by Alex Langley
What’s your daily routine like?
There really isn’t an average workday for me. Some days I sit in my pajamas and write news stories for websites—sometimes over 10,000 words a day. Some days I interview celebrities for a movie on camera and then head overseas for a visit to a movie set. Some days I spend on a red carpet in a cocktail dress and slippers (the camera only sees you from the waist up). Sometimes I run around conventions moderating and appearing on panels. The only thing I don’t do is sleep.
What has surprised me the most [about the job] is how little journalists are actually paid. It’s gotten worse over the years. People often think that because we sometimes interview celebrities, we must be paid like them. I do get to go on amazing trips and do fun things, but I’m still scrambling for work like everyone else. The other thing that surprised me was the number of hours that go into what journalists do. You can’t really have a life or make plans, because something always comes up last-minute. I’ve been sent out of the country with two days’ notice, [and I’ve been] called in to cover a film with less than an hour[’s notice]. I’ve logged 25,000 steps a day at conventions, doing eleven panels and writing about thirty more. There’s no “we’ll meet up for lunch next week.”
What barriers have you had to overcome to get where you are?
I’ve had to overcome the fact that there were no other women covering geek entertainment when I started. I can’t even begin to count the times I’ve heard things like “You don’t look like a geek” or “You probably play video games to get guys to like you” or “They hired you because of your boobs.” I constantly have to prove myself, and it still happens. Between that and the online harassment, it’s rough out there.
What tools do you consider crucial to your job?
Wikipedia, IMDb, and the ability to fall asleep in hotels. In terms of the first two, it’s all about research. Before an interview, I see the film (if that’s what it’s for), read everything I can find about it, research every project an actor has done in the past and what they’ve got coming in the future, read every recent interview they’ve done, and more. For the second . . . let’s just say it’s not a good idea to fall asleep during a set visit. I’ve seen it happen after seventeen-hour flights, in the middle of interviews.
What keeps you going?
I’m inspired by any woman who goes into a career that is considered a “guy thing;” by the writers I have working for me at Legion of Leia, whose drive and desire to succeed impress me every day; and by the other women who’ve spoken out about harassment at work, which happens far more than you might expect.
Any words of advice for would-be bloggers?
Be prepared for this to become your life. It will. There is no way around it. When you’re not working, you’re going to have to hustle to get your next job. It’s all-consuming. Your friends aren’t going to understand why you can’t make plans or why you keep canceling them. It’s worth it. The other thing is, write all the time. If you’re trying to break in, you’re going to have to give writing samples. Many editors won’t care if they’re from a site you got paid for. Just show them you can write and they’ll probably give you a chance. Write like crazy. Write quickly. Story turnover can be really fast, and you should be able to write up a three-hundred-word news story in less than fifteen minutes. I know it sounds crazy, but it actually becomes a habit.
Oh, and get used to very little sleep.
USE SOCIAL MEDIA
Yes, even if you don’t like social media, you’re going to have to buckle down and get yourself some online accounts. Without a social media presence, it’ll be harder for new people to discover you, old readers to stay connected, and for you to prove your worth to potential future employers and investors. The people who dole out book deals love it when their authors come with built-in advertising platforms.
ADVERTISE
Whether it’s free advertising through social media/guest spots/bugging your friends or paid ads on other websites, get the word out there. When you’re starting out, you should probably try not to spend money on ads since you may not stick with the blog and probably won’t have much income. Once you’ve been at it a while and are sure blogging is something you’re really, truly passionate about, don’t be afraid to shell out a few gold pieces on advertising networks.
DON’T JUST WORK FOR EXPOSURE BUCKS
There are comfortable, paid writing gigs out there, and they are few and far between. In the distance betwixt such paid gigs, you’ll get all kinds of terrible writing offers that want to profit from you in exchange for “exposure.”
Actor/blogger/tabletop game video player Wil Wheaton wrote11 about receiving an inquiry from the Huffington Post, a sprawling online citadel of content. In this inquiry, the Huffington Post requested to repost one of his articles in exchange for increasing his exposure through their huge platform, stating they weren’t able to pay their writers at the time.
Frankly, that’s bullshit, and Wheaton called them on it. HuffPo was a massive brand earning millions; refusing to pay its writers was a cost-cutting measure that screws over the creatives who make the site what it is. Exposure bucks don’t keep the lights on.
There are times when it’s absolutely fine to write for free, of course. If, for example, a website is up-front about wanting writers but not being able to afford to pay them yet, like maybe your friend has started a new blog and needs help from others to fill in the gaps, that’s fine. And sometimes maybe you feel like writing something without worrying about being paid for it. When writing for free, ask yourself whether the site is a platform capable of promoting you in a way that couldn’t be done elsewhere, whether the site’s message is something you’re comfortable with and want your name associated with, how long you’re expected to remain there, and whether having articles on the site will help you get paying jobs down the line.
