I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

I write crazy reviews for Famous under the pen name Katmancross.
They hired me because of my creativity and irreverent attitude. They've published 9 reviews since mid Oct.
Apparently, they've had complaints
Too sick
Offensive to women
One review had gore
One review mentioned hookers
No muslims (my next published review is about capturing bin Laden-he tires of being a terrorist on the run and becomes a stand up comic doing open mike nights-I haven't said a word about Muslims once in prior reviews)

Mind you, the guys have been cool and saw nothing wrong with my reviews prior to publishing. But now the new rules must change because of a few complaints.

Now, as I see it, cigar sites attract men. Adult men. Children don't read what I write. And I'm sure very few women read it.

They don't pay me a dime for these reviews. They send me a 5 pack for review purposes.
I do this for the freedom and creativity it allows. Anyone can write the 1-2-3 review. And Famous wanted to get away from that.

I'm at the crossroads. Do I buckle under and do what they ask...write for the masses? Or do I take my ball and go home?
Help me.

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

:tu

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

F*ck'm!

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

What do you want to do, Phillip? As you said, it's not a paid gig. More of a creative outlet and/or hobby. If I'm on my own dime, I tend to do what I like. If I'm getting paid, that's another story.

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

Money talks and BS walks. It's a business and they have to do what they have to do. You have to do what you have to do.

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

I say, dont sell out. If you are not losing anything (like your livelihood) I would worry about it. What will be next?? Having to give good reviews to cigars they say??? Just go with your gut and be happy.

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

Be true to thine self. :)

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

To Hell with knucklin' under. Start your own cigar blog and write reviews the way you want. I'm sure companies will send you plenty cigars to review.

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

First Amendment :tu

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

Actually, that's coming up next

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

Where could I set up my own blog and how would I get people to notice it?

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

Cool gig. I suppose you could keep doing what you do, and it's up to them to publish or not. Doesn't sound like you're under an obligation so I'm not sure I see why Famous would get too worked up about it.

Maybe you can capture all their corny suggestions & "offensive free" comments in one big tongue-in-cheek review as your next piece of work. :tu

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

I second it: Start your own blog. Reference the reviews they have already published.

The Constitution says nothing about protection from being offended, that's what the ON-OFF switch and channel changers are for!

Go for it, do your own thing! :2

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

If you're still gonna enjoy doing it all watered down, keep doing it. If not, get on down the road.
I can see their standpoint, it's business and they gotta be PC if that's what they want to be. You can always blog and/or post your reviews here and other places if you so desire, so there's your outlet. You're going to reach a lot more people, too.
The way I see it, you can keep on doing what you enjoy, the way you want to enjoy it, and reach lots more people. You're not losing anything. :tu

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

That's good advice and I'm seeing a pattern already.
Thanks

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

what he said

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

Their sandbox, your ball. You have to make the choice about that and whether or not you take direction from a bunch of anonymous strangers on a different cigar board.

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

As an aspiring writer myself, **** those guys. Don't turn into a sell out like so many other writers do! Man up my friend! (Esp. sine they don't pay you)

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

Thank you gentlemen for all of your excellent advice.
I've taken it all to heart so now all I have to do is think it through and make a decision.
They want me to review Ugly Coyotes next. A cheroot, like Backwoods, in an aluminum bag and correlate it to the cartoon character on the back.
I've got a gun, just no bullets.

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

Do what makes you happy.

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

:tpd: No sense in doing it if you're not going to enjoy it.

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

Say no more. What a brilliant opportunity to pull the plug!!! :D

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

Yep, what Scott said! Send the pack of Ugly Coyotes back with a note saying, "No Thanks!" LOL

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

He's sending me the non flavored ones. God help him if he sent me a grape flavored cigar to review.
But even the original is sweet with a sweetened cap.
As I look into my crystal ball, I see me writing him and telling him "I hate them...now what?"
Update to follow......

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

wwhstd?

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

HUH?

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

What Would Hunter S. Thompson Do? (besides acid, that is!)

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

Gore and hookers? How have I missed these reviews?

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

The gore was when I had Mongo the rodent chew my hand off because it was trapped between rocks while hiking, and falling into a ravine, in the Alabao review.
The hookers was a reference to (they changed the word "prostitute" to "strumpets") in the Signature Series by Patel review.

