Why The Brand Name ‘ The Word Jockey’

Posted by Payal Shah-Karwa in Career in WritingSep 2nd, 2009 | 62 Comments

It’s an interesting story. I wanted a unique, lateral and not-a-’what does that mean’ brand name for my venture. The word ‘Word’ had to be there in it. Because I am dealing with words. And I love words. So I conjured up Wordlab, Wordsworth, Wordfactory- and a whole bunch of layman names. Didn’t quite like any. Did a little dipstick with some friends, but nothing really struck. That day, as I was getting ready to get in the shower, I switched on the radio and the acronym RJ hit my ears. And then something clicked!  The Radio Jockey – then came the Disc Jockey – so why not The Word Jockey? Jockey means to steer something to a good position, like a Horse Jockey does. An RJ or a DJ plays good music,makes people rock. So then a Word Jockey writes good stuff and professionally helps people put their communication at vantage point. Thus came about brand name The Word Jockey, with the underlying philosophy of Write Right. People like the name, most have appreciated it…let’s see how far we finish from here. Love, The Word Jockey

Why i don’t like the word ‘Freelancer’

Posted by Payal Shah-Karwa in All About Writing, Career in WritingAug 12th, 2009 | 3 Comments

I feel like Achilles in Troy when they ask me ‘are you a freelancer’? The word was coined back in 1800 for a mercenary soldier. So much for a Writer being labelled as a Freelancer, today. I prefer the title ‘independent professional’. It’s my career, not an affair. Thodi izzat do, writers hain hum. Apparently, the word ‘freelance has gathered threads of perception of being  ’unbelonging’ – like how the stick gathers candyfloss.  More so, few nonchalant samples take the word too literally. They want the writer to work for free. Check dictionary.com please, les miserables.    And mind you, writing is a damned tiring and intellectual job…   The good news is for most people who think anyone can write must know that anyone can write. The strange news is most can’t. There is a writer in everyone, like there is an actor in all, or a singer. All World’s a stage after all, said a great writer once. And he was no ‘freelancer’ either.

So there, I am not a freelancer.

A CAREER IN WRITING – I

Posted by Payal Shah-Karwa in Career in WritingJul 8th, 2009 | 3 Comments

It was the beginning of the famous 2009 Recession. All the share indices were tumbling. People were being hacked from jobs. The credit market had busted. All the skulls and skeletons were out from the closet. So much for the dramatic background. That’s exactly the time when I decided to venture out on my own. Take my own path. Begin a career on my own. Quit the monetarily happy job with a big workdesk and my own laptop, and work from home. People ask ‘what exactly have you started out as’? And I proudly say ‘ As a writer and communications’ consultant’. And they respond ‘wow, that’s nice!’. And that felt nice too. The positive response I got from friends, family, my network – was pretty good. And encouraging. I felt I am on the right track. I still feel so. It is a dream career – to convert one’s passion into afulltime job.  Though I was always prepared for lesser income initially. But I was sure that from the past experience, there exists a need gap for a good communications’ expert – a copy, creative and content writer in the market. In the corporate world. Despite the gloomy market conditions, I was confident of bagging work, sufficient to sail through the expenses. Though I do I have my husband as a huge support, but I earn enough to maintain a decent lifestyle already.  So here’s to a successful career as a Writer. In the following posts, based on my experiences, I would be sharing some tips on :

  • Beginning a career in writing
  • How to get and manage clients
  • How to market oneself
  • The pros and cons of a fulltime writing career venture etc.

Happy Writing!

Welcome to a Writers’ World

Posted by Payal Shah-Karwa in UncategorizedMar 19th, 2009 | 2 Comments

Hi, welcome to the official blog of The Word Jockey. Explore the magic of words, read stuff on writing  as a career, types of writing, critical analysis of films, books et al, the power of language (any) and much more. Share, discuss, review, start a conversation. The blog is all about words. Words which give us the power to communicate with each other. If you have any interesting anecdotes / links / facts about words (preferably English for global readability, but other languages are welcome) do post your comments and write in to me. Write Right.

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