They Call It Freelance Because You Feel Like You're Working For Free

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I pitch two longform story ideas to a popular site.

They’re sort of interested.

I ask them how much they pay.

The editor responds:

“No set rate, depends on the story and the writer and the timeframe and the logistics. Sorry if that’s frustratingly vague, but if we went forward with one of these ideas, we’d hash something out that would work for you, no sense throwing out a number now. Very generally, it’s nice money for the web, but we’re not yet scaring the Conde Nasts of the world. Yet.”

***

After I get downsized, I become the Facebook Whisperer.

I get hired because a VP likes me and decides I would be a fit after about 10 minutes on the phone.

[This is a five-part series: “How to Get a Freelance Job in 5 Days,” “This Is Why You Can’t Market Yourself,” “Who Will Buy What You Are Selling?“, “If You’re Not Pitching, You’re Losing," "They Call It Freelance Because You Feel Like You're Working for Free."]

They have a problem. They have a multimillion-dollar product, and the multibilllion-dollar company that produces the product isn’t happy with their social media engagement.

I am brought in as the fixer, the Michael Clayton, the cleaner.

I fix the problem. Fast.

So they have me work on another product. And another one. And another one. And so on.

To write Facebook status updates while pretending to be the product, or a housewife, or someone who enjoys housecleaning, I am paid $100 an hour.

At the time, I think this is a lot of money. In reality, it isn’t. Eventually, I figure out what the marketing budget is. It is not $100 an hour.

Later, I hear the multibillion-dollar company uses the work I did to fix the problem with the first product as a case study in how to do this sort of work.

By that time, I’ve quit.

***

I email with a twentysomething woman who is starting out as a freelancer. She gets frustrated. She refers to herself as “unemployed.” I tell her, no, she is self-employed.

She’s tried to sell a product, but she hasn’t had much success. I tell her to give away the product, that if the product is free, she will figure out how to use that free product to make her money. (This is the fine art of digital freelancing.)

“Does that make it look like I’m giving up though? AKA, deciding the products have no value?” she wants to know.

“No,” I tell her, that doesn’t mean it will look like her products are worthless.

I write:

1. Who cares what it looks like? This is you learning how to do whatever it is you’re doing.

2. This is an experiment. Your relentless diligence in figuring it out makes it a success already.

I wrote this for [redacted]. They wanted me to change it. I didn’t want to do that. Does it look like I gave up, like I thought it had no value, because I self-published it?

Trust me, I know what you’re saying. I think the key is to say: this process or this method isn’t working. The energy’s all wrong. So, let’s change the energy. What if I set this information free? How does that change the energy?

If anything, it makes you look cool.

***

I’m not getting any good freelance gig offers. I google around and find some fruitcake advice on the internet. I says that if I expect something to happen, it will.

This is magical thinking.

I think magically.

Over the next couple days, I get multiple freelance gig offers.

I send most of them to the girl who is just starting out as a freelancer.

So far, she has landed one of them.

***

A woman I don’t know sends me an email.

“Would you mind sharing one of your pitch letters (preferably one that helped you land a gig)?” she asks.

I don’t respond. I know this isn’t helpful. This is part of why people are bad at pitching, bad at freelancing. Because those who can, don’t tell.

***

I wonder if anyone who follows this series pitches anything to anybody. I think about how the problem with the internet these days is that it promotes stasis.

You think reading advice is the same thing as taking action on advice that has been given.

You think being inspired by watching a TED talk is the same thing as being inspired by creating something no one has ever seen before.

You think writing Facebook status updates for $100 an hour is impressive.

It isn’t.

***

“Wow, this was more stupid than I expected.”

“Enjoy the gig at Taco Bell. If they’ll hire you. Oh, and be sure to thank for folks for the space in their basement.”

“Part 2: Never come back because this article is completely useless.”

Comments are the internet’s siren song. The negative ones lull you into complacency, render you a lotus-eater, chain you to “a cement block at the bottom of a swamp of failure.”

***

I ask the girl who is starting out freelancing if I can quote her anonymously.

“Go ahead!” she says. She says something that indicates I have helped combat her insecurities.

I think, well, that’s good.

I feel obligated to say something to you.

Like: “You can do it!” Or: “Keep trying!” Maybe: “Freelancing is great so keep at it!”

