Let me begin this first post with a bit of clarification. Most of us who have written for any length of time know that those $1 million articles are a wee bit tough to come by (if you’ve scored one, I’d be curious to know how). Hypothetically, though, it felt like I hit a $1 million payday about 20 years ago when my first column was published in a small town Minnesota weekly. Named “Entertainment Spotlight,” the piece, mostly about movies, included a review of Arnold Schwarzenegger action adventure Total Recall.
And for my efforts, I was paid $5.
I totally recall the day my first piece hit newsstands — June 3, 1991 — and it was a day that changed my life. Somehow, miraculously, I turned my passion for movies into something I never would have expected: I see movies and write about them, and people pay me. Immediately I was overwhelmed by a sense I had never felt before — the sense that I wanted to earn a living as a writer.
If there’s anything I’ve learned writing over the past 20 years, it’s that passion for the subject I’m writing about is the key to everything. If my writing turns into a “job,” per se — something I merely have to do to collect a paycheck, it’s time to call it a day.
There are two P-words that aspiring feature writers must learn to use before getting into the business — and two words that veteran writers need to constantly remind themselves of — Passion and Pay. And always, absolutely always, passion must come before pay. After all, you need the readers to respond to your work, and if your piece lack enthusiasm, a repeat visit may be a little harder to come by.
So what exactly is a passion? That definition is different for all of us, but in short, I believe it’s a subject that continually holds your fascination, no matter how much you know or continue to learn about it. It’s something that spellbinds your curiosity — the common denominator among most people in the media business.
A passion may also drive you to work for free to learn as much you can about it. In my case, that opportunity came about 19 years ago with an unpaid internship, where I met the late Bill Carlson, a veteran anchor and entertainment reporter at the CBS affiliate in Minneapolis who shared the same enthusiasm I have for movies. And while the internship wasn’t necessarily meant to help me develop my writing skills, I learned an enormous amount watching Bill — almost effortlessly — do interviews with major actors and directors. I learned that the best interview wasn’t necessarily an interview but a conversation, where listening was as equally important as asking questions.
Now, does anybody realistically expect to work for virtually nothing just to explore their passions? The answer is likely, not — especially in these tough economic times. But if you are going to succeed as a freelance writer, passion is the essential seed that must be planted before your career grows. As long as you let your passions drive you and learn as well as do, you will be successful. And with those successes, bigger ones will come your way. Logically, bigger opportunities should equate for bigger pay.
To be realistic, not many of us will be published in TIME magazine, but really, that should never be your goal anyway. Instead, strive for a summit not defined by a name or place. For me, the peak is always in my sights, talking with actors and directors about the entertainment medium, something I’m happy to say that has happened more than 1,000 times.
So not to sound flip about it, I don’t do what I do for status, but for the simple fact that talking with these folks gives me the rare opportunity to learn even more about movies and the people who make them happen, and help me earn a living by sharing their stories with readers.
And nearly 20 years after I started writing about my passion — and after that first piece that earned me $5 — I still feel like a million bucks.