Pretty petty, huh?
I forgot that 8 year old children read my reviews.

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

If you are serious about setting up your own blog, fire me a PM.

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

You can start a blog at Wordpress. I would then get the word out to people like MatthewJMicheal from Toasted foot, he is active here. You can spread the word via twitter and other means... next thing you know... boom tons of traffic, if you have the dedication and quality writing to keep it going, you can be successful.

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

I have a personal blog at salon.com
http://open.salon.com/blog/katmancross

I guess I could do the same thing at salon with cigar reviews. The blogs that tell readers I have a new review published at Famous gets a lot of hits

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

Nah, the cigar industry is a very small place. so I would not burn bridges like that. Review them and if you're done, then politely tell them that you're done. Leave on good terms. It's always nice to have a door in the past that will open for you in the future if the paths cross again. These guys all talk, as Pete Johnson puts it, it's more like a fraternity and the competition that exists within a fraternity than it is all out business competition. If you throw these cigars back at the supplier, word will get out.

:2

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

I agree. As I posted earlier, if I find the cigars atrocious, I will tell them so and ask them what do we do now? I just can't praise a cigar I don't like.
But this thread could also be my downfall.

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

I didn't mean it to be a slap in the face. I just meant the idea of smoking an Ugly Coyote would make me say no thanks.

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

Here's the bottom line....I have a Famous catalog in front of me and there are dozens of house brands to be reviewed.
Why pick a liquor store type house brand?
What is to be gained?
Guys that smoke grape flavored cigars are always going to smoke grape flavored cigars.
Do guys that smoke peach flavored cigars read these blog sites? Do they read reviews and blogs on an online cigar store?
Who is my audience?
And who will ever read me again if I write glowingly about it?
I'm so confused.

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

Crap, I thought it was about AL Gore. :lv

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

Gotcha. :tu

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

I still want to know more about the hookers and the gore.

Philip, did a dingo eat your baby?;s

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

OK. I think an impasse has been solved. The guys at Famous have been very magnanimous about this whole thing.
They have approved publishing my reviews/stories here for the same cigar being reviewed on their site.
The review here... will be all me. The reviews at Famous will be PC, so nuns can read them.
I just have to write two stories/reviews. No problem.

I'm going to post two reviews/stories on the Review section this morning.
The first one is for La Floridita Fuerte cigars...a house brand. And it is not PC.
I will explain more on that post.

The other will be for Alabao cigars-another house brand. Nothing inappropriate on this one. But it may be more interesting for Beatles fans. Supposedly, this is a true story as told to me by George Martin in 1974 in London.

Thank you Famous!

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

start your own blog, be your own boss. And there are plenty of cigar companies that will send you samplers to review their stuff.

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

Is that the purpose of most cigar blogs? To get free samples?

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

I thought reviewing cigars is the purpose of most cigar blogs. ;)

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

Unless I am misinterpreting, this jab was unnecessary, IMHO. :2 I've read a lot of Ferdinand's reviews, and I would never draw this conclusion.:td

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

Everyone has their own personal reason for wanting to write about cigars.
I have always written. Just love it.
So the opportunity to write funny stuff and intertwine a cigar review around it is something I've never done.
Free cigars are nice but they are also tools. Tools that allow one to write the review.
Once in a while, I get a great cigar to review. Or one that's out of my pocket range.
Almost all reviewers do it because they love cigars.

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

You are misinterpreting. I genuinely want to know. I rarely read cigar blogs so I don't know the actual purpose of them.

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

I would assume the purpose of most cigar blogs is to provide an outlet to discuss and review cigars and the hobby we all hold so dear. I would assume there are some that do it for free stuff, but not most. But maybe I'm not cynical enough.:sh

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

Good news. I was offered a writing gig for another big online cigar outlet this morning.
I took the gig.
I will write for Famous and the other outfit at the same time.
I have no contract with Famous. I am freelance.
Period.
I can't say who the other guy is quite yet, but soon.

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

I believe blogspot.com is free. A friend of mine has a poker blog there.

http://madirishpoker.blogspot.com/




BTW, congrats on the new gig.

Re: I'm at the Crossroads-Help me Decide
 

Congratulations!