Today’s How to Pitch is all about beauty and relaxation. If you represent a client in the beauty or spa industry, you need to know about Jacqui Pini and her Gannett-backed blog Indulge.  Jacqui writes about high-end cosmetics, the latest spa treatments, and international beauty trends, so if you have a client or two in this industry, you’ll want to really read her pitching preferences.

Even if you’re not in the beauty industry, her tips are great for anyone who is trying to draw media attention to a product, so please read on.  Here’s how to pitch a beauty writer: Jacqui Pini.

Mopwater: What is your name, news organization, current city and beat? What types of stories do you write? How long have you been with your news organization?

JP: My name is Jacqui Pini and I am a news editor and blogger for a Captivate-a leading alternative media company that delivers more than 54.5 million impressions a month, and is backed by the Gannett News Company.  I summarize news, business, sports, lifestyle and entertainment stories. I also write one of Captivate’s lifestyle columns called “Indulge,” where I cover the latest spa trends and high-end beauty products from all over the world. I have been with the company for 4 years and prior to that I was a TV news producer for a station in West Palm Beach, Fla. I have been interested in journalism my entire life and I have a Master of Science in Broadcast Journalism from Boston University.

Mopwater: What kind of stories and products are you most interested in covering, and in what context?

JP: For Indulge, my favorite stories involve anything new, unusual and interesting in the world of spa treatments, beauty trends (for men and women), relaxation and more. Expert interviews are a great way for me to get important technical information to a reader in a fun, personal way.  I also like to cover new products before they hit store shelves – because who doesn’t want to be the first one to report the scoop on a new product? Finally, I have a fondness for studies and reviews, which I like to elaborate on and editorialize on the results.

I truly believe public relations professionals are part of what makes all of the above topics happen. They play a major role in helping journalists bring value and something new to a reader.

I update Indulge 2-3 times a week, but here are a few recent ones:

Hollywood Hairstylist Sally Hershberger

Best Websites to Buy Beauty Products

Eyelash Extensions…Going to Great Lengths

Anti-Aging Around the World

Mopwater: What’s the best pitch  you’ve gotten  recently?  Why did this pitch impress you?

JP: I just received a pitch from one PR exec that was especially well done. It came the morning after the Golden Globes and she sent me a brief email about her product (which was new to me), named a few celebrities wearing her product at the Golden Globes, had an expert stylist available for comment and had attached 1 photo of the product. I wrote her back right away and told her I was interested and wanted some comments from the stylist and she had the information to me within an hour. This is what I liked about this pitch:

• It was a new and interesting product
• The pitch was brief and had everything I needed
• She was responsive, but did not hound me
• The pitch was timely
• She had an expert available for comment
• She included just 1 photo so my email was not overloaded

Overall, she made covering her product very easy and interesting for me. Continue Reading

I’m dedicating today’s post to the job seekers among us. It’s difficult for me to ignore the fact that so many people are out of work right now, so instead of offering you best practices for the job you might not have, today I’m all about helping you get the PR job you’ve been dreaming of.

I know you’re conducting an active search by scouring job boards, newspaper classifieds and even talking to recruiters. But here are a few things you can do to improve your chances of getting noticed by people who are looking for someone like you.

1. Head to the Top. Talk to people who know people—preferably people who know lots of people. Befriend the heads of your local (and national) professional organizations. Request a sit-down with leaders in your field. I know what some of you are thinking. “Why would the leaders want to talk to me?” You’d be surprised at what people are willing to do when you ask them. Find someone who knows your target and request an introduction. If you don’t know someone who knows the person you’re trying to reach, use Google or LinkedIn to connect the dots. Make a phone call or send an e-mail introducing yourself. Detail your experience and your goals. Ask for what you want. They may not have a job to hand you, but chances are, they’ll know someone who will. And be patient. Once you begin talking to the right people, and they begin mentioning your situation to their people, something will eventually open up.

2. Go On Informational Interviews. I love informational interviews and make a practice of doing these a few times a year, even when I have a job. For PR people, especially, it’s a great idea to get in front of people who practice different types of PR if you’re thinking of changing your focus. Informational interviews are great because there’s absolutely no pressure on you or the interviewee. Your host doesn’t feel pressured to “give you something” and you’re not competing for an open spot at their company. However if something should open up for you, that’s great,too.

