Dear Fellow ASJA Members:
Welcome to the new, improved ASJA Confidential! ASJA Confidential has been repurposed as a weekly blog, both as part of the ASJA Weekly e-newsletter and also replacing “The Word” on the asja.org web site. Since the Confidential is about all members, all the time, I would like to start out by posing an intriguing and often difficult question and soliciting your feedback on a subject we don’t want to happen but sadly, sometimes does.
What would you do in event of a catastrophe, either personal or physical? If you were diagnosed with a life-threatening disease, experienced a fire or other natural disaster that forced a sudden relocation, or had a devastating death of a close family member? I’m not talking about having a bad day when your car breaks down or your kids are unexpectedly home from school, wreaking havoc with your work schedule. I’m talking serious, earth-shattering stuff.
Would you pretend like it was “business as usual” and not mention it to clients or let them in on what was happening? Would you “fake it until you make it” back to normal equilibrium or solicit their help and understanding, knowing you might not be functioning at your usually high level?
I ask this because I recently experienced a dreadful and totally unexpected loss. It threw me completely out of kilter and I felt compelled to share it with my clients because it is affecting every aspect of my life and at certain times, clouding my judgment. (Understanding of course that the information would not be mentioned to the people whom I would be interviewing on behalf of the clients themselves.)
I had never before considered this scenario, but it’s something we should probably think about, so like the Boy and Girl Scouts we can “be prepared,” although no one really knows how they will react. But it’s helpful to lay the groundwork. And I suspect there will be wildly differing opinions, which will hopefully generate a lively discussion. Please feel free to email me your thoughts at asjaconfidential@gmail.com; there will be a post on Forum as well. Your observations/opinions will be shared in an ASJA Confidential article in March.
Upcoming Confidential posts in February and March include a Q &A with NY Conference keynoter Vanessa Hua, a round-up of reliable sites where we can get (relatively) unbiased news in these times of misinformation and controversy, and how to figure out your writing set-point in terms of fees and hours spent. I am also sending out a call for member profiles – what are you up to these days and how are you managing your writing life? This could be great potential exposure because the Confidential is now accessible to nonmembers as well. And of course, article ideas and suggestions are always welcome.
Thanks and looking forward to hearing from you as 2017 progresses!
Sandra
Sandra Gurvis
Editor ASJA Confidential