The Creating Other Media Issue

MAY/JUNE 2018

The Official Publication of the American Society of 03 Journalists and Authors

5 STEPS TO SMART PASSIVE INCOME TIPS FROM A MASTER How your freelance business can make money while you sleep Q&A with PITCH WRITER Linda Formicelli

ALSO INSIDE The #MeToo Reality for Freelancers How to Write Infographics // Turning a Memoir Into a Play CONTENTS MAY/JUNE 2018

Features “SO, ARE YOU DEAD?” FROM PAGE TO STAGE How Michele Wojciechowski puts Discovering the similarities— laughter to work in her writing and differences—between 16 20 writing memoirs and plays by Claire Zulkey by Nancy Kelton

WRITING INFOGRAPHICS Meaty visuals compel readers 22 to dive deeper into your stories by Rae Padilla Francoeur

FOR FREELANCERS, A POWERFUL #METOO MOMENT 30 Independent writer Deborah Copaken shocked the New York media world with accusations against an Observer editor. Now, she tells us about the risks facing self-employed journalists

by Randy Dotinga

Cover story 5 STEPS TO SMART PASSIVE INCOME How your freelance business can make money while you sleep

by Damon Brown 26 www.asja.org Vol 68 / No. 3

Follow ASJA! The Official Publication of the American Society of Journalists and Authors 08 12

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DEPARTMENTS COLUMNS MARKET 8 Member News 14 Volunteer Spotlight: 5 From the President REPORT Susan Johnston Taylor 34 Across Women’s Lives 10 Paycheck 6 From the Editor 15 2018 NYC ASJA 11 New Members Writers Conference 12 Protecting Yourself

May/June 2018 / Vol 68, No 3 3 WWW.ASJA.ORG

Publications Chair ASJA MISSION AND ADMINISTRATION Laura Laing Founded in 1948, the American Society of Journalists and Authors is the nation’s professional Editor association of independent and entrepreneurial nonfiction writers. ASJA is a primary voice in Aleigh Acerni representing freelancers’ interests, serving as spokesperson for their right to control and profit from Creative Director the uses of their work in online media and elsewhere. ASJA and the ASJA Charitable Trust bring Christina Ullman, Ullman Design leadership in establishing professional and ethical standards, as well as in recognizing and encouraging www.ullmandesign.com the pursuit of excellence in nonfiction writing. Since 2010, the ASJA Educational Foundation has been offering programming that covers all aspects of professional independent writing for both established Contributors and aspiring writers. ASJA headquarters is in New York City. Damon Brown, Randy Dotinga, Rae Padilla Francoeur, Nancy Kelton, David Leichtman, Board of Directors Standing Committees and Chairs Sherry Beck Paprocki, Claire Zulkey PRESIDENT Sherry Beck Paprocki ADVOCACY Tam Harbert VICE PRESIDENT Milt Toby AWARDS Salley Shannon and Janine Latus Proofreaders TREASURER Howard Baldwin CONTRACTS AND CONFLICTS Joan Burda Stephanie Bouchard, SECRETARY Jennifer Goforth Gregory EXECUTIVE Sherry Beck Paprocki Risha Gotlieb, Janine Latus, Mark Ray IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Randy Dotinga FIRST AMENDMENT Sally Olds Postmaster PAST PRESIDENT Minda Zetlin MARKETING/COMMUNICATIONS Tami Kamin Meyer Send address changes to: At-Large Members CLIENT NETWORKING Wendy Helfenbaum VIRTUAL CLIENT CONNECTIONS The ASJA Magazine TERMS ENDING 2018: Jennifer L.W. Fink, Jennifer Goforth Gregory American Society of Journalists and Authors Beverly Gray, Nancy Kriplen MEMBER NETWORKING Tania Casselle 355 Lexington Avenue, 15th Floor TERMS ENDING 2019: Patchen Barss, FORUM CHAIR Chelsea Lowe New York, NY 10017 Wendy Helfenbaum, Emily Paulsen PEER-TO-PEER Pamela DeLoatch TERMS ENDING 2020: Jennie Helderman, Phone: (212) 997-0947 SIGS Kate Silver Lottie Joiner, Laura Laing www.asja.org MEMBERSHIP GROWTH & RETENTION Chapter Presidents Jennifer Goforth Gregory Email: [email protected] ARIZONA Jackie Dishner ASSOCIATE MEMBERS Lynn Freehill-Maye BOSTON Johanna Knapschaefer Magazine Editor: [email protected] RECRUITING Satta Sarmah-Hightower CHICAGO AREA Jera Brown The ASJA Magazine (ISSN 1541-8928) is published EASTERN GREAT LAKES Sallie G. Randolph MEMBERSHIP RETENTION bi-monthly by the American Society of Journalists FLORIDA Merlisa Lawrence Corbett AND DISCOUNTS Christina Chan and Authors, Inc., 355 Lexington Avenue, 15th Floor, NEW YORK CITY TRISTATE TBA HOSPITALITY Karen Kroll New York, NY 10017. Subscriptions: $120 per year as a benefit of membership. Periodicals postage paid NEW YORK DOWNSTATE Traci Suppa, Lisa Iannucci MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION REVIEW at New York, NY, and additional mailing office. NORTHERN CALIFORNIA Donna Albrecht Terry Whalin ROCKY MOUNTAIN Sandra E. Lamb The articles and opinions on these pages are those of NOMINATING Mickey Goodman SAN DIEGO Gina McGalliard the individual writers and do not necessarily represent PUBLICATIONS Laura Laing SOUTHEAST Mickey Goodman the philosophy of ASJA. Please obtain permission ASJA MAGAZINE Aleigh Acerni SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Matthew Worley from ASJA and individual writers before reproducing ASJA CONFIDENTIAL Sandra Gurvis TEXAS Susan Johnston Taylor, Debbie Blumberg any part of this newsletter. ASJA WEEKLY Laura Laing UPPER MIDWEST John Rosengren © 2018 American Society of WASHINGTON DC Pat McNees, Emily Paulsen VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT & APPRECIATION Journalists and Authors, Inc. Nancy Dunham and Linsey Knerl ASJA Charitable Trust BOARD OF TRUSTEES Sherry Beck Paprocki (chair), Howard Baldwin, Milt Toby Past Presidents Council ASJA Staff Thomas Bedell, Lisa Collier Cool, Eleanor Foa Dienstag, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Holly Koenig ASJA Educational Foundation Randy Dotinga, Jack El-Hai, Katharine Davis Fishman, Mark Fuerst, Samuel Greengard, Florence Isaacs, Evelyn GENERAL MANAGER Gemma Rainer PROGRAM CHAIR Minda Zetlin Kaye, Jim Morrison, Sally Wendkos Olds, Salley Shannon, STAFF ASSOCIATES ANNUAL CONFERENCE Carolyn Crist, Janice Hopkins Tanne, Russell Wild, Ruth Winter James Brannigan, James Cafiero Nancy Dunham, Dorri Olds MEETING PLANNER Patrick Dougherty PERSONAL MENTORING TBA ASJA DIRECT Estelle Erasmus Writers Emergency Assistance Fund CONTROLLER Maame Nantwi INTERIM CHAIRS Randy Dotinga and Milt Toby ASJA MAGAZINE ONLINE Ullman Design ASJA's 70th Anniversary Campaign CHAIR Brooke Stoddard TREASURER Neil O'Hara

