Run against rivals, at their cost

Run against rivals, at their cost

BY MUSYOKA NGUI

musyokangui.blogspot.com

“They never publish me”, lamented a young journalist to yours truly.  I checked his work and found that it was good, in my view.

It is a complaint that a journalist in the making of a slate waiting to leave university was launching to his mentor.

Don’t worry bro. Keep writing. Times will be hard when you leave college. You will write and it will be pushed to the recycle bin. But don’t make the disappointments switch off your zeal to write.

Sometimes your editor will steal your story. Masquerade as you. You will freelance. You will work overnight. On demand. You will work on the trenches. For long. Endure many dry days. Do online writing. They will carry your story for small pay. They will cartel against you. Act as intermediaries. Middlemen.

I won’t lie to you that the journey to success in writing is soft. A good journalist will tell you that a great percentage of their work is unpublished. For self and for employer. For community. For private. For public. For free. For love. For life.

To be a good writer, read. Read current affairs, respected publications and publishers and then read again. Once you are done reading them, read your work. See how you have grown. From high school compositions, literature classes and then university term papers and back to work. However little. Don’t belittle yourself. Start somewhere. Today it’s a hustle. Tomorrow it’d be awesome. Don’t give up.

Read all media. Digital, newspaper, radio, TV and society. There is a lot in your community that you can write about. Observe. Study. Write.

Have mentors. Let them guide you. But don’t be like them. Don’t lose your originality. Be you.

Once you are done with your favourites, read your critics. They might tell you something that your friends won’t tell you. Your friends have bigger stakes in your life and don’t want to lose you unlike your haters. Listen.

Have different media that you write to. Let no one manipulate your story. Run against rivals. They will upstage each other for your benefit. Above all, know your worth. What’s good is worth the cost. Research the market rate and negotiate your deal.