Pursuing career goals while at university, classic or dud? (possibly a writing question)

Trying hardish without letting on = classic
Appearing to try hard = dud
Trying hard to detriment of social life = dud

I'm 2 years out of uni, I wrote my arse off there, and to be honest most of the writing time was wasted: I can't even remember the great bulk of it. It's good practice of course, but yer actual careerists are a pain, and it usually affects their writing for the worse (I did this for a while). Anything written to last/impress editors is ususally suspect.

However (and this is U&K) Well? I am at a point where I feel if I was aggressive about things I could be getting more stuff in print. This is quite daunting though and would require lots of phonecalls and also the annoyance of writing stuff which may not be used.

This does apply to my personal experience, the only thing I can say that might be of any use is writing's a grunt job like any other. If you don't put the work in you aren't going to see any results. Getting in print by your age is a fantastic achievement, but I've seen too many writers start to sit back and before they know it five years have gone and nothing. I'd say keep at it.

x-post, I know what you mean Matt. It's not the work of the actual writing, more the being a dick on the phone part that I find daunting. It's very difficult to deal with the eds assistant and sell myself as it were, when the phone isn't ringing especially.

On another tangent, is it better to keep plugging away at the one magazine, knowing they know who I am and I've been printed there, or does a point come where you go for a more rounded approach on a few mags, sacrificing some of the impetus of what you've achived with the first, but also being less at their mercy if you eventually succeed.

Newspapers need a 'news' hook to deal with music (likesay if an Irish band gets a big contract for using their track in an advert, cue article about how much the bands get, chart with Aphex at the top of the scale and yr guys somewhere in the middle, chat to ad agency people and a few artists and bob's yr. uncle). You should also try to write about youth culture generally and be the person they're speaking to that's young and in touch.

Yes it is COMPLETELY tedious but you will have to phone/mail to get yrself on press lists for review copies, you will have to phone editors and navigate past the assistant. It does get easier; you just have to phone up with the attitude that you're a well-informed person and they ought to listen to your ideas. Also if you get a commission, be *scrupulous* about deadlines. Luckily regional press officers need you as much as you need them, so most will be pretty nice. Just do the legwork now and those calls will be easier, because people will know and like you later.

That's nice! Competitors [can] = comrades in struggle for whatever it is you want to achieve by writing. You can take getting ahead too far: obviously to make a living as a writer involves a fair amount of hackery (aka professionalism); but it can go too far, to the point where writing is just a job like all the rest, though probably not at the age of twenty.

Suzy's right about the 'hooks', and not just in music journalism. These are tough: it's unlikely that Adorno or Sartre had to seek out 'hooks' for their stuff; meanwhile it's highly likely most of the by-numbers stuff you do read was commissioned by its hook value. Remember that you're more knowledgable than the editor, and that you have to sell them on any story because they are fundamentally reactive, rather than [cough] pro-active.

Anyway Sartre, the founder of (French lefty newspaper) Libération, probably knew all about hooks.

The cronyism bit I'm less interested in. It's certainly not to be seen as a neutral phenomenon, or one that should be accepted ethically, since it has obvious adverse effects on the quality of work you find in print.

Wasn't Adorno in the states during the war?

(haha first i wrote "unsuspecting soft underbrolly")

I dunno if I'm feeling Lukacs or Korsch this morning... Throuble every day. Not sure why I mentioned Adorno (=Ewing) upthread, since he hated fun, but there we are.

Cluster Gang = tourist visit paid by Ishwerwood & Auden