4 ASJA Magazine / A Members-Only Publication SHERRY BECK PAPROCKI

Freelance Writer and ASJA President

From the President’s Desk

ASJA MEMBERS WORK SO HARD ON SO MANY DEADLINES EVERY 8 YEAR, that the vast majority of you remain amazingly humble people despite your awesome 10 HUGE SURPRISES careers. Do you hear me? You have an awesome career. (By the way, a quick survey last winter his column is the last for me to write FACEBOOK MAY OR MAY NOT BE OUR revealed that ASJA members had produced at as ASJA president. My emotions FRIEND. The company sent four representa- least 25,000 unique stories and blog posts in 2017. I am in awe of these numbers; some of you aren’t mixed at all. I have no pre- 4 tives, including former broadcaster Campbell reported producing up to 250 stories, yourself, ordained idea that I must remain at Brown, to our 2017 Awards ceremony, where it was a sponsor. But we didn’t know at the time that that year.) Tthe helm of ASJA for another minute beyond Facebook had sold more than $6 million in adver- midnight on June 30. tisements to Russians who were interfering with the ASJA IS A BEEHIVE OF BRAINPOWER. It is clear that Milt Toby will do well in this U.S. presidential election in 2016. (Read the indict- If you ever have a major problem to solve, role when he steps into it on July 1. I’ll be ments issued by Special Counsel Robert Mueller post it on the forum and you’ll find the help around to continue cheering you on as you 9 for more explanation.) Immediately after discussing you need. It doesn’t matter what your problem, make significant advances in your writing the indictments with other ASJA leaders, I put in a ASJA members can help you because they have career. Or as you finally go to work on that request to Facebook for a significant sum of money written about, researched, or experienced the dream project. that would help the company rebuild its tarnished problem you are trying to solve. And ASJA As I wrap up my term, I am sharing 10 huge reputation, working with ASJA to create classes members are a sharing tribe. surprises I have had as ASJA’s president: to inform writers about bot-created causes, fake news, and the democratic process. This contribu- I WOULD TRUST YOU WITH MY tion would benefit ASJA’s 70th Anniversary Capital IT IS UP TO ASJA’S LEADERS TO LIFE. All of ASJA’s staff and its volun- Campaign and ASJA’s Educational Foundation. I’ll UPHOLD THE FIRST AMENDMENT teers are heartfelt people who want let you know if Facebook wants to remain friends. 10 1 because the president of the United States the best for each writer and for each writer’s has no respect for a free press. (Traditionally family. You people do not give up. I can’t tell you employed journalists are no better at this than MATT LAUER IS PROBABLY NOT OUR how much I have appreciated that. we freelancers.) ASJA’s First Amendment and FRIEND. (His reported inappropriate Advocacy committees continue to be vigilant on 5 office behavior isn’t very friendly.) these issues and others. To all members: Please In the coming months, I’ll remain deeply continue to do everything you can to make sure involved in the organization, overseeing the First Amendment stays intact. TENSIONS WILL RISE DRAMATICALLY the ASJA Educational Foundation as first AMONG ASJA MEMBERS when there past president of the ASJA Charitable Trust. ASJA MEMBERS ARE SPECTACULARLY 6 are technical challenges. Blame will be I’ll continue to work with ASJA’s Board COMPETITIVE WITH EACH OTHER. immediately placed. As busy writers, we resent of Directors and with the advisory group 2 Spectacularly. That applies even when they roadblocks in our deadline-driven days and we overseeing the Gender Identity grant. want tech problems solved fast. (Each of us is are doing volunteer work. Competitive people I’ll join Brooke Stoddard and Neil O’Hara have taken this organization to an all-time new fiercely independent, and working with a team and others as we request contributions from height in member programs and member expec- to solve a problem sometimes slows us down.) you for ASJA’s 70th Anniversary Campaign tations. That’s a good thing, even though it may But these tech challenges occur regularly in any not sound that way. organization in today’s digitized world. Fortunately, so that this organization can continue to some of our amazing volunteers are also tech evolve into the dynamic force that will experts. ASJA will get better with this. impact the lives of hundreds of independent ASJA MEMBERS ARE EXTREMELY journalists and authors in the future. DEEP THINKERS. That means you, if not 3 on a deadline, would deep think every SOME OF US CONSIDER ASJA A LIFE- That legacy for future writers is important decision that I make. I can’t count the number of STYLE, NOT JUST A MEMBERSHIP. to me. In this country, the freedom to write times that I’ve told Holly Koenig, ASJA’s astute 7 We expect a lot and we raise the bar for openly on any issue is not debatable. executive director, that when you work with jour- everyone around us. ASJA is not an average Thank you for a very busy, and gratifying, nalists, they will always be suspicious of motives professional association. This organization’s two years. behind any decision. Fortunately, I’m a journalist activities, its digital programs, conferences, and and I have two others in my family. I understand. other services far outweigh the activities of most Holly understands us, too. other professional societies. May/June 2018 / Vol 68, No 3 5 ALEIGH ACERNI ASJA Magazine From the Editor Editor SHOWCASING OUR TALENTED MEMBERS ne of the best things about life outside of writing can often enrich editing ASJA Magazine our writing (whether we realize it or not). is getting to showcase Nancy Kelton has turned her memoir into the work of our talented a play, and generously shares what she’s members. I get to do this in learned along the way (page 20). And ASJA Oa literal way in Member News (page 8), Past-President Randy Dotinga spoke with but also by publishing the work of our writer and editor Deborah Copaken (page volunteer contributors—and this issue is 30) about how the #MeToo movement can packed with really smart, insightful tips. impact freelancers. Damon Brown’s piece on passive Finally, I urge every member to read income (page 26) will make you think attorney David Leichtman’s column about about your freelance business in new embedding vs. linking (page 12). The rules ways. Rae Padilla Francoeur’s story about appear to be shifting, and Leichtman writing infographics (page 22) is timely offers a concise explanation and practical and spot-on—it’s a great entry point to advice on how to proceed, whether you’ve what can be a very complicated piece of embedded someone else’s work on your Want to write for your peers? content to produce. Claire Zulkey’s profile site or your work has been embedded of Michele Wojciechowski proves that our elsewhere. [email protected]

ASJA MAGAZINE EVENT CALENDAR 2018

ASJA’s 70th Virtual Client Virtual Pitch Slam Fall SIG Anniversary Gala Connections Early to Mid-July October 22 to November 18 in New York City Early June ——————————————————— ——————————————————— May 17 ——————————————————— Virtual Pitch Slam Virtual Pitch Slam Mid-September November SPECIAL EVENT Summer SIG Registration Opens ——————————————————— ——————————————————— June 11 ASJA Annual Fall SIG Virtual Pitch Slam ——————————————————— Conference Registration Opens December in New York City Summer SIG October 8 May 18-19, 2018 June 25 to July 22

6 ASJA Magazine / A Members-Only Publication ASJA IS 70 YEARS OLD!

In 2018, the American Society of Journalists and Authors invites its members and others to celebrate the organization’s past as we build on its foundation so that writers of future generations can benefit from the same legacy that we have inherited. ASJA was founded as the Society of Magazine Writers in 1948. This is a legacy that has led many to establish prosperous and well-respected writing careers. ASJA's 70th Anniversary Campaign is designed to generate funds that will strengthen the ASJA Educational Foundation by making the Foundation an educational hub for all nonfiction writers—including those with emerging voices from diverse and underserved communities— providing extensive professional growth via mentoring, coaching, and peer networking. The ASJA Educational Foundation is a known resource that provides scholarships, conferences, podcasts, videocasts, virtual networking among peers and clients, and other specialized niche coursework focused on creating quality journalistic content.

PLEASE HELP FUND THE ASJA-CT EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION. The goal of $150,000 will enable ASJA to create additional educational programs delivered through an expanded web portal.

Donations will be accepted at the conference in May and via ASJA's website following the conference.

Brooke Stoddard, Campaign Chair | Neil O'Hara, Campaign Treasurer

ASJA CHARITABLE TRUST IS AN EXEMPT ORGANIZATION AS DESCRIBED IN SECTION 501(C)(3) OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE.

May/June 2018 / Vol 68, No 3 7 IN THE SPOTLIGHT

MEMBER NEWS

Book News

Lisa Iannucci’s latest book, On Location: A Film and TV Lover’s Travel Guide (Globe Pequot Press), was released on March 1, 2018. The book focuses on the locations and history behind your favorite films, television series, and favorite actors in the United States. Enjoy more than 100 profiles on famous movie and television locations, from John Wayne’s westerns to Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Sit in the diners used in Top Gun and Breaking Bad. There are also statue alerts throughout the book where you can take selfies with your favorite celebs, such as Elizabeth Montgomery in Bewitched. Lisa also launched a podcast, Reel Travels, based on her book. 4blogtalkradio.com/reeltravels

Nonnie Thompson’s book, Time It Was: Memoir of a Modern Pioneer, has been published by Bay Tree Publishing. This is her first book, after 60 published articles and photos in national and regional magazines. The book chronicles Thompson’s experiences after running away from her parents’ home, yearning for the freedom and wildness of a pioneer wagon train. Fortunately for her, she was coming of age in the 1970s amidst a cultural revolution. Time It Was captures Candy B. Harrington recently released her fifth national park access the youthful enthusiasm of those years while tracing the joys guide, Barrier-Free Travel: Washington National Parks for Wheelers and sorrows of a woman who lived them deeply. “Nonnie and Slow Walkers. The guidebook includes detailed information about Thompson’s voice rings true. Her story is just about as wheelchair-accessible trails, sites, lodging options, and attractions in genuine as they come,” says Bob Weir, founding member Olympic, Mount Rainier, and North Cascades national parks. of the Grateful Dead. It's available on her website and on 4barrierfreeolympic.com Amazon.com. 4nonnie-thompson.com

