When people find out I’m a freelance writer, they usually ask me what I write about (mostly profiles and travel, some health and religion), whether I write stories and then try to sell them (nope, mostly the reverse), and whether it’s really possible to support oneself this way (yes indeed, though it’s not a cakewalk). And when they find out I interview interesting people for my series in the Reader, “Chicagoans,” they usually ask: “How do you find those people?”
It varies. Sometimes I happen to run into someone who seems like a great talker with an interesting story, like Jennifer French, the FBI agent/wedding planner. Sometimes I think of a type of person I’ve always been curious about, like a funeral home director or a sign-language interpreter, and I go looking for someone who fits the bill. And sometimes somebody emails me and says they’ve met someone really interesting I should interview, like the taxi driver turned preacher.
If you know of someone who lives in the Chicago area and has an interesting story to tell, feel free to let me know, would you? I’m always looking for subjects. (It would probably be a good idea to mention here to all our friends in PR that I’m not looking for people who have already been written about extensively, or who are essentially just trying to sell a product/service.)