That’s not really how I feel, though.

Because the truth of the matter is that most of you will fail. The great thing is that one of you will succeed.

Which one are you?

Read my personal blog.

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Door falls off Muni Metro train

(02-28) 17:43 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- A Muni Metro train's door was knocked clean off Thursday afternoon after it didn't close correctly and hit a platform in a tunnel, officials said.

The operator of the inbound M-Ocean View train had trouble closing the doors at the Forest Hill Station around 12:30 p.m., said John Haley, Muni director of operations.

Once the operator closed the doors, the two-car train made it to the Castro Station without a hitch. But as the train rolled through the tunnel toward the Church Street Station, one of the doors on the second car began making a banging noise, said Samson Wong, 50, a freelance writer riding in the car.

"I heard a very loud bang," Wong said. "It kept going and going and getting louder and louder. Up at the front of the car, people were calm but had this look of concern on their faces. ... Finally the train did stop at Church. That's when I heard someone say something about the door. The door was gone."

One of the two halves of the second car's front door was missing. No one was injured, Haley said.

Haley said the door had been askew after closing incorrectly and had hit the platform at a curve just after leaving the Castro Station. The door was found in the tunnel.

Officials will review Muni procedures to determine whether the train should have been taken out of service after the problems at Forest Hill.

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Don Murray: Fractious Italy votes to send in the clowns

A well-travelled former CBC reporter and documentary maker, Don Murray is a freelance writer and translator based in London, U.K.

There are no second acts in American life, a famous writer once said. Probably not true. And certainly not true in the case of Italy.

Italians, and much of Europe, were wondering whether, in political terms, they might actually be in for a fourth act, in the resurrection of Silvio Berlusconi, a man who more than once has compared himself to Jesus Christ.

Three times in the last 20 years Berlusconi has been installed in the Palazzo Chigi, the residence of the Italian prime minister. Eighteen months ago he was forced out by Italy's disastrously worsening economic conditions.

A European technocrat, Mario Monti, was called in to replace him — to a huge sigh of relief in Europe's financial capitals — and to clean up the government's finances. But the man was dour and his austerity medicine harsh.

So Berlusconi bided his time, and then engineered the defeat of Monti's government and early elections. It was to be the cue for another, improbable, political comeback.

And, lo, from the political grave Berlusconi rose again. Or rather he managed to half-rise.

Berlusconi's centre-right coalition looks to have gained a plurality but not a majority in Italy's upper house, the Senate, while a boring, bald man — Pier Luigi Bersani, a former communist who had voted for many of Monti's austerity measures — led a centre-left party to the most votes in Italy's lower house and a solid lead there. (Italy’s constitution awards a bonus of 50 extra seats to the winning coalition in the lower house to help it in forming a government.)

The man who might be premier: centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani, who was hoping to control both houses of parliament with former prime minister Mario Monti's help. (Remo Casilli / Reuters)

But like Berlusconi, Bersani — quite possibly the next resident of the Palazzo Chigi — isn't the real story of the election.

That title belongs to a foul-mouthed, anti-establishment comedian named Beppe Grillo whose Five Star Movement rose from nowhere to confound all the pundits.

Almost complete results give his movement almost 25 per cent of the vote, just behind Berlusconi's right-wing coalition in the lower house, and enough to be kingmaker if no party can gain a majority in the upper house. (Without control of both houses an Italian government can barely breathe.)

All of which would suggest fiscal Europe's worst nightmare — a government without a mandate in its third largest economy, a parliament that can't function, and a grumpy comic grinning in the confusion.

All that is certain at the moment is that Beppe Grillo won't be a member of the parliament his movement has just stormed.

That's because he has a criminal record, for manslaughter in 1980, which disqualifies him from sitting.

But that doesn't seem to bother him, and it's not clear how much legislative influence he would have had anyway over a movement he maintains is "people led."

His entire election campaign was based on contempt for politicians, for the businessmen who fund them, for pundits and other Italian journalists, even for the European bosses in Brussels.

They're all, in his eyes, corrupt, beyond redemption.

"Surrender, surrender, surrender!" the 64-year comedian with the long, curling locks shouted at this elite in his final rally in front of tens of thousands of supporters. "You're surrounded. Say you're sorry!"