Got news to share with ASJA? Submit your items at http://asja.org/Member-Networking/submit-member-news

8 ASJA Magazine / A Members-Only Publication Awards & Honors

Sandra Beckwith’s website, BuildBookBuzz.com, recently received global recognition. Feedspot ranked it No. 7 among thousands of book marketing blogs, while Booksie named it a “Top 100 Writing Site.” It has been named a top website for authors and writers three times previously. 4buildbookbuzz.com/blog

An article Aleigh Acerni wrote for Charlotte Parent magazine in September 2017, “Mean Edith Lynn Hornik-Beer is one of the 10 journalists who was recognized by the Matt Moms: How to Ignore, Confront and Avoid Kramer 2017 Award for Excellence in Journalism for her articles “Therapy: Forget The Becoming One,” won a Silver Award from Couch, Think Horses,” published in September 2017 on PRForPeople.com and for her the Parenting Media Association at its March article, “Life After NASA,” published in The Greenbelt magazine in May 2016. 2018 awards ceremony. 4aleighacerni.com

Other News

Tami Kamin Meyer, chair of the Richard C. Levy, co-author of The Toy ASJA's Marketing Committee, has and Game Inventor’s Handbook, will see launched her first website. The site his electronic Cat Paw invention, licensed features Kamin Meyer's various to Wicked Cool Toys, in Books-A-Million articles about law, business, health, stores nationwide this fall. The “friendly but travel, and more. feisty” impulse novelty toy includes two fun 4tamikaminmeyer.com cat sounds. It can be used to creep out coworkers, amuse cat lovers, and stupefy cats themselves.

Nancy Del Pizzo has been named a Patricia Kutza’s The Don't Get Me Started! Super Lawyer in intellectual property Toolkit Workbook (co-authored with Connie litigation for the second year in a row. Payne) is now part of the class curriculum in several public and private K-12 schools in Northern California’s Contra Costa County.

May/June 2018 / Vol 68, No 3 9 DEPARTMENTS

PAYCHECK

TOPIC THE DAILY BEAST PRIVATE COMPANY Article, consumer pub Article, consumer pub Article, trade pub 2,000 words 800 words 800 words $2,500 $400 $425 The $2,500 is what they should be I had a terrific experience writing a Brian Bachelder, PhD, hired me to write one paying me, but they're paying me half news article for the science vertical. article for the company site, ALine. We agreed that. They killed the story only because The editor was quick to respond to on the fee and use of the article. This was they “assigned too many stories on this my query and subsequent emails, and Sept. 2017. He accepted the article and did topic.” I argued for the full fee since they shared a slightly edited version of my not request any revisions. Since then, I had to killed it—and it was through no fault of story prior to publication for my input. repeatedly contact him for payment, each time my own. The editor said that if it had The contract stipulated that I wouldn’t to be told that the check was coming or that it been my fault, they'd consider it breach publish a story on the same topic in was in the mail. He then left the company and of contract and pay me nothing. I will the 60 days following publication in the company would not honor the contract. never pitch them again. Their idea of a competing markets, including The New He told me several times that the check had kill fee is awful. That's not how it works. York Times, The Atlantic, and Slate. been mailed or will be mailed, which was Article terms: POP Terms: POP obviously untrue. After several more attempts Feedback: 1 Feedback: 10 for payment, Mr. Bachelder finally paid via Kill fee: $1,250 Payment: Timely PayPal on Feb. 24 when I contacted him to tell him that I had found he had posted NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION SPLINTER NEWS the article on yet another site. I was hiring a Books Article, consumer pub collections agency and sending a takedown 35,000 words Longform Narrative Investigation notice since he did not have the right to use $90,000 $1,500 the story without payment. Within hours, the This was an organizational history book I sold a longform investigation to payment was in my PayPal account. involving extensive archival research Splinter back when it was Fusion. Feedback: 1 and 60 interviews. The project was I turned it in, and after months of originally supposed to last 9 months, silence, they decided to kill it. I under- INC. but things got complicated and frus- stand that editorial directions change, Article, consumer pub trating when the organization suddenly but it was difficult to be ghosted for 1,000 words changed its mind in its expectations months while my timely article languished. $2,000 for the book’s structure, causing me to Feedback: 5 Inc. had some shakeups in the fall, have to write extra drafts, and allega- Payment: Timely with editors leaving and a 3-week hold tions of unethical behavior by one of the on payments, but things seem to be important figures in the history caused back on track now. additional delays. So the project lasted Feedback: 5 2 years. Because of the changes and Payment: Late delays, I negotiated a $15K increase in my fee. I don't know when or if the book will ever be published. Rights: Work made for hire Book agent? No To protect the confidentiality of information filed with Feedback: 6 Payment: Late Paycheck reports, additional details including rights and more are available at ASJA.org/members/paycheck.

10 ASJA Magazine / A Members-Only Publication Kali Hawlk, Boston, MA WELCOME NEW John Hollar, Redwood City, CA Ruksana Hussain, Los Angeles, CA ASJA MEMBERS! Kelly Isley, Phoenix, AZ Cinnamon Janzer, Minneapolis, MN L’Tanya Joyner, Hampton, GA Lisa Kanarek, Dallas, TX Shawna Kenney, Los Angeles, CA Karin Klein, Laguna Beach, CA PROFESSIONAL MEMBERS Kimberly Koenig, Seattle, WA Catherine Kolonko, Portland, OR Carrie Anton, Middleton, WI Lavonne Leong, Honolulu, HI Poornima Apte, Walpole, MA Robert Lerose, Uniondale, NY Susan Barnes, Tampa, FL Lisa Lewis, Redlands, CA Adrienne Bernhard, New York, NY Jessica Levy Kania, Jerusalem, Israel Jennifer Billock, Trevor, WI Sarah Li-Cain, Jacksonville, FL Katie Botkin, Sandpoint, ID Amanda Loudin, Ellicott City, MD Beth Braverman, Scarsdale, NY Craig Lovelace, Groveport, OH Renee Brincks, San Francisco, CA Vanessa Nirode, New York, NY Jessica Brown, Carnation, WA Lisa MacColl, Kitchener, ON Freedom Chevalier, Windsor Katherine Malmo, Seattle, WA Rebecca Clay, Washington, DC Katherine Martinelli, Brooklyn, NY Terri Colby, Chicago, IL Amanda McCracken, Boulder, CO Joan Cook, New Haven, CT Tara McClellan McAndrew, Springfield, IL Karen Corday, Florence, MA Jen McGivney, Charlotte, NC Shelby Deering, Verona, WI Giulia Pines, New York, NY Kelly Dilworth, Irvine, CA Rachael Rifkin, Long Beach, CA Stav Dimitropoulos Robin Roenker, Lexington, KY Mandy Ellis, Austin, TX Stacy Suaya, Los Angeles, CA Ivana Edwards, New York, NY Andrew Shumskiy, Brooklyn, NY Tania Evans, Ann Arbor, MI Nicole Slaughter-Graham, Donna Freedman, Anchorage, AK St. Petersburg, FL Jamie Gold, Bonita, CA Paige Smith, Laguna Niguel, CA Anna Goldfarb, Philadelphia, PA Kaarin Vembar, Washington, DC Irina Gonzalez, Fort Myers, FL Benet Wilson, Towson, MD ASJA membership Katherine Gustafson, Portland, OR Kimberly Yavorski, Ambler, PA Leslie Handler, Trenton, NJ Mary Yuhas, Delray Beach, FL has its benefits! Michelle Hamilton, Groton, CT Crystal Zuzek, Austin, TX Current members who refer ASSOCIATE MEMBERS Brenda Kissko, Scott Depot, WV new professional or associate Sam Harrison, Chicago, IL Joanna Marsh, Falls Church, VA member candidates will Zara Abrams, Los Angeles, CA Christine Moore, Decatur, GA Urdes Abruscato, Woodbine, MD Beverly OShea, Woodstock, GA enjoy 25 percent off their Lisa Beach, Winter Springs, FL Justin Paprocki, Naples, FL membership dues when they Stephani Bouchard, Bath, ME Glynis Ratcliffe, Whitby, ON PJ Brown, Tucson, AZ Rebecca Renner, Boynton Beach, FL renew the following year, if Lois DeSocio, Maplewood, NJ Harriet Riley, Houston, TX Joseph Fleckenstein, Reading, PA Joni Sweet, New York, NY their referral joins ASJA. Ann Gibson, Charlotte, NC Rose Thayer, Austin, TX Justin Grensing, Minneapolis, MN Michelle Watson, Snellville, GA Emily Guy Birken, Wauwatosa, WI Carolyne Whelan, Santa Fe, NM Rosemary Keevil, West Vancouver, BC Patti Zarling, Green Bay, WI

