Yes, I know that I haven’t put up a blog post since last year, but this will shed some light as to what’s going on in the Land of the Lioness.
I have some MAJOR (of if I were to reinstate my long-discarded Boston accent, MAYJAH) personal and professional news already for 2024.
As many of you may know, I’ve been freelance writing on the side for a long time to supplement my full-time day job and have diligently tried to find full-time staff journalist work over the last six years. While I would love to secure a full-time (or part-time) staff position, it hasn’t been in the cards for me. Therefore, I had to make an important decision regarding my future. I have left my full-time job to devote myself to continue pursuing journalism in a freelance capacity and have undertaken a part-time job.
It was long overdue for me to leave that full-time job for myriad reasons. On one hand, it was an easy decision to make; on the other, it wasn’t one I took lightly. Truthfully, I have been excited and terrified at the same time; not only as to my current situation, but to what lies ahead.
There is a story behind all of this, and hopefully an editor will want to hear about it and possibly publish it, because I think other journalists, writers, and jobseekers who have been in my shoes would deeply benefit from my tale. There are countless others like me that have tried very hard to secure jobs as journalists and it seems that the cards are overwhelmingly stacked against us, even though we have the education, experience, and drive. There are countless others like me who feel like a failure because we cannot get there, no matter how determined we are; whose self-esteem and self-worth diminish with every ghosting or rejection, like the dwindling of a candle’s flame. Yet, we still need to eat, pay bills, see doctors, take care of children, and keep a roof over our heads, so we do what we must and work in other fields. Sadly, for some, due to layoffs or other circumstances, they can’t get any work at all. This is what is most heartbreaking.
Now this is where the real work starts for me. Editors, If I haven’t had the privilege to work with you, get ready because I will be reaching out to you constantly. As before, I am available for FT or PT, freelance or contract, and of course, should the planets align, staff work. You can find my coterie of clips in the PORTFOLIO and CONTRIBUTIONS sections, and I have written across many beats, from entertainment to commerce to health & wellness to beauty to food.
Editors, PR people and others, please send me a message via the CONTACT form if you need someone for all of your writing and copyediting needs or even just to chit chat.
Despite this tremendous industry-wide crisis, journalism is such an important profession that must endure. Period. Competition for these dwindling staff positions is the highest that I have ever seen, but we must remember that EVERYONE is needed. No one should ever be shut out.
Journalism is my passion and what I truly believe I was put on this Earth to do. Despite every possible obstacle that has been put in front of me, I’m not ready to give up yet. If you know me personally, you know I’m one tough cookie. A fighter.
May that flame never go out.
KATY KOSTAKIS 