Is Hack Really Such A Bad Thing?

Hack is usually used as a derogatory adjective. To be a hack writer means that you grind out thousands upon thousands of words without thinking about the art of writing. You are viewed as nothing more than a word factory. Is that such a bad thing?

Think about the dime store pulp novels of the fifties. There was something for every taste including romance, mystery, and western. These novels carried a low price tag and new ones were available at least every month. They were not going to win the Pulitzer Prize for literature, but they were stories that people enjoyed reading. They entertained the hard working Americans.

Let’s look outside the realm of the written word. Almost everyone I know enjoys a hard hitting action movie. Remember the eighties when Stallone, Seagal, Schwarzenegger and Van Damme would produce movie after movie of nothing but action, cursing and killing? Those movies weren’t winning Academy Awards, but just like the pulp novels they were entertaining and people enjoyed watching them.

The same thing occurs on television. You cannot surf through a dozen channels before hitting so called “reality television.” There is hack content if I have ever seen it, but look at what it has in common with everything I just talked about. It is produced with quantity being more important than quality. It is not winning any awards. It entertains people. And it is in some sort of demand or else it wouldn’t be worth producing.

So what is wrong with being a hack, especially in this digital age when it is easier than ever to produce and distribute your work? Speaking of the digital age, the majority of the websites you see is full of hack content. No matter what subject is covered the words need to be written and site owners pay writers to produce high volumes of content to fill those pages. 

Now I would be insane or stupid or both to suggest that quality does not suffer when focusing on quantity, but to say that there is no quality at all would also be insane or stupid or both. The audience that enjoys this type of entertainment is not stupid. They like to be entertained as a form of stress relief. This is the entertainment that does it for them. 

So there is nothing wrong with being a hack. In fact, hacks get paid. If you want to make money at what you love then you need to be a hack. If you are happy at your day job, then I guess you can produce that artsy stuff.

Better yet you can do both because, as Ben Affleck said in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, “You have to do the safe picture then you can do the art picture.”

Freelancers and Eggs

source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/meg-z/

Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

That is sound advice. Quite literally it means that relying on just a single basket is not a good idea. What if you dropped that basket? The eggs would spill everywhere and most likely break. Even if you could save a few you would still lose nearly every egg you had.

This principle can be applied well to the world of freelancing, no matter what your specialty.

As a writer I find all of my non-fiction work online. There are a number of places devoted to getting work for freelance writers. Some of these sites are so large that you could easily devote all of your time to a single company and focus on a single niche. I know better than to do such a foolish thing.

One of the major companies that I get assignments from is currently having a shortage of titles as they update and redo one of their sites. There are many writers associated with this company complaining about the shortage of work and the hit that their income is taking.

Now, obviously this will affect any writer that submits work to this site. It is impossible to completely prevent any loss of income. Hence the eggs in the basket thing. That is why you need to branch out.

It seems like common sense, but do not find all of your work in one place. If company A has a shortage of work, you are still getting work from companies B, C, D and other clients that you have relationships with.

Freelancing definitely has its ups and downs. If you are just starting out or thinking of working for yourself, then heed my words...

Don't put all your eggs in one basket, and if you do, for the love of all things mighty don't drop the basket!