Working in a vacuum

One of the most difficult things about being a photojournalist is working in a vacuum. If you have a home office like I do, days can be spent at the computer editing photos, handling emails, sending out pitches and talking to editors on the phone. There’s very little face-to-face human interaction. You talk to the dog when taking a break. Drink another cup of coffee or tea. And some days finding inspiration is a challenge.
But you can’t just do nothing.
John Harrington, author of “Best Business Practices for Photographers,” recalled a line from Nelson DeMille, one of his favorite writers. DeMille wrote, “The problem with doing nothing is that you never know when you’re finished.”
So Harrington advises, “When you are making the strategically smart decision to decline assignments that are below your threshold where you can earn a profit, you must maximize that time “doing nothing” by doing something. Go out and search for new clients, whether by doing research at the magazine stand for prospective editorial clients or online for prospective corporate clients, or even by cold-calling prospects in the marketing or corporate communications offices of businesses that are located in and around where you live.”
Sound advice, I think.