Ultimately, if you are established, if they ask you to work for them before revealing the work would be free, and if it’s a company with some income asking to profit from your work, do what you need to get paid.
THE BIG QUESTION: HOW THE HELL DO I GET PAID TO DO THIS?
The frigid, turgid fact is this—you’re not going to make much money at first. It could take years of serious dedication, in fact, before you start to see any kind of appreciable income. Since blogs generally provide their content free of charge and lack any sort of direct product to sell, monetization can be difficult. Building in room for ad banners and the like helps, and programs like Google AdSenseTM can give you some nice profits if you’re willing to put the time into figuring out search engine optimization (SEO) and its many nuances.
For many pro/semi-pro bloggers, the first paychecks they earn for blogging aren’t for things they write for their personal sites; they’re for work they do for someone else. Running your own unpaid blog for a few years will build up your audience and résumé so you’ll have more clout when applying for paid writing gigs on other sites.
You can also do sponsored articles, where companies pay you to mention or review their service. These gigs generally pay well, but to do them well requires serious effort on your part. Readers don’t like to feel as if they’re being bombarded with ads, and they really don’t like feeling that what they’re reading has had its integrity compromised. Be selective with your choices of sponsored articles, only incorporating brands and services you personally approve of and feel are appropriate for the audience you’ve built, and be clear about the compensation you’re receiving. If a movie studio pays you to do a preview of their movie, add in a line to your article making that clear. If a company sends you free products to review, let it be known that you received the products for free while still doing your best to review them fairly despite their delicious free-ness.
If you have a post go viral or do a big cross-promotion with a well-known brand, that’s a good time to reach out to paying platforms and advertisers to try to rope them into sending some money your way.
Services like P
atreon® or Gumroad®, which allow followers to make recurring monetary pledges to you as a creator, make it easier to monetize once you’ve got something of a following. Patreon and its ilk tend to operate on a reward-tier system; if you want to get people to pledge the higher dollar values for the higher-level rewards, you’ve got to offer them interesting content to make it worth their cash. Subscription crowdfunding has made it possible for many creators to make nerdy livings. It’s not a format that lends itself especially well to bloggers, unfortunately, due to the fact that most bloggers don’t tend to generate additional bonus content that people are interested in.
With that in mind, there are a few things you can offer:
If your blog is oriented around some sort of product, like reviews of knock-off action figures or old movies on DVD/Blu-ray, those can work nicely as membership content (especially if you sign ’em).
If your blog is your blog and not a site run by multiple people, offering links to a special Tumblr full of behind-the-scenes musings, more personal thoughts, and photos can work (though, again, you have to be more careful about the creepo-stalker-obsessive types).
Online hangouts, video chats, and thank-you credits are standard, straightforward membership content.
Bloopers are great bonus content, though they’re more befitting video content than blogs.
Autographs are the staple of all famous people. Autograph stuff and sell it.
If you build things for your blog, like foam weapons and armor or pop culture pewter statues, that stuff makes for great membership content, and offering custom content makes for even better expensive, high-tier content.
If the crowdfunding site you’re using offers the ability to create multiple tiers of goals (“If my subscribers generate $500 a month, I’ll write another two articles a week! If it gets to $1,000 a month, I’ll write three more a week!”), then create multiple goal tiers to keep people subscribing, the income increasing, and yourself motivated to do more.
Create clear reward tiers and goals; people aren’t as likely to subscribe for additional money if they don’t understand what they’re subscribing to, or what they’re going to get out of the deal.
Ultimately, readers will sometimes buy and subscribe because they like what you’re offering, and sometimes they’ll do it because they like you.
GET A TRUSTED BUSINESS PARTNER
If you have the option to rely on someone with some serious business acumen, you should probably do it. Being creative and being business-minded don’t often go hand in hand; for many creatives, the business dealings are easily the most hated part of their jobs. A business partner can act as a gym partner, keeping you accountable for working hard while also taking care of the nitty-gritty technical and money stuff you may not be interested in. That said, this idea supposes that you know someone who is trustworthy, reliable, and business-y who is also willing to work for free until the profits start rolling in. In the likely event you don’t have someone you can trust and rely on, buckle down and learn to do that stuff yourself.
