Response

Dear Ben,

I just read your post on "Nepotism." I think you should make the distinction between "following in your father's (or mother's) footsteps" and having your father (or mother) obtain jobs and opportunities for you without merit. I think you're writing more of the former rather than the latter. Of course, it always helps to "know the right people," but what about those of us who don't know the right people, and haven't attended a top-ranked school?

I guess what I'd like is some career advice: Since I was very young, I've wanted to make a living by writing. Now, my plan is also to go to graduate school in philosophy because I want to learn more about the world and ideas. But I don't want to go into academia; I want to write. What do I do? Right now, what I have going for me is a little job with an alternative weekly newspaper, writing 300-word blurbs for the Arts section. It's a very hip, Lefty enterprise, and I like it -- I just don't tell them that I am a Catholic. But how do I get to know the right people, if I haven't gone to Harvard, Yale, etc.?

Response:
Just do it. It can't really be taught. The rules are simple: Who? What When? Where? How? Train your ear. Start anywhere. Like on this blog.
Ben