When I was a kid in the ’70s and ’80s, they told us, “You can be anything you want.”
Thus empowered, Sesame Street’s Big Bird decided to be a firefighter. Failure ensued. Later in the same episode, a camera-toting cast member named Olivia sings “You Can Be Anything You Want To” with Big Bird, who then decides to be a photographer. This is what shrinks call the “Chameleon Effect”—unconsciously mimicking the behaviors of others—and it’s a symptom of borderline personality disorder. No matter—Olivia offers her camera, and Big Bird mistakenly peers into the lens. Sigh.
The message was clear: You can’t be anything you want. Or, you technically can, but it’s going to suck, like Big Bird.
I wanted to be a writer. And through some quantum fluke, I became one—or as my wife once pointed out, “You pretended to be a writer until you were.”
Now, I’m pretending it was the right career choice. Sure, it’s been one lovely, long, if largely lateral trajectory, but recently a raft of disruptions hit the trade in rapid succession.
The Writers Guild of America strike of 2023 shed light on screenwriters’ mounting financial struggles, partly due to the radical recalibration of fee structures because of streaming. Journalism remains a bruised industry, with post-pandemic newsrooms emptied or closed and waning public trust in media—only 14% of journalists believe the public has much faith in news outlets (Pew Research Center). Novelists? Fuhgeddaboudit. Meanwhile, evolving technologies like generative AI keep the silicon sands shifting throughout.
For indie authors, the news isn’t all bad—new spins on old models have emerged, allowing writers to bypass traditional gatekeepers and monetize their work directly with their readers. But each new possibility demands a new kind of hustle.
Consider the emergent newsletter trade. I quit writing a personal newsletter because I already write a couple on the job. And, frankly, so much spam goes out under my name that I should buy stock in Hormel. And a newsletter isn’t just a newsletter anymore. It’s TikTok for grownups if one’s following newsletter platform Substack’s “vertical video” initiative. Apparently video is where the money is … for writing…? The company’s recent billion dollar valuation affirms this.
In a matter of a few months, I’ll mark my 30th anniversary of going pro in this racket. And I’m still learning: You can be anything you want to be—even a writer—but don’t be alarmed by my dead-eyed stare into the lens. It’s just another chapter.
Editor Daedalus Howell is at dhowell.com and 95.5 FM, 2pm, weekdays.
