As a subscriber to a
prestigious English newspaper in Japan, I decided to voice my opinion on a
particular issue in a letter to the editor. It was published among seven other
letters a week later. To my surprise, two more of my letters appeared in print
within a month! Feeling lucky that every letter I wrote was published, I joked
with a friend that if the newspaper published another letter, then I would apply
for a job as a writer. A week later, my fourth submitted letter was printed on
the editorial page!
The possibility of being
hired without any substantial writing experience was quite slim in the sphere of
dog-eat-dog media. In keeping my word, I applied for a writing position with a
monthly magazine based in Tokyo. The magazine had a list of impressive staff
writers; some of them had worked for the major newspapers in Japan. Along with
an almost apologetic cover letter, I sent newspaper clippings of letters to the
editor as my only published works.
For the first week, every time the phone rang I jumped, but my hope started to wane as days went by without a word. At the end of the fourth week, I gave up the wild assumption of ever landing a job as a writer.
While I was cooking dinner
one night, the phone rang. Shocked and speechless, I heard the editor of the
magazine introduced himself on the other end of the line! He decided to put me
on a trial run with a writing assignment — to cover a Japanese cultural topic
along with several photos. It was only after I hung up the phone, I realized my
dinner was burnt.
In writing for magazines, to
come up with a timely topic two months in advance wasn’t easy, and to get photos
for the topic was even more difficult. Since the article was to appear in the
February issue, I chose to write about the showmanship of Japanese weddings to
coincide with Valentine’s Day. Fortunately, I’d attended several Japanese
weddings and knew married couples that could provide me with attractive photos
for the story. To clinch a staff position, I had to turn in a perfect piece.
When the phone rang again, I
held my breath as the editor’s voice boomed in my ears: “I’m impressed with your
wedding article. How would you like
to fill in for our feature cover story writer who’s on vacation for March?”
My mouth dropped open, my
heart skipped a beat. Wow, was I lucky to be in the RIGHT PLACE at the RIGHT
TIME! Thrilled to be given the top assignment, I poured all my effort and time
into producing the best account of the nefarious occult Aum Shinrikyo
that had been plaguing Japan. Skipping meals and sometimes sleep, I slaved over
draft after draft until the final version was submitted ten minutes before the
deadline.
Then, I heard nothing more.
A few weeks later, a letter
from the editor arrived at my door. Enclosed was a one-year contract for writing
feature stories along with a paycheck for three times the original negotiated
amount!!!
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