I'm a senior, soon to graduate, which means my time writing for the Odyssey is almost over. Unlike the "Odyssey", I don't predict a final act bloodbath, though I did stub my toe this morning. Regardless, I want to use one of my final two articles to explain why writing for the Odyssey Online was great.
And what better way to do so than through a list?
1. Literally* Any Topic
Literally**. I doubt there's another writing position in the entire country that affords its writers the same freedom to pitch any kind of article, on any kind of topic. I got to write satire on the Democratic primary. I got to write about boyfriend-girlfriend's cat relations. I got to write a descent into insanity disguised as a list article. And while I personally rarely chose this option, I could have been serious as well. It's been fantastic getting to write for a platform which allows such freedom for its writers.
*Okay, not literally literally: I couldn't write fiction, though I could play pretty fast and loose with reality when writing satire. In eight months, only one pitch I made was rejected.
**Still not literally literally.
2. Audience
"Hey, that means me!" you say, and you're right! That means you!
When I signed on with the Odyssey, I was told how my primary audience would be other Ithaca College students and college students in general. I didn't realize it at the time, but this was the most wonderful directive I'd ever been given as a writer. It gave me the best foundation to build articles off of, that of people who had experiences like me, interests like me, and knowledge like me. I never had to talk down (or up, like in an academic paper) to an audience. Like what Jon Stewart said, it's felt like one long, very one-sided conversation, and you all have been excellent listeners.
3. So, So Easy
I don't mean the writing itself was easy; I wouldn't insult other Odyssey writers (or myself) by saying that. What I mean is the structure and infrastructure of getting an article published. From day one, my editors kept pitch/deadline/publish schedule exceedingly simple. Any time changes were made to the schedule, either from within our branch or from Odyssey Central,--which I choose to imagine as a mixture of Bond villain lair, 1940s newspaper office and people wearing Greek robes-- they were communicated well in advance.
And the publishing software itself was simple. I didn't have to learn HTML, Wingdings, or whatever the people actually running websites have to know. Sometimes, the digital age makes electronic "tools" so difficult to use, they feel more like hassles. The Odyssey's tools actually felt like tools, that which helped me write. Whatever my next writing gig makes me use, I'm betting I'll look back fondly.
4. Success!
Hey, did you know that the Odyssey is doing really, really, really, really, really, really well? And not just at infiltrating your Facebook newsfeed (self-burn!). The Odyssey is reaching millions more people every year and generating thousands more great articles practically every month.
It feels good to have been a part of that. I'm proud to have contributed to that in my own small, very small, size 1 font small, way. Going forward, I'll be able to tell people that as a writer, I helped a group that not only did good, it did well.
5. The Direct Response
As a writer, you're often unsure how you're piece has been received. School assignments get letter grades, sure, yet that's ultimately just one person's opinion, albeit an expert one. While popular appeal isn't everything, there's something very satisfying about knowing whether the general audience approves or disapproves. Stand-up comics get instant gratification (or rejection) after a joke, but most writers have to wait quite some time before they can kind of feel out the response.
The Odyssey makes it very easy to judge how well your articles have done. I won't go into specifics, but it's real easy for me to right now look over all my articles and say, "Well, self, I guess people really do like cats," or, "That article went over about as well as the news that a kitten orphanage burned down." And while many websites and formats provide this kind of direct response, as part of the Odyssey, I also shared all my articles myself on my social media outlets. So not only did I know how people in general liked my article, I got to find out how specifically Grandma strongly disliked my article. Fun!
6. The Fame, The Glory
Admittedly, neither of these have happened yet. Though it was nice when people asked me about my articles. Everyone, note: writers love when you do this. Don't let them pretend to be demure.
7. The Fun WHEEEE
Most of all, it was a lot of fun. Crunch time to finish an article before the deadline was fun. Planning an entire article over the course of a week, only to have an epiphany several hours in that changed its entire meaning, was fun. Getting to title list entries things like "The Fun WHEEEE" was fun. Most of all, getting to figure out and express my point of view, no matter how weird it was or how obscure the thing I cared to view, was fun.
I've still got one more, similarly themed article coming to you next week. If I've learned one thing from my time writing here, it's to savor it.
