The jagged learning curve

I'd forgotten what a big deal career change is.

The last time I did it was from retail management to public relations, which required a trip to university in 1994 for three years, and a total of 123 rejection letters before I finally made it into a PR agency in London.

When I think back to that time, there was a lot if industry lingo I didn't understand. I didn't know the significance of 300dpi. I didn't know what "solus" meant. I had no idea what a DPS was. I even had to look up "stet" the first time I got a news release back that had been proof read by my boss.

Similarly I am having to learn many things the hard way when it comes to writing for a living.

The first thing I learned was that PR people tend to be reliable only for specific requests. I lost the best part of a week by e-mailing all my PR contacts just after receiving my first commission letter. I can now better understand that few PR people know their client organisations well enough to be able to select particular individuals that meet a story brief. However, I'd have appreciated more than two replies, and it was this that threw me the most. I thought my e-mail wasn't working, and the way I learned PR one ALWAYS responds to journalist requests, even if it is to say that you can't help this time around. I'd usually reply within 24-48 hours too, because it builds integrity with that particular journalist, and means they know no content is coming and its time to invoke the back-up plan. It's the best thing you can do when you can't actually give the journalist what they need.

It turns out that I need to scale back my expectations a little. Seeking information that way is very similar to applying for jobs. You send your request or application, and then hear nothing. Perhaps this lack of response is more a Canadian thing than a jobhunting thing?

My second mistake was in not getting back-up spokespeople. For one story I had a specific day and time in my calendar, as proposed by a spokesperson. He failed to show, and has failed to answer any of my e-mails since then. This lost me several days because the article I'd been commissioned to write needed to be based on an interview. I had no back-ups.

The one thing I've learned is that writing directly from web research is actually much quicker and easier than I'd previously thought. The trouble with interviews is just the basic logistics of them. Even when I'd found the right person to interview, just the simple task of pinning down a day and time when we could speak proved to be the most frustrating and time-consuming aspect of the whole process. Some interviews have been only 20 minutes long, but they've taken several days to identify the right person, and another few days to reach them...and another few days to find a slot in their diary.

The odd thing about writing is that the writing part doesn't take that long - it seems to be more about the research beforehand.

In terms of my ability to cope with all the above then I don't think I'm doing too badly. I'm a bit stressed when I'm on, or past deadline (for that has been the case a couple of times). However, depression has been noticeable only by its absence, and for most of the time I have been able to divert anxiety into action. I just wish my first proper writing assignment had gone more smoothly. I feel a little bloodied by the jagged spikes on the learning curve, and I'm embarrassed by the fact that my editor, through no choice of her own, has been 'along for the ride' on my rollercoaster of falling flat and picking myself up again.

The only way I can make it up to her is via better, more timely stories. So I'd better get on with it - I also need to drop my main MTB wheels off to get the cones tightened, the broken spokes replaced, and the rims trued. The new bottom bracket needs to be re-tightened and I may have to fork out $20 for the wrench that fits it. I need to find references for my application to the Apple store. The washing up is overdue, and I still haven't set up my 'work' phone line that'll enable me to claim the tax back in April next year. And I need milk and lime juice, amongst other things.

We live and learn.