I recently started writing about YA books
for the MTV News website, and Michelle kindly invited me to talk about the
experience at IWSG, which is perfect because my insecurities almost kept me
from getting the freelancing gig.
When I first saw the listing, it sounded so
awesome, but that tiny voice in my head immediately convinced me to forget
about it. It reminded me I had no experience as a freelancer. I didn’t know
enough about YA books to put myself out there as an expert. They’d never hire
me anyway so why bother.
And stupid me listened to that voice and
decided not to apply.
But for the next two days, I couldn’t stop
thinking about the job: ideas for my application, ideas for articles, picturing
myself with a byline on the MTV website.
But as I’d get pumped up about it, that
tiny, nasty voice would intrude again, and I’d let insecurity and doubt take
over and shove the idea to the back of my mind.
But the itch for the job refused to
completely go away.
So I finally said, “Screw you, tiny voice!
I don’t have anything to lose by trying!”
If you’d like to read more about the
application process and even see the gif-tastic application that landed me the
job, click here.
I couldn’t believe it when I got the email
telling me I was hired. I was so thrilled I even teared up a little.
But of course those excited feelings only
lasted a little while before doubt crept back into my brain. Oh no, I had
fooled them into hiring me. Now I was going to be a complete disaster and
embarrass myself. And not just on a small scale, but on a HUGE platform with
tons of people reading.
It didn’t help allay my fears that my
editor didn’t like any of my first fourteen pitches.
The way it works is that I come up with
ideas for articles and send my editor a potential title and a sentence or two
describing what the article would be about. If he likes the pitch, he gives me
a due date. Unfortunately, I wasn’t getting anything approved and became
convinced the whole thing was a mistake and that I should quit.
But I shared my fears with a group of
awesome friends, and they helped calm me down. Together we went through past
articles on the MTV website, and they helped me brainstorm new ideas. I picked
four of them, fleshed them out, and sent them to my editor, and he approved
three of them. Whoohoo - I finally had my first stories to write!
And once again, the elation only lasted a
short time before the paralyzing fear of actually writing a story for MTV hit
with a vengeance. But I was also determined to do a good job, so I ignored
those fears and got to work.
My first story was about Nancy Drew, and
even though I had read a ton of the books when I was young, I didn’t remember a
lot about them. So I got to googling. I found out all kinds of stuff I never
knew about Nancy and her legacy, which was a cool bonus.
Once I wrote the article, I started looking
for gifs. I’d never done much with gifs before, but they are a big part of MTV
articles, so I’ve been learning a lot on the fly. But the gif hunt (or making
my own gifs) has turned out to be a lot of fun – pretty much my favorite part
of putting these articles together.
I was so nervous when I emailed my first
article to my editor - I even felt a tad nauseous as I pressed Send. But he
loved it and said it was a lot of fun. Whew! And then once it was published on
the site, it did well and got a lot of shares. Double whew!
With a successful article under my belt, I
had a lot of confidence going into the next ones. That nagging, doubting voice
still rears its head occasionally when pitches get rejected or the writing
feels boring and flat, but I press forward anyway. That’s the key for me: I
can’t stop the voice of insecurity, but I can try to prove it wrong. And
because I eventually managed to dismiss what the voice
had to say about applying for the job, I’m having a ton of fun writing these
articles, and it’s a complete thrill seeing my name on the MTV website and
knowing so many people are reading my words.
Here are two of my articles if you’re
interested:
13 Reasons Nancy Drew Is A Kick-Ass
85-Year-Old Teen http://www.mtv.com/news/2259420/nancy-drew-awesome-teen/
The Brooding YA Bad Boy Of Your Dreams
Finally Opens Up http://www.mtv.com/news/2289546/brooding-ya-hero-opens-up/
I haven’t been doing this long enough to
feel qualified to give advice, but I will say if you decide to freelance, make
sure you’re organized. I have a spreadsheet where I track article deadlines,
when I turn them in, whether I’ve included them in a timesheet, and when I get
paid for them. Otherwise, I’d be a complete mess.
I had never considered freelancing before this
opportunity came along, but I know there are a ton of resources out there for
finding freelance jobs. So if you think you’d be interested in freelancing, GO
FOR IT! Don’t let that tiny voice that likes to be so negative talk you out of
it.
You have nothing to lose by trying, and you
might end up with a very cool job!
