Advice

How To Work On Career Sustainability

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Sustainability is a big thing to discuss, mostly as we watch a world of changing climate and resourcing issues come about there’s more awareness. It’s probably a few years behind, but its there.

Of course there’s other kinds of sustainability to discuss as well. We learned that an ever-inflating home markets are unsustainable. We’re learning that a blockbuster-driven Hollywood is unsustainable. Seems like a lot of stuff isn’t sustainable and we’re very surprised about that since people have only been warning us for ages.

(Do I sound bitter? I was mistrusting the housing market before it was cool. Oh gods, I’m an Econohipster.)

But out of our various looming disasters, I want to narrow down and discuss a kind of sustainability that we often miss -and that is illustrative of survivability, systems, and having a functional life.

Career sustainability.

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Guest Post: Why I need Bender as my Literary Agent

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Carrie_Bailey(Guest post by Carrie Bailey)

I write. Some people would say I’m a self-published author looking to go the traditional route with my next book, but I like to think of my self as an amateur author ready to go pro. Why not? I need the money. Yeah, I know, it is possible to build up an author platform and market your books yourself, but the process is time consuming. Sure, absolutely, I’m indie until I die, but I also want to sell out so I can afford to stay indie on my time off when I’m not busy selling out.

That’s why I need Bender to be my literary agent. I realize he is fictional. I haven’t lost touch with reality – no. And, yes, I am aware his work experience involves bending, drinking, smoking, and sitting around a delivery warehouse. And I’m sure he doesn’t spend all too much time reading, but in my Futurama loving heart, he’s the right robot for the job.

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Fans Are Hackers

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On my own blog I had recently posted a rather extended rant called “You Hack Or You Die.” Yes, it’s heavy handed title-wise, yes I slipped in a “Game of Thrones Reference,”  but my basic theme is that you have to learn to modify and make things in order to survive anyway, and that it’s true in this environment and economy as well. The problem is we’ve often forgotten its importance, which is downright dangerous in these troubled times.

Yes, the thesis is depressing in some ways, but depressing or not I think it’s true – to modify things and to create is how we’ve always survived. Right now we need those skills and abilities more than ever because the world is changing fast and not always in a direction we want. Right now, I’m not sure “hackness” is being encouraged.

In fact, it can be discouraging now. People feel they have no control. People feel they can’t do anything. People feel they’re not creative, not able to make, not able to engineer, not able to hack and modify things.

This is one place where I value the HELL out of fandom, geekdom, and otakudom.

Because it’s filled with hacks and reminders of hacks.

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