A Day of Work zooms in on the each day routine and work habits of Autostraddle workforce members. Read in regards to the espresso, the cats, the Slack conferences, emails and trivia that makes Autostraddle go.
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Right now on 6/28/21 we’re nonetheless within the midst of our June Member Drive. Thanks to this group, we’ve surpassed our drive objective of 300 and our stretch objective of 350! With simply 3 days left within the drive at this level and all our posts deliberate, we’re going to maintain going to see what may occur! We set our objective primarily based on what number of members we thought have been potential to welcome throughout this drive, however you’ve proven us that a lot extra is feasible than we dreamed! Thank you and onward, into the queer future!
And with out additional preamble, A Day of Work with Riese Bernard:
My alarm begins alarming me of my responsibility to awaken at 8am, and typically I rise to the event and typically I press snooze so much, or get up however stay in mattress, studying on my New York Times app / doing the Spelling Bee sport. Then I feed my tiny canine Carol, drink my Nespresso, and take her on a mini-walk, often whereas studying a e book on my iPhone Kindle app, lest I ever be alone with my very own ideas for a single second! Right now for studying I’m rotating by way of so much of queer literary fiction (which I often purchase in print with cash) and mainstream thrillers (which I often receive as ebooks by way of my native library) to assist me with the e book I’m making an attempt to put in writing however haven’t completed but as a result of lol let’s speak about my day!!!
It’s a Friday and a ”Things I Read That I Love” day, so earlier than getting into Slack I’m going into WordPress to complete and schedule it. Often I’ll really feel like there’s a sure sort of piece lacking and I prefer to hit all of the marks, so I’ll add one final piece and in addition decide a quote for a headline.
I say hello on Slack, verify my updates, after which instantly flee Slack for my morning exercise — I do a power coaching video from MadFit or growingannanas and/or a Yoga with Adriene video. If it’s a power coaching video, I have a tendency to observe TV on my laptop computer on the identical time. Today I’m doing a KILLER LEG DAY and my favourite half is when the trainer can also not do the exercise as a result of it’s too laborious, and I’m like, are you okay, is somebody making you do that? I take into consideration mortality and my coronary heart price whereas Carol sits beneath a chair observing me.
Directly post-shower is my favourite half of the day. The morning is contemporary. I’ve simply exercised, the day is full of prospects. Slack is at an off-the-cuff clip. Usually I absently work on one thing non-urgent whereas I dry my hair and dress, whereas slowly experiencing creeping anxiousness about inevitably opening my e-mail. Every day, so many emails! WINNERS ANNOUNCED FOR [AWARDS I’VE NEVER HEARD OF]. [MOVIE] DIRECTED BY [PERSON] OFFICIAL TRAILER AND POSTER (is it homosexual? who is aware of!), GLAAD OFFICIAL RESPONSE TO [ACTOR] DOING [OFFENSIVE THING?]. RE: CONTACT I MADE AND THEN FORGOT ABOUT. Maybe 50 PR brokers with requests for protection of their membership/expertise/present/film/podcast/trigger/e book, ppl with article corrections, paypal points, internet affiliate marketing provides. Always one thing with one of the handfuls of on-line companies we make use of to make our world go ’spherical. Salespeople!
I get annoyed with the TV/Film stuff typically. Like, what if as an alternative of emailing me six instances to ask if I can cowl your present, you promote your present on our web site!?? Then possibly we will make sufficient cash to rent somebody to cowl your present! These exhibits have budgets that dwarf our personal. We’re anticipating advert income choosing again up this fall however for now, we’re grateful to A+ members who’ve steadied us by way of a time when that income fell.
Today there’s so much of emails I delete and some emails I attend to: planning with the producer for our upcoming reside podcast occasion, Jennifer and Nicole making an attempt to get a VAT code to ship our UK members their perks, Smitten Kitten about them making an attempt to pay us by way of Gusto which isn’t working (this has been a back-and-forth for what seems like 75 years). The search engine optimization service Ubersuggest is informing me that “Bummer…. 4 web page 1 positions have been misplaced” and that 630 pages on the Autostraddle web site “have points” that must be repaired and we’ve 75 “crucial errors.” I look into some of them, delete some outdated posts with duplicate titles, get overwhelmed by all of this technical stuff I don’t perceive, after which proceed to archive about 70 emails with out opening them.
search engine optimization and analyzing visitors and optimizing one’s web site for search engine optimization is a whole division at most publications — right here, it’s a job we largely prevented till final 12 months once we bought hit laborious by a google penalty. We’re very pleased that as a result of of A+ members, we’ve been capable of rent exterior specialists and join companies like Ubersuggest. But regardless of leaving editorial management in June 2020, the search engine optimization stuff continues to be on my plate and I’m nonetheless doing the month-to-month visitors experiences for our senior employees. Then there was the huge challenge of reorganizing the positioning. With your assist, I used to be capable of pay Kayla to assist me execute so much of it! But there’s nonetheless a lot extra to be finished! Carmen is doing a kickass job placing these plans into movement, however she’s additionally drowning in a lot different work. I’m very keen to rent a brand new Deputy Editor who can take over search engine optimization and visitors from me and assist the Editors with their Editing load, which we will do along with your assist! Like when you joined A+ proper now!
