...is one of the most frustrating things about this job, but sometimes also the most fruitful. I'm usually not the number one priority of a client or person I'm interviewing or source, which means sometimes I have to wait quite awhile to get even a quick response to my messages. I treat following up with great trepidation, waiting as long as I reasonably can for an email from them I know will never come. I actually schedule follow-up dates in my to-do list and "snooze" my email threads until then so that they're not cluttering up my inbox. It can test my patience, but that patience can really be rewarded. I waited a week after a client told me I'd receive my payment for services rendered to remind her, and also mentioned that I'd love a chance to work with her again. I received pay promptly and even got a referral to a new client offering more work that the one who referred me to them. So yeah, taking your time can definitely be worthwhile.
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A mini-disaster struck exactly a week after Halloween. I found out late last night that my Evernote account, containing the digital notebook in which I do most of my writing, had been infected and I lost about half a day's work. It was scary, but thankful most of my work yesterday was either corresponding via email or writing things that were backed up elsewhere. Still, it stings to spend hours just recovering what you'd already completed the day prior. I'm glad that I work far enough ahead that this setback was nowhere near catastrophic. It's times like this that I start to slightly miss being paid per hour, though...
Comics journalism isn't one of my best-paying niches, but it's definitely one of the most fun. Some new doors opened in that field, which will give me a lot more opportunities to write articles about the industry/medium and do interviews with some of my favorite creators. Expect a regular output for me on The Beat in the weeks and months to come.
Being my own boss is freeing, but constraining. Basically, I am always on the clock. It's liberating because I can write when the urge strikes, delivering a lot of "best day" content. It's confining because I always feel like I need to do more. I can barely watch an episode of Community without opening a word doc to jot down a new idea for one of my clients or a future endeavor. I still have to figure out how to best separate work and play time, but I am extremely thankful that the work is something I enjoy doing and am consistently proud of.
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Matt O'KeefeMultimedia Writer Tags
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