Successful Blog

The Problem with Writing . . . 25 Things to Know BEFORE You Write for a Living

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Let’s Be Honest

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Every morning I get up and write blog posts . Then I go do my other writing work. I’ve been writing for a living for very long time. So I feel qualified to write this post. It’s not a rant. It’s a list. It’s a set of things that folks who think they might want to write for a living ought to know before they blindly follow their dream.

The problem with writing is

    that, when you start, no one will believe you are a writer.

    that all writing jobs takes longer than folks think they will.

    that even talent needs ideas.

    that getting to a living wage takes time and boring work.

    that, when you write well, the finished product looks like it was easy.

    that no one cares how hard it was.

    that the lifestyle isn’t glamorous.

    that the pay can be less glamorous.

    that you’re always interrupted in the middle of the perfect thought.

    that you’ll probably have to edit your own work.

    that, if you get noticed, your mistakes are very public.

    that you need to personally invest and be detached.

    that you’ll be critiqued by people who don’t know to say things nicely.

    that you’ll be critiqued by people who don’t know what they’re talking about.

    that you won’t get to follow through on all of your favorite ideas.

    that some of your ideas will stink too.

    that folks won’t believe their opinion can’t hurt you.

    that you won’t be able to explain the thrill of finding a word you spent 3 weeks looking for.

    that only other writers will ever really know what it is that you do.

    that your significant other may not read anything that you write.

    that being a writer can wake you up in the middle of the night.

    that it can make you feel stupid.

    that no one can help you do it.

    that when you have finished, there’s no applause.

    that you have finished, you have to do the same thing all over again.

What could possibly be worth that investment?

Writing communicates through across the world, through time, to people I have never met. It captures ideas, inventions, and information. It’s worth it to be even a tiny part of that.

Bet you could add to this list. Why do you write in spite of it?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
It seems I’m always saying “Thank you, Darren.”.

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Net Neutrality 8-16-2006

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Net Neutrality Links

I’m adding this link to the Net Neutrality Page.

The Internet Must Die

The guy behind the brilliant techno remix of Sen. Ted Stevens’ “Series of Tubes” speech has released another pro-Net Neutrality song inspired by the Alaska senator’s rantings.

BoldHeaded:

To piggy-back on the huge success of our last parody of Ted Steven’s techno remix, we released a new track to our podcast subscribers last week

This time, Senator Ted Stevens pulls no punches and reveals his true objective. Hear the geeks speak out!

Link

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related
NET NEUTRALITY PAGE

Net Neutrality 8-15-2006

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Net Neutrality Links

I’m adding this link to the Net Neutrality Page.

The Four Faces of Net Neutrality

For Dr. René Alvarez, a surgeon from Homer, Alaska, the debate surrounding network neutrality isn’t about the digital minutia of speeds and tiered services; it could be about life and death.

For his patients in Alaska’s interior, the Internet isn’t a link to movies and games. “The Internet,” he said during a recent meeting in Boston, “is their lifeline, their link to the outside world.”

Alvarez’s biggest fear is that patients living in small towns in Alaska’s interior aren’t in a position to shoulder any additional increase in Internet access charges.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a somewhat larger town such as Bethel, Alaska, has a per capita income of $12,602, which is about half the poverty level for a family of four in Alaska. An increase in Internet access could discourage the use of remote medicine, especially if it’s viewed as a bandwidth-intensive, upper-tier service, Alvarez said.

It is unclear how Alvarez and his patients will ultimately be affected by the nuances of the net neutrality debate in Washington, especially when few actually agree on a definition.

[…]

Lost in the debate are the concerns of millions of forgotten stakeholders such as Alvarez; Kimberly Johnson, a Washington-based educator; Tom McInerney, CEO at Internet startup Guba; and Ralph Riley, product marketing manager for Siemens Communications.

[…]

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related
NET NEUTRALITY PAGE

Net Neutrality 8-14-2006

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Net Neutrality Links

I’m adding this link to the Net Neutrality Page.

Weighing High-Tech Bills in Analog [via Congress, Comic Books, Technology And Passing New Laws]

The fight over House and Senate telecom bills has sparked an estimated $1 million a day in lobbying and advertising by companies and advocacy groups. Urged on by politically powerful phone companies, Congressional leaders have been actively pushing the legislation. Recognizing the momentum, advocates for a variety of technology issues — including a new Internet tax moratorium and anti-piracy measures — are trying to tack on amendments.

