Hello everyone,
I was texting a friend this week about how writers are finding different ways to get their work out into the world. In particular, people opting to self publish after being fed up with bad contracts, slow and low pay, frustrating editing processes, etc. She was telling me about a zine she’d picked up, which isn’t a new format (many years ago I wrote about the teen girls resurrecting these ‘90s-era booklets), but zines have long represented a head-on response to gatekeeping and confrontation of traditional methods. AKA, the vibe in media right now.
None of this is novel. Self publishing has been around a long time, but stats show it’s now booming and there are certainly financial and career incentives if something takes off. Let’s not forget that E.L. James self published “Fifty Shades of Grey.” I was chatting recently with a family member about how even just ten years ago, there was a notion that self publishing was not prestigious or respectable or serious or viable and that the way to get a book out was to find an agent and sell the manuscript or proposal to a house. Not anymore.
My own views have shifted on this matter as well. It wasn’t so long ago that I believed the only road to publishing was through the traditional channels. And if the traditional channels rejected my ideas then they were to stay locked in a drawer forever. Things are different now and the frustrations that led us here have been brewing for quite some time. For years my mom has heard my gripes about indemnity clauses, editors who ghost, killed stories, self-funded reporting trips, and the fact that freelance reporters do not get paid until a story runs. That could take months or years or never happen at all. At one point she told me she couldn’t believe how little control reporters have over their material. That remark has stuck with me as I figure out how to manage and own my career.
Substack, of course, is part of this new ecosystem that allows writers to break free and take back control of their work. Same with YouTube, TikTok, all of social. Zines. These new methods also help readers and audiences connect directly with reporters. This was an issue that grated on me for quite some time. I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ve often felt confined to the copy in my articles, wary about having public discussions beyond what appeared in the story. I depend on editors and publications for the next assignment. What if I tweet something and an editor took offense? I had a fear of losing work, burning bridges, coming across as obnoxious. Not that I’ve ever been very controversial online, but still. Of course, all of this relinquished power to the publications.
I am heartened now because writers are betting on themselves. See Dave Jorgenson leaving WaPo to start his own online video company (not to mention everyone else who’s migrated to Substack and elsewhere). I can’t say whether or not forgoing a traditional path is the “right” decision for anyone (or will pay off financially). I’m still figuring out in what capacity I myself want to embrace this new approach. Plus, there are changes still to be made within. For instance, it should be standard to pay freelance reporters 50 percent upon assignment. Bare minimum, frankly.
There are many ways of doing things and I’m glad to see people taking risks, experimenting, and challenging the status quo. It isn’t easy. Also, I do not think any of this relates only to journalism or media. We should be thinking about all the ways people control our work and what to do about it.
Thanks for being here <3
Britta Lokting
Endnote:
Speaking of publishing…very much enjoyed this piece in Columbia Magazine about Samuel Freedman’s book publishing course at the J-school there. Some helpful tidbits, in particular finding a mentor who balances “tough love and unwavering support.”
More on the theme of reclamation and resilience: Indigenous kayakers paddle the Klamath River after the world’s largest dam removal. Obsessed with the visuals in this piece. Also, the swift return of the chinook salmon. “If we give them a chance, they will make their way back home.”
Have not yet started the new Lena Dunham show (on the to-do list) but lots of friends talking about it and her interview on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast.
I just bought the inaugural print issue of Field Mag at Chess Club in Portland and am very excited to dig in. Definitely check out the new space if you’re in pdx.