelancers. But from the perspective of bookstores, print magazines certainly aren't dying out. Some are thinner, but some are literally book sizes. And the prices are crazy high...
You guys are both making good points. One thing that occurs to me is that print magazines, magazines akin to trade publications, continue to have something to offer niche advertisers, so the business may be much more sound than for more general-interest types of publications. In any case, I'd really enjoy getting my hands on these publications' sales and circulation data, ad sales, etc. Bet it would be fascinating.
My cats name is Timicin and often people will respond "Tennyson?" And I don't correct them. Tennyson is a genius. And this post is oddly comforting honestly. You and Leigh are providing some clarity and I thank you!
Sarah, you're so welcome! Thanks for reading. I LOVE Tennyson as a cat's name (or nickname). Must be among the best I've ever heard. So agree he's a genius. Reading a biog now and it turns out he was a marketing genius too. Shouldn't be as surprising as it is. But I plan to write about him at some stage. Anyway, cheers! Glad to hear about the clarity. Tell Tennyson I said hi.
The enquirer was full of lies and fabrications until People emerged in the 1970s. We are now in toxic. Cyber land that makes BS famous and marketable. You would love my American Phantasmagoria (Lulu com)
First-person industrial complex. How utterly brilliant. And how profoundly telling, of us, of our careers, our writerly dreams and the psychological state that comes with it all (having a "complex").
I used to freelance a lot as well. For The Hollywood Reporter and Daily Variety, mainly, but this was for print. In the mid 1990's. So now I can't even find my name in their online archives—all I have is the print articles, scanned of course. Living in the SF Bay Area, you physically cannot survive on a freelance income. You need to figure out a different path. For me, it's running my own business, and being a highly versatile writer and strategist. But what I love about Substack is that no one tells me what I can or cannot write. This is my sandbox, and I love to play in it :)
Ha, Birgitte, I'd never thought about it before but "complex" is a very rich term here, as you point out. Funny. You're very very right about freelance income and how it's impossible to live on, and how Substack gives some room to play. Cheers!
We all love this sandbox.
I've been thinking about this a lot! Specifically the role editors, magazines, and other gatekeepers play in building writing careers. The landscape has absolutely changed, BUT I don't know if I totally agree with Leigh that an essay in a digital media outlet gets you nowhere (I subscribe to her substack and really enjoy her takes!) Funny enough, the NYTs Modern Love column reached out to me yesterday to write a follow-up to an essay I wrote for them a couple of years ago, and I began reflecting on how that essay launched my writing career. It was my first publication, I got my literary agent from that essay (even though I didn't think it was the great loll). Having your writing appear in major outlets I think does still matter--I think the central problem, at least for writers hoping to be traditionally published, remains, and that's that publishing houses are always trying to figure out what sells books, is it a viral essay in The Cut? Is it 100,000 followers on TikTok? And the answer continues to be a mix of: we don't really know and it depends and sometimes it helps and sometimes it doesn't lol. I think getting published in these outlets helps with credibility (many bigs substackers on the journalism side have these places on their resumes). What I feel is 100% true, and that I think you're getting at with this essay, is that writers give away too much of their power to gatekeepers. Things don't get published all the time for reasons that have nothing to do with the quality of the piece. The key is knowing when you've gotten a "no" because the essay etc needs more work vs because it's not a good fit, or they already picked up a similar essay. For some writers, being published in a certain caliber of outlet is more important than being published at all (Also see the Big 5 or nothing people lol). But I *think* many writers just want to write and be read, however that looks. As writer Torrey Peter says, when you find your readers, everything else (the presses and big magazines) follows. Thanks for writing this!!
You won the Modern Love lottery. 😊 I sold a book in 2015 off a viral essay in BuzzFeed. It’s not that this doesn’t happen anymore—it’s just that there are fewer outlets to pitch and fewer writers getting lucky in this way! So I can’t in good conscience counsel my clients to just “pitch a viral essay” to sell their books anymore. It’s not happening the way it was 10 years ago.
