I got let go of my duties at one of my freelance gigs. It was a small one, but it still bugged me. I mean, who wants to be rejected? I do not.
At first, I was humiliated. Then I was annoyed. The next day I was depressed.
Then some other stuff happened, and I moved forward, and I got over it.
I keep meaning to write a post about how millennials have it the greatest of all of us. They can create their own careers without the specter of what they're supposed to be doing looming over them.
Say, 10 years ago, I used to say yes to pretty much anyone who wanted to interview me for their magazine, or newspaper, or website, or radio show, or TV show, or whatever. Now I'd estimate I say yes maybe 25% of the time and say no or ignore the request 75% of the time.
There are a few reasons for this.
One is that people ask the wrong way. The most common mistake is that they think you want the PR. Like the internet has turned everyone into a PR whore, and it hasn't. Like you have nothing better to do than sit around and be interviewed by people you've never heard of and only heard of you from excessive Googling one night.
Increasingly often, they don't even say why you should do the interview in their pitch. Like what their readership, viewership, or listenership is. It's as if every American's secret dream is to be ... interviewed, and they expect you to start slobbering at the chance.
It's not my dream. It takes time out of my day.
And if I check out your show, and it sucks, that means I'm doing you a favor for a venue I don't even respect. Why would I want to do that? I wouldn't.
Of course, there are exceptions. I loved doing this, and this was cool.
My point is that we don't need you. Thanks to the internet, we can publicize ourselves. Why would we want you?
For all those couples also preparing for their big days, I decided to tap into the collective wisdom of the Forbes editorial team, asking: What is your best advice for the bride and groom on their wedding day?
They shared insider secrets, confessions from their own wedding
experiences and in-the-trenches advice for how to have a happy, lasting
marriage.
You know Susannah, considering how good you looked as a Klingon, I am
thinking you should take advantage of your current look to try the Lt.
Ilia costume from Start Trek the Motion Picture. With those long legs
I’s sure you would be quite fetching in the micro-mini tunic that she
wore through most of the movie.
Writing it, I get to do something other than internalize, or worry
about, or have anxiety over all the weird things that happen along the
way. Like the crazy things people say to you. Or the time you almost
knock over the stand that the chemo bag hangs from when you’re in the
bathroom because you’re trying to flush the toilet with your foot but
you’re too high on Xanax and Benadryl to stay upright.
DEAR SUSANNAH BRESLIN: I'VE JUST COMPLETED READING YOUR FATHER'S BIOGRAPHY OF MARK ROTHKO! I WAS INSPIRED TO WRITE THE AUTHOR, AND HIS GOOGLE SITE SHOWED THE ENTRIES REGARDING HIS DEATH IN 1996. NUTS! BUT HERE'S COMPLIMENTS AND BELATED GRATITUDE FROM A LONGTIME FAN OF ROTHKO'S PAINTINGS, AND THE SPLENDID BIOGRAPHY BY YOUR FATHER ... AS A PAINTER AND RETIRED CURATOR OF ART ([redacted]), I FOUND YOUR FATHER'S DESCRIPTIONS OF HIS 'SEEING INTO' ROTHKO'S PAINTINGS AS 'RIGHT ON'. Respectfully, [redacted]
"For now, you just need to
realize how special you are in a serious way without girly-blushingness
about it. You’re a serious player who earned your chops in a serious
field with other serious players and have found a way to make the
transition from print to screen when thousands, tens of thousands of
other journalists just bit the dust along with the publications that
used to print their work.
Don’t answer emails within five minutes. Don’t pick up the phone
every time it rings. Don’t be available on weekends. Don’t work after
hours. Don’t agree to work on vacation. Don’t turn your professional
relationships into personal ones. Don’t help everyone who asks. Don’t
put your work second to the needs of others. Don’t tell your coworkers
all your secrets.
What career or life advice do you need? Email me HERE, and I may answer your question in an upcoming post. (Anonymously or by name -- whatever you like.)
The memory of my first time has faded, fuzzy like memories of all 18th
birthdays are, tainted by alcohol and regret but I think I liked it, I
think I did feel like a man for the first time in my life. Having just
finished school and moved out of home it felt like something only the
truly free could do.
Hey, would you like to listen to a fabulous new interview with me and a scintillating new interview with Mark Ebner conducted by the awesome Richard Rushfield?
The new Rushfield Babylon Podcast is Up: Adventures in Extreme Journalism!
Two veteran journalists who have made careers writing about the stories others don’t dare go near join us for this episode.