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I transfer my operations from my bed room to my desk. My workspace is squeezed right into a nook of my condominium, with a monitor for once I do accounting and want ten thousand tabs open. On the partitions and cupboard doorways I’ve notes from A-Campers and pals that remind me I’m good at my job or a very good author. Opposite my desk is my work library, the place I hold the reference books on LGBTQ and feminist matters that I’ve collected through the years.
My work books! My different books are on a special shelf in a special half of the condominium.
I drink a Pressed Juice (Citrus #2, my favourite) and eat an English muffin whereas watching and taking notes on the L Word interrogation tapes for tomorrow’s recording session with Carly at 11:30.
Today’s first editorial job is updating the 25 Movies With Hot Lesbian Sex Scenes in Them to allow it to rise from the ashes to its rightful place atop the search engine optimization mountain. Once I’m in WordPress, I see some stuff that wants fixing — not everyone’s fluent within the new classes/tags system I created (it’s EXTENSIVE), so I make a number of tweaks. I additionally delete some spam feedback.
Drew prompt some movies to incorporate on the up to date listing and I placed on “Je, tu, il, elle” within the background whereas I work. My desk faces the lounge so I can half-watch issues from a distance. This is a really Drew film. It’s in French. There’s a woman mendacity bare on a mattress as a result of her coronary heart is damaged, which is homosexual. Eventually she stands up. Good for her!
My desk just isn’t this near the TV however I didn’t need you to see the half of my wall that may be a piece of paper that claims NEW PICTURE GOES HERE so I needed to get nearer.
I’ve a 30-minute assembly with a man from Getty Images about getting a Getty Images account. Dreams do come true! (In a number of weeks we are going to really land on a contract with Getty Images WHICH I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT and which of course we might not be capable of do with out your assist.)
My arm’s already bugging me — I’ve destroyed it in some way and it will get numb and tingly once I work, a end result of some pinched nerve scenario from typing and repetitive hand actions. It bought REALLY unhealthy in February — I couldn’t take care of Carol or sort and solely survived the week ‘trigger my buddy hooked me up with muscle relaxers. I’ve since seen my physician about it and now I’m in bodily remedy, however it’s not bettering and typically I’m like what if I can by no means sort once more eternally!?!?!? Maybe I could possibly be a ship captain.
I feel stuff like that is what weighs on me most days, these days: I believed I may sacrifice my well being and different life targets (writing a e book, beginning a household) to midwife Autostraddle into the universe, however 12 years later the tempo of work hasn’t slowed, however my well being and life targets are extra urgent than ever. Since stepping down as EIC I’ve been capable of take extra day without work, although, which has been nice!! It’s fantastic to have the positioning in Carmen’s palms as a result of I really like and belief her with my entire coronary heart. I’m hoping some new hires will assist all of us have a greater work/life steadiness additionally!
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A buddy texts about pleased hour subsequent Tuesday, I decline ‘trigger I do know I’ll be up late prepping for my Business Team Meeting on Wednesday. Also the idea of a weekday night cling stays incomprehensible to me on this Era of Pandemic?
In the Sex Scenes publish I have to affiliate hyperlink a film however the Amazon affiliate hyperlink bar isn’t displaying up on my display. I log in and sign off. It’s… gone? I’m confused. I’ve had this affiliate account for actually 14 years once I put a tiny e book widget on my private weblog and was CONFIDENT I might be getting wealthy in brief order. (I made like $2 in two years.)
I search my inbox and there it’s — YOUR AMAZON ACCOUNT HAS BEEN CLOSED. We have been ejected, there isn’t a course of to enchantment, and all of the fee they at the moment owe us will go unpaid!! WOW!!!
Amazon’s evil, everyone knows that. But… so are so much of retailers, and it’s the one account we had for movies. Our income from Amazon Affiliate has gone down over time — from a excessive of $40k to round $5k final 12 months. Our greatest dip Y2Y was 2019 to 2020, as we stopped linking to Amazon in 2020 at any time when an moral various existed. I wasn’t ready for that $10k Y2Y dip (learn extra about it right here), however 700+ individuals joined A+ in the course of the fundraiser and helped cushion that loss.