If they didn't surrender, Grillo offered his own version of the nuclear option — he called for al-Qaeda to bomb Rome to vaporize its corrupt political elite. Failing that, he promised to rip open parliament "like a tin of tuna" after the elections.

Such blood-thirsty battle cries clearly touched a chord among Italians. So did his novel, almost revolutionary campaign style.

He refused official subsidies and he also refused to campaign on Italian television (much of it Berlusconi-owned), believing it to be a creature of the corrupt elite he regularly denounces.

Not a bad showing for someone facing charges of having sex with a minor. Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right coalition may yet control Italy's powerful Senate, which would likely lead to another election not far off. (Remo Casilli / Reuters)

Instead he moved around the country in a camper van, living on food and money from supporters and broadcasting his rallies on the web.

Grillo happily calls himself a populist and his manifesto calls for a 30-hour work week, a referendum on whether Italy should stay with the euro, a maximum of two terms in parliament for any MP, and mandatory checks and public revelation of all MPs' wealth.

As the campaign progressed, disdain for this slightly lunatic fringe player turned to fear among other party leaders as Grillo's movement gained more and more support.

Bersani, the former communist, called him a danger to democracy. Berlusconi, watching his position as clown-in-chief being usurped, tried to belittle him.

"Entrusting the state to Grillo," he said, " would be like giving a computer to a three-year-old child." Grillo batted that away with a far more wounding insult, calling Berlusconi a "psycho-dwarf."

But Grillo himself has autocratic tendencies. He had a senior member of his movement expelled when she dared go on Italian television to campaign, in defiance of his directive.

That, and his enflamed rhetoric, has earned him the nickname "Italy's new Duce."

Like the old Duce, Mussolini, when he launched his own movement, Grillo insists for the moment that he's not interested in power, merely in changing the system and improving people's lives.

But how to explain Grillo's astounding rise?

A well-known political commentator offers this analysis: "See how Italy beseeches God to send someone to save her from those barbarous cruelties and outrages; see how eager and willing the country is to follow a banner, if only someone will raise it." This was Nicolo Machiavelli, writing almost five hundred years ago.

At the beginning of the last century, Mussolini raised that banner, as did Berlusconi at the beginning of this one.

Now it appears to be Grillo's turn. And if it leads to gridlock, a falling euro, rising interest rates for Italian bonds and a government unable to function, he just laughs.

"So what if the next government doesn't last long," he says. "The only governments that last are the corrupt ones."

Something was in the air. A huge crowd, in the tens of thousands, attends the final rally of comedian-agitator Beppe Grillo in Rome on Friday. (Max Rossi / Reuters)

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Our MPs are embracing Asia — but one country is missing out

We’re all supposed to be Asia-literate now. Freelance writer David Donaldson investigates where federal MPs are going on taxpayer-funded overseas study tours?—?and finds one key Asian country is off the radar.

One of the most controversial policies in the government’s Asian Century white paper last year was the recommendation that, by 2025, one-third of ASX200 board members should have “deep experience and knowledge” of Asia. But what about our politicians?

Senator Nick Xenophon was caught out on the weekend engaging too closely in Malaysian politics for the ruling party’s liking, but how

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Writing a successful career path - The Stylus

For those of you who tuned into last week’s Writer’s Block, you know that success can be found without a college degree. So this week’s question is the opposite side of the coin: how do you find success with a college degree?

The benefits of 2- or 4-year degrees are seemingly endless: There are more job opportunities, higher long term salaries and gross incomes, and in many cases, better qualities of life than those without a degree. Ninety-three percent of Grand Central commuters in New York City are college students. As I wrote last week, it’s not always the best option for everyone, but it does help many of us get ahead in life.

I have been on the prowl for a job for about two months. My search has not been extensive, but it’s been exhausting. Until recently, trying to plan out my post-college career seemed dauntingly impossible. Nobody seems to have a how-to guide on finding a job in this economy, with an English degree, for someone who is a creative writer swimming in a world of journalists.

As an English major, people from all areas of life are constantly recommending things for me to read. The list of books I have to read is always growing. I always have a pile of three or so books taking up unnecessary residence on my desk or dresser. It’s a miracle if I make it through three books on my own each semester, but such is the burden of being an English major.

