Quick Friday Post

Nothing dramatic to report.

I've been pitching various stories to some pretty "big budget" publications. The way freelance journalism works is that the amount I'm paid depends entirely on the budget of the publication hiring me. I can do the same amount of research and write the same number of words at the same level of talent for two different magazines or newspapers, and get paid four times as much (or more) by one as by the other.

For the few years I've been in the business, I've been sort of coasting along, writing mostly for the same clients, and getting paid enough to pay my bills -- sort of. I've decided that it's more worth my time to start pitching to the better-paying magazines, even if it means fewer assignments, than to keep spending all my time on the medium-budget stuff. (Don't worry, Jewish Week and World Jewish Digest, I still love you.)

I've been dreaming of getting into travel journalism (haven't we all . . . ). This week the editor of a chi-chi travel magazine told me that she wouldn't "rule out" publishing something about Israel, but I shouldn't get my hopes up because it's not a "high image" destination (ie, it's not on the same level as, say, Barbados or Tuscany). Clearly the efforts by the Ministry of Tourism to promote Eilat and Tel Aviv as exotic vacation locales have gone only so far.

Speaking of exotic locales, my roommate has left to go on a vacation with her family to the British Virgin Islands. Lucky duck. It is therefore quite lonely here, and I'm going to starve to death because Liza is the cook around here (I can cook, but she does cook). However, her room is free, so a former roommate will be staying here for a few days, and two of my little charedi cousins will be coming for a sleepover. (Yes, I have permission from Liza to use her room for guests.)

My Shabbat plans: Dinner tonight at Rachel, Gila and Estee's. Lunch at my place tomorrow with Yael. We have leftover coconut milk so I'm trying this recipe. It's simmering on the stove as I write this. Smells good. I just realized that I'll have to leave the sauce on the blech overnight - good thing there's a lot of it. Whatever. It's hard to ruin chicken.

Have a shabbat shalom!