Hi! Anna Davies here — I came across this while Googling my Marie Claire piece from 10 years ago, and it's funny that this was re-upped so recently.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I wrote this piece when I was 27 — it's not a piece I would have written today. In my twenties, my career and my identity were DEEPLY conflated and I put a lot of heart and soul into all my work. I don't regret that. And, like anyone in their twenties, there was a lot going on that felt deeply dramatic and deeply important. This happened right at the crest of social media and maybe if I had these opportunities a few years later, I would have found some communities to give me a talking to. However, I was working with a company that, in my opinion, did exploit young writers by dangling the carrot of publication under their own names — and I was naive enough to fall for it.
I liked reading this piece and it definitely opened up a door I had forgotten about. And of course, the PS: I ended up having a kid, moved a lot of the "writing as part of my SOUL" to the backburner, started pivoting more to content marketing and, like everyone, am trying to just stay afloat while also maybe trying to say a little something. I've gotten a lot more private too, and I also do mourn for the pre social media world where it felt a little more safer to fling a door open on your psyche. I LIKE that person who was passionate about her ghostwriting, and I wouldn't have changed it for anything — but probably would have gotten an agent and gotten out much earlier!
Omg; it’s very kind of you to respond here. I’m really glad to hear you’re in a better place.
A lot of work for hire places are exploitive for sure; I’ve seen ghost writing opportunities which are really ugly on their face. Thanks again for commenting; I really appreciate the update.
Of course, I’m glad this piece resonated — it was such a treat to open up this time capsule and revisit. Looking forward to reading the NL — just subscribed!
Geez, I've written mostly work-for-hire, and I never felt like a hack or a whore. I was a rent-paying writer for about ten-fifteen years there, until the bottom fell out of the magazine writing market.
One of the things I'm doing now is trying the sequel to a screenplay I've written as a novel so I can write something that might actually sell.
Hi! Anna Davies here — I came across this while Googling my Marie Claire piece from 10 years ago, and it's funny that this was re-upped so recently.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I wrote this piece when I was 27 — it's not a piece I would have written today. In my twenties, my career and my identity were DEEPLY conflated and I put a lot of heart and soul into all my work. I don't regret that. And, like anyone in their twenties, there was a lot going on that felt deeply dramatic and deeply important. This happened right at the crest of social media and maybe if I had these opportunities a few years later, I would have found some communities to give me a talking to. However, I was working with a company that, in my opinion, did exploit young writers by dangling the carrot of publication under their own names — and I was naive enough to fall for it.
I liked reading this piece and it definitely opened up a door I had forgotten about. And of course, the PS: I ended up having a kid, moved a lot of the "writing as part of my SOUL" to the backburner, started pivoting more to content marketing and, like everyone, am trying to just stay afloat while also maybe trying to say a little something. I've gotten a lot more private too, and I also do mourn for the pre social media world where it felt a little more safer to fling a door open on your psyche. I LIKE that person who was passionate about her ghostwriting, and I wouldn't have changed it for anything — but probably would have gotten an agent and gotten out much earlier!
Omg; it’s very kind of you to respond here. I’m really glad to hear you’re in a better place.
A lot of work for hire places are exploitive for sure; I’ve seen ghost writing opportunities which are really ugly on their face. Thanks again for commenting; I really appreciate the update.
Of course, I’m glad this piece resonated — it was such a treat to open up this time capsule and revisit. Looking forward to reading the NL — just subscribed!
Geez, I've written mostly work-for-hire, and I never felt like a hack or a whore. I was a rent-paying writer for about ten-fifteen years there, until the bottom fell out of the magazine writing market.
One of the things I'm doing now is trying the sequel to a screenplay I've written as a novel so I can write something that might actually sell.
Her first “Point Horror” book was called “Identity Theft”! Perhaps she took the title to heart.