"writers give away too much of their power to gatekeepers". yes a THOUSAND percent! And I feel, personally, it's because many of us are so humble and self-deprecating. We're the opposite of tech bros. Ha.
Haili, loved hearing your story. Will you link when your follow-up comes out?? Searching out your original one now - huge congrats!
Thank you!! And of course, thank you for asking :) Here's the original, too: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/02/style/modern-love-my-choice-isnt-marriage-or-loneliness.html
It's a great read!
I love this take on it - that it's a mix, and what works for some may not be what works for others, as far as getting an audience or an agent or a deal.
Really, really loved this, Cat. It's been a while since I was in the freelance writing arena -- I was back in the mid-2000s, which I can't believe is 20 years ago! -- but I remember, oh all too well, the yearning to get my stuff in those bigger publications, hoping the smaller ones would be a stepping stone on a set of stairs that would always be going up. I had some fascinating experiences, did some work I'm really proud of to this day, but ultimately it was just too financially challenging for me to sustain, so I went back to the UX design world (where I still work today, even though I write my newsletter on the side).
I was actually thinking about this over the weekend before seeing your essay in my inbox this morning. It's all *so damn hard,* isn't it? And yet, there's still a part of me that, if I wasn't doing it, would feel stifled -- there's a creative impulse in me that I have to let out, and would feel like I'm really letting myself down if I didn't. That doesn't make any of this any easier, but it does mean it's still better to be on the path than off it entirely. (I hope, anyway!)
Terrell, wow, yes, I really really feel you on the freelancing points. It's all so damn hard, uh huh, agreed, and I'd feel stifled and frustrated without it. Cheers. What a funny business this all is.
Catherine, a good article...and mostly accurate...the ladder has morphed into an M.C. Escher style device: sometimes your climbing a ladder, other times your going down a staircase, then perhaps gliding on a conveyor belt. The main thing is you are "not yielding;" you keep moving, experiencing all life has to gift you. That's why it's the PRESENT.
Love that Escher analogy, Jon.
Our capitalist consumerist society, rather those ruling and perpetuating it, are all aglow now that AI has arrived - now even writing can be obtained on the cheap.
This is so true it hurts. I work in the theatre, the death knell of which has tolled since its inception.
We are so quick to subscribe to the *systems* of doing things - the *way* theatre is produced, the *way* novels are published - none of it is really dying. We are changing; it is changing. The systems are the messenger, not the message. Maybe it is time to enlist better ones.
It's hard because it can feel like multiple jobs rolled into one: it's *doing* the work and *learning to do the work* a new way. And part of that work is not getting jaded and weighed down by the negativity surrounding the concept of evolution. Because ultimately, isn't that the point?
It is the blessing and curse of the creative mind -- always wanting to forge a new path forward to the unknown, but then...we have to forge a new path forward to the unknown.
As someone sort of new to the 2024 publishing scene, I've been pondering this a lot.
When crappy things happened to my kids as they were growing up, I used to say to them, "And how might this be an opportunity/" (Yes, I was that mother 😂)
Now that they're grown & flown (and out of earshot), I have no one else but myself to ask that question of – most recently, pondering and re-pondering the whole how to publish my books conundrum.
I'm thinking this BIG5 sad state of things might be just the obstacle I've needed to do the indie route, put together my own imprint and get my books out there.
Kristin, my hunch is you were right to tell your kids that - it's so often true. Been enjoying your Substack lately, too!
Thanks so much for reading, Cat, I appreciate your time ☺️
Yes, how might this be an opportunity? Well, it's dressed in some crappy clothes at the moment, so I'm not sure if I'll invite it in.
Oh I loved this so much, Cat. I could go on and on. It's all so true (you had me at "the hour of our death approacheth like a pizza in the Domino’s Tracker.") And also? I have those same pots and pans banging in my own head ... It's all too easy to get mired into depression with all this. Most lately, I am trying (feebly!) to alter my perceptions of what I want/reasonably expect/demand from my own writing. For me, Substack is definitely a step in the right direction.
