Keeping a hand in the game

[WaylonJennings]

After getting my LSAT score back, I'm probably going to end up leaving this business as a full-timer. There are many reasons, including:

1. The state of the industry.
2. The fact that, truth be told, I'm a long-form, narrative journalism guy, and there's little room for that kind of work in mid-sized dailies such as the one I work for.

This is less of a, "Should I leave the biz?" thread as it is a question of how one might keep writing even if he has a different day job. And I don't just mean a blog for 10 friends and family, but real nonfiction or journalism. Stringing? Books?

I'm already starting to get the lectures from people about how I'm a writer, not a lawyer/businessperson/etc., and I want to explain that I don't plan to stop writing. But it's so hard to convey.

 

[Moderator1]

Do what you think is best for you and **** what everyone else thinks. It's you, not them.
Good luck.

 

[sportschick]

1) I suggest PMing PopeDirkBenedict. He's in law school, and I believe he's currently stringing. He might be able to give suggestions on staying in the game by stringing.

And since I saw what your LSAT score was, congrats. Being a writer doesn't mean you have to work as one. You can still write without it being your primary income.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

And since I saw what your LSAT score was, congrats.

Wow, I'm missing out on all kinds of info by not being a subscriber.

 

[sportschick]

And since I saw what your LSAT score was, congrats.

Wow, I'm missing out on all kinds of info by not being a subscriber.

You're not missing anything. It was on the law school thread on Anything Goes.

 

[WaylonJennings]

Do what you think is best for you and **** what everyone else thinks. It's you, not them.
Good luck.

Understood. But I still personally want to keep in the game - particularly in case it ever picks up again, I wouldn't hesitate to try to get back in. But for the sake of my family, etc., etc., I don't think it's fair to keep fighting for nickel raises right now with no backup plan.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

And since I saw what your LSAT score was, congrats.

Wow, I'm missing out on all kinds of info by not being a subscriber.

You're not missing anything. It was on the law school thread on Anything Goes.

Damn. I was certain you'd laugh.

 

[WaylonJennings]

It was a 169, FYI.

 

[sportschick]

And since I saw what your LSAT score was, congrats.

Wow, I'm missing out on all kinds of info by not being a subscriber.

You're not missing anything. It was on the law school thread on Anything Goes.

Damn. I was certain you'd laugh.

I only get obvious humor. I'm a serious gal ;)

 

[Cadet]

I've seen enough stuff written by law students/lawyers to know they will always need people who can write coherently in that profession. If you really love to write, as opposed to covering sports, see if you can get a job doing legal writing.

 

[WaylonJennings]

I'm thinking:

1. Political speech writer
2. Literary agent

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

I'm thinking:

1. Political speech writer
2. Literary agent

I think I'd enjoy giving the first one a try. Where and how does one apply for such work?

 

[WaylonJennings]

I'm thinking:

1. Political speech writer
2. Literary agent

I think I'd enjoy giving the first one a try. Where and how does one apply for such work?

Like anything else, I assume - make contacts, schmooze, "network."

 

[Ben_Hecht]

It was a 169, FYI.

I saw (yesterday, in NTN's Tuesday-night Showdown) that the top is 180? That right?

 

[WaylonJennings]

Yeah, 180.

Mine was 97th percentile. GPA will hurt me - 3.3, mostly because of course overload on my part, which was dumb. Nearly a decade in the newspaper business may help overcome that, though.

Probably looking at somewhere like Georgetown, Northwestern, Michigan, Duke, Virginia, Cornell or perhaps Vanderbilt, USC, UCLA or Minnesota, which are also good schools, if I decide to take the plunge.

Considering that I still would consider a career in newspapers, I know it's an expensive whim. But I feel like it's something I have to do right now, for myself and my family. I can't wonder, "What if?" later. Right now, I'm just a dime-a-dozen sports writer.

 

[Barsuk]

I'm thinking:

1. Political speech writer
2. Literary agent

I think I'd enjoy giving the first one a try. Where and how does one apply for such work?

politicalspeechwriterjobs.com?

 

[shotglass]

I'm thinking:

1. Political speech writer
2. Literary agent

I think I'd enjoy giving the first one a try. Where and how does one apply for such work?

politicalspeechwriterjobs.com?

Not far, actually.

Google "political speech writers." You will find some things that help.

 

[leo1]

I'm thinking:

1. Political speech writer
2. Literary agent

you don't need to spend $120,000 and rack up a mountain of debt for either of those jobs. and although you might be able to get the contacts for those jobs through law school there is certainly no guarantee. it sounds like you should keep stringing while taking entry level jobs in publishing or an internship with an agent or something. or get a PR job with a low level politician. if you write speeches well you'll be snapped up quickly. it's a rare skill and there are few people who are good at it.

not that anyone asked, but i just graduated from law school and am now studying for the bar exam and it's in less than three weeks and I FEEL LIKE MY ****ING HEAD IS GOING TO EXPLODE. i almost wish it would go ahead and pop because then i wouldn't have to take the ****ing test. especially real property. it's ****ing killing me. i can't get it straight. my real property prof was a card-carrying communist and i hated him but i don't think that's the problem. **** me. ****. ****ety ****.

/feeling a little better thanks to that rant.

 

[WaylonJennings]

Leo - Yeah, I get all that re: the cheaper route available to those jobs. But I'm not completely sure that those are EXACTLY what I'd want to do. And I'm in no mood to again start at the bottom and work my way up for peanuts. I want the credential of attending a top school, and the options that come with it, whether it be at a firm, getting back into newspapers, whatever. Maybe that seems shallow or flighty, but I'm trying to come out of this sports writer pigeon-hole swinging. I just don't feel like there's a big future in what I'm doing now in our industry, kind of like I've taken it as far as I'm going to and I'm a dime a dozen.

 

[crimsonace]

Stringing is the best way to keep your hand in while getting out of the biz.

Talk to the local major metro, and, if there are any minor-league teams nearby, talk to the SEs of papers in that league's markets. You might get a gig or two that way.

I make some nice coin stringing (both print & broadcast). It's a good way to keep your hand in it while getting your paycheck from somewhere else.

And, because of the state of the industry, I worried about being tossed out on my can supporting a family of four because I was 45 and "too expensive" (uh, I mean, the company "wanted to go a different direction"). Now, I don't, but I can still keep my hand in the till.