May/June 2018 / Vol 68, No 3 11 COLUMNS

Protecting Yourself

EMBEDDING/FRAMING VS. LINKING Protecting Yourself from Infringers and Infringing

recent decision from the nation’s busiest Twitter and virally re-tweeted over social copyright court—the Southern District of media. The defendants, including Time Inc., Gannett Company, Herald Media, and Yahoo, New York—had shed some much-needed all embedded the photograph for use in their clarity on when the embedding of copy- own stories or blogs. This is considered a copyright infringement, because the actual Arighted works can constitute an infringement of image of the copyrighted work was copyright. So what are the rules of the road? displayed on the defendants’ sites. Linking, on the other hand, does not display the content itself, but may describe Q: What is the legal difference between embedding and linking? DAVID what the content is and just provide a link LEICHTMAN, ESQ. A: Embedding (sometimes also referred to as “framing”) is to another party’s site where the infring- where a party takes your work and displays it on their own site, ing content or image resides. For example, usually surrounded by their own advertising and other content. if the sites in the Goldman case had just Partner, Leichtman In the recent decision, Goldman v. Breitbart News Network, said: “Here is a link to a photograph of Tom Law PLLC several news outlets used a copyrighted photograph of Tom Brady,” and provided the link to the social Brady that had been uploaded to Snapchat and then copied to media site where they had obtained the

12 ASJA Magazine / A Members-Only Publication photograph, that would not have been a violation of the photographer’s display right under the Copyright Act. Before the recent Goldman decision, some media companies and social media sites took the position that there was no legal difference between embedding and linking, and that they could still embed copyrighted Embedding (sometimes also referred to as “framing”) is where a content on their own sites, because in both party takes your work and displays it on their own site, usually cases the copied content was hosted on the third party’s server and never imported to surrounded by their own advertising and other content. the first party’s server. They were relying on what is referred to as the “server test.”

Q: What is the “server test?” outside of the context of a search engine. Q: A: Until the recent decision, the defendants What does this mean if someone Nevertheless, many companies have used in the Goldman case and many other com- uses my work on their website or blog? that decision to try to defend themselves panies have relied on a case from the 9th A: A party who displays your written or visual both in litigation and in correspondence Circuit Court of Appeals in California, called work on their website or blog now can no with copyright owners in a broader set of Perfect 10 v. Google. In that case, Google longer rely solely on the server test, but they circumstances. Now that there is a compet- had won a ruling saying that the display of still may have other defenses such as “fair ing decision in the New York courts, while thumbnail images shown in Google search use,” which we have written about in prior col- parties merely using linking can still argue results, even if unauthorized by the copy- umns. If their use of the work is for comment that the “server test” applies, they cannot right owner, did not create copyright liability or criticism, and does not use more of your embed your work and profit from it without for Google for the full versions of the images work than is necessary to achieve their goal of permission. because all that Google was doing was comment or criticism, it may be a fair use if it directing the user to the site where the full does not usurp the market for your own work. Q: versions were hosted. If those other sites Does the “server test” still apply One way to combat arguments about fair use were infringing, Google would not have any in courts covered by the 9th Circuit? is to establish a licensing program for the use liability because of what that Court called A: We believe that the 9th Circuit intended of electronic copies of your work so that the the “server test,” so-named because the its ruling to be narrow so that even in the third-party sites cannot successfully argue images were hosted on the third parties’ 9th Circuit, there should be a distinction there was no way to readily license their use. EMBEDDING/FRAMING VS. LINKING servers rather than Google’s server. The made between embedding or framing, on Court also felt that the thumbnail images, the one hand, and linking, on the other hand. Q: What does this mean if I want to use someone while sitting on Google’s own servers and Moreover, the “fair use” ruling concerning else’s work on my site, blog, or other work? the thumbnail images in that case should thus constituted an infringement, were of A: It depends on what purpose you are using only apply in the context of search engine such poor quality that using them in the someone else’s work for, but it is always a best results. Since most of the economically sig- context of search results would not harm the practice to try to clear the rights to use the nificant infringements are going to be made copyright owner’s market for licensing the work unless it is a “slam dunk” that your use is by national publications, most sites will need use of the images and therefore constituted a “fair use,” such as in the case of comment or to comply with the distinction between a “fair use.” criticism as discussed above. And as always, embedding and linking by clearing the rights The server test, though, has been widely if you have any doubt, check in with your to works they want to use or otherwise criticized, and has not often been applied friendly neighborhood copyright lawyer. outside of the courts in the 9th Circuit or risking infringement liability.

David Leichtman is the managing partner of trial firm Leichtman Law PLLC. Mr. Leichtman serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Volunteer Lawyers For The Arts; on the NYIPLA Committees on Patent Litigation, Law Firm Management (Chair, 2017), and Inventor of the Year (co-chair 2014-2017). He has been named a New York SuperLawyer every year since 2010. In 2016, the New York Law Journal selected him as a Lawyer Who Leads by Example for providing crucial pro bono legal services in New York. He is also a fellow, Litigation Counsel of America, a highly selective Trial Lawyer Honor Society, where he is also a founding member of its Intellectual Property Institute. For more information, visit leichtmanlaw.com.

May/June 2018 / Vol 68, No 3 13 ASJA VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

Susan AUSTIN, TEXAS Johnston Taylor ASJA MEMBER & WRITING SPECIALTY/FOCUS: VOLUNTEER SINCE: 2009 Small business, personal finance, and lifestyle topics

4 Recent/favorite project (or work that you’re especially proud of): I wrote 4 Why do you volunteer for ASJA? Volunteers power conferences, Virtual a profile forFast Company about a nonprofit that provides entrepreneurship Client Connections (VCC), SIGs and ASJA’s other great programming, so training to domestic violence survivors: https://www.fastcompany.com/ without them, we wouldn’t get to enjoy those member benefits. I’ve landed 40481525/this-startup-teaches-domestic-violence-survivors-to-be- new work from VCC and met new friends and professional contacts at the entrepreneurs. conferences and through SIGs, so I wanted to play a role in shaping those programs. 4 What kind of volunteer work do you do for ASJA? I’ve written for the magazine, invited editors to participate in Virtual Client Connections, moderated 4 How do you fit volunteering in with your work commitments? That’s a and spoken on sessions at several New York conferences, led a SIG, worked challenge, and I’m still figuring it out! As conference co-chairs, Debbie and on member recruitment efforts, and I co-chaired the regional conference in I scheduled biweekly phone calls to discuss our progress and brainstorm Austin on Feb. 3, 2018. ideas to make the conference even better, but we both had to reschedule those calls to squeeze in interviews with sources or meet a deadline. 4 Who else worked with you? What kinds of skills does this volunteer We tried to be flexible when client work needed to be the priority, and work take? Debbie Blumberg was my conference co-chair, Cynthia Drake we divided and conquered as needed. was Client Connections chair, Debi Martin was programming chair, and Beth Connelly was volunteer chair. Co-chairing a conference takes project 4 What are the benefits of volunteering? Have you found some management skills, marketing savvy, problem-solving abilities, and a willingness unexpected benefits? Being visible within ASJA means that the people to tap into your network for speakers, sponsors, moderators, and others. I volunteer with (and sometimes other members) often refer me work or send me leads that might be relevant to my interests. I do the same for 4 What have been some of the more rewarding volunteering tasks? I really ASJA members I know well, so volunteering with ASJA has helped boost enjoyed working with Debbie and Debi on programming for the conference. It’s my network. Now when I go to conferences, I almost always recognize a bit of a puzzle figuring out what sessions to schedule when, what speakers at least one person in the room (or they spot my red hair), so it’s not as to invite, and what topics to cover so that members and nonmembers hear daunting as that first conference. from diverse points of view and leave with insights and inspiration they can use. I didn’t realize all the considerations that go into planning a conference! 4 What do you like to do when you’re not writing? I volunteer a few hours But I hope it got attendees fired up about their craft and inspired to take their a month helping teens with their college application essays. It’s a program business to the next level (the two tracks were craft and business). for kids who hope to be the first generation in their family to attend college. I’m also a classically trained singer, and I try to perform as much as I can. 4 How much time to you spend per month volunteering for ASJA? I do some regional theatre and I also have a side gig working as a princess I spent about 8-10 hours a week (32-40 hours a month) planning the for hire at children’s birthday parties. That sometimes involves singing or Austin conference, but my other volunteer roles have had a much lower sometimes it’s more improvising as the character at story time. My 6-year- time commitment. old self is surely jealous!