But fear of unintended consequences and difficulties grasping the highly technical issues are making some in Congress hesitant to support technology legislation.

[ . . .]

“I’m tired of talking about 18-wheelers,” an exasperated Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Gold River) said at a House hearing this spring. “I’d like to know what we’re talking about here.”

[ . . .]

Phone and cable companies, which oppose any new regulations governing whether they can charge for prioritizing content, have seized on that confusion. They’ve warned lawmakers not to act on a vaguely defined potential problem because it could have those dreaded “unintended consequences.”

Those arguments carry weight among lawmakers trying to be careful about intervening in the technology marketplace, said Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), who chairs a House subcommittee on telecommunications and the Internet.

“We didn’t want to lock in or lock out future players,” he said. “Who knows what’s going to come down the pike?”

But the debate has frustrated Internet executives.

“To our industry and our customers, very important issues are being decided today in Congress,” said Paul Misener, Amazon’s vice president of global public policy. “Much of the concern is decisions might be made without a complete understanding of the facts.”

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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NET NEUTRALITY PAGE

7.5 Cat’s BIG IDEA

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Where to from Here?

Cat Morley

And now that I’m getting to the point of retirement, I’m getting away from the actual work of design and am now spending most of my time on pro bono work. Hence NO!SPEC, Creative Latitude and Proscodi. And one more on the way … Cat Morely said.

But her life hardly seems to be slowing, in fact it seems to be gearing up. Before we left her or looked too far down the road, I wanted to know what Cat sees now.

Cat, what do you think most designers get wrong?

Depends what you are talking about. Wrong about choosing freelance over
inhouse before they have enough skills? Not enough education and experience before striking out on their own? Working on spec? Being gullible? Not being professional? I guess I answered your question …

What could Successful Blog do to support designers more?

Successful Blog has its own style. It caters to a range of professions
with diverse interests. If you were to attract designers, in my opinion
you’d have to teach them something they do not know. Something they
need to know. Something you know. Writing. A large number of designers
are crap at grammar and sentence structure. I’m one.

In order for this to work, you’ll need to first get their attention,
then get them to understand that they need to keep paying attention.

Cat, What is your BIG IDEA? When people think of Cat Morley, what’s the first thing you want them to think of?

First thing I WANT them to think?

Hmmm…. tall, slim, young, brilliant?

[deep sigh] not the truth, just wishful thinking.

The truth is I’m passionate about the industry of design. I’m demanding of myself much more than I am of others. I am very good at organising but I’m not perfect. I have a quick, fiery hot temper. I no longer shy from it as I’ve lived with it for way too long and know it’s not going away. No more than I am. I’m loyal to my friends and not adverse to attempting to see the point of view of those who I’ve disagreed with hotly. I’m not one to say I have “no time for fools” as I’ve been a fool myself once too often. Live and learn, then live some more.

I tried to talk Cat into convincing one of her clients that she needed to call me in on one of her jobs. But once she explained the economics, we both decided it was wishful thinking.

Wishes are good things and one day I will meet her.

That Cat Morley is just too interesting to time run out without finding an afternoon to spend together talking about life and other stuff.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related Articles
Interview 7.1: Meet Cat Morley, World Designer
7.2 Interview: Cat Morley Becomes a Blogger
7.3: Cat, the Toothpaste, the Queen and Everyone

Bloggy Question 18 — Suddenly You Have

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What Are Your Favorites?

For those who come looking for a short, thoughtful read, a blogging life discussion, or a way to gradually ease back into the week, I offer this Blogging Question.

Suddenly your blog has been discovered. All of the big names, all of your heroes have put you on their blogroll. You’re now looking at 26,000 links — individual site links — to your now famous blog. You’re number 1 on the Technorati Top 100. You have a Google Page Rank of 9, the same as Boing, Boing and Slashdot enjoy.

What do you do with this good fortune?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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Bloggy Question 17 — The Official Writing Book Discussion
Bloggy Question 16 — Customer Feedback
Bloggy Question 15 — Roadblocks
Bloggy Question 14 — Make a Wish