I’ve spent the past three and a half years working my way through all walks of literature. I haven’t always enjoyed it. In fact, for a majority of my college career, I’ve despised the hours upon hours of reading and analyzing literature I’ve done. It’s not that I don’t value the work of writers like Flannery O’Connor, Toni Morrison or Geoffrey Chauncer. They’re all great. I just wouldn’t have sought them out on my own. Luckily, being force-fed literature for the past few years will probably only benefit me. It’s made me into the well-read individual that we all expect from an English major, let alone a writer.

I’ve also done a lot of writing. I’ve written some heinous short stories. I’ve produced a lot of worrisome (and well-written) essays. More importantly, I’ve found a niche in writing creative nonfiction and weaseled my way into a job at this fine paper. As I stated last week, I won’t regret it. Sure, there are parts I haven’t exactly enjoyed, but that’s the nature of being a student. Really, it’s the nature of any job.

It took me a long time to decide it was the right fit for me. Finding the right college was no different. It took me months of research to narrow down my choices, sorting each potential school by how much it cost, if it had my major and how far it was away from home. It was exhausting and stressful. But in a way, it’s a good prerequisite for entering the real world upon graduation.

My freshman year, I swore I would never work or write for The Stylus, simply because it was not “my kind of writing.” Clearly that was a lie, since I’m in charge of a quarter of the paper each week. I told myself I would despise writing poetry and that I’d never drink or go out to bars or even stay up past midnight on weeknights. Oops. I’ve broken all those rules too, and you know what? I’ve never looked back.

Yes, we have a shaky economy and a limited job market, but I think in the end, the biggest obstacles to our personal successes are ourselves (or maybe that’s just me). It’s easy to make up excuses and blame outside forces. A lot of us are experts at that. Unfortunately, ignoring the problem is rarely the solution. I think in reality, finding the perfect job is a lot like being an English major. It requires a lot of attention to things that bore you, to stories you think are valuable but personally pointless. 

It’s a hard idea to swallow, but eventually you have to get over it. It would be too easy to achieve perfection right out of the gate. We don’t just want jobs after graduation, we want the job. I don’t want to have to work my way back up the editorial ladder. I just want my own desk, my own office, the entire package. But that’s not the way it works. If anything, we should all take a mandatory course in patience. In the end, I think that’s what it takes to be successful in any field, no matter what level of education you have. 

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RFP Writer at Global Asset Manager – London - Here Is The City

Portal: Operations   Function: Trade Support / Services
Ref. No.: ac104412213-iqr310903
Location: London - City
Contract: Full-Time PERMANENT position
Salary: £55K - £65K + Bonus
Start: 1 March 2013

One of the world?s largest asset managers, offering investments in equity, fixed income and alternatives, are looking for an RFP associate to join their London...

One of the world’s largest asset managers, offering investments in equity, fixed income and alternatives, are looking for an RFP associate to join their London marketing and client services team. You will specialise in fixed income and report to the head of RFP, Client Services.

The Role:
- Ensure all projects, RFPs and RFIs are completed within a given deadline.
- Create accurate and professional looking proposals for external use - new, prospective and existing clients.
- Coordinate and maintain an up to date CRM database.
- Work to create bespoke and automated reports.
- Provide input on prospector and competitor analysis.
- Contribute ideas on internal procedures of the team.
- Support other members of the team when required.

Skills/Experience:
- Strong communication skills and the ability to work with and build relationships with investment professionals.
- Demonstrate the ability to work to deadlines.
- Previous experience writing and preparing RFPs within a financial institution is essential.
- Highly professional written skills.
- Knowledge of traditional investment products - Fixed Income desirable.
- IMC would be an advantage.

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O.C. author speaks about writing - OCRegister

MISSION VIEJO – Martin Dugard said he stumbled into the writing life.

Newly married at 25 years old, Dugard got what he thought he wanted: A corporate job with a suit, a brief case and a cubicle.

Martin Dugard talked about how he got fired from his corporate job and took on writing full time for a living. "I wasn't really a good corporate employee." Dugard said.