14 ASJA Magazine / A Members-Only Publication NYC CONFERENCE SHERATON TIMES SQUARE NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

No matter where you are in your writing career—just beginning to navigate your own writing business, motivating yourself to reach professional milestones, or captivating clients and audiences with your hard- won expertise—you want to tap into the most dynamic, forward-thinking writers and editors in our business. Experts like our three keynote speakers.

M A 1 8 Y 1 8 - 1 9 2 0 KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

D A N KATHERINE AIMEE JONES REYNOLDS LEWIS ROSS

You know Dan as the editor of New Katherine is one of the most highly You likely know Aimee from her York Times’ Modern Love column, respected journalists on the East well-received articles published by but he is also an in-demand author Coast, known for her work with Lifein10Minutes and SixHens. Her and journalist whose work appears The Atlantic, Fortune magazine, writing appears in Beauty Around in many publications, including The Bloomberg BusinessWeek, MSN the World: A Cultural Encyclopedia, Times, Parade, and Harper’s. His Money, The New York Times, and Scars: An Anthology, Today I Made a other career successes include other major publications. Katherine’s Difference: A Collection of Inspirational podcasting, as evidenced by the 20 book, The Good News About Bad Stories from America’s Top Educators, million downloads of The Modern Behavior, was developed from and Teaching Tolerance magazine. Love Podcast in its first year. He’s a her Mother Jones article that was Aimee is also an award-winning educator recognizable thought leader whose the most widely read story in the who served for a decade as regional comments are sought by NBC’s magazine’s history. The book is educator in the United States Holocaust Today Show, ABC News, and many scheduled for release just prior to Memorial Museum. Her book, Permanent other media outlets. the conference. Marker: A Memoir, is scheduled for release just prior to the conference.

TO REGISTER ONLINE PLEASE VISIT

WWW.EISEVERYWHERE.COM/EHOME/ASJA2018NYC/REGISTRATION

May/June 2018 / Vol 68, No 3 15 16 ASJA Magazine / A Members-Only Publication CLAIRE ZULKEY

Freelance Writer “So, are you DEAD?” How Michele Wojciechowski puts laughter to work in her writing

ichele "Wojo" Wojciechowski was heckled the very first time she did standup. She was 18 years old, and, on a dare, told jokes at the Senior Follies at Catholic High in Baltimore. “I said, ‘My name’s Michele Wojciechowski, M[pronounced] like, ‘Where’s your house key.’” Her friend Karen yelled out, “Can you spell that?” “It made me think on my feet,” says Wojo. “I looked at my watch and said ‘We don’t have time.’” She says now that the heckling was “One of the best things that ever happened to me.” Wojo, who is 50, has been telling jokes onstage since 1986 and writ-

ing since 1991, getting her start at the now-defunct Herald-Gazette in Michele Wojciechowsi’s Baltimore, where she lives. Now Wojo—an ASJA member since 2005— book Next Time I Move, They’ll Carry Me Out in a Box is an award-winning freelancer and contributor to Parade. A recent is available on Amazon.com. achievement for her was selling her first story toVanity Fair, on the epic sword fight inThe Princess Bride. She spoke with us about the pressure and fun of doing standup comedy and how that relates to writing. Photos by Liz Hansen

May/June 2018 / Vol 68, No 3 17 Which requires more bravery: handling a live audience or handling internet comments?

n person, I’ve learned not to interpret how people look when you speak to them. Years ago, I gave a talk at a women’s networking group. One woman looked like she’d been sucking on lemons or something stank. II swore that this woman hated what I was saying. She came up afterward and said, “That was such a great talk.” What “I need a thicker skin for some I’ve learned is in public speaking, when somebody looks like they’re miserable, I just assume that they are, and it editorial comments, but mostly reader has nothing to do with me. Otherwise you can make your- self crazy. comments. I don’t think any writer I need a thicker skin for some editorial comments, but should take those comments too mostly reader comments. I don’t think any writer should take those comments too seriously, even the fantastic ones. seriously, even the fantastic ones. ” Sometimes if I know I’m going to have a lot of comments on a piece, I work with a part-time assistant who will read MICHELE WOJCIECHOWSKI them and tell me what’s worth reading, or just convey the information to me. Some people on the internet are down- right mean. It can be a knife in the back.

How is your standup comic persona different from your freelance writer persona?

t depends on whom I’m dealing with: I’ve had one client for 15 years and I joke around with him all the time. If I haven’t heard from a particular editor I’ve done a number of stories with, I’ll follow up and the subject line will be I“So, are you dead?” I always hear back. But some editors you work with, they’re very straitlaced, and I can fall into line. I think editors tend to open up when I let my personality come through. I started using a tagline— “Serious about my work and fun to work with.” I think that sums it up.

NEED TO TICKLE YOUR FUNNY BONE? Michele Wojciechowsi’s website wojosworld.com includes new and past humor columns, stand-up video clips, and audio interview clips.

18 ASJA Magazine / A Members-Only Publication You serve as a judge for the Erma Bombeck What tips do you have for writers looking to Writing Competition. What does that do for diversify—without being labeled dilettantes? you professionally? hink about what you can do and what you don’t want to do. I write about health, but health that I like helping people because I’ve gotten help. I don’t can do without throwing up. I am a weak stomach think I have to pay back, but I like to. There was a time person. I know writers who go and watch surger- where I was a writer and I felt very alone—they’re just Ties—I get lightheaded thinking about that, so I would never not sure if what they’ve got is working or not and why. volunteer to do that. I lost both parents due to two very IIt also helps me see how other people handle humor. different types of cancers and one of my best friends a year Humor is really subjective—that’s why there are so many and a half ago to breast cancer: I won’t write about cancer. different kinds out there, from very squeaky clean to super Know yourself. Diversify, absolutely, but take on things raunchy and everything in between. you have some kind interest in. No matter what people say— if you take work that bores the pants off you, it will become the client that you hate.

What makes you most nervous, professionally?

hen it comes to standup comedy—this is the Claire Zulkey is a Chicago-area writer whose recent work has weird part—I’m not scared once I’m onstage. appeared in Entrepreneur, Wine Enthusiast, and The Atlantic. But what freaks me out sometimes is if I’m Learn more about her at Zulkey.com. querying or sending a finished piece into one Wof my dream places. I’ll be a little nervous so I’ll send it off and call a friend or throw myself into something so I’ll forget about it, although 15 years ago I could obsess with the best of them. I’ll psych myself out a little bit over brand new clients, which is ridiculous. A lot of writers get the impostor syndrome: “They’re going to find me out now!”

May/June 2018 / Vol 68, No 3 19 Discovering the similarities— and differences—between From Page writing memoirs and plays

NANCY KELTON Freelance Writer to STAGE

y first published essay, “Lunchroom,” appeared in an underground magazine, The Teacher Paper, in 1972. After a short opening paragraph with a description of the setting and characters—two first grade teachers, Five ways playwriting is similar Rhoda and Sylvia—the entire piece is in dialogue. to memoir and essay writing: MThe piece is a scene. A mini-play. A playlet. Dialogue comes naturally to me. A conversation or a voice—overheard or imaginary— often propels me into writing. I hear voices. Had I not become a writer, I would probably be in a padded cell. Dialogue figures heavily in my essays and in my memoir,Finding Revision Mr. Rightstein. It makes up the entire theater adaptation of the memoir. But dialogue is not the whole deal. A play is so much more. As a newcomer, I am beginning to discover the ‘more.’ So far, I see that in addition to dialogue, it includes If one is not a reviser, one is not a writer. With what is unsaid, said between the lines, gestures, behavior, entrances, exits, and action. everything, I get out the kitchen sink, then mull it The dialogue depicts the characters, their conflicts, their world, and moves the story over consciously and unconsciously on walks, in the shower, in my dreams, and everywhere. It helps along, creating an arc, and hopefully capturing our common humanity. to be able to ‘kill off those precious darlings’ and delete or tighten whatever doesn’t move the story along or say something about the characters, and to begin or end a scene, a conversation, or even the entire play at a difference place than originally intended and not be wedded to those first bursts. In all my writing, I let time elapse to make the deep changes. I also jot down thoughts, ideas, and little bursts as they arise.

Trust others and your gut I listen to and follow suggestions from a dramaturg I hired, to people who attended a reading, and mostly to my inner voice. Ultimately, the flashes that surprise, touch, and tickle me— that seem to come to me out of nowhere–are my deepest truths, my guides. And the greatest fun.