When I was finishing up at Howard University, I spoke to an English professor about my writing goals. She mentioned that her sister was an editor at the Washington Post and I should set up an informational interview. Well, the sister turned out to be Marie Arana, the Washington Post Book World Editor-in-Chief at the time (in short, a really big deal). Marie connected me to several other Post editors who agreed to do informational interviews with me as well. They gave me invaluable advice about journalism and writing that I have repeatedly used and actually passed on to several people who have come to me for advice. But all this came about through a simple request: Sit down with me and tell me about what you do. No strings. No pressure. Continue Reading

Robin Caldwell

Cleveland OH

The J Standard Media Group, LLC

Principal, 5+ years

Web: The J Standard

Blog: The Black PaPR Report

Mopwater: Describe your path to PR. What made you want to get into the field?

RC: My motto is ‘I was born to do this…’ and that’s because if I go back to my childhood I can see the evidence. For example, I was always ‘reporting’ something and my grandmother, Irene, would always say, “If you don’t want it repeated, do not say it around that one.” I can see the evolution of the little loud girl who became the little loud woman who has this ability to connect people and influence decisions. Plus, I was bossy and if that’s not a trait of most PR practitioners and publicists, I don’t know what is. On a practical note, I began college as a broadcast major with the goal of becoming an anchor, but a major melt down (stage fright) while taping audition reels led me to change my major.

Mopwater: What aspects of the industry are you most excited about?

RC: There are two aspects that I find not only exciting but delightful. The first would be the Barack Obama presidency, which I believe from a practitioner’s perspective will ultimately become the Obama Era. As a former college instructor who taught mass-mediated images of African Americans, nothing delights me more than to see a shift in our image on the world media stage. The leader of the free world looks like me and has a background that is not only similar but relatable. It gives me hope that my niche will become commonplace and more of us with great African American or underrepresented minority clients will be able to translate their value to a broader market in mainstream media. The second thing that excites me most is the inclusion of social media and Internet strategies as a part of our campaigns as practitioners. News can be relayed more quickly and efficiently than ever before. Moreover, I love the social media news release because it gets to the heart of your story and offers another way to tell it. Continue Reading

I have a love/hate relationship with Thursday. On the one hand, I hate Thursday because it means the week is almost over and since I’m a workaholic, I only have two more days to squeeze in everything I wanted to get done before the official business week ends.

On the other hand, Thursday is Test Drive My Job Day on Mopwater PR + Media Notes. I get to take your jobs out for a spin to see how they fit.  I love this!

Today, I’m featuring two TDMJs  because, well, I just want to. First up: Matthew Fenton, Founder and President of Three Deuce Branding.

Matthew Fenton
38 years old
Founder and President: Three Deuce Branding

Cincinnati, Ohio

Web: Three Deuce Branding
Blog: That Branding Thing
1 employee (me)
12 years in this role

Mopwater: Describe your path to PR and marketing. What aspects of the industry are you currently most excited about?

MF: I entered the University of Cincinnati as a quantitative analysis major.  While the problem-solving aspect was fascinating, I didn’t want to grow up to be an actuary.  I was very interested in psychology, motivation and human behavior, so marketing was a natural choice.

Through UC’s strong co-op program, I was able to spend a full year in market research, in both supplier and client jobs, prior to graduation.  That background allowed me to get into brand management, my ultimate goal, immediately upon graduation.

I joined Van Melle USA (now Perfetti Van Melle) in 1992, when the company had just two brands – Mentos and AirHeads.  The Mentos “Freshmaker” campaign had just launched and the buzz was beginning.  I managed marketing for AirHeads for 5 years, during which time we took the brand from partial to full US distribution, tripled total sales, and earned the top sales spot in the non-chocolate category.  In addition, it was a great environment in which to learn truly consumer-centric branding, which was not widely practiced at the time.

In 1997, I made the decision to found my branding consultancy.  The mission of Three Deuce Branding is the same now as it was then: “To help good people build great brands.”  Every day is a new opportunity to make branding clear and actionable for those who practice it.

What I like best about branding is that, when properly practiced, it makes the world a better place.  You simply can’t build a long-term consumer relationship without serving.  Lately, I’m most excited about the ability of consumers to connect and to have their voices heard; brands have always belonged to consumers, but now that fact is becoming impossible to ignore.  I’m also excited about the opportunities for brands to live their stories and values in a manner that involves consumers and employees alike.

Mopwater: Describe a typical work day including your typical work hours.

