All that to say, there’s no witty send-up where I glamorize being out of the workforce and encourage anyone else struggling at a terrible job to try things my way. I know I’ve been blessed. I walked away from my former employer with a decent severance; my rent is controlled; I live in a house with a laid-back owner; my mom lives 10 minutes away and my dad lives uptown.
I currently receive unemployment, but that won’t last forever. My phone has not been ringing incessantly with clients who desperately need copy editors. The industry doesn’t use its editors and proofreaders the same way anymore. A publishing house might have a Rolodex of 10 copy editors, each with his or her strengths—and locale—noted. Almost all print magazines have a Web component or are exclusively Web-based, and many have writers edit their own pieces now (this is usually obvious within the first few sentences).
I’m an editor by trade, but I decided to try my hand at writing for pay. My first forays into pitching stories were incredible disasters, but I learned fantastic lessons from them! I give special thanks to knowledgeable, savvy entrepreneur @NakedWithSocks (and his equally brilliant, media guru partner and wife @GangStarrGirl), who gave me tips on story pitching and helped me connect with a new generation of e-VIPs. Some folks in the industry who I thought would remember me don’t, and others who I knew 
only tangentially have been extremely gracious and generous. It’s a process, and a hard one. I do what I can every day. Then I get some sleep and do it again.
And hey, I’ve even been able to travel (gasp!), albeit cheaply and occasionally. The destination isn’t as important as the company. Even someone whose only job is job hunting needs a break from NYC once in a while. I’ve used Priceline to get to Atlanta on Delta for about $200. And if you know someone in Washington, DC, like I do, you can get there by Bolt bus for under $40.
As I always note pleasantly, once the last dregs of finance were out of my system, my terrible case of writer’s block cleared up quite nicely, and I was able to start this blog, to the delight of friends, family, and my writing professor. In a perfect world I’d be able to write and edit, and get paid for both.
canyouhelpmeimlost 
Great piece BSC!!! This was DEFINITELY work waiting for. I am now well-fed and before I head to my crazy job, just wanted you to know that you wrote about a difficult subject (the dreaded unemployment) with insight, humor and a balanced perspective. Thank you for sharing the lessons you have learned thus far along this journey. I know God has great plans for you, and when you get into your Promised Land, you will see this as one of the best seasons of your life.
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It was really an interesting one to write. I know I’d mentioned it here and there but I wanted to definitively address what this time has been like (which made it tough; I needed to use THE right words for everything). Ultimately it felt good to purge, and hopefully I put out into the universe that although I’m ready for change, this part of my life doesn’t have to be tragic. I remain grateful and excited for your support, Marcia. You rock!
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LOL “Around me, there was the absolute chaos of a small civil war, with four separate instances of clients cursing out the employees, supervisors and/or the security guard in the 15 minutes I waited on line.”
LOVE the way you paint a picture with words!
And thanks for the shout out/call out :-P I love the “find your passion” idea and agree 100%! My passion – first full time job is my family/husband and kids… Now to find out how to get paid (well) for that! My other passion second job is advertising and impacting how African Americans are viewed in media (SO far reaching). I have been trying to do my part there the past 10 years :-P
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I’ve always seen you running your own boutique agency, Simone! It all comes back to “how to get paid for it?” I’m glad you enjoyed it. That trip
to 4th Avenue really could have been staged…When the woman started shaking her crutch my mouth dropped open and I covered it
with the Kindle…I have never heard the F-bomb dropped so many times by people LOOKING FOR ASSISTANCE. Then I left and the world bumped
back onto its axis. ;-)
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Hi Ms. BSC,
Yay! I’m so glad you’ve written another delightful, thoughtful piece. It made my day. The RIGHT words and more were on target! Keep ’em coming (please). : )
I love your work…descriptions, humor, lessons learned, etc.
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Thanks, lovely lady I couldn’t possibly be related to! I’m glad you enjoyed it and it spoke to you. I plan on writing more regularly. Please keep reading!
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Great post. You really articulated the drama of unemployment well. Unemployment can suck (been there, done that), but glad to hear that you’re keeping motivated and not letting it keep you down.
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Thanks, Dienna. I also have my sucky “why me” days; I just try not to have too many too often. :-)
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Today’s blog was great. I smiled the whole way through. I once met someone who self-published their poetry (pre-internet), and hustled them to anyone they met. There is no reason the same can’t be done today with a collection of short stories.
I have a friend named Abdullah who taught himself calligraphy. Every holiday, he was on the sidewalks of NY and Newark hawking them on the sidewalk, with the giftee’s name added to personalize it.
I used to make leather hippie-tasseled bags and peddled them in the Village on the weekends. My carrying case got too heavy, and since we were always harassed by the police, despite having licenses, I started to make jewelry. As you know, I eventually got my own store and designed and made jewelry for 23 years.
My next-door neighbor is a teacher’s assistant who sells handbags that she buys wholesale from 34th St and sells to her co-workers (after hours, of course).
I tried doing handwriting analysis at flea markets. Fail. I tried selling computer games at computer shows. Fail. I opened an ebay store, but never put it into production. They banned me for a debt of $47 I owed them. Now I can’t spend my money there (hehe).
Keep trying. You’ll eventually find your “dream job/vocation.” Who knows, you might even end up self-publishing your humorous stories about the crazy people you’ve encountered in New York City!
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I’m pleased you enjoyed it. I remember a lot of those endeavors (I definitely thought the writing analysis was, ah, unique!). Working Saturdays at the shop as a teen was a great intro to the Village just before it was taken over by yogurt shops and make-your-own-salad joints. It also triggered a love for jewelry that I’ve never been able to properly rein in, so thanks! You didn’t mention your own writing; that sort of thing tends to be genetic, no?
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This was a great read and it provided some really great perspective that was relatable to so many other times in our lives when things don’t go according to the “master plan.” ;) Thank you for sharing!
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Thanks for reading! I really appreciate it. :-)
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