teachable moments
A few days ago Writing Workshops LA, where I've been teaching for the last three years, announced that it was closing its doors thanks to AB5, a well-intentioned but messily-executed new California labor law. (It that was written to force Uber and Lyft to stop mis-classifying its workers as contractors, and is instead screwing a lot of other people out of their jobs. Myself, obviously, very much included!)
I wrote about this a little bit in December, but for this reason and many others, my life as a freelancer is rapidly shifting from precarious to legitimately financial untenable. In three plus years of writing full-time, I've never managed to make more than $25,000/year from journalism & essays; the rest of my income is a mix of book advances (can't stress enough what a bad idea it is to ever rely on this kind of money), teaching, and a hodgepodge of research gigs and editing and whatever else comes in. (In 2018 I got paid like $700 to judge a literary contest!)
In all likelihood, I will not sell a book this year. I wrote almost every single day of December, straight through the holidays, and yet my income for January will be under $500. And with WWLA closed, I'm going to try to teach private workshops (more on that below!) but that's a totally untested venture and I have absolutely no idea if it will work. Meanwhile, media is bleeding jobs, and the idea that I'll be able to find stability this industry is a fantasy I can't afford to keep indulging.
So I'm... looking for a job, I guess.
"What job?" many lovely and well-meaning people have asked me. The answer is, I don't know! I have worked in non-profits; I have written and taught and edited in many configurations. I worked at a jewelry store for a while, and in an art gallery, and on a farm. I can do lots of things. What I want to do is what I'm doing, and that's not an option anymore, so...?
Anyway, when you're "on the market" everyone tells you to "tap your network" and y'all are part of my network, so I'm tapping you. Do you know someone who might want to hire me?
While I'm applying to stuff, though, I have to keep making some amount of money by freelancing, and I have a book to promote, and also an endless supply of thoughts and feelings to share, so this Tinyletter is going precisely nowhere. If you're new and you've read this far a) thank you and b) this is not usually what this is like, I promise. (There's a lot of stuff in the archives for you to check out?)
Last night I was (sorry!) at yoga and the teacher said something about the constancy and inevitability of change that I won't be able to reproduce here, but which moved through me like electricity. Like, of course it's exhausting to keep standing where I am while a river is rushing around me. It's scarier to dive in and swim, and also, it will be easier to move with the current than to try to keep fighting for ground I know I can't hold. My life, what I want and what I need, has changed since I started doing this, and so has the industry I work in. It's not failure to acknowledge that, I keep telling myself. It isn't. It isn't. It isn't.
Right?
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Speaking of modern living, I wrote about You setting its second season in LA, and striving to represent a local "authenticity" that is rapidly disappearing, for BuzzFeed.
Also, my favorite writer & person is going to be talking about her debut novel at Book Soup on Friday, and if I do not see you there, we will have words. (The New York Times: "Popkey presents us with a shrewd record of the act of unflinchingly circling these amorphous notions of pain, desire and control, all the while quietly noting their clichéd contrivances in snarky, dark humor." I mean come on!!!!)
Finally, re: teaching: my plan is to offer two classes this year, at least at first, and we'll see how it goes from there. Details are below. (NB that both are LA-only, but if you aren't local, I'm available for private coaching and editing! Email me 4 deets.)
YA Fiction Workshop
Tuesdays, February 4 through March 3, 7:30-9:30 pm
This six week workshop will explore plot, dialogue, and world-building in young adult fiction. Through the use of generative writing exercises and critical analysis of contemporary works, you will learn how to build plot, write genuine dialogue, and avoid talking down to your readers. We will also discuss the fast-changing YA marketplace so that writers who are looking to publish feel prepared to query agents or send out stories at the end of the session. In the second half of class, students will have the opportunity to workshop a piece of writing they're interested in revising and expanding. Everyone is welcome-- whether you're trying to finish a novel-in-progress (or revise an existing draft!) or just looking to write your first-ever YA pages, I'd love to have you.
Note: because of my travel schedule this spring, the last week of classes will be a double: we'll meet on Tuesday March 3 and then again on Wednesday, March 4. Other than that, it's just Tuesdays!
Cost: $325
To enroll, email zanopticon@gmail.com.
Writing for the Internet: How to Pitch, Publish, and Get Paid
Tuesdays, April 7-May 12, 7:30-9:30 pm
The internet is one of the best and the worst things to happen to writers. It makes sharing your work easier than ever—at least in theory. In fact, the internet's bounty and breadth can make figuring out how and where to publish overwhelming and confusing. If you're interested in pitching a few freelance pieces or learning how to launch yourself as a full-time writer, this eight-week workshop will give you the tools you need. Each week, students will read pieces from an internet publication and then be asked to write something they think would fit with the publication's editorial style; they will also work on a piece to be workshopped at the end of the course. Class discussion will take on traditional craft matters like form and structure as well as tips and tricks for meeting editors and pitching them stories they want. The goal is for each participant to leave the class with a polished piece and ideas for venues where it can be published.
Cost: $400
To enroll, email zanopticon@gmail.com.