MF: No such thing as a typical work day!  A given day might find me doing public speaking, leading an inventing session, building a positioning statement or strategic plan, interviewing clients and their customers, writing my column and blog, reading relevant books and newsletters, and staying in touch with the talented people with whom I’m fortunate to work.

I tend to work unusual hours – I may work as early as 6 a.m. or as late as 3 a.m.  I usually break up the work day with non-work activities, as I find I’m more productive and creative that way. Continue Reading

The Dos and Don’ts of Working with Freelancers

Happy Hump Day. As promised, I spoke to Sarah Caron, a “real live” freelance writer to get some thoughts on how best to work with freelancers. Sarah divvies up her writing time between Parenting/Children, Cooking/Food and Technology.  You can check out her blog for more of her insights.

But after chatting (typing) with Sarah, I noticed that there’s a pretty common thread coming from reporters, whether they are freelance writers or staff reporters. Always remember that writers are people. Always respect the writer’s time. Never practice spam-pitching (pitching off topic, sending releases blindly). Media relations are all about the relations! So develop relationships with your media contacts, this includes freelance writers.

Sarah Caron’s  Dos and Don’ts

Do Take Time to Read the Writer’s Former Work

As with any writing professional, PR people really need to take the time to understand a writer’s role at publications and who they are writing for. This can easily be done with a little research or even just asking the writer.

Don’t Pitch Off Topic

Freelancers can be an excellent resource for PR professionals, especially if they write for multiple publications online and in print. However, it’s important that the PR pros take note about what the freelancer writes about and only sends along pitches that really fit their topics of interest. Trying to twist a subject to fit the writer’s interest seldom works if it’s not a natural fit. One important thing to realize though is that there are different types of freelancing: there is contract work, where you write on a regular schedule for a publication. There is also one-off work, which is most often garnered through pitching. And pitches take time. Continue Reading

Freelance writers are really a publicist’s secret weapon.  Building relationships with freelancers can be a great way for PR pros to get coverage for their clients, because freelancers often write for multiple publications. And if a particular publication folds, a freelancer will often have relationships with editors at other outlets that publish similar content. The main downside to working with freelancers is  they are often much harder to reach than staff writers or editors, because they don’t have a permanent home at any given publication. But hard to find or not, freelancers present an awesome opportunity for publicists.

Why They’re Great

Freelance writers are generally passionate about the subjects they cover. They have to be since they are usually working outside the comfort and security of a staff reporter position.  Freelancers, generally speaking, are self-motivated go-getters who hustle their content to editors until they get someone to buy.

They’re a great resource because they’re often hungry for content. Since freelance writers aren’t on staff, the more they write, the more money they make. Simple as that.

Freelancers can write for more than one publication.  A business writer could easily freelance for Forbes, Entrepreneur Magazine, and their local Business Journal.  Many often do.  This bodes well for publicists and people looking to get coverage because you can go “multi-outlet” shopping when working with a freelancer.  The down side is that you could work with a freelancer on a story for months only to have them pitch it without success. But that’s the gamble. Continue Reading

Marketplace. Morning Edition. All Things Considered. Fresh Air. News and Notes. The segments that make up the programming for what we fondly know as National Public Radio-NPR for short.

NPR is headquartered in Washington, DC (near my Shaw/Convention Center neighborhood, no less) and describes itself as an “internationally acclaimed producer and distributor of noncommercial news, talk, and entertainment programming.”  But  how does one get covered on the ubiquitous news radio network ?  While the news organization’s Web site has what appears to be some pretty helpful advice about getting your story on, NPR has hundreds of local affiliates, so it’s a little more daunting than the Web site makes it appear.

Jamila Bey to the rescue!  Jamila is a full-time freelance journalist and frequently works as an editor and producer for NPR- her former full-time employer before she went freelance. She also co-owns Tactical Productions Company and does sound and video production for music and fitness organizations. Here’s how to pitch Jamila for NPR.

Mopwater: What types of stories do you write and produce?

JB: I write stories that focus on either fitness, African-American and women’s issues, free thought and separation of church/state issues, and within the last year- parenting stories.  My background, however, is that of a political reporter, but I haven’t been in the daily government grind since the election of 2000!

A recent story I pitched and produced, but I didn’t report, was for NPR’s show, Tell Me More with Michel Martin.  There was a hilarious commentary in TheRoot.com about the absurdity the author felt about celebrating Kwanzaa.  We brought her in for an interview about the “True meaning” of the holiday and a consideration about what it means today.  I LOVE stories with a twist of some sort.

