Archive for ◊ April, 2009 ◊

22 Apr 2009 How to Get Your Fellow Writers to Dislike You
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1. Put them on your mailing lists and send them promotional material every time your friends have events in a city they no longer live in. Or worse, put them on personal mailing lists so they get your “Why Women are Better Than Men” e-mails every week, week after week.

2. When they give you an editor’s contact information, write to said editor and use their name as a reference. (Note: Editor will call them and find out that they had only shared information, not recommended you. This will work against you.)

3. Post thinly veiled critiques on your blog about how you once respected them but don’t anymore because of their usage of the word “fuck” on their blogs, and how you think it may be hurting their business. Try to then get inside their heads by analyzing why exactly they do this.

4. E-mail them to say, “I’ll trade you your Rolling Stone contact for my New Yorker contact,” get the name of their contact, and never respond to their e-mails ever again.

5. Ask them for an honest critique of your article/query letter, and when they make suggestions, respond by telling them how wrong they are and why you disagree with their suggestions.

6. Ask them what they’re working on, sell the idea to an international media group, essentially killing any chance of their story appearing in national media and when confronted, say, “But you were my inspiration! I thought you’d be pleased.”

21 Apr 2009 The Freelance National Anthem
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National or international, I love it.

20 Apr 2009 Of American Visas and the Never-Ending Quest for Them
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The countdown is on, and it’s less than a month until my arrival in India. I’m half excited and let’s face it, half petrified.

So I did what every sane writer does when freaking out about how her lifestyle is about to change drastically: I pitched a story about Indians who were being forced to return to India after decades of living in America because of the economic climate and certain protectionist policies. It wasn’t about my situation at all (I’m actually very happy about this), but I did get to speak to a few people who shared the reasons for their return to India and hilarious anecdotes about the reverse culture shock they were not expecting.

But what’s most interesting is that ever since I began telling people here in America that I was leaving next month, almost every immigrant I know (and I know many) has given me advice on how to extend my visa.

When I tell them it’s my choice, they often don’t believe me.

“If you find a ‘friend,’ I’ve heard it’s easier to stay,” a concerned shop-owner told me. “My son’s friend is looking for a girlfriend. Do you want his number?”

When I explained that I already had a “friend,” who his son had met, by the way, and that he was in India, he looked at me perplexed. “Then why he not come here?”

“Oh, he’s British,” I replied.

“Ah, so you go to Britain?”

Um, no.

.

berkeleyclass-iwan

(Photo by Moch Kurniawan)

In other news, spring is here. So we’ve been spending time outside.

berkeleycoffee-myint

(Photo by Myint Kyaw)

17 Apr 2009 Gawker’s Hall of Shame

So, Gawker asked freelancers for the worst late payment offenders among print publications, and got some answers. The lists are by no means exhaustive, and they’re also not completely reliable. One person’s complaint does not make a publication a deadbeat, but enough of them should make you think before pitching. So do your research and talk to other freelancers.

The first list appeared on March 24, 2009 and named, among others, Self magazine. (My last payment from Self arrived quicker than any other American publication I’ve ever worked with, so there ya go.) The second one was published on April 1, 2009, and names Men’s Journal, Time Out New York, Canadian Geographic, and to my surprise, The National.

15 Apr 2009 My Month of Querying

I’ve decided it’s way too much fun just sending out ideas and proposals and not worrying about how the heck I’m going to execute them.

I may have given a somewhat wrong impression when I posted about my change of plans from New York to New Delhi because everyone keeps asking me to meet up. I’m still very much in America, and will be for the next month. I’ll be leaving earlier than most Visiting Scholars because I have to get started on work almost as soon as I land in India and that means I’ll be missing the commencement ceremony. But I’m not a student, so it doesn’t really matter. I’ve done what I came here to do, and I’m ready to head back.

Which means, of course, that I’ve been letting editors know that I’m once again ready to roll and take on assignments. And because I don’t immediately have to jump up and do them, I’ve been quite ambitious in my queries.

The good news? I’ve had a lot of interest. Interesting what you can do when fear doesn’t stand in the way. The bad news? I’ll actually have to pull this off.

13 Apr 2009 Ah, Internet. What Would We Do Without You?
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Him: You’ve been busy! I haven’t seen you in ages.

Me: What are you talking about? I’ve taken on much less work this month, and I’ve been around so much more.

Him: But I haven’t seen you on Facebook in weeks!