{"product_id":"the-string-book-of-ron-leys-journalist-9781728377049","title":"The String Book of Ron Leys, Journalist","description":"Back in the day, many reporters and columnists kept a folder or big envelope in a desk drawer. Whenever he or she wrote something that might impress a future prospective employer, it was clipped and saved in this folder or envelope. This was known as a string book. The phrase was borrowed from the common term for free-lance writers, who were paid by the column inch of published material. They were known as stringers, from the old practice of pasting together their published stories in sort of a string, which could then be measured and submitted for payment, monthly or otherwise. Staffers, on the other hand, were paid by the week, or for part-timers, by the hour. In the fall of 1959, an English professor at the University of Wisconsin suggested that I consider becoming a professional writer. My career thus far had included a hitch in the United States Navy, followed by several years as a construction worker and truck driver. Just before my GI Bill eligibility expired, I enrolled at the UW. Taking the professor's advice, I majored in journalism. I met a fellow journalist, Marilyn Shapiro, and we married. During the summer of 1961 I interned at The Rockford Morning Star in northern Illinois. On completion of college, I became a full time reporter there. In 1969, I went to work for The Milwaukee Journal. I worked as a copy editor, reporter, nature columnist, suburban editor, and outdoor editor. I retired in 1991, although I wrote freelance columns for the Journal's Sunday magazine, and later for an independent magazine, The Wisconsin Outdoor Journal. When that ended, it was over. It turned out that I only wrote for the money. When they stopped paying me. I stopped writing. Although it probably had more to do with losing an audience. That was always the point, writing for readers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Ron Leys Journalist\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Authorhouse\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/10\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 142\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.80lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.38d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781728377049","brand":"Authorhouse","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":41169171316851,"sku":"9.78173E+12","price":27.15,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/9255\/0515\/products\/img_b95cdbb3-d2fc-4fbd-ad78-cf35779f1130.jpg?v=1703083856","url":"https:\/\/bookstorenmore.com\/products\/the-string-book-of-ron-leys-journalist-9781728377049","provider":"Bookstore N More","version":"1.0","type":"link"}