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Amazon made a LOT of fucking cash in 2020 and so did all of the web sites who linked to them copiously and I actually do want some of it had gone to us! It’s at all times been our hottest internet affiliate marketing connection as a result of regardless that all of us hate it, so much of you continue to store there, particularly throughout pandy — and whenever you observe a hyperlink to a lesbian film on our web site to Amazon after which purchase a mattress in that very same buying session, we get $$ from the mattress sale! A miracle! That mentioned, we’ve been quick on shoppable posts and Amazon usually lowers fee charges with out warning on a regular basis. Sites that depend upon that income have flatlined following a fee adjustment. We didn’t, as a result of we’ve you, we’ve our A+ members.
So why did this evil firm reject us earlier than we may reject them? Well, it seems:
The Amazon browser extension we created in 2013 violates their insurance policies. Cee SCOURED their insurance policies to make sure it was okay earlier than they constructed it, so one thing modified. Most web sites have whole departments devoted to associates, and somebody would’ve caught this. We don’t and we didn’t.
“An account belonging to you (or an individual or entity linked or affiliated with you) has beforehand been rejected/closed for violations of the Operating Agreement.” This is a thriller and I’m actually right here for it.
“You are incentivizing others to go to the Amazon Site through your Special Links by providing donations to charity, or different incentives.” I deduce this refers to us telling you that we get a kickback whenever you store by way of our hyperlinks.
So, now it’s Put Out the Fire Time!!!
I submit a github request to Yikes (our very devoted and fantastic tech workforce that YOU assist pay for) to ask if there’s any technological method to wipe Amazon hyperlinks from the positioning. (There just isn’t.) I don’t need to lose any of our different internet affiliate marketing companions, and it appears to be like like so much of our shoppable posts don’t have the affiliate disclosure textual content on them that they need to. Laneia volunteers to do it manually herself and says she will be able to get it finished by Wednesday. This just isn’t the life I would like for Laneia so I surf the net in search of a greater means.
Also Carol has been following me round all day??
Carol is sizzling on my path
After an hour of analysis I discover a plug-in we will use to implement the affiliate disclosure to routinely seem on affiliate linked posts. I create a tag for affiliate linked posts and return and tag about two years of shoppable posts with that tag. I inform everyone of the brand new insurance policies and run the brand new automated disclosure notification by Sarah to ensure she likes the way it appears to be like, and she or he will get rid of the sidebar hyperlinks. Teamwork!
Meanwhile within the movie, this lady is in a truck with a person???? In this economic system?
I take Carol on her Long Afternoon Walk and textual content my girlfriend about Jeffery Bezos and order meals through Postmates as a result of all I’ve had right now to this point is a juice and an english muffin! Thriving!
Me at my desk
I deduce on this second that we desperately want somebody to handle our internet affiliate marketing partnerships and shoppable content material. It’s a chance different websites have made massive $$ on. We’re actually good at taking a setback like this one and utilizing it to make clear our targets and decide new instructions or re-evaluate outdated insurance policies. I feel that’s half of what’s saved us within the sport all this time.
Carmen prompt as soon as that we change into the “Gay Strategist” and I really like this concept for us.
In quick: we want extra manpower behind these income streams, and I’ve extra concepts on what to do with these than I do time to do them myself, and so does everyone! Sarah can’t do all of the advert gross sales and affiliate stuff on prime of her Design stuff, and I can’t do it on prime of my CEO/CFO stuff or my writing. I’ve been spearheading this search engine optimization challenge not as a result of it really suits with my present job description however as a result of there’s no one else to do it. Everyone’s busy and burned out. We have to make some new hires. I simply want making these hires wasn’t such an unlimited quick time period monetary threat! We are so grateful that we’ve A+ members to offer us the bottom of assist we have to take these dangers, and each new member makes them rather less dangerous.
So this15-minute intercourse scene happens on the literal finish of this French film. It is the final scene! Is this a metaphor? I’m going learn the publish Drew wrote about it in 2019 and add it to the publish.
I spend the following two hours or so on the intercourse scenes publish, ending up round 9pm, which is a typical Friday evening for me. I’ve gotten higher at taking weekends off, particularly since my arm very a lot wants a relaxation!
Trying to determine what actually counts as a lesbian intercourse scene just isn’t a nasty job to have, you understand?
Before you go! It takes funding to maintain this publication by and for queer girls and trans individuals of all genders working each day. We won’t ever put our web site behind a paywall as a result of we all know how vital it’s to maintain Autostraddle free. But which means we depend on the assist of our A+ Members. Still, 99.9% of our readers aren’t members. A+ membership begins at simply $4/month. If you’re capable of, will you be part of A+ and hold Autostraddle right here and dealing for everybody?Join A+