•"Surviving the Toughest Race on Earth" (1998)

•"Knockdown: The Harrowing True Story of a Yacht Race Turned Deadly" (1999)

•"Survivor: The Ultimate Game" (written with Mark Burnett, 2000)

•"Farther Than Any Man: The Rise and Fall of Captain James Cook" (2002)

•"Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone" (2004)

•"Chasing Lance: The 2005 Tour de France and Lance Armstrong's Ride of a Lifetime" (2005)

•"The Last Voyage of Columbus: Being the Epic Tale of the Great Captain's Fourth Expedition, Including Accounts of Mutiny, Shipwreck, and Discovery" (2006)

•"The Training Ground: Grant, Lee, Sherman, and Davis in the Mexican War, 1846-1848" (2008)

•"The Murder of King Tut" (written with James Patterson, 2010)

•"To be a Runner: How Racing up Mountains, Running with the Bulls, or Just Taking on a 5-K Makes You a Better Person" (2011)

•"Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" (written with Bill O'Reilly, 2011)

•"Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot" (written with Bill O'Reilly, 2012)

"Within two weeks within that corporate structure, I knew it wasn't for me," Dugard said, adding that all his co-workers had talked about was what they would do after retirement. "The question I kept asking myself is, 'Is this all there is? Is this as good as it gets?'"

Then one day, his wife asked him, "What would you do if you knew you could not fail?"

"Write," he blurted.

More than 25 years later, Dugard is a New York Times best-selling author. He recently co-wrote "Killing Kennedy," a historical narrative of the events surrounding the John F. Kennedy assassination, written with Fox News' Bill O'Reilly. He also teamed up with O'Reilly in 2011 to write "Killing Lincoln," which has sold nearly 2 million copies.

Dugard, a Rancho Santa Margarita resident, visited Mission Viejo City Hall last week as part of the Writers Present series hosted by the Friends of the Mission Viejo Library to share stories about his writing career. More than 120 people showed up at council chambers to hear Dugard's accounts of his life and his trips to exotic countries.

The 51-year-old author also coaches the cross country and track teams at JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, where he led the girls squad to the state title in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Q. How did you end up writing books with O'Reilly?

A. Bill was looking for someone to help him research a new series of history books. We have a mutual friend in the publishing world who put us together.

Q. What was your role in writing "Killing Lincoln" and "Killing Kennedy" with O'Reilly?

A. Research. Bill does the heavy lifting of outlining and writing the book. My job is just to find answers to any historical questions.

Q. Tell us about your experience working with O'Reilly.

A. Awesome. Bill is a great guy.

Q. You wrote a book about Lance Armstrong ("Chasing Lance" published in 2005). What research did you do to write that book?

A. I covered the Tour for 10 years, beginning in 1999, the first year that Lance won. My book is not so much about Lance, as about the wondrous road trip involved in covering the Tour. Each year's event means thousands of miles of driving, gorgeous views in the Pyrenees and Alps, and all the history, wine and food that France is so famous for.

Q. What do you make of Armstrong's recent confession about taking performance enhancing drugs? Did you know he was taking drugs when you were writing the book?

A. It was out there. There was talk. The issue is saddening, not so much because Lance cheated, but the methodical way in which he did so.

Q. What is your typical day like?

A. Up at 6 a.m. Read the paper, drink coffee, listen to Dan Patrick, and start writing by 8 a.m. I'm at my desk writing until 2 p.m., when I head down to JSerra to coach the track and cross country teams. I usually take an hour or so to run in the middle of the morning to clear my head and sort out the words I've been working on that morning. I like to write at least 1,500 words a day. Sometimes it's more, sometimes less.

Q. Tell us about your workspace.

A. I have a very small man cave in my garage. Nothing but a desk, books and my computer. I don't like the distraction of windows, so its just four walls. The great thing about writing at home is that I get to wear a sweat shirt and cargo shorts to the office. Problem is I often wear the same ones every day.

Q. What's the biggest misconception people have about being a writer?

A. That it's easy. Every time a writer sits down and begins putting together sentences, there is an implicit realization that whatever you've done in the past means nothing. You have to prove yourself every time you write, pushing your mental, physical and emotional limits in order to be the best possible version of yourself as an artist. That's a blessing and a curse.

Q. What qualities do you think helped you become a best-selling author?

A. My parents instilled a good work ethic within me. A lot of people think that being a writer is about sitting down and pouring your feelings onto the page. Instead, it's a very blue collar profession with regular office hours and a daily commitment to putting words on the page.

