Media requests.

Now, I’ve been round the block a few times. I’ve been blogging since you lot were in nappies, after all. So I’ve put myself about a bit over the years. Bit of radio here; bit of print media there; maybe an occasional speaking engagement. Whenever I’ve said yes, it’s always been fun. A nice little stroke for the ego; a healthy and manageable dollop of Face The Fear And Do It Anyway; and a Useful Learning Experience into the bargain. All of which makes up for the fact that there’s almost never any Actual Money in it.

This year, for whatever reason, people seem to be contacting me more and more with what might loosely be termed Media Requests. It’s hardly a deluge, but it has become a faint but steady trickle. As a result, my default reaction has changed from “How deeply thrilling to be asked!”, to “Why should I even consider doing this, and what might possibly go wrong?”

I’ve had another such request today, buried in an obscure comment box. Here it is, with name and contact details omitted.

Hi Mike

I’m a writer for Woman’s Own and we are looking for a female British blogger, in her 30’s or 40’s who has had relative success from her blog. Ideally, we’re looking for someone who has landed a book deal. But if she had an entry in your book Shaggy Blog Stories, that may be enough. Might be a good plug for your book…?

[name and contact details supplied]

I’ve Googled the nice lady in question, and she would appear to be a regularly published journalist, who has written for The Times, The London Paper, The Sun, The News Of The World, and… oh, look, classy or what!

Perhaps this usefully illustrates why it’s best to adopt a wary approach to such offers. But hey, it’s not my place to tell you what to do, or to stand in the way of Making Dreams Come True. So if you do fit the bill, and if you’re still into the idea, then the nice lady’s e-mail address hasn’t changed.

Don’t all rush at once.