offers out of the blue

I was asked to meet with what I think is the largest publishing house in the country (they have 14 magazines with several more to be launched this year) based on my ability as a writer (in other words, it wasn't a Kestrel business meeting). It turns out that my Palanca credentials plus good word-of-mouth reached the right ears.

I didn't know that they wanted to recruit me to be a regular staffer for one of their magazines. Despite the generous offer, I had to decline, since I had my own business to run. The editor-in-chief is a fiercely intelligent woman I wouldn't mind interacting with. The head publisher is a lovely lady, only 36 years old, who has been fantastically managing the growth of her publishing empire (it includes the semi-prurient mag I adore).

They immediately offered me contributing status on one of the to-be-launched magazines, something whose concept seems to fit how they perceived me: I've been asked to develop feature-length articles on serious stuff, complete with research, interview and photoshoots. I told them I'd send them an outline of what I have in mind (of course, it had to do with sex haha) and they expect it very soon. They will, in addition to the article rate and contributor fee, pay for cost of materials, food, transportation and misc expenses. All I have to do is deliver a finely-written story that's intelligent (sounds familiar?).

After a drought, there is this sudden influx of writing offers. I'm not complaining, but between the TV series and my regular Kestrel stuff, I need to be able to manage my time wisely.

Of course, I did not let the opportunity to pitch my company go by. As a result, we are looking at potentially designing one of their magazine specials for them. We'll see.

Again, I'm struck by the timing of these things. It is as if this year is the year to write. And profit from writing. A rare combination that comes only once in a blue moon.