Mistakes I've Made in My Career
Going on job interviews lately (copywriting for ad agencies) and getting a new gig lately (development for reality TV) have got me thinking about mistakes I've made in my career. There have been many. Here are a few.
Torching bridges
At one point several years ago, I spent a good period of time working for a communications agency as as copywriter. Eventually, I ended things without sufficient warning. That was dumb. So much for a reference from them, forever. For some reason, Forbes is one of the few companies for which I've worked with which I've kept a (so far as I'm aware) decent relationship. This is smarter. The other way is stupider. Don't be stupid.
Stop moving
Right before I left Los Angeles some time ago, I'd interviewed for a job that would've led to me being a part of a think tank of people coming up with reality TV ideas. But in my personal life there was a breakup, and I thought I wanted to get out of LA, and, who knows, maybe I needed to leave. But I've always had an easier time finding work in LA. I think I'm more professionally compatible with that city's ethos: shiny surfaces, bleeding hearts, pulsing insanity.
Raise the stakes
It's hard to imagine a job I've done for which I haven't been underpaid. Ad agencies paid me a good chunk of money for what I did, but it was a drop in the bucket of their budgets. I should've asked for more, more often, more of the time. These new work opportunities push me back into negotiating for my worth. And that's some high stakes shit, right? Because you're not negotiating for money, you're telling somebody: This is what I'm worth: as a person, as a woman, as a talent. Monetize your talent. It's what will earn you the only paycheck you won't be embarrassed to cash because it won't have cost you your soul.
Oh, and if you want to hire me before I get too busy to take on more work, here's my copywriting portfolio, my LinkedIn profile, and the best thing I've ever written.
Want to show your love? Buy THE TUMOR, a "masterpiece of short fiction" by me, Susannah Breslin.
Spider in the Sand
See this Instagram photo by @susannahbreslin * 17 likes
I had the great joy recently of seeing this house: the Walker Guest House on Sanibel Island. Designed by Paul Rudolph, it has famously been described thusly: "It crouches like a spider in the sand." Months earlier, I'd seen the delightful replica in Sarasota. In person, the real thing feels more secretive, more special. The gulf is a few yards away. I'd like to own this white box, one day.
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Show Your Love
Like this blog? Read my stuff elsewhere for free and want to show your love? In the mood for some weird fiction? Buy THE TUMOR. I wrote it. It's a short story that's been described as a "masterpiece of short fiction." It's sold via Pay What You Want pricing, which means you pay $1 -- or more, if you want. You'll like it.
Happy Birthday, Dorothy Parker
Image via Silver Birch Press
"If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers, the second greatest favor you can do them is to present them with copies of 'The Elements of Style.' The first greatest, of course, is to shoot them now, while they're happy."
--Dorothy Parker
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Hello?
Unlike Most Women, I'm Funny
Shirt found here
This Guy
See this Instagram photo by @susannahbreslin * 13 likes
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Mr. Diamond
Image via Sketch42
Don't miss "The Architect Who Became a Diamond." There's some really fascinating stuff about what art is and who delivers it and how. What does it mean to own a legacy?
In 2002, as an artist in residence at the Rijksakademie, in Amsterdam, Magid began noticing the large number of surveillance cameras in the city—anonymous gray boxes, mounted on everything from the corners of buildings to coffee-shop awnings. One February morning, she went to the police headquarters and explained that she was an artist interested in decorating the municipal cameras with rhinestones. She was directed to the appropriate police administrators, who told her that they did not work with artists. She thanked them and left. A few weeks later, Magid returned, armed with business cards and a corporate-speak sales pitch, presenting herself as the Head Security Ornamentation Professional at System Azure, a company that she had made up. The police not only allowed her to bedazzle the cameras but even paid her a couple of thousand dollars. “I realized that they could not hear me when I spoke as an artist,” Magid later said. “This had nothing to do with what I proposed but with who I was.”
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#Florida
See this Instagram photo by @susannahbreslin * 11 likes
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On the Block
Photo credit: Clayton Cubitt
Earlier this week, I went to Miami and met with some ad agencies. Interested in hiring me for your word needs before I get snapped up by someone else? Email me here.
Things I do:
- Create killer content
- Help drive traffic to your site
- My superpower is digital outreach
- I'm a journalist
- And a digital copywriter
- Also: an award-winning blogger
Check out my portfolio.
Want to support this blog? Buy THE TUMOR, a "masterpiece of short fiction" by Susannah Breslin.
I Get Email
I real all paragraph about male porn star.
these guys dont have any interest in sex or as a porn star . they belong to poor families or countries they have dreams live like rich they want they have very thing . finely when they cannot have bright future chance . so they try to find bad ways for get money . like some body join terrorist group for money . some body join gang and do bad thing in street . Some guys find Job in Porn industry Some are thief.
when we see to rich we saw dreams . and then we find good way for get money . when we tired then we find bad way for get money.
thats it.
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Mannequins in Miami
See this Instagram photo by @susannahbreslin * 6 likes
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Naked Sword Fight
Where do famous men go when they want to get in the news? Pantsless.
For famous guys looking to stay relevant, there really isn’t anywhere left to go. By showing off the last remaining part of themselves they’ve managed to keep hidden, they’ve thrown in the proverbial towel and joined the new starstruck, sexed-up version of feminism: Anything goes — and the first to go is your clothes.
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Miami
See this Instagram photo by @susannahbreslin * 1 like
Buy THE TUMOR, a digital short by Susannah Breslin that's been called "A masterpiece of short fiction."
Time to Learn
Image via Reddit
I've been applying for work as a copywriter.
Here are some things I've learned.
It's not you, it's them, by which I mean it's you and them
It's not your fault or their fault if it's not a perfect opportunity. In the end, it's not about judging, it's about fit. How can two puzzle pieces that do not interlock be put together? They can't.
Change the horse
I'm taking a bit of a break from sending out my book proposals. Thank you to the agents who didn't respond, the ones who responded and gave nonsensical feedback, and the ones who weren't a fit. You taught me things. I'm still figuring out what.
Ads are funny
This is my copywriting portfolio. What's good about it is that at times it's funny. It should be funnier.
Buy THE TUMOR, a digital short by Susannah Breslin that's been called "A masterpiece of short fiction."
Talent
Image via Vanity Fair
I'm part of the Washington Post Talent Network now. Interesting idea. We'll see how it goes.
Buy THE TUMOR, a digital short by Susannah Breslin that's been called "A masterpiece of short fiction."
Noodles
I Get Email
Image via Classiq
I wantu job gigolo
Buy THE TUMOR, a digital short by Susannah Breslin that's been called "A masterpiece of short fiction."
Last Chance You
I binge-watched "Last Chance U" this weekend on Netflix, and it's great. NB: I'm not even really a football fan. Of course, the series isn't really about football at all. It's about how hard it is to get ahead when you've grown up hard, and it's about how to deal with life when it starts to rain shit. It's beautifulLY shot and artfully edited. Really, it's a gorgeous, complicated exploration about what it means to be a young black man in the South. The characters it follows most closely are examined with compassionate intimacy; you get to dwell in the complications of a coach who doesn't always do what he says and players who are deeply conflicted about making it big. The timing is also perfect. This isn't a Cinderella story. Its ending is as complex as its start.
Buy THE TUMOR, a digital short by Susannah Breslin that's been called "A masterpiece of short fiction."