Elif and Burcu

Summary

Elif and José continued to work together occasionally. After a couple of years of painful lessons about what stories would and would not sell, José secured a “string” with a syndicated news website, an informal agreement that they would accept his work on an ongoing basis, even though he was still paid per article as a freelancer. This arrangement allowed him to focus on one article at a time with the confidence that he would be paid, if often belatedly and only after complaints to the editor. As a stringer, José could also sometimes expense Elif’s fees instead of paying them out of pocket. She would type up a receipt for “translation services” for him to forward along to the editor.