20 ASJA Magazine / A Members-Only Publication Playwriting is a calling. Who’s to say I am up to the task? When I’m engaged in the process, I don’t care. Here are five differences between memoir and essay writing I continue to discover.

In addition to her memoir, Finding Mr. Rightstein, Nancy Davidoff Kelton has written five other books including:Writing From Personal >>> There’s no ruminating or exposition Experience. Her essays have appeared in several sections of The Everything is shared in the dialogue, between New York Times, The Buffalo News, The Boston Globe, Parents, the lines, actions, and reactions. Not that there’s Working Mother, and Redbook among numerous other publications. fudging in other forms of writing, but in a play, She is currently adapting Finding Mr. Rightstein for the stage. It is everything that is said and unsaid counts. One a semi-finalist at Garry Marshall Theatre New Works Festival. The can’t afford to lose the viewers. Or meander. monologue was accepted by the Woodside Players of Queens One cannot lose the threads. Summer Play Festival and will be performed there June 16.

>>> There are more threads Write with passion More threads exist in my play than in my individual essays. My play is about many things, including and urgency mental illness, family dynamics, forgiveness, seeing If both aren’t present, there is no point. I must feel what I am saying, the humor in difficult situations, learning how to love feel something inside me pulling me along. If it is coming from my oneself, and learning how to love another. I like to head, not my heart and gut, or if it sounds like a construct rather than think the threads are woven together. Meanwhile, emerging from me organically, I need to rethink what I am doing and my essays typically have a text and subtext, and they tend to follow one or two themes. where I am. My play is a labor of love. My passion. I am writing—and revising the play—first and foremost for myself.

>>> Writing is hard Playwriting is harder than other forms. Harder because I am digging deeper. And must continue Courage revising. Harder because I am saying more. And saying it without being explicit, without exposition, The things I am most afraid to say are my best material. Writing around and often keeping it between the lines. the truth does not work. It is necessary to confront it, head on. That does not mean grinding axes and wallowing in self-pity. It means showing a character’s vulnerabilities, struggles, and humanness. In doing so, as in all forms of writing, I hope I am shedding light on all our dark parts. >>> Different structure, different challenges The different structure of a play requires learning new technicalities. For example, getting characters in and out of the room is difficult for me. So is jumping from scene to scene. Fast forwarding. And flashing back. All require new skills, 190% engagement and concentration, staying open to Discipline the process, and staying the course. Big time.

I write when I am perking. I write when I am not. I write much of the day during the week and on weekends. Getting there and staying the course >>> Staying the course—even when it's hard are often challenging, but sitting alone in a room at my computer and All writing requires discipline and stick-to-it-ness. watching it pour or dribble out is where I want to be. What happens with Playwriting does so in spades. Having a big story, publishing, marketing, and producing is a whole other story. But writing is which I believe I do and I believe is very universal, its own reward. In every form. requires constant and continual showing up. It’s hard. Exciting. Challenging. A roller coaster of a ride. I would have it no other way.

May/June 2018 / Vol 68, No 3 21 RAE PADILLA FRANCOEUR

Freelance Writer

Meaty visuals compel readers to dive deeper into your stories

22 ASJA Magazine / A Members-Only Publication here’s nothing quite like an infographic to point the way to your content. Whether you want readers to link to your article, book review, blog entry, or to read your post on social media, writers find that infographics are valuable assists—billboards on the information highway.

“Infographics are made to travel well,” says Sandeep Junnarkar, associate professor and director of the interactive journalism pro- gram at the CUNY School of Journalism, who urges his students to become adept at making them. “Today, journalists are under a lot of pressure to use them because it’s a great way to get people to read your stories. If you want your story to travel on social media, abso- lutely, use them.” Infographics are used An infographic presents data, information and/or editorial content in a graphic format. Done well, these nicely packaged visuals have in support of a variety of the power to transform a casual browser into an interested reader media including social by highlighting something compelling and relevant about your story. The reader views your infographic on LinkedIn, for example, then to highlight, explain clicks the accompanying link to your article. Infographics are used in support of a variety of media including and inform. social to highlight, explain and inform. Think of infographics as you would pull quotes, says Junnarkar, something easily read and dramatic. Because these graphics are so shareable, they make the dissemination of your message more likely. Thanks to free templates found online, writers can create infographics that are fairly easy and quick to produce. Designers of infographics say it’s useful to think of an infographic as a story. It should have a narrative and a visual flow, titles and sub- titles, contextual grounding, key findings or ideas and a conclusion that could be a recommendation, summation or solution. Infographics can be as simple as a stunning image overlaid with impactful copy or as complex as a roadmap or flowchart. They convey trends, news, comparisons, survey findings, wayfinding information, scope and scale, and timelines. These graphics use type, color, and design in ways that show rather than tell your story.

May/June 2018 / Vol 68, No 3 23 INFOGRAPHICS RESOURCES

01 02 03 Canva.com Venngage.com Piktochart.com

Free for modest $19 a month for individual A “lite” user pays $12.50 use; upgrades users plus free tutorials, per month for 100MB available 50 image uploads, and of image uploads and premium templates 600 templates

hough infographics have been around for years, Josh Ritchie, co-founder of Column Five, an infographics agency, writes in his blog that the web has led to a meteoric rise in popularity. In the age of big data, he writes, infographics help readers make sense of num- bers and translate them into comprehensible stories. Infographics lend an element of drama, an aesthetic and meaning to your editorial. Junnarkar is a persuasive advocate. “Infographics are very effective at conveying a lot of information quickly and in a small space,” he says. “When done well, they can convey the gist of your story and get people interested enough to click and dig deeper.” He has begun teaching his journalism students some related HTML code; using code or embedding “Infographics are very effective metadata that includes keywords allows your infographic to be searchable. at conveying a lot of information Designers are deluged with requests for infographics. “It’s a great way to communicate information you’ve gleaned from your research, a novel quickly and in a small space. approach to something, or a new insight,” says Leigh Mantoni Stewart, a Boston-area communication design specialist and the former president When done well, they can of the Boston region’s American Institute of Graphic Arts. “I make a ton of convey the gist of your story and infographics for my clients,” she says. “I designed and formatted a book for some clients and included numerous infographics. They later used get people interested enough to those infographics on social media.” Among Mantoni Stewart’s clients are arts organizations, biotech startups, and legislators, and she says all click and dig deeper.” make frequent use of infographics on social media. (Editor’s note: Ullman Design, the company that produces ASJA Magazine, also offers custom SANDEEP JUNNARKAR topic informational visualization and graphics, plus science, health, and medical informational illustration services.) Ritchie, of Column Five, advocates for a design simplicity that can be managed by limiting type to a single font family, a few colors within a Rae Padilla Francoeur published the memoir, color scheme, a hierarchy of information, and one or two strong datasets, Free Fall: A Late-in-Life Love Affair, with Seal at most, to assure a powerful and precise message. Press. Former managing editor of newspapers and It’s time well spent. Mantoni Stewart’s clients reuse their infographics magazines, and an art museum creative director, in letters, emails, presentations, on their websites and blogs and, of she writes articles, essays, and short stories, and twice-monthly book reviews for GateHouse Media. course, in social media posts. These graphic elements are dynamic, She is founder and president of New Arts Collabo- portable, and robust. rative, an arts marketing and promotional business.

24 ASJA Magazine / A Members-Only Publication May/June 2018 / Vol 68, No 3 25 26 ASJA Magazine / A Members-Only Publication COVER STORY

TO SMART PASSIVE INCOME

How your freelance business can make money while you sleep

s writers, we often focus on the here and now: Complete this story, finish writing this book, and then move on to the next thing. But what happens to all the research, insight, and interviews we use to create, say, a 300-word story? We often get paid once and then those notes slowly glide into the ether. Today, though, we have a unique opportunity to turn our hard-earned insights into additional income. Passive income is just what it sounds DAMON BROWN like: A continuous revenue stream based on past work that requires little to no maintenance. You could record an interview you did for a quick quote and run the Freelance Writer entire unedited talk on your sponsored podcast or get a referral cut by including sales links for products you review on your website. Damon Brown is an ASJA Board Member and the author of The I currently have more than a dozen passive income sources, including a new Ultimate Bite-Sized Entrepre- online boot camp (bsbootcamp.com), all originating from my best-selling book series neur, the latest in the best-selling series. He keynoted ASJA Austin The Ultimate Bite-Sized Entrepreneur. You can diversify your income, too! Here are last February, which inspired this article. Get his free articles and five ways to get started, inspired by my recent ASJA keynote in Austin. I’ll also be videos, as well as an exclusive deep-diving into this topic with other experts at this month’s “Make Money in Your ASJA discount on his creative income business bootcamp at Sleep” panel at the ASJA conference in New York. JoinDamon.me.

