But trying to find some new approach within the framework of the column was something that continually kept me on my toes. Trying to maintain your integrity can be a challenge. With cool editors you see completely eye to eye with, it's never an issue. It's not always easy to take a stand. And if you don't point it out, you feel like you're swallowing your pride and integrity on a regular basis.
Survival is also a challenge.
With syndication, they never tell you where to go or what to write, but they also don't cover your expenses. And if you have 17 newspapers paying discounted rates, as I did when I started, you're looking at a salary about on par, or maybe even lower, with a condiment refiller at Arby's. So I had to spend my time traveling in places like India and Bolivia where you can actually live on such a salary. It felt weird being this nationally syndicated columnist and being totally broke. The last two years of the contract, I could cover the travel expenses, but not much more.