Thank you for taking the time to read this blog post; welcome back to 2008! In this note, I’d like to sketch out the fact that I currently make a living from two main outlets: as a freelance writer, with about 30 years experience, primarily covering arts and culture in St. Louis; and as the co-owner and operator of a reborn corner tavern in South City. After 17 years spent, oft-unhappily, as an adjunct professor, this recent, four-year run has had many positives; the fact that I’m writing this from a quaint coffeeshop in the middle of the day, with chickens crowing in the background, is an example of that. Life’s okay. Could be a lot worse.
But it could be a lot better, too. And it feels time to make some moves to that effect.
In terms of media/content production in editorial environments, the work’s seldom been tighter and pay rates have never been smaller. It’s a tougher side hustle than just a couple of years ago. And while bar management’s had some amazing moments, my legs aren’t getting younger and my nerves are fraying a bit. While I’m trying to be a better adult, I may as well as admit that I need to build up my finances, while doing work that has some built-in, social decency, if that’s at all possible. This is where I hope you, or someone like you, might be able to lead an old horse to some sweet, sweet water.
Things I’d like to do, would be open to do, or would do if the cash is correct (bolded for you shortcutters):
A couple of times, I’ve been hired to do a bit of ghostwriting. It’s weirdly fun. I’d be a ghost again, for sure. (Example of possible work: I could imagine a rich St. Louisan wanting their life story to be told/published. I could also imagine taking down their stories, shaping them, writing up a coherent summary of said life, all done under their name. Maybe this’d be a book, a site, a hybrid project. What do I know? I’m not rich!)
Akin to the above, I’ve done some research for books. I’m cool in helping others achieve their publishing goals, while staying as anonymous as a… ghost. (Example: compiling quotes or statistics, shaping content, allowing the writer to come at their text with a clearer, cleaner set of words and data. Have done it before, actually, and, no, I won’t tell you for whom/what.)
Your band is dead. Your restaurant is no more. Your dream project’s just long enough removed from existence that it escaped the digital age. It’d be super-duper fun to research, write and digitally represent such past projects, giving them a fitting online epitaph. ‘Cause right now, your baby’s digital footprint is a damned mess. (Examples: your band, your restaurant, your dream project; RIP.)
Sponsored content‘s odd, right? But it’s all over the place. While I don’t wanna live in the pocket of The Man, I’ve seen local niches where a bit of corporate sponsorship could/would go a long way. (Example: I’ve covered the comedy scene in St. Louis for the past couple of years, but stories have been waning and my beer bill at open mic’s isn’t getting smaller. For sure, I could envision a brewery, distillery or liquor distributor finding a natural tie-in to such coverage, be that for my current outlets, or for a standalone site. Ditto coverage of music.)
To switch inputs, I’ve gotten more comfortable as a bartender, even as I already feel pretty good about buying inventory and generally helping shape the look/feel/sound of a bar. I wouldn’t mind a weekly shift at a higher-volume spot, to improve on the former skill. In that kind of environment, it might actually be fun and educational to just do the job, nobody to manager but my own damned self. But… to be perfectly honest, I’d love to give another concept a shot. If there was a struggling, underperforming bar in Maplewood, central STL County or Soulard in need of a reboot, I think there’s a solution, one that wouldn’t be a passion project, but would generate some heat. (Example: no surprise, here. It’s this.)
If this note seems a bit scattered, consider that the problem with generalists, generally: we’re, uh, scattered. But interesting, creative and semi-employable. So get at me via this LinkedIn noise?
Oh, yeah, almost forgot: I’d move to New Orleans in a hot second! So you Louisiana folks, don’t feel left out of the help bubble.
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