Mopwater: What kind of stories are you most interested in covering, and in what context?

I like covering fitness and protest stories best.  I love the fact that they both lend themselves to the obvious before and after.  However, one story I produced for NPR really stuck with me.  Zimbabwe in turmoil was the title, and I found a journalist there on the ground to talk about the nation  that was once known as “Africa’s breadbasket” is now facing famine and political breakdown. When I work as a radio producer, I will often call and do a lot of reporting of a story and then hand over my notes and questions to the on-air host.  In this case, Michel Martin.  I enjoyed this story because it allowed us to get a very good sense of what was happening in Zimbabwe and a good historical perspective as well. You can listen to the story here. Continue Reading

Today’s TDMJ profiles James Walker, an incredible social media specialist who is just starting his career in PR. James is a junior project manager for APCO Online , a division of the global agency APCO Worldwide. James works in Washington, DC and I discovered him through his insightful tweets about PR and his informative blog Gen Y PR Prescriptions.

When he met me recently at a DC Starbucks, James told me how important it is to claim a piece of the social media pie for yourself if you’re a PR person calling yourself a social media strategist/expert (read: start your blog!) Hopefully I’ll be able to get the video footage of that timely interview up this weekend, pending tech support. For now, here’s James:

James S. Walker
Washington, DC
Age: 22
APCO Worldwide
Junior Project Manager, APCO Online
length of time in role: 6 months

Blog: Gen Y PR Prescriptions
Twitter: @Jaywalk1
Linkedin: in/jswalker

Mopwater: Describe your path to PR. What made you want to get into the field?

JW: I discovered PR right around the time I decided to declare a major at George Washington University. I made a call home to check in and mentioned that I was planning to major in Communication. My mother replied: “What kind of job can you get with that major?” I said: “Umm…(scratching head) you know…Communications positions.” At that point, Communication just seemed interesting, but I knew that I would never hear the end of it if I didn’t come up with a good answer, so I went to work.

After reading books, taking career assessments and browsing hundreds of sites, I decided that PR was it. Glad that I figured it out, I called back home and made a compelling case showing how I would get a job in PR. Her response: “So… what exactly will you do?”

Reflecting back on my answer to her then reminds me of the opening for MTV’s The Real World – “You think you know, but you have no idea.” I have worked (internships and full-time) in a number of Communications roles since then, from university relations and special events to CNN’s Crossfire at GW to public affairs and crisis comms shops to a health care communications firm and now a global communications agency.

In my short time in the industry, I’ve worked steps away from James Carville and Donna Brazile, helped prepare for prescription medication product launches, developed materials for patients with chronic pain and diabetes, and proposed social media strategies for tech giants. Each position taught me something new about the industry and myself, allowing me to grow both personally and professionally.

Mopwater: What aspects of the industry are you most excited about?

JW: I am most excited about the role the PR industry already is and will continue to play in the development, promotion and adoption of social media among businesses and other organizations.

I think the industry is well positioned to not only teach groups how to engage in social media but also to provide communications counsel on how to engage in a way that benefits them and their audiences, the people they serve. Continue Reading

Peter Shankman’s service Help a Reporter Out (HARO) has revolutionized the way publicists and PR practitioners find and respond to reporters’ queries. Based on the premise that “everyone’s an expert at something,” the thrice-daily free email service delivers dozens of queries to a subscriber’s inbox every day. All you have to do is sign up, check your email, and scroll.

But such services have also given any and everyone with an email address access to media contacts. As an advocate of free services, I believe the democratization of media relations is great. But as a former reporter, I know that in the wrong hands, such power can be potentially hazardous.

Dealing with the media requires a certain brand of etiquette, and that may escape an artist or small business doing its own PR.  And that’s completely understandable. That’s why there are professionals that do this sort of thing.

I recently caught up with Jennifer Thomas, a Florida-based travel columnist and editor of an online travel magazine.  She regularly posts queries on HARO.  Should you ever find yourself responding to a posted query, here are 6 tips from Jennifer on how to respond:

1.PITCH ON TOPIC. I know this sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how often I receive pitches that have zero to do with my query.

2. ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS POSED IN THE QUERY. Please do not say “I have an expert for you, click here,” or “I wrote about this, visit my blog at X”. I want to hear what you have to say about the query and how you think you or your expert fits in. Do not make me work for it. There are too many people responding to posted queries, so those who actually take time to provide relevant information will likely receive follow up questions or be included in the article.

3.MEET THE DEADLINE. If a deadline is included in the query, please, please, please, respond in a timely fashion.  Just today, I am still receiving pitches responding to a specific query from 6 days ago. The article has already been written. If by chance you or your client fit perfectly into a story, then start off by saying “I know your posted deadline has passed, but I have a great source for you. I’ve included specific content below in case you might still be working on the article. If not, I appreciate you considering this client for any future article opportunities.”

4. PROVIDE THE WEB SITE FOR MORE INFORMATION. You’d be surprised how many pitches I receive, particularly for consumer products, that do not include the Web site. I then have to ask for the Web site, which could be a huge delay if the client contact is not immediately available, or I do a search on my own for the appropriate Web site and it may or may not be the right one the client/source wants me to include.

5. USE CONTACT INFO WISELY. I don’t mind being added to press lists for additional press releases or unsolicited pitches personally. Often this received proactive content might spark a story idea for me. So, bring it on. As a general rule though, only pitch me 2x a month per client unless you have a brand like Oprah.

6. KEEP FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS TO A MINIMUM. If I’m working with you/your client on a story and it is evident that I am including your information, please keep follow up to a minimum. I personally do alert my sources when an article has posted, but that’s not needed…it’s just polite on my behalf. That’s what Google alerts and the pr firm’s searching is for. I ignore the continuous “do you know when it’ll be posted” or “what is your circulation” type questions. Reduce the back and forth please…I am on deadline!!

With the economy throwing everyone for a loop, public relations, marketing and media professionals need wise counsel  to help us make the best decisions for our readers/clients and ultimately  our careers.  To that end, I’m pleased to introduce  Mopwater Senior Counsel, a  column that will feature specific advice from senior-level PR and marketing professionals with at least 15 years experience in the field.

Paul Duning is the founder of the DC-area’s communications resource Capitol Communicator.  Duning founded CC after he lost a senior communications job during the economic downturn of 2001.  Instead of getting defeated, Duning got busy creating one of the most exciting platforms for communications networking in this region. Read more about Duning’s creative lemons-to-lemonade story of innovation and entrepreneurship.

Mopwater asks: What do you do when you get laid off from your media or PR job?

Answer: Take time to regroup, get creative, and get to work on a completely new endeavor.

Paul Duning, Founder of Capitol Communicator

Prior to starting Capitol Communicator, I   spent 30 months as the merger & acquisition lead for a company consolidating communications-related companies in three markets. During that period, I met with several hundred communications companies across a broad spectrum of disciplines and was instrumental in bringing together 17 companies.

Then came the bust of 2001 and 2002.

My role quickly changed from integrating to re-organizing, which resulted in multiple rounds of difficult layoffs including, in the end, my own.

So I took a bubble-imposed sabbatical and spent the summer traveling with my family. During that time, I was struck with this idea to create a resource for communications professionals.   [I wanted] to bring a community back together that had been terribly fragmented by 911 and the economic downturn that followed. Continue Reading

Happy Monday, everyone.  I’m excited to present another Mopwater “How to Pitch” exclusive, this week with Brian Reich a freelance media writer and blogger. Brian is an amazing writer, blogger and author of a few books about media.  The blogosphere has been abuzz of late with talk about how to work with bloggers, and to answer those questions, I will soon be introducing an e-book : the Mopwater Guide to Blogger Relations. Stay tuned for that. In the meantime, here’s how to pitch Brian Reich.

Mopwater: What is your name, news organization, current city and beat? What types of stories do you write? How long have you been writing on this topic?

BR: My name is Brian Reich.  I am a blogger and freelance writer.  I post daily/regularly on WeMedia.com, Fast Company Experts, and my own blog – ThinkingAboutMedia.com. I contribute to other publications on a freelance basis.  I live in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  My focus is on media, technology, how political and non-profit organizations use technology to community, and similar.  I have been blogging for 5+ years, and writing about these topics for nearly a decade.  My book, Media Rules!: Mastering Today’s Technology To Connect With And Keep Your Audience, was published in December 2007 by Wiley &Sons.

Mopwater: What kind of stories are you most interested in covering, and in what context?

