Friends, family, and colleagues,
Here is the link to my patreon (of which you can back out at any time) which gives you access to my unpublished articles and a limited amount of free service and consultation on writing or promotion, but there's one more important reason. Allow me to explain some numbers of mine in 2021:
$3,558.27-Amount directly paid this year for my writing including 2 humor articles, 10 radio interview write-ups, and 27 articles OR $5,853.10 expecte
The difference between the 2 numbers is arbitrary and while some might view it as progress, it’s important to note progress is never assured in freelance writing. In late 2018, three of my outlets went out of business. My status at two newspapers this year dropped significantly when two editors, who valued me highly, left their positions. I also had to risk burning my bridge with one outlet when I made a stand to demand payment (fortunately, I survived).
.
Now keep in mind, the value of my work isn’t determined so much by my asking price or by the worth of my work by any industry standard. There is hardly any when one paper will pay me $350 for 500 words and another might pay me $75 for 850 words. Instead, how much I make is simply determined by whatever a newspaper can afford in an industry that continues to decline in revenue.
But how much do you think my labor is worth? Let’s say that a blog entry should be worth $100 and an article (where I either pull from historical resources, interview people, or look through public records) should be worth $200 minimum for me to have my labor be worth a reasonable standard. If every outlet could afford that much, I would have made an additional $2,963 which would have increased my take home by between 50-83%. Whenever, a news outlet uses me, they have to carve room out of their budget which (in some cases) might displace the work of a salaried writer but there are advantages a freelance writer has because a newspaper would lack freshness if they displaced a front page staff.
Let’s also keep in mind that in order to get work, I often have to pitch and occasionally, I take the risk and write up the whole article. Of the 19 articles I found in a quick search through my outbox, 9 articles were fully written and 3 articles had a pitch (with links) that were 5 paragraphs or more (fortunately, some are recycled from last year or can be recycled next year). On top of that there were 36 blog entries in addition to a number of patreon and medium posts and continued experimentations with my own YouTube channel
Which brings me to the next question: How much is the value of my work worth to you? Before I put the thought into it that led me to write this letter, I was wondering how I can ask money from others when there are such big atrocities going on in Afghanistan or Ethiopia. However, I’m not asking for charity. I’m asking you to incentivize me to do more writing if you, in fact, appreciate my journalism (or even the role local journalism can play in general).
How much value do you attach to my more serious journalism I contribute? For example, there's work on the polyamory’s battle for rights in the D.C. court system, the perils of the pandemic to D.C.’s souvenir industry, the Denver transit system’s substitution of mental health professionals for a police force (article link), leading psychiatric experts discussing how to beat the second semester slump during the pandemic, the environmental degradation of DC’s Tidal Basin and its effect on the Cherry Blossom Festival (article link), Falls Church seniors readjusting to society as newly vaccinated individuals (Article Link), or upcoming stories on the Afghan refugee resettlement in Northern Virginia or West Virginia public transit troubleshooting the opioid crisis?
Or perhaps, my human interest work such as the world-class runner who made the surprising decision to retire before the Olympics (Article Link), Alexandria City sending their first entrant to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, the National Stuttering Foundation (Article Link), a puperseria run by a Salvadorean who narrowly escaped death in that country’s civil war (Article Link), an international champion a capella group commenting on the accuracy of Pitch Perfect (article link) or National Symphony Orchestra musicians comparing their experiences as elite classical musicians between those and sitcomdom (article link) or dozens of others (full list below). My writing on the entertainment industry can be found here and my cultural writings can be found here, Additionally, I also write about my pitches and how to pitch so others can become educated on the journalism process and I offer to help patreons one-on-one and publish and promote their own work.
This, friends, is the only thing that could make a difference for me in an industry that’s adapting too slowly to market changes that would give me full value. If, for example, you left a penny for an article I get paid for on Medium or most pay-per-content sites, you’d increase the value of my work tenfold.
This past year, my patreon increased my take-home pay by $721 or 20.1% and it was based mostly on $2, $2.50, and $5 pledges.
I’m not an artsy Bohemian who is determined to squalor to do what I love. I am always on the look out for ways to make money and interview for positions. In 2021 alone, I made some money working on a political campaign in Georgia, I worked in exchange for room and board doing hurricane relief in Louisiana, I made money through usual side gigs of Amazon and Honey-Baked Ham, I had five PR clients (of which 4 have paid), and I was able to do a little bit of archival work (Covid-19 disabled access for much of the year). I, in fact, wrote 44 articles during a different 12-month period between 2018 and 2019 but I’ve been able to be more selective as of late because of alternative methods of funding.
The last number is undefined: In 2022, I’m those interested in community journalism or my writings determine how much I can profitably write. Whatever you decide, I appreciate you for reading if you made it this far.
Sincerely,
Orrin Konheim
My list of 2021 articles in full:
2021:
1 Falls
Church Music Director Mary Jo West wins a Fullbright Scholarship. She’s won a
Grammy just for teaching music so she’s the real deal. Article
Link
Falls Church
News Press Published
January 4th
2 The state
of the souvenir industry in DC with the pandemic
DC Line Paid/not published
3 The
history of Harland Sanders and KFC
American
History Magazine Published/not paid
4 Revival of
Nancy Lisi’s bluegrass band
Alexandria Zebra
Mag Printed/Paid
5 Review of
film Midway
Smithsonian
Magazine Printed/Paid
6. Newly
Vaccinated Starting to Re-emerge in Society Article
Link
FCNP Printed/Paid
7. The Polyamory Community fights for rights. Article Link
The DC Line Paid/not published
8 Beating
theSecond Semester Slump Article
Link
Wash. Family
Mag Paid/published
9. Savannah
Voice Fest Tests the Waters Article
Link
Savannah
Connect Paid/Published
10. Apollo
11- The 20th Century’s Biggest Quarantine
Today I
Found Out dot com Paid/not published
11. Temple
Rodef Shalom’s Founding Rabbi Berkowitz Dies Article
Link
FCNP Paid/published
12.
