Beating the Freelance Blues
Lately my non-Gotham time has been consumed by an unusually high volume of freelance work. Amid several simultaneous projects, I’ve hardly had a moment of downtime to focus on anything else—okay, yeah, except Game of Thrones. I had started to feel a bit frayed around the edges. So when Dan shared a great article about avoiding burnout as a freelance writer, I took it to heart. This segment especially resonated with me:
One of the most beautiful things about freelancing is ideally getting to dedicate time to your passions that you might otherwise be too tired to complete or unable to schedule. I’ve always found that my freelance writing improves when I’m also creatively fulfilled in other ways. It’s a chain effect: When I’m tapped into creating music or my “fun” fiction writing, the more honest and thoughtful my B2B work becomes. Creativity begets creativity begets creativity, and as long as you take some mental breaks so you don’t totally zap your energy, following what you want to make will only further inspire and enhance the writing that pays your bills and lets you eat.
Read more at Thrive Global.
Here’s wishing you good mental health and a productive week. Now, on with the news!
O Samba Do Plágio
In the latest news from the ongoing plagiarism scandal around the works of best-selling novelist Nora Roberts, the author has filed a lawsuit against a Brazilian writer Cristiane Serruya for copyright infringement, alleging “multi-plagiarism” on a “rare and scandalous” level. Serruya blamed the ghostwriters who helped her assemble the books, all the more keenly highlighting the entirely avoidable pitfalls of working with low-rent ghosting services instead of qualified professionals. Read more.
More Media Tidbits
The increasing number of Trump aides and executive branch officials who have been fired or quit are cashing out with the advances on their tell-all books—a fact that’s fairly telling in itself.
“Half of all Americans over the age of 12 have listened to an audiobook in the past year.” The audiobook boom is practically non-stop, up another 44% over last year.
Merriam-Webster got “swole” last week with a whole roster of 640 new words. Wait, did I use that right?
Axios’ Nicholas Johnston claims that the “Editor-in-Chief” role is the job of the future, which raised eyebrows among our editorially oriented staff until we realized that he wasn’t referring to traditional media jobs, or really Editor-in-Chief roles at all.
Highlights from the Gotham Ghostwriters Network
Featured Writer of the Week
In the second edition of our new newsletter feature, Featured Writer of the Week, I’m delighted to highlight Larissa Shmailo, a poet, novelist, translator, editor, and critic who fearlessly dives into controversial topics. Read a compelling conversation with Larissa here.
In related news, Larissa is also editing a special July issue of the political journal Matter on “Russia and Politics.”
Writers Write
Please join me in congratulating David A. Andelman, who has been nominated as a finalist for the 2019 Deadline Club Award (in Opinion Writing) for his Reuters columns: “The World Through the Prism of Donald Trump.”
Writing for WaPo, Allan Fallow, a.k.a. “Conan the Grammarian,” recounts a snapshot in the tale of more than 900 Allied war correspondents who were accredited to cover the European theater following the D-Day invasion, as told in greater detail in Ronald Weber’s book Dateline — Liberated Paris.
In news from CityLimits.org, Toni Kamins highlights rising concerns around the future housing needs of NYC’s aging population.
Avery Blank’s latest Forbes article digs into a study released by Cigna on women in leadership, which found that 86 percent of female business leaders credit their current position and advanced skill sets to non-traditional career changes.
Writer Happenings
Here’s an exciting event for Los Angeles-area writers: Loren Stephens will present the intensive workshop “The Art of Memoir” on Sunday, June 23, 2019 at Jackie’s Art Studio Cafe from 10am–4:30pm. Anyone interested in attending can contact Loren at www.writewisdom.com for registration information.