Thanks again for writing. I will be re-reading this many times!
Ah, Sue, thanks so much for the kind words. Big fan of YOUR Substack - insightful yet unobtrusive, which is a feat at any time but even more so when the world's this noisy. Always look forward to your posts.
Appreciate this so much, Cat. Truly. I'm very grateful our paths have crossed.
Isn't there embroidery on a cushion that goes something like this: Life's a bitch, and then you die. Yup, can't argue with that. God only knows why we write when there might be some other avenue that would-- I don't know-- pay off? I suspect we are all crazy in some way yet to be discovered. Maybe they will find a vaccine for it.
The best moment of my writer’s life was many years ago when I decided that my attitude had to shift from “pick me, pick me” to “I pick me.” I’d already built an email list so it wasn’t that move so much as how I directed my career from then on. I thought of myself being in business. Creating a market for what I had to say.
The ladder has always been disappearing- 32 years into this gig I agree with that wholeheartedly — and I have stopped worrying about it. Maybe that’s age — for sure it’s part of it — yet I still have big writing goals I just recognize there’s multiple ways to achieve what I want.
I always love your articles and how you think Cat! 🌟☄️
Jenn, I love this - that's a great longer-term perspective on the business and reminds me that I'm part of your audience, too. :)
I woke up at 3 am thinking I sounded like an old lady know it all!
NOT IN THE LEAST, not at all. But I know what it is to wake up like that. :)
I also drank wine last night NEVER a good idea for me. (but fun!)
Ha, I know that aspect too! Though I'm more a beer girl
If you go to Barnes & Noble or Books A Million, they have dozens and dozens of seemingly prosperous print magazines for sale across the spectrum. I wonder who writes all the articles for these publications now? Staff?
I'm always amazed to see that too. My impression (admittedly it's been months since I was last in a B&N) is that many (most?) of these are more niche, as opposed to classic general-interest magazines, which have either disappeared or are much-reduced versions of themselves. Not unrelatedly, I do think there are still lots of "writing" opportunities out there, just not necessarily in those classic, prestigious consumer publications: alumni magazines, blogging/ghostwriting for companies, trade publications, some of those niche magazines on the B&N shelf, etc.
They do seem to be highly specialized... And when you look on the inside cover region they always have a staff of significant size. So I wonder if most magazines are just doing all the articles in house now vs. this past market for freelancers. But from the perspective of bookstores, print magazines certainly aren't dying out. Some are thinner, but some are literally book sizes. And the prices are crazy high...
You guys are both making good points. One thing that occurs to me is that print magazines, magazines akin to trade publications, continue to have something to offer niche advertisers, so the business may be much more sound than for more general-interest types of publications. In any case, I'd really enjoy getting my hands on these publications' sales and circulation data, ad sales, etc. Bet it would be fascinating.
I write for a few big travel mags and still ask myself the same question. Boomers?
My cats name is Timicin and often people will respond "Tennyson?" And I don't correct them. Tennyson is a genius. And this post is oddly comforting honestly. You and Leigh are providing some clarity and I thank you!
Sarah, you're so welcome! Thanks for reading. I LOVE Tennyson as a cat's name (or nickname). Must be among the best I've ever heard. So agree he's a genius. Reading a biog now and it turns out he was a marketing genius too. Shouldn't be as surprising as it is. But I plan to write about him at some stage. Anyway, cheers! Glad to hear about the clarity. Tell Tennyson I said hi.
The enquirer was full of lies and fabrications until People emerged in the 1970s. We are now in toxic. Cyber land that makes BS famous and marketable. You would love my American Phantasmagoria (Lulu com)
I've read about People's launch and trajectory before and it's a fascinating case study, totally agree.
Thank you for telling your story! I really enjoyed reading this!
Back at you, thanks for reading, Courteney!
This is so relatable! I feel like I don’t know what my ladder is anymore.
Same, Elle. Thanks for reading! :)
Alas, this is so true! It’s exactly why we started our Substack (like so many others)!