Apartment Safety has Limited Lifestyle Benefits Article
link
FCNP Paid/published
13. Falls
Church Teen Trains to Become a Pilot Article
Link
FCNP Paid/published
14. Savannah
Couple Pioneers Life-Saving Wearable Baby Monitor Article
Link
Savannah
Connect Paid/published
15. Andy
Bayer Hangs Up Spikes Before Olympics Article
Link
Podium Mag Paid/published
16. Savannah
Voice Festival Debuts New Opera
Savannah
Connect Paid/published
17.Stuttering
Foundation Celebrates 75th Anniversary Article
Link
Savannah
Connect Paid/Published
18. Are the
Olympics Marketing the Wrong Running Sports Article
Link
RunBlogRun Paid/Published
19. Spelling
Bee Contestants Get Ready to Compete in Washington DC
Washington
Family Magazine Paid/Not
Published
20. Denver
Transit and other Systems Attend to Mental Health Article
Link
Transit
Mobility Blog Paid/published
21. World’s
Foremost Olympic Historian Speaks about Tokyo Olympics Article
Link
Run Blog Run Paid/Published
(with errors)
22. Local
Security Company Named One of Georgia’s Best Midsize Firms Article
Link
Savannah
Connect Paid/Published
23. Comic
Book Artist Anna Diffyil and SCAD Student’s Work Selected for Exhibition Article
Link
Savannah
Connect Paid/Published
24.
Alexandria’s Metro School of Arts Opens up First Revue Article Link Article
Link
Zebra
Magazine Paid/Published
25.
Savannah’s African Art Museum to Host Educational Workshops Article
Link
Savannah
Connect Paid/Published
26. Opening
of Reagan’s Airport Feels Like a Tuesday to Most Article
Link
Zebra
Magazine Paid/Published
27. One of the Bor Brothers Qualifies for the Olympics Article
Link
Podium Magazine Published/Almost
Ready to be Paid
28. The West Virginia Transit
Association’s Handling of Opioid Crisis
Transit
Metro Mobility Blog Paid/Not
sure about publication status
29. Afghan Translator turned Refugee Readjusts to Stability
in Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia Mag Finalized/Slated
for Feb. Publication/Unpaid
30. Counselor to the Stars for Remote School
Washington Family Life Greenlit/Not Yet Written/Deadline 1/5
31. YouTube Piano Playing Star
Zebra Magazine Greenlit/No
access as of yet
32. BYU TV Star Tori Pence is Utah Famous
Richmond Style Weekly Not
greenlit/Access obtained
33. Local YouTube Star Malinda Kathleen Reese Launches New
Channel
DC Line Greenlit/Access
not obtained
34. Volunteer article written to raise money for New Orleans
Synagogue newsletter Published/Unpaid
UnGreenlit Articles
2021 (asterisk means evergreen as in still has future potential):
1 Interview with Oakton-Born Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey
Oakton/GF Sun Gazette Greenlit/Access
revoked on account of Mayor’s Busy Schedule
2 Pitch: Oscars in the Age of Asterisk*
Film/Conservative Publications Rejected/No response Fully
Written
3. Jewish Spirituality in Arlington
Arlington Magazine Rejected 5
paragraphs
4. Richard Halliburton: World Adventurer Who Swam Panama
Canal for 25 Cents*
Atlas Obscura/TodayIFoundOut Rejected/No
response
5. University of Maryland has Three Jewish A Capella Groups:
Sustaining a Crowded Art Form*
Washington Jewish Week No
verdict rendered/Leaning against it
6. Coast Guard Officer Seeks to Write Screenplay
Highlighting his Branch of Service*
Researching Where to Pitch It
7. Should Virginia Students Go Out of State to College? Why
or Why Not?*
NoVa Magazine/Arlington Mag Rejected
8. Tweaking the Olympics Sport by Sport
Humor/Running Magazines Rejected
Fully
Written
9. Arlington as an Ideal Aging in Place Model*
NoVa Mag/Arl Mag Rejected
10. The Invented Controversy of Elon Musk
Amer. Conservative/Wash Post Rejected
Fully
Written
11. Essay on the haphazard decision to see my great-uncle
before his death*
Not pitched yet Fully
Written
12. Reworked #11 on my family heritage in the town of Great
Neck, New York*
Not
pitched yet Fully
Written
13. The evolution of this Jew’s relationship with Jesus (AKA
Christian Evangelicals)*
Not
pitched yet Fully
Written
14. Reflections on My First Time Being Accused of Racism*
Not
pitched yet Fully
Written
15. Lois and Clark and What Superman Says About Journalism*
American Cons/Wash Post/Spool Pitching
more Fully Written
16. Dark Side of Sports*
Pitching
more 9
Paragraphs
17. Aaron Sorkin Self-Assured*
Pitching
more Fully
Written
18. SNL’s Bloated Cast*
Rejected 5
Paragraphs
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