A Writer's Dream Job, Part 3
Q&A with mindful writing coach + freelancer Paulette Perhach
Welcome back to the OMQ series on Dream Jobs, in which I beg writers to tell us the secret to finding work you love. (Just kidding. I just ask politely.) Lucky for us, writers who love their work are generally happy to talk about it.
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In part one of this series we talked to Paige McClanahan about becoming a regular contributor to The New York Times travel section, and in part two, Amy Shoenthal shared how she shifted from journalism to marketing with freelance writing on the side.
Today we’re talking to Paulette Perhach, a freelance writer, coach, and co-founder of A Very Important Meeting. Paulette started A Very Important Meeting to give writers a daily, dedicated writing time, along with meditation and community. Paulette was prioritizing mindfulness in her own writing practice—and now she helps others do that, too. A Very Important Meeting is a pretty unique approach to a writing group, so I was eager to hear from Paulette about her own writing process and the role meditation plays in that.
Writers… meet Paulette!
It really helps to surround yourself with people doing the same thing so you can support each other. You have to have someone you can cry to, someone who will tell you it gets easier.
Britany: What did you once imagine your dream job to be?
Paulette: At the bus stop in 5th grade, I told my best friend I wanted to be a writer. She said, “Do you have any idea how hard that is?” I did not. I always envisioned myself traveling and writing.
What was it about that idea of a job, or that goal, that was so appealing to you?
I’m incredibly curious, and I just wanted to be professionally so. I would look at the bylines on stories and wonder who those people were. It seemed so fun that you could choose to be one of them.
What is your current job and how does it align or differ from what you once imagined it would be like?
Here are my job titles right now: 5 a.m. novel writer, meditation and writing session leader, article writer, journal scribbler, ghost writer to the stars, marketing copywriter, and writing coach. I always had this vision that it would be calm, simple, and easy, just writing at your desk all day. But it’s a scramble, especially when you want to live in a city. My morning is my creative time and I make sure to get that in and to build systems that will help me buy more and more writing time in the future.
What do you love most about your job?
I love the writing community at A Very Important Meeting. I love the thrill of getting a pitch accepted. I love love love interviewing experts. And I love when you get to carve out time to surprise yourself and really work on the craft. Also that bone-deep joy of dreaming a dream and then making it happen. You feel like you can wield life itself. Now a decade into this life, I feel like I’m becoming a more powerful artist, and that feeling brings me deep joy.
Can you tell us how meditation became a part of your writing practice and the impact it's had on your work?
I’ve been meditating daily as part of A Very Important Meeting for almost a year, and I’m just so surprised at the depth as well as the breadth of the difference. There’s this saying, “We don’t meditate to get good at meditation, we meditate to get good at life.” I often tweet things like, “We don’t meditate to get good at meditation, we meditate for when we have to deal with insurance companies.” So often, I feel myself nearly tip over into frustration or despair, and I’m able to tip myself back. It’s the same with writing. I’m more able to catch the negative voice in my head and quiet it enough so that I can get my work done.
I love seeing the reaction of the people who come to A Very Important Meeting for the first time. The difference just a 10-minute practice provides for gathering your focus is incredible. I’m hooked.
Was there ever a time when you almost gave up on your dream? Why didn't you?
What’s easier to do is to veer off the road 1 degree, 2 degrees, then look up and say, “Where am I? What am I doing?” Then you have to continually steer yourself back. I think what’s kept me in the game is a commitment to enjoy the process. No one can take that away from you, and it makes everything else gravy.
What was the hardest part about getting to where you’re at now professionally?
Just staying in there. Having faith that it will work if I work. There’s so much rejection, so many setbacks. It really helps to surround yourself with people doing the same thing so you can support each other. You have to have someone you can cry to, someone who will tell you it gets easier.
What is one thing you did that proved most beneficial in becoming a professional writer?
I committed to learning each day, which is essential to making more money and buying more time for writing. Just 15 minutes a day. I’ve been doing that for a decade now, and the difference is incredible. I can come to my clients as a strategist and a consultant as well as a writer, which means I can charge more per hour and buy more time for creative writing.
What is one thing outside of your control that proved beneficial in achieving your dream job?
My privileged position is that if I were ever to go 100% broke, I would have a home to go back to. I was raised by a teacher in a loving home. That’s a luxury not everyone gets.
Did you have any kind of mentor along the way? How did you find them and how did they help you?
Mentorship is huge, but there’s not like a mentor store you can go to, so it can be confusing about how it works. I used to want someone to “discover” me and just give me all the opportunities I wanted. But in order for someone to mentor you, they have to see that you’re doing the work. So if you do the work and make a habit of meeting people, you’ll find mentors. Sometimes they’re other writers you take classes with. Sometimes they’re even my clients.
What is one piece of advice you can offer to writers who feel like their dream job is out of reach?
Focus on what you want to be doing, and do it a little bit every day. No one can take that away from you. If you want to be a travel writer, read a travel article every day and write a reaction. If you want to be a comedy writer, tweet something funny every day. Live your dream in the tiniest way, and keep building, because you only get good at the thing by doing the thing.
That’s all for today friends. A big thank you to Paulette for answering my questions here. If you’re looking to establish a daily, mindful writing practice, you should definitely check out A Very Important Meeting, and say hi to Paulette on Twitter.
I’ll see you in your inbox next week!
Stay inspired,
Britany