May/June 2018 / Vol 68, No 3 27 Focus on what you do, not how you do it

n working with fellow growth-oriented writers, the biggest hurdle is often the label we put on ourselves. Saying “I am a print writer” during this age of reading is like saying “I am a stone tablet writer” during the dawn of papyrus and paper: You can do that, but there is Ino upside to identifying yourself so narrowly.

What is your main intention? If it is to educate readers on, say, healthy cooking, then your writing could be expressed in a newspaper, magazine, or website, or in a paperback or digital book, or read aloud by someone in an audiobook, or shown step-by-step in a YouTube series, or packaged in an online course, delivered within an interactive app designed by a tech-savvy partner. The list is virtually infinite. Again, there is little to nothing to gain by boxing yourself into a strict identity.

ou don’t have to bet the farm to create For instance, if you want to turn your print passive income. In fact, the people writing into a blog, then you can talk to your most successful with multiple income regular readers to find out if they are into streams do little experiments and blogs, try a few blog posts to see if you like Ygradually wade into deeper waters. I call them writing in the new format, and figure out Do low-risk little bets. Coined in Peter Sims’ excellent book what resources you need to get a blog up and experiments of the same name, little bets are small, calcu- running. Maybe you dedicate a couple hours lated risks that allow you to test to see if people a week to the experiment. The good part? You want your new idea, determine if you want to haven’t lost much time, you’ve learned more actually do the new project, and learn what about your audience and yourself and, if it hits skillsets you need to execute it. It also allows right, you could have a brand new revenue you to minimize risk. source on your hands.

Ask what your ike most of us, I was trained in one-way communication: I create content, I research big ideas, and I deliver them to my audience. I remember my first controversial audience wants newspaper story—one of my main beats was sexuality—and getting heated letters L to the editor in the days, if not weeks, after it ran. Today, it’s a little bit different. This translates to you creating new avenues to serve your audience, too. Before I launched my new online bootcamp based on The Ultimate Bite-Sized Entrepreneur, I literally emailed my community of readers a few potential new services and said “How can I best serve you?” The majority of the responses said “self-guided boot camp!” They even suggested some details. I put up an enrollment page, launched the program within a few weeks, and now have several students enjoying the program and providing awesome passive income for my main business. I could have just created stuff, which is great, too, but I would have been serving myself above my audience, not the other way around. Worse, I could have created something that no one really wanted.

Side Hustle author Chris Guillebeau once said, “Sell before you create.” I’d add, “Ask your customer what they want before you create.” Then make it so.

28 ASJA Magazine / A Members-Only Publication COVER STORY

ou do not need to know everything do. Lastly, you distribute the responsibili- to start a potentially profitable pas- ty, since you would not be the only person sive income business. In fact, if you handling the execution and maintenance of just stick with what you know, then the new idea. Yyou probably won’t be as successful. It pays Partner up with to work with other people. My biggest entrepreneurial success, the 2014 complementary app-for-hugs Cuddlr, was a collaboration with colleagues First, you get fresh ideas. Collaborating two other founders. We had our specialties in with a web designer, a lawyer, or a public media, technology and art, respectively, and speaker could truly open up the possi- when the app quickly hit 200,000 users, we bilities in how you communicate with were able to handle the pressure because we the world. Second, you can focus on your weren’t doing it solo. It was acquired less than strengths, as you’ll have other people a year after it launched, proving to be a good focusing on areas you would not or cannot income source for all three of us.

Appreciate the passive rewards, big and small

ou may have visions of six-figure checks automatically rolling in, but having that grand plan may be intimidating— keeping you from starting at all. Instead, consider any dollar (or penny!) amount you receive without doing Yadditional work as a win.

As often post-holiday, I began this year with little active work. However, I was still receiving checks from several different income streams—to the point where passive income was my only revenue source for the first days of the year. It was an achievement worth celebrating and also freed me up to focus on the projects and ideas that truly deserved my attention.

Consider creating something now that can potentially stand the test of time—and give you better revenue and security into your future.

3 WAYS TO FIND YOUR PASSIVE INCOME

DO ONE FIND OUT WHOM INCH WIDE, THING WELL YOU WANT TO PLEASE MILE DEEP

Even if you are a generalist, The best opportunities Once you find something of decide what area you take care of a very specific interest, work on depth versus write about you enjoy the group. Focus on whom diversity. In my own business, most. Think about how would read your work, people read my Inc. Magazine your knowledge of that and then figure out what column (incdamonbrown.com), area could better serve the they would need next. then come to my books, then culture. You are doing the For instance, if you cover join my boot camp, and later, shift from writer to writer knitting, then your readers hire me for the ultimate active and expert. may be interested in buying income of one-on-one coaching. your own patterns, too.

May/June 2018 / Vol 68, No 3 29 For Freelancers, a Powerful

INDEPENDENT WRITER DEBORAH COPAKEN SHOCKED THE NEW YORK MEDIA WORLD WITH ACCUSATIONS AGAINST AN OBSERVER EDITOR. NOW, SHE TELLS US ABOUT THE RISKS FACING SELF-EMPLOYED JOURNALISTS

RANDY DOTINGA

Freelance Writer

Freelance writer Randy Dotinga is ASJA’s immediate past president. MOMENT 30 ASJA Magazine / A Members-Only Publication For Freelancers, a Powerful

ndependent writer Deborah Copaken, a former war photographer, is hardly a stranger to conflict. Her journalism is often bold, opinionated, and controversial, and she's accustomed to confidently fending off criticism. IThen came the influential editor whose sexual harassment, she says, left her feeling powerless. Now she is speaking out. In March 2018, she wrote an Atlantic article titled “How to Lose Your Job From Sexual Harassment in 33 Easy Steps.” Copaken writes that she was sexually harassed by Ken Kurson, the now-former editor of the New York Observer, while she was seeking to write a column and potentially get a full-time job. Among other inappropriate remarks, she says, he made a comment about her breasts during an in-person meeting as they discussed a story about her battle against breast cancer. And, she says, he sent her an email that said simply: “1 p.m. MOMENT How come you never asked me out?” May/June 2018 / Vol 68, No 3 31 exual harassment, you would like to tell everyone, is not about Q: What inspired you to sex,” Copaken writes. “It’s about a person in power systematically write your Atlantic piece? leveraging that power to lure you into his orbit and either proffer Deborah Copaken: A lack of a better recourse. or take away your money, work, healthcare, and financial stability, The essay, in the parody form of a listicle, depending on your positive or negative response to his sexual was a Hail Mary pass to say, “Hey! This overtures. Respond in the affirmative, and you’ve prostituted happened!” Syourself. Respond negatively, do not respond at all, or get a lawyer involved, and there goes your career.” (The Atlantic asked Kurson for comment, and he said: “Deborah is a terrific Q: What did you hope to accomplish? writer. I published her often and wish her nothing but the best.” The president of Observer Media, meanwhile, said there was no system at the company for DC: I wanted to point out the subtle, evil, freelancers to file complaints.) step-by-step destruction of a career that comes via sexual harassment for any woman In an interview with ASJA Magazine, Copaken talks about her “Hail Mary out there. An editor had dangled a job he’d pass” of a story for The Atlantic, the special vulnerability of freelance journal- ists to sexual harassment ("the betrayal flattened me for months”), and her never actually planned to give me, for over a skepticism that things will improve. year. I acted in accordance with that dangled carrot, producing story after story, thinking it would lead to a full-time gig, which I needed (and still need!), being the single parent of three kids, two of whom were in college at the time. His checkmate move—“How come you never asked me out?”—was devastating. It made me reevaluate everything leading up to it. He’d never wanted me to write for him. He wanted me to date him. The betrayal flattened me for months.

Q: Do you think you were especially at risk due to being a freelancer? DC: Absolutely. When you count on a good relationship with editors to buy groceries and pay rent and send your kids to college, you are far more likely to put up with abuse you’d never tolerate in your day-to-day rela- tionships. They know this. And the troubled ones use that powerlessness against you.

Q: Would you have felt more secure if there was a procedure that you could rely on like you’’d typically have at a workplace? DC: I was naive enough to believe there was a procedure in place. But I also counted on that money every month and knew if I reported my boss, bye-bye money.

Q: What has the response been like? DC: It’s been predominantly positive, with some women and men contacting me privately to say, “Me, too.”

Deborah Copaken wrote that she was sexually harassed by Ken Kurson, the now-former editor of the New York Observer, while she was seeking to write a column and potentially get a full-time job.

