Buzzfeed: 39 Pieces Of Advice For Journalists And Writers Of Color

[Paganalexandria]

Buzzfeed had an interesting post today, and thought I'd share it with the class.

39 Pieces Of Advice For Journalists And Writers Of Color
Established writers of color offer priceless advice for those just starting out.
posted on July 21, 2014, at 4:26 p.m.
Heben Nigatu
BuzzFeed Staff
Tracy Clayton
BuzzFeed Staff

For people of color, the writing industry can seem an especially challenging space, particularly for those just starting out. We spoke with 20 established writers of color – cultural writers, investigative reporters, broadcast journalists, and freelancers – and asked them three questions about the advice that they’d give beginning writers:
• What piece of advice would you, as a writer of color, give to burgeoning writers/journalists of color?
• What do you know now about being a writer of color that you wish you’d known when you first started?
• Is there anything you did as a writer starting out that you now regret?
1. “Don’t stress out about ingratiating yourself with The Media Scene.”

Read a lot of what interests you, and don’t feel bad if what interests you isn’t the cover of the New York Times every morning. Obviously you should keep up with world events, but don’t think that being able to speak at length about every A1 Times story is necessarily important. Write more than you read. Do things/go places that make you feel scared. Don’t be afraid to be passionate and earnest; detached irony is dead. Treat interns and HR people and everyone else in your office with the same level of respect you give to your direct colleagues and boss. Be as kind as your constitution will allow to everyone both in and outside of your office. Get into the habit of talking to people and asking them questions about their life, and don’t do the thing where you zone out of conversations until it’s your turn to speak — actually listening to people and the world around you is like 35 percent of being a good writer. Don’t surround yourself only with other writers/journalists/media people; self-imposed insularity is the fastest way to smother your creativity. And don’t stress out about ingratiating yourself with The Media Scene. A lot of the parties suck.
—Cord Jefferson, writer
2. “Don’t feel like you have to do the ‘racism beat.’”

Be tenacious. This applies to everyone, but especially to young journalists of color: Make yourself indispensable. Dispel any rumors, however quiet, that you are just there for a “quota.” When you grow bolder: Challenge the status quo. Nearly every major newsroom is overwhelmingly white and male: Do something about it. Refer your capable friends to positions. Push that job openings be made public. Leave the door open for others like you. Don’t feel like you have to do the “racism beat”; advocate for stories about race and privilege, but don’t feel obligated to write them — journalism should teach both the writer and the reader. Write what’s important to you. You’re not the grand poobah of all things Asian/Latino/black/mixed-race. Your colleagues are journalists; they need to know how to figure it out themselves. There are communities out there for you — you just have to find them, and it takes a little work. Never hesitate to reach out to someone, over any medium, for advice or, sadly, commiseration. Don’t collude, collaborate: Your voices are important, and together they are stronger and louder. Start projects that get your words out there. Surround yourself with people who get it.
—Anonymous, editor at news website

Chris Ritter / BuzzFeed
3. “Meeting other women writers of color, especially so in the last year, has given me so much momentum.”

Imparting advice is tricky — while I am always excited to and interested in speaking with women of color about how identity intersects with their own writing, I’m still very much in an incubation period. I am a slow writer, (it’s looking more and more like I read more than I write), I don’t take as many chances as I’d like to take, and sometimes I feel too susceptible to too many opinions or hashtag-type waves of precipitous discussions. What I will say and what I’ve always said is, it’s vital to meet other women writers — women of color writers especially — and to surround yourself by them. The year that followed college I was still living in that residual space where I seemed prone to writers named Jonathan (yikes!) and where I thought being smart (whatever that means) was the ultimate pursuit. I was not writing for myself. I have since learned to write for the three or four people (mostly women) who I admire most on this planet, who I know hear and love hearing my take on things. A litmus test of who those people are would be to check your inbox. Who do you write your best emails to?
After college, I was surrounded by too many white male writers and journalists. They were everywhere! I even wrote a dopey fan letter to, of all people, Jonathan Franzen, seeking advice. He wrote back, months later, and recommended I read Rilke’s The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge and added the following: “My first piece of advice, perhaps already unnecessary, is to seek out a reader or two whom you can trust to be maximally and lovingly hard on what you write.” The words “lovingly hard on what you write” were not, for me at least, the right advice, though I guess it was cool that he wrote back. Thing is, I was already hard on myself. As a woman of color, aren’t we all already so hard on ourselves? Either trying from a young age to fit in, or be the best, or be invisible? What I needed was to trust myself more, trust my voice, let it run a bit before it could walk, and believe that my own way of seeing things and making connections were valid. It’s funny to write now, but even a year ago, I felt like my words were illegitimate. Meeting other women writers of color, especially so in the last year, has given me so much momentum. The ways in which a simple, knowing nod can encourage me back to my computer are breathtaking. I now write not just as a reader but as someone who trusts that my lived experience can offer more to the conversation. Sometimes I just remind myself to feel valid and to know that I can only approach the macro through my own micro experience.
—Durga Chew-Bose, writer
4. “Reputation matters more than anything.”

Show, don’t tell. That is how you earn respect and get plucked for the best jobs — with bylines and pieces that can’t be ignored. And reputation matters more than anything; maintain credibility at all costs. Trust your gut, and be yourself. Don’t sacrifice who you are for where you want to go.
—Jenna Wortham, reporter, New York Times
5. “DO NOT LET THESE RICH PEOPLE GET YOU DOWN.”

Establish a solid foundation right away. The world is rife with stories of freelance writers making over $100K, but that is hallowed ground and not the norm, particularly when you’re just starting out. DO NOT LET THESE RICH PEOPLE GET YOU DOWN. I’ve been writing for a while but only freelancing for a few months, and the only way I’m able to do this job at all is by lining up regularly paid gigs, like TV recaps. I have writer friends who do technical writing, editing, and copywriting just to ensure they can pay their bills every month. You’re not going to wake up and be Joan Didion —there’s no shame in getting a solid gig that gives you room to write for other publications while you expand your resumé.
—Danielle Henderson, writer

Chris Ritter / BuzzFeed. Photo by Danielle Scruggs/Mambu Badu.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/hnigatu/advic...

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Sees Love in All Colors]

Thanks for sharing this, Pagan!

[CaliGirlRae, Mod Squad]

Thanks Pagan! This looks like a great write up. :-D

[CaliGirlRae, Mod Squad]

From the article:

I am a slow writer, (it’s looking more and more like I read more than I write), I don’t take as many chances as I’d like to take, and sometimes I feel too susceptible to too many opinions or hashtag-type waves of precipitous discussions. What I will say and what I’ve always said is, it’s vital to meet other women writers — women of color writers especially...

&

The year that followed college I was still living in that residual space where I seemed prone to writers named Jonathan (yikes!) and where I thought being smart (whatever that means) was the ultimate pursuit. I was not writing for myself. I have since learned to write for the three or four people (mostly women) who I admire most on this planet, who I know hear and love hearing my take on things.

I agree with this wholeheartedly. :-) Good advice.

[Paganalexandria]

You're welcome. It was the last thing I expected to find while looking for another time waster quiz. I'm just a supporter of of writers of color, but thought you ladies would like it even more.

[Michelle, Mod with the Bod]

This is great!