WORDS FROM WORKING NERDS
KATRINA HILL, blogger, actor, producer, Action Flick Chick, author of Action Movie Freak and 100 Greatest Graphic Novels*
In 2008, my husband and our friends started a website, RocketLlama.com. I happened to watch Rambo (the fourth one) for the first time right around then, and it was so amazing that I wanted to tell everyone about it. Inspired by my friends’ putting their creative work out there on the web, I wrote a review of Rambo for RocketLlama.com. From there the passion grew; I continued to write reviews for their website until one day I decided to create my own website dedicated to action movie news and reviews—ActionFlickChick.com. And from there things continued growing, and I got to do all kinds of cool hosting gigs, TV appearances, interviews, book writing, movie reviews, etc.
What tool could you not do without in your job?
I absolutely could not do my job without the Internet and a computer. A lot of writing is researching backstory and trying to gather all kinds of information on the topic you are writing about, and the Internet makes that a lot easier.
Are there any particular obstacles you feel you’ve had to overcome to get where you are?
Sometimes you don’t feel like working. You want to sit back and have good things come to you magically, but that isn’t how things work. I’ve had to kick myself a few times to keep writing and keep working hard. This is especially true once you’ve been working at something for a little while and the excitement and newness begin to wear off or when you have some jobs/opportunities fall through. You have to have the determination and drive to get past that point in order to become successful and stay successful.
Who or what are your inspirations?
My good friends/family who started a little website way back when: Alex,* Nick, and Travis. They definitely served as an inspiration to help me get started in this line of work and continue to do it. It really helps to surround yourself with supportive and creative people.
What tips might you recommend to newcomers looking to get into the business?
Don’t be lazy. Work hard. Take whatever job you can get at first, even if it’s small, doesn’t pay well, or isn’t about a topic you absolutely love—do the research and knock it out of the park. This helps build up your résumé, credentials, and reputation.
Meet your freaking deadlines! Not much is more frustrating than working with someone who can’t turn in assignments on time.
Don’t be a douche nugget online or offline. If you are a joy to work with, then people will continue to work with you and recommend you to others. If you are a douche nugget, no one will want to work with you again.
KEEP ON TRUCKIN’ AND KEEP ON POSTIN’
Even the most fun career in the world isn’t fun every single day. You may be tired of posting videos or writing blog posts, but you’ve got to stick with it. The number-one reason could-be-professional nerds fail is because they get tired of what they’re doing or get distracted with other projects/real life and then lose what audience they’ve managed to accumulate. The Internet is a vast cosmic space filled with the charnel husks of dead blogs and video channels; keep posting, space cowboy, lest your site wither away into nothingness.
BEWARE SHIFTY WRITING GIGS
I once had an offer of a writing gig with a video game website with a rather misleading set-up for paying its writers. Essentially, I had to write twentyish articles a month for them, for free, with their editor getting final say on both what I was writing and how I was writing it, and then after that I would get paid for any approved articles. That’s a whole lotta work they were asking me to do for free, and even if they approved subsequent articles beyond my free ones (which seemed unlikely), the pay-per-article rate was almost nothing when averaged in with the freebies. The editor kept emphasizing how his writers got paid often and well and had the freedom to write whatever they wanted . . . with approval. As you might have guessed, I passed. I understand the difficulty of getting enough money to pay writers what they deserve; however, as I said before, people need to get paid for their work if there’s any money to be had. If that site even remotely had the writer’s best interest at heart, why not pay them for each article, even at a low pay rate, rather than requiring so many free articles per month?
A friend had written a few free articles for a website before requesting to link to one of these free articles on a paying website that she was also writing for. Her editor flipped out, calling her greedy for having the ovaries to try to profit from what she’d written.
Another friend wrote for a site that paid low, but well enough that it was worth the work. When payday arrived, however, the site owners made excuses about delaying payment and continued this pattern for months until the friend got sick of writing for them and left. Later, the friend found out that this site was notorious for doing this to all of their employees; they’d rope in accomplished writers, then wring a few months’ worth of free articles out of them with the promis
e of pay without ever actually intending to pay them. If someone is supposed to pay you, do not let them slide on being late. Call them out on it, and if they get mad when you bring it up, it’s time for you to hop on your horse and ride off into the sunset.
These stories are hardly unique, and the moral is always the same—you’ve got to look out for yourself and not let your drive to succeed overwhelm your spidey-sense for getting screwed over. The people who are most commonly the victims of scams are those who are too desperate for money to take a moment to think about what’s happening.
DON’T GET SCAMMED IN OTHER WAYS
Other common scams and sleazy situations to look out for in the blogging world include:
Content farms, which are websites that pay hordes of freelance writers next to nothing to create articles that are essentially piles of links and buzzwords designed to get the site owners advertising money and better placement in search engines
Guest-post scams, wherein the “guest poster” writes a post for your site that is actually a paid advertisement they can pocket the money while you get nothing