Q. Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

A. Write every day. Every day.

Q. What are your favorite places to go in Rancho Santa Margarita?

A. Ballpark for pizza. Hannah's for the atmosphere and food. I also like Selma's, Cinnamon Productions, and Tutto Fresco. The great thing about Rancho is that it's still a small town, and you can eat at great places that are local – not big corporate chains. As for running, I love the trails up on Chiquita Ridge and in O'Neill Park. I've run them almost every day for the last 22 years.

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She's among five competing Friday on CBS reality show. - Kansas City Star

Turns out that CBS’ “The Job” isn’t merely an “Apprentice” wannabe. At its core, Brenda Clevenger says, the new series is about helping deserving candidates land positions in this overcrowded job market.

But yes, it’s also a reality show, complete with challenges and a host (Lisa Ling).

Like the Eye’s “Undercover Boss,” each episode is self-contained. By the end of the hour, you’ll know whether Clevenger, a Kansas City freelance writer, blogger and marketer, got “The Job” — in this case, as an editorial fashion assistant at Cosmopolitan magazine — or if one of her four rivals did. (Her episode airs at 7 on Friday night.)

The show’s producers contacted Clevenger, 50, after running across her blog, Midlife Mona Lisa, and her resume. At first she thought it was a put-on.

But the position at Cosmo was not just made for TV, she says. She had to demonstrate that she was qualified (she stressed that she blogs about fashion, among other topics, but is not a designer).

“I was asked over and over again, ‘Will you move to New York’ (if you get the job)?” Clevenger says. “It was as real as it gets.”

She did give some thought to what it would mean to pick up her life here. Kansas City, after all, is “a very affordable part of the world.”

Truth is, she could have used the work, too. (Her episode was filmed last fall.) The show wants to “help people like me who’ve been in the job hunt for a couple of years and are not getting the answers they want.”

Clevenger has been self-employed for 20 years, “but with the economy I have been struggling, really only making half of what I need to make.” She depleted her savings. Meanwhile, local companies she applied to weren’t exactly rolling out the welcome mat.

Another incentive: “I’ve read Cosmo my whole life” — she calls it “the bible for fierce women,” which is exactly the attitude of her blog. And if she worked at Cosmo, she’d also be working for Hearst, a leading magazine publisher.

There was no downside to doing the show, she figured. Even if she didn’t get the job, she’d be getting national exposure that might lead to something else.

Clevenger says she told producers, “If I don’t have to eat a worm and I don’t have to be a (witch), I’ll come and do it.”

Most of “The Job” was filmed in New York, but the show came to KC, too, to see Clevenger in action.

As for her TV rivals, they’re 20-somethings. Clevenger was “the oldest person by double. I was the mother. … I am representing midlife women, and that’s probably the biggest reason I did it.”

She recalls a phone interview with Cosmo in which she wondered aloud if she could really help the mag, which is aimed at women 18-34. She made the case that women are interested in serious topics, too — career, entrepreneurship, personal finance.

As opposed to yet another story on how to drive your man crazy in bed.

Did Clevenger land the dream gig? For that you’ll have to watch. Meanwhile, she is champing at the bit to start writing about her TV adventure on her blog.

“I’m so glad they reached down and picked me out of the universe for this one,” she says.

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Steven Soderbergh Says "Writing Is The Worst Job In The World," Explains His ... - Indie Wire (blog)

News by Charlie Schmidlin
Fri Mar 01 09:17:00 EST 2013
2 Comments If you haven't assumed the notion by now, Steven Soderbergh is pretty much the ideal interview subject (check out our recent conversation with him here). Witty, relatable, and willing to divulge extensive behind-the-scenes details, the director has faced his indefinite hiatus with reflections galore, the latest of which concerns his turn away from screenwriting, and more toward the cinematographer role he's so frequently explored.

Starting with his Sundance breakout hit, “sex lies and videotape,” Soderbergh supplied the scripts for his and other directors' films throughout the '90s, including “King of the Hill,” “Schizopolis” and Gregory Jacob's “Criminal” (under the pseudonym Peter Lowry). However, he stopped after 2002's “Solaris” to start on his trail of collaborations with other writers, and speaking with Ignatiy Vishnevetsky over at MUBI, he claims there's a simple answer as to why -- namely, that “writing is the worst job in the world.”

