In a way he made interviewing big bands and writing for San Francisco papers sound too easy. He said he started writing in junior high since then he has interviewed bands such as Nirvana, Social Distortion, and The Dropkick Murphys.
I understand that living in a small town in the middle of Minnesota isn't going to be the best place to write about big bands or hit shows, but does someone really have to move to New York or California for the best coverage? Or is it about having the biggest will power to cover what you want to cover from where you already are?
McCourt also talked about writing freelance and how it gave him the flexibility to write about what he wanted to for who he wanted to, but he said the money obviously wasn't why he did it. Has anyone ever thought about being a freelance writer after college?
3 comments:
I struggle with this too. I like small towns. I really don't want to live in a place as big as San Fran or even the Twin Cities. At the same time, though, that's where the most/best job opportunities seem to be.
About the freelance writing after college...to me, that would take a lot of guts. To have the faith that you wouldn't soon find yourself on the street corner begging for change. I had a conversation with someone recently where we talked about at what age we stop believing that we can do anything. We learn to settle for what is reliable and practical. it's sad really. The same thing goes for landing a job you want despite where you live. The people that put themselves out there like that most really believe in themselves enough to take that risk, and for that I think they should be rewarded.
Freelancing has its benefits. By doing non-contracted work for a newspaper or magazine, you get your foot in the door and don't have to depend on a job offer. For me, I freelanced at the Austin Post-Bulletin three summers ago and by meeting reporters, editors and photographers with the few stories I wrote, I eventually landed an internship there, but it wasn't until two years later.
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