A New Gig – Island Roots Housing

Well that was unexpected. Unsolicited opportunities happen. As soon as I sign the contract (expected soon), I will be an Social Media Manager / Information Manager / Content Creator / Writer for Island Roots Housing, a non-profit that “…advances affordable housing choices to meet a diversity of needs in Island County.”

How’d that happen? Networking sounds too calculating. Cold calling is too aggressive, for me. Luck works, and don’t discount it; but keep in mind that without specifying it, you are as likely to find good or bad luck. It can sometimes be hard to truly know because circumstances influence why a position is even available. Writing.

Writing. Consistent writing. Being known as a writer helps. Being known for a particular style, or range of styles helps. Tone matters. Practice. Practice. Practice. And the easiest way to practice is to write. Posting what you write means people can be introduced to your style even before they know they need you.

Being known for being familiar with various topics helps. Posts don’t have to be literary. Literary is good, but expressing yourself with at least some level of talent or skill tells people what you are willing to be associated with publicly.

I’ve written and worked about housing (affordable, and otherwise) on:
– Curbed.com (casual industry news for Western Washington)
– Real estate broker (5 years)
– Economic Development Council for Island County (short four-month stint)
– Writer (web content for Windermere, short stint)
– TrimbathCreative.Net (personal finance blog at least weekly since 2008).

I didn’t aim at this job back in 2008. This gig is simply a consequence of visibility and availability, and a guess at my capability. I guess.

There are better writers. For each of the various topics and fields you can infer from my history there are experts with greater knowledge than mine. But. Every job has a different set of requirements. Few candidates meet every need. Being good enough, available enough, confident enough, and willing to be real and ready to learn can mean a lot.

I look forward to helping Island Roots Housing. Housing is such an issue in general that I feel that we need to find new ways to make it accessible and affordable. The old model of The American Dream is due for an upgrade, or at least a revision. I’m revising my life by selling my home and buying a tiny house (390 square feet, so a big tiny).

I’m old enough to have blundered into that traditional set of shoulds that defined conventional wisdom until recently. The rules or notions that applied in 1988 are rightfully being challenged. I’ve lived in a golf course neighborhood (with a Welcoming Committee that made sure I knew that I wasn’t invited), typical suburbia, a bit of time in urbanity, and even in a yacht club community (where I was told my boat was not welcome because it wasn’t worth enough.) I have friends who’ve lived on boats, in teepees, in homemade houses, in barns, etc. My history and their experiences are why I’ve enjoyed writing about housing.

But, that’s not my point – or it’s not my point to other new writers.

Write. Post. Publish. Have a point of view and be known for listening to other’s stories. Trust your history and your friends. If you’re as old as me (65), congratulations; decades of history are reams of stories waiting to be written. If you’re young, congratulations; you are living through a time of great change that needs to be documented, chronicled, and made public because we need the evidence of what isn’t working and what ideas may make positive changes. If you’re in the middle, congratulations; you can see both ends and act as a bridge between perspectives.

Ironically, this isn’t the first gig I’ve had where an organization needed someone with experience, who also had an understanding of social media, and can produce (or at least attempt to) on schedule with their voice (I hope.) A Master of Fine Arts degree is great and an achievement to celebrate, but someone who cares about the cause can be valuable too.

This gig is probably temporary and part-time. That’s fine. Every gig is more experience (and another income). I like what they’re doing, and I’m very willing to help. There’s no way to know where it is going to lead, which is the way true adventures can begin.

What do you care about? What have you experienced? Are you writing, posting, and publishing about it? Do your friends know? Does your family? Great writing hidden in a drawer or in some folder (manila or computer) is great, but to get a chance of getting paid someone else has to know about it. (Hmm. I just realized I should encourage you to write a comment. Even better, write the comment here, then post it and a link to this blog on your social media.)

As for my story, browse my main blog, TrimbathCreative.net, or search on various sites for tetrimbath. Posting to social media is powerful, but it isn’t persistent. Just ask users of MySpace and AOL. That’s why I blog.

Good luck. Thanks for reading. Thanks for contributing to the human endeavour.