"I was sort of writing by default," Soderbergh admitted. "Then I started working with real writers and I began to realize that I didn't enjoy writing, but I really enjoyed working with writers. I feel like as soon as I started doing that, the work improved drastically."

Soderbergh says his collaborations opened up new doors creatively and allowed him to simply enjoy his work a lot more. “It took a certain amount of very disappointed thought to realize: 'You know what? I think I'm gonna have a better career and make better movies if I work with writers.' I really believe that, and it's obviously turned out to be true," he candidly said. "For me, who never really enjoyed writing and just wrote because I didn't really know anybody and needed to generate material, the ability to sit with people like Scott [Z. Burns] or Richard LaGravenese or Lem Dobbs is so fun and so much more gratifying and the results have been so much better that I've never looked back.”

Cinematography has instead surpassed screenwriting in terms of passion, as Soderbergh used the name Peter Andrews to shoot his own films. But why the shift? “I'd always been a gearhead. I knew how to work a dark room,” he said. “I'd shot short films. It was something that I felt very comfortable with, and as a result, I was probably something of a pain in the ass for the people who shot for me -- although they were extremely generous with their time and their experience.” 

As a result, and all the way up Soderbergh's latest and last (?) theatrical feature, “Side Effects,” his DP work remains distinct, recognizable and rarely settling for conventionality. “I'm not Emmanuel Lubezki, but I'm quick and I'm cheap,” he says of his work, and with “Beyond the Candleabra” all that's left for now, we may be wishing he took his time a little more.

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Editor/Writer II - 017167 - Minonline (subscription)

The University of Southern California (USC), founded in 1880, is located in the heart of downtown L.A. and is the largest private employer in the City of Los Angeles. As an employee of USC, you will be a part of a world-class research university and a member of the "Trojan Family," which is comprised of the faculty, students and staff that make the university what it is. The California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships at the USC Annenberg School of Communication & Journalism is seeking a Community Editor to join its team. The Community Editor is a key editorial and community leader for this online professional community. Responsibilities include: production & editing of relevant online content, creative community engagement efforts to generate growth in member posts, traffic and influence of site; daily content management; supervision of interns, oversight of developer, managing social media, keeping up with and ahead of news cycle. Specific Job Qualifications: Strong organizational/time management and team building skills; excellent grammar & fact checking skills. A background in health and/or health journalism. Established track record with managing and building an online community; multimedia production skills.

The University of Southern California values diversity and is committed to equal opportunity in employment.

Requirements Bachelor's degree Combined experience/education as substitute for minimum education

3 years

Experience with writing, editing, proofreading, and the preparation of materials for publication.

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Eat Middleton: Duchess of Cambridge's sister takes on job with supermarket as ... - Mirror.co.uk

Party planner Pippa Middleton has taken on a new job - as a supermarket food writer.

Kate Middleton 's sister is to pen a column for Waitrose's monthly magazine.

Called 'Pippa's Friday Night Feasts', it will feature "casual dining ideas and recipes".

A delighted Pippa said she was looking forward to sharing her "own passion and enthusiasm for food and entertaining".

The first column will appear in the April edition, with Pippa featuring on the front cover.

Miss Middleton said: "I'm delighted to be writing for Waitrose Kitchen, a magazine that's always been a source of inspiration to me, for its extensive spectrum of food and beautiful style.

"My column, 'Pippa's Friday Night Feasts' will be an exciting opportunity to share my own passion and enthusiasm for food and entertaining and I can't wait to get started."

Last year, Miss Middleton launched her first book Celebrate - aimed as a one-stop guide to entertaining throughout the year.

But the publication was mocked by some for its over simplistic advice and even sparked a parody Twitter account PippaTips.

William Sitwell, editor of Waitrose Kitchen, welcomed the appointment.

"Pippa will be an excellent contributor to the magazine, bringing with her a wealth of experience of entertaining, gained in part from working at her family's party business," he said.

"Readers will love her relaxed and easy entertaining ideas which will help with the preparation for all sorts of occasions."

The April edition will be on sale in Waitrose supermarkets from March 28.

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