Readers!
I’ve finally from my stomach virus I was gifted for my birthday, and despite not being able to work at full speed for most of last week, I’m not all that behind. That’s because it’s the dead of summer, and everything — not just work — feels slow. A lot of people are on vacation, which means the pace of life is a little bit different right now.
So here are five things you can do if you’re facing the same thing.
- Offer to fill in. It’s not just editors on vacation, but writers are too. So pop a note over to someone you write for and see if they need helping covering for people on vacation. Even if they don’t need you, it reminds them you’re around in case something comes up in the future.
- Pitch a newsy story. Did I want to be attending a virtual press conference about cyclospora cayetanensis when I was recovering from a stomach virus? No. But I was there anyway because I had pitched one of my clients a story about it, and they said yes (even better, they also gave me two more additional assignments they’d been meaning to send to me). Even better, I learned something in that press conference relevant to a second client and pitched them a story based on that info too. Not all of us do breaking news (I know I don’t), but I like to take something being talked about in the news and pitch it to clients if I can show how it’s relevant to their readers.
- Meet up with a client. Not everyone you work with is on vacation. If they’re nearby maybe they’d be open to meeting up for a coffee? Or even just a catch up phone or video call. You’d be surprised how many people you work with regularly would like to hear your voice or see your face, especially if they’re seeing the same summer slow down you are.
- Follow up on something you sent two years ago. Last week I went hunting through my marketing spreadsheet and looked for editors I’d had a back and forth it, but no assignment came from it. I sent one of them an email, expecting more of nothing and surprise! The editor responded right away. They didn’t give me work, but they were glad I got back in touch because they may have something in September.
- Do something different. You can also take advantage of the slow down and do something that is not work related. Go to a movie, take a hike, treat yourself to a fancy lunch, do that one annoying thing you’ve been putting up so you can finally cross it off your list, make a complicated recipe that takes a lot of time, visit a museum, walk around your library (and check if your library has free museum passes!) or just take a nap. This week I plan to get my car washed (meh), go to the dentist (boo) and then see Spider-Man: Brand New Day (yay!) I don’t think of this as wasting time, as taking time away from your desk can let your brain breath. You’ll feel refreshed and you might come up with a new idea.
What I’m Reading
- The Midnight Train by Matt Haig. This is technically the second in a series, though it’s not really related to The Midnight Library except it takes place in a different plane of existence. After he dies, Wilbur, a retired business executive, gets to watch the highlights of his life courtesy of a train. But he’s unhappy with a lot of decisions he made, including mentally if not physically abandoning his wife, and wonders: can I change things? My main issue was that I thing I supposed to feel bad for this guy, when he married a woman he loved, then sucked the life out of her in pursuit of “pointless ambition,” as Haig writes. I’m didn’t quite buy into his redemption arc.
- Murder at the Spirit Lounge by Jess Kidd. When I was in England, I picked up Murder at Gulls Nest for a very simple reason: the cover featured a seagull eating a french fry (the U.S. cover is not nearly as fun). Fortunately, the book was pretty good too: the first in what is now a series about Nora Breen, a nun who has left her order and is trying to find her way in the secular world of post WW II England. Murder at the Spirit Lounge is the second in the series, focusing on a seance where the medium dies when the lights are off — and then everyone else who was at the seance start to be picked off too. Where Murder at Gulls Nest was pretty good, this is excellent. Now that all the backstory is out of the way, Kidd and just run with it. I hope there’s a third book!word
What I’m Watching
- The Young Victoria. Here we have a biopic of Queen Victoria (Emily Blunt) falling in love and then the early marriage to Prince Albert (Rupert Friend). And it was…fine! I can’t believe I hadn’t seen it before.
- Mr. Burton. Another biopic! This is about how Richard Burton (Harry Lawtey) went from coal miner’s son Richard Jenkins into, well, Richard Burton with the help of his teacher, Mr. Burton (Toby Jones). This was excellent and went head first into Richard Burton’s life-long issues with anger and alcoholism. I long for a movie about Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor at the start of their affair when they were swanning around Rome, but the problem is who do you cast? My pick had been Joel Edgerton, but he’s aged out of a Burton movie unless it’s an end of life story (Burton died at 58; Edgerton is 52). Lawtey is incredible here, and looked so much like Burton when he played Prince Hal in Henry V at the Royal Shakespeare company that I did a double take. Maybe when he’s older, he’ll get the nod again.
- Normal. Bob Odenkirk continues his old man action phase (term courtesy of the Denzel Washington is the Greatest Actor of All Time Period podcast). His character is a washed up law enforcement officer who becomes the interim sheriff in a small town in Minnesota that is not, well, Normal despite its name (yes the town is called Normal). It’s a very weird movie that I thought was going to tip into sci-fi but stayed more rooted in reality even if that reality is extremely ridiculous. A+ use of Henry Winkler. I can’t say I hated it, but I liked the Nobody movies better.
Nail Polish of the Week
Sun Street Passage by Nails, Inc. I love this neon pink in the summer, especially when I’ve been out in the sun. Funny thing I noticed this year though: that it changed color over the week, I’m guessing from me being in the sun. A friend insisted that it’s orange when I was stubborn about the color being pink. When I compared my nails to the bottle what do you know: it had become more orange (but still pink!)
Until next time!
Jen A. Miller (she/her)
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Thank you for these suggestions! May I ask: when you reach out to someone after two years, what do you say? And does this only work for editors who responded the first time around? Or also for (evergreen/introductory) pitches that never got a response?
I imagine “just following up” doesn’t fit this scenario, but I can’t think how to get past the awkwardness of such a long time since you’ve been in touch or pitched them…
Thank you!
Usually I say something along the lines of that I was going through my email or my marketing spreadsheet and was reminded of our conversation. As easy as that!