Pissing People Off With My Writing

It happens, sometimes. Not intentionally. I try to be fair, perform some honest research, leave polemicism out of it. But sometimes there are people out there with an interest in my writing something very different than what I have, in fact, chosen to write.

Some time ago I wrote on Care2 about a fossil fuel shill who managed to get an instructor gig in one of those massive, science-for-humanities-majors intro courses, in Canada’s own Carleton University. I was alerted to the story by one of the science policy/education watchdog groups I keep in touch with (and have done since before I wrote about this sort of stuff — science teachers need to know about attacks on reality as much as science/environment writers do).

The story was easily verified by checking out the actual course information on Carleton’s own website, and the sort of falsehoods being propagated by this climate denier in the classroom are neither subtle nor relative. Just the other day, Tom Harris left a comment both on that months-old article, and here on the site (on my About page). He wants me to take down the article. I won’t be doing that.

There’s no need to respond to his message point-by-point because he complains my article is inaccurate, when it simply isn’t. You either understand and buy into the scientific method, or you think you can just make anything up you want. I’m not going to attempt a rational conversation with someone who falls into the latter group.

Also recently, I received a message about a restaurant I reviewed here on the site, my local Zesto’s. I had a bad experience there, but didn’t pile on (I think) too much. It’s not the first response I’ve received to that review: not long after the posting went up, somebody commented on Urban Spoon (to which I linked in the review) that I was full of it. It was a bit suspicious (the user made an account apparently just to comment on my review and has never made another posting since I last checked), and in any case, there was little to it other than name-calling.

But the message I received this week was from the actual restaurant owner apologizing for the issues I experienced,and inviting us back for another meal. I give her credit for that. I appreciate the difficulty in finding good people in the service industry, and I’m happy to know that that particular employee’s behaviour is at least not official Zesto’s policy.

I won’t be taking up that meal offer, but I acknowledge it here. She’s trying to make up for a bad first impression, which is difficult to do. At the very least, a polite, honest communication is more likely to get a response from me than ad hominems.

Portfolio Update

I’ve updated my portfolio, which has been stagnant since almost the launch of the site, over six months ago. I’ve added a couple of new articles to my feature writing spotlight, and swapped out one of the reviews, as well.

Besides that I trimmed the other section and gave some specific links to my technical writing, though I’ve done less of it lately.

Now I really need to update my LinkedIn profile as well; I really need to find some way of better organizing my employers as a freelancer. At least my regular outlets need to be separated from the current grouping, where I simply list every place I publish under a single job title.

Sigh. One of these days.

Slow Down

Well, only 10 days left in Costa Rica. Next week will include a fair bit of touring around and a low writing output. But I also have some stuff I’m working on the next few days that has had the effect of lowering my energy for blogging. It would be a lie to say I don’t have time. But I’m putting in as much time as I feel like putting in.

This weekend will involve reworking an essay, and some fiction. Fiction doesn’t pay, usually. But I feel a little inspired so I’m going to take some time to work on it. That’s just how it is.

I also need to keep up with my reading. I’m down to three review books, and expect to get through two of them before we leave. And once back in Canada, I’ll be back to working a day job as quickly as possible, so we’ll have to see what the new writing schedule is.

Anyway, next two weeks will be slow for blogging. Just FYI.

What Are We Here For?

No existential angst, no ennui. What I mean to ask with that post title is what are we doing here on this site? I know why I’m here. I find it useful to keep track of what I’m working on, even if I only discuss unpublished projects obliquely. It’s also somewhat useful to provide a pointer to potential clients where they can see some of my work.

Readers, though, I’m not so sure about. Ideally, someone who likes something I’ve written can come here to find links to more of my stuff. But I’m not sure how well that would work. Recently I’ve had a spike that could only have come from readers of my articles at Care2 following the link in my bio. A smaller number likely come after reading one of my book reviews at any number of sites.

But will a person who reads a book review I wrote about a Heinlein juvenile be interested in my book review of The Manga Guide to Biochemistry, or The Authorized History of MI-5 (each published somewhere different)? And that’s just my reviews. I write about educational policy, popular science, literary criticism, straight up travel writing, food blogging. If someone who read one piece of mine were to choose something else I wrote completely at random, the odds would probably be against them actually being interested.

And it’s not even entirely about my interests, but a part of freelancing. If I can write something and get paid for it, I have to do it. I don’t much care about stock analysis but I have just enough knowledge to do so competently, and I can’t pass on a commission when it’s offered. Broadness pays off in freelancing. (Though limiting one’s writing only to those things you’re really interested in is a luxury I look forward to when I finally get back to my day job next month and return to writing part-time.)

On the other hand, maybe I’m wrong. There may be some very eclectic readers out there, after all. If so, feel free to stick around.

Holiday Work Schedule

Just a quick note that I did indeed make it back safely from Panama last week, but have had very little time for writing since then. It’s been a busy month, lots of touring around both in Panama and here in CR. I did manage to squeeze out a couple quick reviews, one of which I’ll post up here later (another hasn’t been placed yet), and I also finished up an author interview I’m polishing up today for a potentially-interested outlet.

I’m also pleased that I’m officially caught up on all my assigned reviews. I have a pile of books that I’ve requested myself, which means I am not beholden to any particular editor or publication to review them for.

But I do have to make up for lost time. Before New Year’s, with any luck, I’ll get through a good five or six of the features and reviews that I’ve been meaning to start, or have half-finished, as the case may be. I do wish I wrote faster — it takes me a solid two or three days for a decent feature article.

And of course there’s the ongoing chore of placing my finished work, which means pitching, pitching, and pitching. Anyway, I normally try for three updates a week on the site, but I’m giving myself permission to do less than that from now until the New Year. Let’s call it a holiday schedule.

The Freelance Life

I started this site — which is now, and likely will continue to be, primarily a blog — because I’ve recently started writing full time, and I thought I could justify grabbing my own little piece of the Web. I foresee this as a focus of organization for myself, more to help me keep track of my ongoing projects than to promote them, or myself. It seems like I’ve been writing articles and essays and, yes, blog entries, in my head for some time now, and I need a place to get it down.

I’m sure the blog will develop its own focus over time. One of the things I hope to do is share some of the nitty gritty details that have taken me from part-time writing to being able to take a year off from my day job and being able to pay the bills with words. The full-time writing experience, for however long it lasts, is also something I’d like to get down for posterity. And of course, I’m always looking for work, so any readers out there are invited to contact me for my services.

We’ll leave it at that for now. See you soon.