Freelance Success

I keep forgetting to let you all in on this web site that I learned about from Jackie Dishner, a fellow Phoenix-area freelancer I met in November on a press trip.

Jackie said she used to write for local publications, like many of us do, but found more lucrative work in the national market. I'm sure most or all of us would love to break into bigger publications, but how? 

Jackie dished the dirt: www.freelancesuccess.com. She said it's helped her immensely in landing gigs for national mags and web sites. It's $99 a year and gives tips on which editors are looking for which kinds of stories, with contact info.

I took some time off recently (just laziness, not like I went anywhere exciting or had secret plastic surgery or anything) and didn't check it out. But I signed up today and I have high hopes that it will launch my career into fascinating new territory. Maybe Cat Fancy will need my services! How about Architect Magazine? Heck, I'll take Plumbing Supplies Today if it means more than 30 cents a word.

All together now: "Thanks, Jackie!"

And on the same subject, I haven't been hearing from many of you lately, and hardly anyone is coming to the 60 Percenters lunch next Tuesday at noon at Curry Leaf in Ahwatukee (a few of us will be there, though). I started the group and this blog to share helpful info like this nugget from Jackie, or tips on publications to avoid due to non-payment, or advice on anything related to the freelance business. But it seems like no one is interested anymore. 

Does anyone out there care? Do you want me to keep organizing the monthly get-togethers? How about the blog? I won't keep bugging you if you don't want me to.

More juicy info on jury experience

After my most recent post on my jury experience, I got an e-mail from a reader who stumbled across 60 Percenters while doing a search for information on Marjorie Orbin. I asked for and received permission to post it here, with some data redacted. 

Enjoy! I know I did...

Marjorie Orbin used to be Marjorie LAST NAME REDACTED... she was married to a friend of my hubby's who used to marry, (serially), hookers.   She was one in a long line of such women, and we, (hubby and I), were actually the only witnesses to their "marriage" before a Justice of the Peace in East Orange, NJ.  I will never forget the blushing bride's comment after the ceremony:  "Let's get the hell out of here!".  

 

Once I had the dubious honor of trying to introduce her to a "normal" activity.  I love horse-back riding, and she thought it would be good exercise.   She showed up at the indoor ring dressed entirely in see-through white silk, and combined with her 42D bustline and tiny waist made quite an impression on the men at the facility!   I gave up after that....   But, when her husband Bob and mine decided to take "the wives" to Giants Stadium, she dressed in her "Hooker Outfit" and when she got up to go to the bathroom, two entire sections stood up and cheered!   (Barbie Doll meets Hugh Hefner....)

 

She seemed to have absolutely no human emotions and eventually tried to hit old Bob on the head with a cast iron skillet.   He divorced her, but disappeard soon thereafter.   We've never seen him again!    That was about 19 years ago... wonder if he survived her!   He left NJ very suddenly, and left lots of friends with unpaid debts from him.  One fellow tracked him down to see if he might be in his Florida house, but nobody ever heard from Bob LAST NAME REDACTED again.

 

Be glad if you don't sit on her jury!

 

The case

I thought I'd update everyone on my jury duty experience.

I had to report to Superior Court on Dec. 10. I figured it might be a routine DUI, burglary or drug case; maybe take a few days or a week at most if I had been chosen. 

But no.

Judge Anderson was seating jurors for the case of Marjorie Orbin, a former Las Vegas showgirl accused of killed art dealer husband Jay Orbin, sawing off his limbs and head, stuffing his torso into black garbage bags and a garbage bin, and leaving him in the desert. The state is seeking the death penalty.

(What is it about these Scottsdale wives sawing up their husbands? Remember hair stylist Valerie Pape, convicted of killing her husband and cutting him up?)

There were a few articles about Marjorie Orbin's case when she was arrested, and I read them, but I didn't remember Orbin's name. One reporter wrote that a close friend of Orbin's said a few years ago she "started making threats to kill Jay by shooting him, wrapping him up and leaving him in the desert."

Yes, good plan: share your pre-meditated murder M.O. with friends. Now, I routinely threaten to kill my husband in his sleep, put him through a wood chipper and bury the remains under a sidewalk if he does not stop his off-key singing. But we both know that OF COURSE I would never do that. I'd do something totally different and unexpected, like shooting him, sawing off his limbs and head, and putting him in a trash can in the desert.

Just kidding, Honey.

Anyway, the trial was supposed to start last week and run through the end of May. I was almost in a panic. Five months! Egad! 

