Precision Verb & Noun, Inc.

[Jones]

So, thinking out loud here, wondering if this might work:

A little while ago, I formed a company -- consisting entirely of me -- called Precision Verb & Noun, Inc. I named it that because I like the idea of writing being manual labor, and that sounded like the name of a joint that cranks out widgets on a metal lathe. I formed it because my financial planner calls it a "magic box" that he does all sorts of shady accounting things with.

But it's got me thinking: Is there such a thing out there as a company of writers -- freelancers, joined together under a banner, the way consulting firms work? So that, say, the Chicago Tribune needs a piece, they could come to the company, and the company could assign the story to one of their roster, and the company would take care of the ****work -- the hustling and the billing -- and the writer could just write. I guess so that the company operates almost like an agency, surviving on a percentage of the take, like ten or fifteen percent.

I'm thinking if you had a dozen or so high quality writers spread around the country, they could band together like this, for marketing reasons and to rescue them from the drudgery that surrounds writing. Outfits would use it because they're guaranteed high-end work from a well they can return to, hopefully again and again. And then I could get fat on the backs of other writers, like a proper capitalist pig.

Anyway -- does anybody know of such a thing already operating or having been tried? For the writers out there, would you give up a small percentage of your revenue on each take to be part of something like this? Or should it be that the writers are salaried and all the revenue goes to the company? And should there be photographers included, too, so that it's like a one-stop shop?

So many questions, so few answers.

What say you, Bolsheviks?

 

[Songbird]

Funny you mention this, Jonsey. Talk to UT, who has a similar idea but on a broader scale.

 

[Moderator1]

Sign me up

 

[John]

Am I hired?

 

[Chi City 81]

I want in.

 

[Jones]

Funny you mention this, Jonsey. Talk to UT, who has a similar idea but on a broader scale.

Really? BUT IT'S MY IDEA. I MAILED IT TO MYSELF!

Dammit.

Well, let's brainstorm about it anyway.

I'm starting to think the problem won't be signing up writers. It'll be the clients.

Editors out there: You into something like this? Would you use such a company?

I have to head out to do some of the aforementioned ****work, alas, but I'm really fired up about this. I hope to come back to a completed mission statement, a roster, a client list (with assignments), and maybe when I can expect us to issue an IPO.

Moddy, John, Doc: YOU'RE HIRED!

 

[Mystery_Meat]

For some reason, I have an image of the Blue Moon Detective Agency, with Jones and UT storming off to their offices and slamming their doors, and Bubbler answering the phone in rhyme.

I'd be in, assuming you're not holding out for good writers.

 

[da man]

Speaking as someone who was freelance only until recently, call me dubious. The average newspaper freelance piece doesn't pay enough for me to give up 10-15 percent just so someone else can handle the billing and drum up the business. Billing isn't that complicated, and I've worked a long time to build a reputation, references and a list of regular clients. If I'm freelancing, I'm not relying on anyone else to find me assignments. Either I find them or I don't get paid, so I'm relying on me.

 

[Songbird]

I'd be in for stories and/or photos.

And MM, funny reference.

 

[jgmacg]

Jones convenes the first PVN, Inc. staff meeting. Here, he explains the company's policy regarding domestic business-class travel.

(Oh. And count me in. But no coveralls. And no Canadian "money.")

 

[leo1]

this sounds like a terrible idea. it's great for the individual writers but in the long run you guys are killing the newspaper industry if you do this.

let's say a decent size newspaper with a decent size travel budget wants a feature that requires travel to podunkville. if the paper uses this company, the staff writer doesn't get to go. why spend $1,000 on a flight, car rental and a couple nights in a hotel when the editor knows he can get jones or some other top notch writer to do the same thing for $250? if papers keep doing this, they'll cut back on staffers because they are outsourcing so much.

eventually the higher ups are going to realize that if they can outsource features, they can outsource beat writing, too, at least to an extent. i'm not suggesting the chicago tribune will stop covering the cubs and white sox when they're 15 games out in august and september but for smaller papers, what's the point in sending your guy on the road if you can get something just as good? and forget about covering the post season. papers are already scaling back on that, right? so why would they pay your expenses to cover the world series when five guys from this freelance firm will be there stringing for 20 papers?

what if papers can start outsourcing design and copy editing? maybe it won't happen for deadline pages. if you can outsource special section stuff and sunday pages or anything that's not done on deadline, you'll eventually cut back on staff.

so the individuals who join this firm will do well. a few will probably even get to move on to better jobs as a result of the great clips and contacts. but overall it's like asking someone to slowly snuff you out.

 

[for_the_hunt]

I remember reading a little snippet in AJR few months back how this practice is widespread in countries like Germany, which have loads of journalism students but few hiring newpapers (sound familar?).