32 ASJA Magazine / A Members-Only Publication “I’d like to think #MeToo will lead to change. But I also know human nature, being what it is, has a propensity to abuse power.” DEBORAH COPAKEN

Q: What advice would you give independent Q: I have a feeling that the next #MeToo journalists who might find themselves in a movement will involve workplace bullying. similar situation to yours regarding harassment? Has that been an issue for you? DC: The sad answer is I have no idea. It’s a DC: Yes, not as a journalist but in my role as a problem without obvious recourse right now. vice president at the public relations firm where I guess it’s up to the magazines and news- I worked. I had a female boss who was a major papers themselves to provide each freelancer, bully. When I got a call from my son’s school, along with a freelance contract, directions for where he’d knocked a permanent tooth out and reporting sexual abuse, should that happen, so was bleeding after having run into a pole on the that freelancers know they can say something playground, I told her I had to leave. She asked without fearing loss of future income. me, “Can’t you send the babysitter?” Then again, freelance work often comes from relationships with editors. Once you call out an editor, will you be reassigned to another? In an Q: Do you have hope about the future? ideal world, sure. But the world is not ideal. DC: I’m not sure I can be hopeful yet about my own 21-year-old daughter’s future as a woman in the workplace. I’d like to think Q: Do you have any advice for editors who #MeToo will lead to change. But I also know begin to feel romantic interest for independent human nature, being what it is, has a pro- journalists working for them? pensity to abuse power. It’s always been thus. DC: It’s silly to think we can police our feelings. And will forever more be. Feelings are feelings, and if an editor falls in The question is whether we can override love with his or her freelancer or vice versa, that propensity, as a society, and call out there’s a simple solution. Say something along sexual harassment when it happens. the lines of this: “I want you to understand that what I’m about to say will in no way jeopardize our working relationship. No matter your answer to this question, I still want to keep working with you. But I have found myself #MeToo drawn to you in ways that go beyond platonic, and I just wanted to put that out there to clear the air. If you’d like to go out for a drink, cool. If you believe you have been a victim of workplace harassment, If you’d rather we keep our relationship profes- visit the United States Department of Labor site to learn about your rights: sional, equally cool.” Or something like that. www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/crc/2011-workplace-harassment.htm

May/June 2018 / Vol 68, No 3 33 MARKET REPORT

ALEIGH ACERNI Freelance Writer

Market Report ACROSS WOMEN’S LIVES

cross Women’s Lives, a vertical from Public Radio International (PRI) associated with the radio show AThe World, began in the fall of 2014 as an 18-month, multiplatform effort to explore the power of women in improving their communities. “The project, while strongly focused on content produced, also related to PRI’s broader goals of gender balance in our stories (sourcing) and internally, in our workforce,” says digital editor Anna Pratt. “AWL has been expanded and extended repeatedly since 2014 and continues today.”

AWL has a very global focus. “Many of our stories focus on gender equity, women’s rights or women’s empowerment, feminism (the various forms of #MeToo is a good example), lifting up other women, “bad-ass” women doing remarkable things, solutions journalism,” says Pratt. “I look for pitches all over the world, and try to maintain a mix both geographically speaking and in terms of subjects, while also following along as stories unfold in specific places (and/or with certain people). We look for stories about women who are role models, who we’d like to meet or know about, or are inspired by.” Some of Pratt’s favorite stories include a story about Doña Luz Jiménez, an indigenous woman whose image can be found in murals all over Mexico, but who died penniless, and a piece about a female kickboxer in Thailand. A recent series in partnership with their podcast, World in Words, kicked off in March, and will cover efforts around the world to make language more inclusive. (The first story in the series discussed how to talk about gender when the words simply don’t exist in your language.) “I love topics related to writing (and language), so I’m excited about the rest of the series—we even have a story coming up about the world’s first feminist robot,” says Pratt. “It was also fun to read about this feminist cafe in South Korea, where feminism is a taboo topic. It’s interesting to see how a feminist movement is playing out all over the place right now.” The cadence for AWL varies from week to week—Pratt says sometimes they publish one story, other weeks it’s five or more—but they typically publish two to five stories per week. Stories are often assigned at about 800 to 1,000 words for quick-turnaround stories, but Pratt says they can be flexible on length, and occasionally also publish longer, more in-depth stories that can run up to 3,000 words. While PRI.org gets about 1.5 million monthly unique views, AWL gets about 300,000 unique views per month. To get Pratt interested in your story, make sure to offer the details (who, what, why, etc.), but be sure to include concise, relevant context. You’ll also grab her attention if you have a well-researched pitch on a topic that’s not getting a lot of attention elsewhere. “I’m attracted

34 ASJA Magazine / A Members-Only Publication DON’T FEAR THE RADIO Don’t underestimate your phone—but be smart about how you use 1 it. You can do a lot if your interviewee has a smartphone and a Skype or Google Hangout account. Talk to your source over Skype/Hangout “For those looking to gain experience and during your conversation, ask them to hold their smartphone up to in radio and recording, there are their mouth, a bit to the side. Have them stop and start the recording a variety of programs and devices every 6 minutes so they can email or Dropbox their files to you once one could use as a beginner,” says you’re wrapped. Sometimes one long voice memo recording file gets Anna Pratt, digital editor for Across automatically truncated when sending it over (also it’s just precarious to Women’s Lives by PRI. “One program depend on one long recording in case something crashes). you can try for free is Hindenburg. Adobe Audition or Pro Tools are also good. NPR Training has a lot of stuff Use an app. Most smartphones have built-in recorders, like the on this.” She shared two basic tips for iPhone’s Voice Memos app. The TapeACall app lets you record calls, collecting good audio when speaking 2 but quality can vary. Check Transom.org for the latest on apps and to sources who are remote. recording calls. There are several reviews of apps that record Skype calls, such as Call Recorder.

to well-written pitches that clearly lay out the story idea and give a sense of who the characters are and even what the voice of the story might be like,” says Pratt. “I try to maintain a mix of stories that offer a fresh angle on the news, that tell about women we might not know about or efforts or movements we may not know about or something unexpected about current events.” “I recently got a pitch about women in Senegal,” she says. “It reads: ‘What I have in mind is a story on a development paradox: how women in fishing can earn more and gain more autonomy by exporting their fish products to Europe … and how that’s at the cost of food security in the region. I spoke with says Pratt. “In those cases, a writer may be representatives of a USAID project geared at ACROSS finding sustainable solutions for female fish paid an additional fee for helping to secure WOMEN’S LIVES traders and processors; the owner of Dakar’s interviews or even going on the air.” number one fish export company; a woman As with most news sites, lead time varies. who works in one of its factories; women Most stories have a lead time of two to four weeks, but a piece tied to a news even may processors; and various heads and members of pri.org/verticals/across-womens-lives fishing collectives.’ I like this because it speaks get filed within a few days—or event the day to a little-known topic, women exporting fish the assignment is given. Other stories may be Payment: Variable depending on the complexity of the assignment. products, [but] it also touches on the economy, assigned weeks in advance. “Few stories are hunger, and sustainability.” assigned months in advance unless it’s part Rights: Perpetual, nonexclusive AWL has a two-tiered pay scale with flat of a series or tied to a specific future event,” worldwide rights. rates, but rates can flux a bit depending on says Pratt. “Sometimes the more evergreen Kill fees: Yes the rigor, sourcing, and time put into a story. stories are held temporarily in favor of Queries: Pitch digital stories for AWL to Anna more urgent pieces, so one story might get Reported stories pay between $250 and Pratt, [email protected]. For PRI’s Global Security $400. Longer, enterprise stories vary widely published within 48 hours, while another vertical, pitch digital editor Tim McGrath, depending on the logistics: a piece involving could take a couple months.” [email protected]. For Global Post, pitch Peter a week of reporting, difficult access, or many Don’t write off this market if you’re not Majerle, [email protected]. For Global Nation, sources can earn between $500 and $1,000. comfortable writing for—or appearing on— pitch Angilee Shah, [email protected]. Investigative reporting that takes more than radio. According to Pratt, most of the stories a week ranges from $1,000 to $2,000. Pratt for AWL are digital pieces that don’t have an says AWL also occasionally accepts essays, audio component. “The vast majority of AWL which pay $150 to $200. Including images can stories that do include audio correspond with boost your fee, with one original image going our radio show and are staff-driven,” says for $50, and a handful of images for $100. Pratt. “There have been times, though, when “Sometimes a story will get interest from radio we’ve done a radio story dovetailing with a producers working on our show, The World,” digital story.”

May/June 2018 / Vol 68, No 3 35 PERIODICALS

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