You can ask for stuff
As long as it's reasonable.
Most creative service industry contracts are boilerplate. They all say more or less the same thing in more or less the same way. Guardrails and indemnification and what not. Even when we’ve signed contracts with big global companies the language was nearly identical to Three Point Four’s standard contract. Yet contracts almost always get redlined: Let’s change 15 days to 30, add in some protections around expenses, we’d like to include an additional clause about gross negligence, etc. One thing I wish someone had told us when we started Three Point Four is that you can ask for stuff during this process. They call it negotiation for a reason! Maybe it’s my midwestern nature, but I was always under the impression that we had to blanket accept whatever the client’s legal team sent over.
When I started freelancing many moons ago, the most valuable piece of advice I got came from Noah: always ask for more money, if they say no you’re still going to write the story. The same goes for contracts: Ask for stuff. If you request a minor change or different terms with a valid reason, they will probably say yes. And if they say no, you’re probably going to sign it anyway.
Onto the links.
A book
No article from me this week. Just reading the nutrient rich meat-and-vegetables part of the newspaper and dedicating my precious reading time to the first volume of Karl Ove Knausgaard’s My Struggle series. I’m about 80% of the way through the first book and thoroughly enjoying it. I’d been Knausgaard curious for a while but never made the plunge into his extended universe of six extremely long and detailed volumes of autofiction. It’s hefty; glad I’m reading it on my Kindle.
Question for the Knausgaard heads in the audience: Should I start reading criticism and interviews now, or wait until I’ve finished the series? I like being blissfully unaware of subtext and what people think, but perhaps some supporting material would enrich my reading experience.
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A project
A new piece for Acumen America exploring their recent investment in Malama Health, a start-up that provides Doula-led maternal care to Medicaid populations.
Malama is at the intersection of two huge priorities for Acumen America: Advancing health equity for Medicaid populations and supporting the evolution—and reimbursement—of the care workforce. Mothers on Medicaid should have access to meaningful and continuous support from pregnancy through postpartum. Malama is making that future real.
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A new client
We got the greenlight on a scope from a new client this week. Top secret. We’ll share more when the work is done.
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A movie
Casino does not get enough love in the Scorsese canon. Any De Niro and Pesci vehicle is a fun, but Casino is a riot. Pesci swears in a singular way that takes the American language to places it’s never been before. De Niro is so compelling as a narrator, I could listen to him read medical records. Sharon Stone is terrific. I would love to see this one on the big screen someday.
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A virtual bike ride
It’s mud season here in Michigan, so I am spending quite a bit of time riding my bike in the basement. Some of the people I ride bikes with loathe the indoor trainer and find it dull, but I love it. Pick a workout, press play, and suffer. You’re trapped until it’s over, and you can’t get hit by a car.
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Next week, another Q&A. Right now, the one and only Rachel Karten.
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