Escape From Pianosa

This is an idea I hear a lot from people that until recently, I took for granted. “Writers are in high demand” or “it’s so hard to find people who can write well.” Anecdotally, this rings true for me, but when I went looking for jobs as a writer, I found that the market wasn’t so hot. Go to Craigslist and you’ll find that many of the listings for writers don’t pay anything. Most writing jobs have starting salaries in the 30 to 35k range, if you can find one.

And so I think that writing is an excellent skill to have, but in the job market it’s more valuable as a secondary skill. A good manager is very valuable, and a good manager with excellent writing skills is marginally better. Same for engineers or software developers or any other profession. But from my limited experience on the job hunt, I don’t think writers per se are in high demand.

When I shifted my job search from writing to marketing/web/technology, I really started getting interviews, call-backs, and interest.

I love this rant. Especially this:

“The thing is, I really like saying yes. I like new things, projects, plans, getting people together and doing something, trying something, even when it’s corny or stupid. I am not good at saying no. And I do not get along with people who say no. When you die, and it really could be this afternoon, under the same bus wheels I’ll stick my head if need be, you will not be happy about having said no. You will be kicking your ass about all the
no’s you’ve said. No to that opportunity, or no to that trip to Nova Scotia or no to that night out, or no to that project or no to that person who wants to be naked with you but you worry about what your friends will say.

No is for wimps. No is for pussies. No is to live small and embittered, cherishing the opportunities you missed because they might have sent the wrong message.”

And this…

“What matters is that you do good work. What matters is that you produce things that are true and will stand. What matters is that the Flaming Lips’s new album is ravishing and I’ve listened to it a thousand times already, sometimes for days on end, and it enriches me and makes me want to save people. What matters is that it will stand forever, long after any narrow-hearted curmudgeons have forgotten their appearance on goddamn 90210. What matters is not the perception, nor the fashion, not who’s up and who’s down, but what someone has done and if they meant it. What matters is that you want to see and make and do, on as grand a scale as you want, regardless of what the tiny voices of tiny people say. Do not be critics, you people, I beg you. I was a critic and I wish I could take it all back because it came from a smelly and ignorant place in me, and spoke with a voice that was all rage and envy. Do not dismiss a book until you have written one, and do not dismiss a movie until you have made one, and do not dismiss a person until you have met them. It is a fuckload of work to be open-minded and generous and understanding and forgiving and accepting, but Christ, that is what matters.”

Am I going to Europe? I’m not sure. Months ago I realized that I want to be a writer, or at least to give it a shot, having nothing else at the moment that strikes my interest. I realized that the reasons for my employment in real estate were wholely monetary–a means to an end, and that the ends were varied but included travel and writing and possibly a return to formal schooling, despite all its shortcomings. I also realized that the money would never come if that’s all I cared about (cliché, but true in my case).

So I decided to pursue my interests without regard to money–to play for the sake of music, without an eye towards success, as Rodrigo y Gabriela put it during their concert Saturday.

I applied for a job as a writer for a European guidebook, and much to my surprise, I got the job. I was supposed to leave next week, but there’s been some delays with the publisher, which should be resolved in the next few days. I suppose that if they aren’t resolved that I’ll be back to square one–not that this gig was ever anything more than a temporary endeavor.

Here’s a funny CraigsList posting that mocks the way writers are paid. Looking at CraigsList every day for freelance writing stuff, there’s always dozens of posts that “don’t pay, but you get great exposure!” As if real magazines are impressed by your unpaid credentials.

Excerpt:

AWESOME OPPORTUNITY FOR ELECTRIC COMPANY!

Do you make electricity?? Are you just dying to share it with others??

We are looking to start up the electrical grid for our new community. If you’d like to contribute some kilowattage while getting to know a great group of people who value natural living, nudity and goats, please send a backhoe, poles and powerlines to Rural Route 67, Scrub Brush Springs. All submissions considered.

(No pay.)