Even graduates from the more prestigious universities can't find jobs (Germany is only about the size of one-and-a-half Michigans), so they create companies like these. Better free-lance companies have better reputations and see more work. It's actually fairly competitive.

I'm sure more information is out there. But that's all I can find for now ...

 

[Eagleboy]

I would be in on this because of the sheer amount of organizing and planning I do for freelance work. In my area - and that of a couple neighboring states, too - I've set myself up a decent amount of freelance opportunities covering games and writing features. Anyone who does this as well knows it takes quite a bit of work to get one job, let alone several a month.

If there was some kind of agency to do that for me, that would be incredible. It would just be like being at a regular paper and being sent out on assignment. I don't know how much the percentage would have to be for it to be acceptable - I don't get paid a lot for assignments as, again, a lot of people know, and so anything like 10 percent to 15 percent might be pushing it. But for the purpose of having to eliminate a lot of the gruntwork, I think it would be a good idea.

Leo, you raise some good concerns, but I think that if this was to be a real threat to newspapers, it would have already happened with the availability of stringers. You see how many people pound the same areas over and over and over again on the freelance board, and yet, many papers still use their beat writers to travel across the country to games. If it would happen, it might have happened already.

Oh yeah, and as others have said, I'm in. PM if you want to brainstorm more, because I've thought about this on a much smaller scale as well.

 

[Jones]

Just back in -- thanks for the posts so far, guys.

Much food for thought.

My early thinking was that this would be a fairly small deal -- major centers, tight on hiring and control so that you could guarantee the quality of the product. One bad experience, and I'm pretty sure a client wouldn't come back for more... Journalism isn't really a second-chance kind of business.

I was also thinking that all the stories could go through the central office -- that's the Precision Politburo for you, jgmacg -- for an edit before they're sent off to the clients, as a kind of added service.

Probably because of what I do, I was also thinking that most of the stories would be longform, featurey type stuff... I figure the wires do a pretty thorough job of event coverage. I could be wrong there, though. Maybe if you want a little something extra out of your World Series stories but didn't want to send a staffer.

Which means, Leo, I can see where you're coming from. To be honest, I was thinking if I was a sports editor, part of the incentive to use Precision would be to save travel costs. (Of course, I was also thinking that clients could request a particular writer, ignoring geography, in which case they wouldn't be saving the airfare.) Part of me wonders if this is part of the evolution of newspapers and magazines -- that the industry is somehow behind others in farming out.

But the idea I had kicking around would be one-off stories, mostly. If you were going to farm out an entire season's worth of Cubs games (and I wouldn't wish that on any of my imaginary staffers), you might as well hire a full-time reporter.

I'm going to check out Germany and so on -- thanks for the tip there, Mr. Hunt.

And da man -- My hope would be that the increased revenue that staffers would enjoy would offset that percentage. The way authors use literary agents -- they earn their fifteen percent by getting their clients better deals.

Anyway, all of this is just thinking out loud at the moment. Thought I'd put it up here and see what came of it. No sleep for me tonight, it's looking like. Brain is abuzzing.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

Let us know if you end up at Kinko's at 3 a.m., handing a mission statement to a guy with a ponytail who says, "That's how you become great, man. Hang your balls out there."

 

[hockeybeat]

Yo, Jonsey, I'm in.

 

[Jones]

Just to reiterate, the company, at the moment, is only imaginary. (Well, the company is real, but right now I'm the only employee.) I just don't want anybody waking up tomorrow thinking they're going to have an assignment and a paycheck waiting for them.

Now I know what it's like to be Lynn Hoppes. Good God, the power!

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

Hell, I've already given my two weeks' notice. Was that premature?

 

[hockeybeat]

Just to reiterate, the company, at the moment, is only imaginary. (Well, the company is real, but right now I'm the only employee.) I just don't want anybody waking up tomorrow thinking they're going to have an assignment and a paycheck waiting for them.

Now I know what it's like to be Lynn Hoppes. Good God, the power!

Jonsey,

Should this get off the ground--and I hope like hell it does--could writers volunteer PV&N to ex-clients?

For example, there's a paper that I've done regular work for. I'm sure they would be interested in using the proposed company.

 

[Jones]

That would be the biggest trick, I think, 'beat. Would writers be willing to give up a chunk of their earnings to work for clients they've already worked for? Because in my head, staffers would have to be exclusive to the company -- otherwise, they could use it to make contacts and then do work outside... Plus, for scheduling and things, you'd have to know where everybody was and what they were doing. You couldn't have staffers doing work on the side.

I know I'm starting to sound like a tyrant, but I think that's how it would have to be.

Probably the biggest sticking point, in my mind.