Even though trial hours only would be 1:30-4:30 p.m. weekdays, with some days off for holidays and judge's time off, that would severely hamper my ability to earn a living. As fascinating as it sounded and as much as I take seriously my civic duty, I simply couldn't do it.

I'm estimating here, but there were well more than 100 people called, probably more like 150, and I'd say at least 80 percent of us claimed hardship and were dismissed. We had to fill out a form explaining our reason, which the judge and attorneys reviewed. Other judges choose the jury differently, my judge friend told me, but this is how Judge Anderson did it.

In any event, I hope that the media continues to cover the case as it progresses so I can watch the highlights and read about it instead of having to hunker down in a jury box every day. At lunch break, I ducked into the courtroom where the Serial Shooter trial was happening, and let me tell you, it was boooorrrrriiinnnng that day. Evidential minutiae, ad nauseum.

The wheels of justice can sometimes resemble a shiny new Maserati, especially if you just see the sensational parts, but in reality, they're more of an old Ford Fiesta with a mis-matched front quarter panel.

Still, it's our Ford Fiesta, and I'm just glad we get around in it the best we can.

Happy holidays?

Sorry to say, the 60 Percenters Freelance Holiday Toast was not to be.

I heard from several people who said they couldn't make it due to deadlines or other obligations, and no one said they could come, so I called it off.

But I forgot to note that on this blog, so Rene Gutel, bless her heart, who was somehow left off my "freelancers" mail list, schlepped to My Wine Cellar in vain looking for us.

Sorry, Rene. I didn't have much holiday cheer this year, either. With so many of my friends and colleagues losing jobs or closing businesses, my investments dwindling daily, and the state of the news business in general being in the crapper, I was feeling low.

But here's the good news: So many writers out there were so busy with work -- work! -- that they couldn't peel themselves away. How many people out there today would gladly trade places with a person who has work?

I also remembered: My father-in-law narrowly dodged a bullet recently with an emergency triple bypass. We could have lost him.

And I recently attended a festive holiday party that collects gifts for worthy charities, even though the hostess battled cancer all year. She forged on, generously serving eggnog, wine and catered food, and waving off my questions with, "I'm all better now."

Finally, Eric and I, thank God, have been healthy all year. We enjoyed some beautiful hikes in Arizona and California all summer and a fantastic trip to Peru to hike in the Andes in September.

I re-evaluated.

I am able to hike with my husband. When you have your health and you have love in your life, you cannot get any richer than that. Having work is nice, too, and I'm grateful for that. But you can earn as much money as you want and it's worth nothing if you don't have your health.

These are indeed happy holidays.

Job posting

In case you didn't get this from one of our freelancer friends:

POSITION OPPORTUNITYASSOCIATE NEWS PRODUCERKTVK- 3TV is accepting applications for the position of Associate News Producer.

DUTIES:Assist Producers and Reporters in the gathering of information and the writing of scripts for newscasts.Assist Producers as necessary in the production of daily newscasts. Provide News research support.Participate in the production of regular news inserts, live/location remotes and non-scheduled news bulletins.Check wire stories and network feeds for up-to-date and breaking news. Bring creative story ideas to the newsroom meetings on a regular basis. Print and collate daily scripts and distribute to Producers and directors on a timely basis. Run teleprompter when assigned. Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:One year newsroom experience or related broadcasting degree preferred. Strong writing abilities with excellent grammatical skills. Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Ability to work well under pressure while meeting strong deadlines. Ability to work well as a team, as well as independently. Excellent computer and typing skills. Basic journalistic skills and editorial judgment for writing scripts. Ability to sit for long periods of time. Long hours of computer and telephone use. Position will include nights and weekends.Resumes to: KTVK, Producer, 5555 N. 7th Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85013. careers@azfamily.com or fax- (602) 207-3336.

Belo is an Equal Opportunity Employer.It is the policy of this station not to discriminate in its employment and personnel practices because of the person's age, race, color, creed, religion, genders, handicap, sexual orientation, national origin, and all other protected classes. Discriminatory employment practices are specifically prohibited by the Federal Communications Commission.

60 Percenters holiday party

If you didn't already get the e-mail, consider this your invitation to the 60 Percenters holiday party at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 10, at My Wine Cellar in Ahwatukee. We will toast to our good fortune of being freelancers and hopefully share some tips and advice.

MWC sells beer and wine as well as bottled teas and sodas. They serve pizza, bruschetta, salads and other munchies if you want to get a bite to eat.

