My knees still get a little shaky every time my deadline rolls around at the newspaper and I still fight the persistent fear that maybe I’ll sit down to write and nothing will come out of my pen. I’ve heard of writer’s block but writer’s stage fright? My mind somehow envisions my little stenographer’s book as the stage and that everyone reading my words will picture me naked.
It’s not easy to write an advertisement for “Business of the Week” when I prefer to focus on the business owner’s children or how they feel about Hannah Montana’s scandalous photos. They seem to prefer me to write about collision repairs and law office history. It’s their dime. I get that.
So when I submitted an unsolicited piece from my blog and learned that the editor actually USED IT IN THE PAPER, I was as smug as Andrew Dice Clay on a New Jersey stage. I bragged to my children, called Darren and my mom and then jumped up and down on my bed for 20 full minutes screaming things like “NO ONE KEEPS BABY IN THE CORNER!!”
And then came the email with the subject line “ERROR“.
I incorrectly identified the horse show I covered for the sports section. I called one saddle club by another saddle club’s name and the office received calls about it.
Being a woman who feels completely out of her league her this profession , I will most likely dwell on my mistake rather than my success because I don’t know how to tell myself “Everyone makes mistakes.” I can say it to my kids, my friends and family, my husband but my brain rejects hearing it from me or anyone else.
I do know that there’s nothing I can do to change it. It’s history now. I learned the hard way to verify information until I’m absolutely sure it’s correct. Which is why I’ve spell-checked this post three times versus my normal none.
Despite the ERROR and despite the fact that I will punish myself by repeating the word s*** in my head for a while, my work- my real, heart-felt work is lining cat litter boxes, laying on coffee tables and being read by people I pass in the street and I don’t know how to explain just how good that feels.
Almost as good as when I watch this.
Tags: All In a Day's Work
June 18th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
What a small error to make that will protect you from a big one….kind of like Kaitlyn’s small accident that will protect her from a huge one…..I love that you are a real writer….you keep the enthusiasm you have, we all love it….
June 19th, 2008 at 7:08 am
Our paper has corrections just about every day, and we understand. What will frustrate you is when people you interview accidently give you wrong information, when you are being careful. Guess you will have to use more of your photos, because they are great, and you won’t have to worry about the words, After all, “One picture is worth a 1000 words”.
June 19th, 2008 at 11:10 am
“I learned the hard way to verify information until I’m absolutely sure it’s correct.”
Not a bad way to learn that lesson. No harm, no foul. Some of us learned that lesson with much more pain involved.
Now I never, ever put even the smallest detail in the paper that first hasn’t been absolutely nailed to the wall. Taking a moment to double-check something is ALWAYS less painful than the fallout from not doing so.
You note that feeling “out of your league” makes you dwell on mistakes more. Believe me, for journalists that feeling doesn’t change with experience. The moment you feel comfortable is the moment the walls cave in.
Nevertheless, a reminder: Journalists who don’t make mistakes once in a while aren’t really doing their job. The goal is never, and shouldn’t be, perfection. That makes us scared and lazy. The goal should be to minimize errors to the degree we are capable. That makes us work hard.
Besides, all fixed.
Cheers
June 19th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Mom- Thank you. You have this great ability to put perspective on things and to make me feel like a million bucks. I love you.
Bill- A good night’s sleep makes everything better. Thank you for the sound advice and encouragement. You’re a good friend.
Pat- After reading your comment, I forgive you for missing the Relay for Life AND the golf tournament. I may not know much but I do know that both events will be less fun without you. I’m finished overreacting about my mistake now. :)
August 5th, 2008 at 2:20 am
[...] made a rather large journalistic mistake in the past, I wanted to make sure I had my facts straight and, at the same time, incorporate the “feel [...]