BR: I am most interested in covering the individuals and organizations who are making substantive contributions to our society and/or facing the most significant challenges because of the changing times.  I write a lot about newspapers and the future of media, about nonprofit organizations, how different communities are using technology/the internet, about the opportunity for political organizations to leverage technology to address social issues, etc. Here’s an example of a recent post.

Mopwater: What’s the best pitch you’ve gotten recently and why?

BR: Honestly, I haven’t gotten any good ones lately.  I’ve been really disappointed by how PR professionals try to pitch me, as a blogger.  I get emails that say ‘Dear blogger’ — when my name is clearly listed on my blog, and everywhere else.  The opening line from a recent pitch read “I know you will be interested in this, so I figured you would want to write about.”  I’m not sure where they got that idea from, the topic (foreign policy) is not something I write regularly about.  No attempt was made to try and develop a relationship with me… it was just a blanket email that included a press release and some other background materials.  I ignored/deleted it. Continue Reading

Whether you’re a journalist or PR professional, you should be using Pitch Engine. It’s another one of those great 2.0 applications that makes all of our lives easier. Pitch Engine allows journalists to browse thousands of social media press releases, and gives publicists the chance to house their SMPRs online for free.  The press releases are easy to link and share on Twitter, Facebook, Friendfeed, Technorati, etc.  You can even upload photos, video, and audio.

I wanted to try out the service on myself before using it for clients. Check out my social media press release before it expires.

Yes, that’s an elephant.

You can imagine my surprise when I opened my e-mail message and  this amazing photograph appeared on my screen.

Kara Bussabarger has one of the coolest PR jobs I’ve ever heard of: she is the public relations manager for a zoo.  When you think about it, zoos have a lot of PR needs; there’s always something going on and they’re always in the news.  I know people in DC were obsessed a couple of years ago with the pandas at the National Zoo.  Seemed like those bears were on the news every day.

Read how Kara’s career path wound its way from criminology to public relations.

Kara Bussabarger

Louisville, Kentucky

Age: 32

Public Relations Manager for the Louisville Zoo

http://www.louisvillezoo.org

Company Size: 150-300 employees, No. 1 non-profit tourist attraction in the Louisville, Kentucky region

What made you get into marketing and/or public relations? I came to public relations through a different course than most. I actually have a degree in criminology and psychology. In that course of study, I would ask a lot of questions to find out the heart of the issue and how to solve the problem. That actually led me to journalism, which intrinsically asks a lot of questions to find the heart of the story. So my background seemed to weave well into where I am today—public relations in a non-profit organization. I like working in the non-profit sector because I am not just working for a bottom line, but also a mission. I feel my work really matters, and there are always wonderful stories to tell.

What do you like best about the field? Being a storyteller. I am a storyteller. But to be a storyteller, you have to have an audience and a story to tell. The degree to which that story grabs and forms a relationship with your audience is the degree to which you are a successful storyteller or not. So to be able to tell these stories, I have to have relationships—with my media contacts and the people on my staff. I couldn’t tell stories without them.

What aspects of the industry are you currently most excited about? I love learning and getting the word out about the Zoo and the great work we do for animals and conservation. So probably the most exciting thing now is the interest in Web 2.0. Continue Reading

It doesn’t feel very good to have your client call you up and break the news that they’re cutting back.   But since we are well into what appears to be an ever deepening recession, it’s something you’ll probably experience this year if you haven’t already.

It happened to me a few months ago. One of my clients relies heavily on government funding; about $31 million or so worth of it.  By and large, their programming dollars come mostly from one government agency.  Our city government, like many others around the country, is facing the prospect of furloughs, so millions are getting trimmed from the operating budget.  Naturally, my client’s twice-removed $31 million program ended up on the chopping block.

I knew something was up when I could never reach my  contact directly. When I finally did get her on the phone, she informed me that my invoices were being held up by the funding agency for further review. The funders wanted more details about what I was doing (that hard to define PR work), etc. At the same time, the agency’s financial woes had been leaked to the papers and were all over Internet. I’m no dummy.  I knew where this was going.

My contract, which was actually up for renewal, was put on hold.  One of my specialties is multi-month, multi-year, multi-tier communications and marketing programming, so I couldn’t stop working cold turkey without letting a lot of time and effort go to waste.  Pulling the plug meant that quite a few irons I had in the fire would not only cool, but go cold all together.  A few projects that had stretched out over several months were finally nearing completion. But I was no longer receiving payment, so what was I to do?
Continue Reading