Directions: I-10 to Warner Road. West on Warner, pass the light at Circle K (51st St.) and turn right at the first driveway past Childtime. If you get to the office building under construction, you went too far. 480-598-9463.

My Wine Cellar, if you don't know, is my "Cheers." I've known owners Tom and Kathleen Fordyce practically since they opened just over 10 years ago in a smaller space up the street. You will usually see me there at least a few times a month trying a new cab or calling a cab -- I almost always take the ALEX bus there and either grab a ride home with someone in the neighborhood or taxi it back.

And you can sometimes catch me behind the bar, too. I'm a "pinch hitter" on occasion when Tom and Kathleen can't be there and need someone to watch over things. Working there is helpful because one of my others jobs is being a food critic. Although I worked in restaurants and bars for the better part of a decade through high school, college and graduate school, that was -- ahem -- a while ago. This keeps me solidly in touch with the hospitality industry and, I think, makes my restaurant assessments more realistic and fair. I think it also makes me a more considerate customer when I go out.

Of course, it's kind of funny when people who don't know me saunter into the bar and begin treating me with an utter lack of respect. You can tell a lot about a person by how they interact with hospitality workers. We don't have an official caste system in this country, but anyone who's been a waiter sure can tell you it's there, but under the surface. If you're over 25 and still bringing people glasses of water, many people look down their noses at you. 

Inevitably, someone I know will sit at the bar and ask me about my writing, and I can see the look of shock and disbelief from the other patron who had just sized me up as a loser. They typically change their opinion right quick; I'm now in "their world." They talk to me differently; they begin asking me 20 questions. This sickens me. I'm nothing if all I do is tend bar? In Europe, service work is a serious career; here, it's seen as a fallback, a default, for those who can't hack it in a "real job."

If you want a thorough investigation of this topic, I suggest you read www.waiterrant.net or buy the book , Waiter Rant. It's insightful, sad, hilarious, poignant, disgusting and essential for anyone who's ever worked at a restaurant or eaten in one.

Do any of you have side jobs beyond freelance writing? What kind of job? How are you treated? Do you enjoy the variety of having a couple of jobs?

Will work for free

AHHH, the old "please work for free" plea. You know the drill: We're a new publication, we need writers, but oh, we can't pay you. But it's A) going to yield great clips for you, B) going to be the Next Big Thing and you will be in on the ground floor.

We've all seen it on Craigslist, and a fellow Society of Professional Journalists member below spotted it recently on the SPJ freelancer board.

(Shameless plug coming) If you are not an SPJ member, please consider joining. We have a freelancer board where you can post your credentials and potential clients can post for writers wanted. Once, a client contacted me directly after seeing my SPJ profile and I ended up getting a lucrative 3-month gig.

Anyway, I'm posting the SPJ member's eloquent response to Exception Magazine. Based on the number of follow-ups from other SPJers in my inbox, a LOT of folks took exception to Exception...

Dear non-paying publication:

Without wanting to speak for SPJ itself, I would note that we are the Society of PROFESSIONAL Journalists.

I am a professional journalist. That means I get paid for my work. Please don't bother me until you can treat me like a professional. In terms of quality, dedication, and commitment, you will definitely get what you pay for.

And for the other professional journalists on this list, I truly hope you will not undermine your own economic interests - or those of your fellow journalists around the world - by working for free.

Best of luck to all.

Jeff Inglis

On Tue, Nov 25, 2008 at 5:55 PM, The Exception Magazine Editor <editor@exceptionmag.com> wrote:

Dear SPJ writers:

Next month, The Exception Magazine is launching and we are looking for contributors from across America.  The magazine is a nonpartisan, online news site that covers stories overlooked or ignored by traditional newspapers. I have attached our editorial guidelines so you can get a better sense of what types of stories we are looking for.

Just to be upfront: this is a "passion project" of sorts amongst people that think partisan blogs are ruining our public discourse.  Unfortunately we are not funded and cannot compensate any writers at this time.  I know there are a lot of scams out there like Associated Content.  We can't promise anything other than exposing your work to a broad audience.  So if you can't participate in any way, we totally understand.  We will only email you again if you email us back.

Hope some of you are interested!

Stefan Deeran

-- 
Jeff Inglis
Editor - Writer - Photographer
mailto:jeff@jeffinglis.com
http://www.jeffinglis.com
Phone: +1-207-749-4502