{"id":3309,"date":"2008-07-01T14:20:25","date_gmt":"2008-07-01T21:20:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/?p=3309"},"modified":"2008-07-01T21:58:12","modified_gmt":"2008-07-02T04:58:12","slug":"making-the-pack-how-to-break-your-way-into-bloodhoundblog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/3309\/making-the-pack-how-to-break-your-way-into-bloodhoundblog\/","title":{"rendered":"Making the pack: How to break your way into BloodhoundBlog"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lately, I’m getting two or three requests a day to write with us. They come from sweet, smart, earnest people, and, while I look at everything they send to me, I usually don’t have time to write back and decline their requests. That’s the one part of this job I really hate, because I’ve always hated being on the receiving end of that kind of transaction. On the other hand, I know from experience that the attention of readers is not something I give, nor something you get, but, rather, something that the writer seizes<\/em>, takes by the irrepressible force of sheer talent. I’m in the unique position of being able to share this rostrum we have built with other people. But I can’t make anyone listen — not to you, not to me, not to anyone.<\/p>\n

I had email yesterday from John Rowles, and, on the strength of that one email, without looking at anything else he had written, I invited him to join us. John’s letter was simply riveting. I read every work, all the way to the end, but I knew by the fifth paragraph that he would be writing with us. I can think of a dozen things I might think about, if I am deliberating about a potential contributor, and I will sometimes appeal to Brian or Teri or Cathleen for advice. But when a writer knocks my socks off — knocks them all the way across the room — there is nothing to think about.<\/p>\n

I owe formal introductions for John, and for all the wonderful writers we added last week. For now, here is John’s email in its entirety:<\/p>\n

Hi Greg:<\/p>\n

1995-6: I was 26 and four years out from earning my BA in journalism when Web 1.0 happened. I spent those four years tending bar and working in ski shops while I started to build a portfolio of feature-length articles. My girlfriend  managed an apartment complex, and I met Bill while hanging out in her office. Bill had a computer setup straight out of the movie War Games, complete with a voice modulator (“Hello, Bill. Would you Read more<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lately, I’m getting two or three requests a day to write with us. They come from sweet, smart, earnest people, and, while I look at everything they send to me, I usually don’t have time to write back and decline their requests. That’s the one part of this job I really hate, because I’ve always […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,29,6,5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3309","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-blogging","7":"category-group-therapy","8":"category-marketing","9":"category-real-estate","11":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11883,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/11883\/welcoming-a-new-contributor-to-bloodhoundblog-alex-cortez\/","url_meta":{"origin":3309,"position":0},"title":"Welcoming a new contributor to BloodhoundBlog: Alex Cortez","author":"Greg Swann","date":"April 30, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"We're adding a new contributor today, regular commenter and long-time friend of BloodhoundBlog, Alex Cortez. Alex writes all around the RE.et, so you may know him from otherwhere. I'm mainly ignoring requests from people who say they want to write here, but Alex went beyond persistence in his campaign. More\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogging"","block_context":{"text":"Blogging","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1981,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/1981\/the-voices-of-bitter-experience-activerains-petition-against-move-inc-is-a-heart-breaking-sob-story-with-no-legal-merit\/","url_meta":{"origin":3309,"position":1},"title":"The voices of bitter experience: ActiveRain’s petition against Move, Inc., is a heart-breaking sob story with no legal merit","author":"Greg Swann","date":"September 29, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"I've read ActiveRain's lawsuit against Move, Inc., twice now. I had thought that I might parse the document, to show its fundamental weaknesses, but this isn't necessary. It's so weak that we can knock the whole thing down in a few paragraphs. The gist of the document is an extended\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogging"","block_context":{"text":"Blogging","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11208,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/11208\/some-random-thoughts-on-a-tuesday\/","url_meta":{"origin":3309,"position":2},"title":"Some random thoughts on a Tuesday","author":"Damon Chetson","date":"February 9, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Three months into my law practice, I've broken all my targets, and revised targets, by a mile. In addition to doubling what I predicted I'd book between October and December 31, 2009, I've been relentless about moving up the Google rankings. Basically, I've done this by first winning the search\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Technology"","block_context":{"text":"Technology","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10089,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/10089\/why-i-write-on-straight-talk\/","url_meta":{"origin":3309,"position":3},"title":"Why I write on the Bloodhound Blog\u2026.","author":"Tom Vanderwell","date":"October 15, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"and on Zillow\u2019s Mortgages Unzipped Blog and on the Straight Talk About Mortgages. I was asked that question the other day and the answer I gave surprised the person who asked it.\u00a0\u00a0 I found that intriguing, so I thought I\u2019d share both the question and the answer. Why do I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Group Therapy"","block_context":{"text":"Group Therapy","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/group-therapy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2892,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2892\/zillow-mortgage-marketplace-one-way-transparency-like-a-bad-online-dating-site\/","url_meta":{"origin":3309,"position":4},"title":"Zillow Mortgage Marketplace: One Way Transparency Like A Bad Online Dating Site","author":"Brian Brady","date":"April 4, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Zillow Mortgage MarketPlace rang the opening bell and loan requests came flying in the door. I was pleasantly flabbergasted! It's no secret that I'm a Zillow-phile; I believe they are leading the way to transparent loan and real estate transactions. I'm tenuous, however, about spending too much time there. My\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Disintermediation"","block_context":{"text":"Disintermediation","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/disintermediation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8327,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/8327\/query-should-the-bloodhounds-write-a-book\/","url_meta":{"origin":3309,"position":5},"title":"Query: Should the Bloodhounds write a book?","author":"Greg Swann","date":"May 8, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I can't believe I'm writing this, at this hour. My weariness from this week hasn't had a chance to overcome my leftover weariness from last week. Sooner or later I'll make enough money to check into a rest home! But: Brian Brady, Richard Riccelli and I have been talking about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Flourishing"","block_context":{"text":"Flourishing","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/flourishing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3309\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}