A Holiday Present For Former Staffers

While I grew up on an island on the Pacific Rim (Alameda, California, in the SF Bay, to be exact) two of my distant island colleagues - Baron Sekiya, on Hawaii, and Tim Clayton on Austrailia (actually an island continent) have departed the field of staff photographer recently. Baron wrote about his experience - Life Beyond the Newspaper, while Tim wrote about his - Do I stay or do I go? Both talked about the struggles of making the break, and all that you have to do, which got me to thinking - what can I do to help those that are departing the comfort of the staff position to make the transition? I once was a staffer at a magazine, and abruptly lost my full-time status due to financial difficulties at the publication, only this was about 15 years ago. And, for me, so far, so good.

Which brings me to my free offer.

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If you are someone who has left the comfort of a staff photography position from November 1st of this year, and through January 31st of 2009, I will send you a copy of my book for free.

Yes, free.

Here are the details:

You have to have either been laid off or opted to take a buyout in some form or another. If you got fired for stealing, or manipulating photos or that sort of thing, you're out of luck. You'll need to send me a link to a recent photo of yours at the paper (or magazine) online, and I am only giving it to you. If you already bought a copy, well, then you get my thanks, this offer isn't transferrable. I have no idea how many people will take me up on this, but if it gets over a hundred, I'm going to have to include the condition that this offer could end without further notice.

Where will I get the books? Amazon. I have already given away over 200 free copies since it came out, and so once I've confirmed you're a legit former staffer somewhere, you'll get an Amazon gift card via e-mail for the cost of the book. There'll be a lot of the honor-system going on here. One per customer, please. Once you get it, for a start turn to page 71, the section titled "Transitioning from a Salaried Staff Position to Freelance." Then, begin at the Introduction. If you are curious what I am talking about, hit this link and then enter in "71" in the search to see what I am referring to.

Why am I doing this? Because it might make a difference to someone who just feels like they got kicked in the teeth after 15+ years of commitment to a paper, and it might make them feel a bit better. Heck, it might help some amazingly talented photographer continue to contribute to this profession that I love so much, and to continue to be able to make a difference with their images.

Happy Holidays, friends.

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