River T. Chau
River T. Chau
Maven of Gigcraft: Writer / Editor / Consultant.
Fort Walton Beach, Fl
www.gigcraftmedia.com
instagram @river.tc
youtube
WHAT DO YOU DO?
“I call myself a maven of gigcraft. ”
While I offer a variety of services, I primarily coach and consult budding creative professionals, entrepreneurs, and creators on identifying their narrative strategy and finding the “substance” in their work.
I founded Gigcraft Media, LLC as a one-stop shop for my services, as well as a growing resource for creatives hell bent on making their calling their career.
“Gigcraft” is a word I made up to describe my work. It’s a nod to the fact I work a variety of “gigs” and that flexibility being a part of my craft or skill. It also sounds a bit like “witchcraft” which I think is very fitting for my personality.
Gigcraft is all about validating passion, creativity, and skill as a legitimate means of earning an income and building a career. I think it describes the “gig economy” we see growing today but reclaims it from snarky headlines.
I define myself as a maven because it is a self-made expert. Therefore, I am the leading expert in my personal craft.
My background in writing, editing, and social media communication with a dash of video production thrown in there, all of my work involves narrative and intuition.
WHAT STEPS DID YOU TAKE TO GET TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?
I used to really struggle with defining the work I do. While I was pursing my first degree, I knew I didn’t want to be in a traditional “job.” And as the daughter of an English teacher, everyone assumes you’re going to be a teacher as well.
Dripping in irony, I got my first bachelor’s degree in English with a specialization in Creative Writing. I began taking on editing projects with a mid-size publishing house and started to inch my way out of my hourly job. I picked up more freelance gigs copywriting, consulting on social media marketing, and I ran a small tarot reading business for a few years. I even went back to school to get a second bachelor’s degree in Communications and Film Production.
For about a year, I played with the idea of coaching and tried on many, many taglines and niches: writing coach, intuitive coach, an intuitive coach that specializes in social media marketing, etc. I couldn’t commit to one because I felt limited and narrow.
Once I gave myself permission to not worry about the semantics of what my “job” was called, I had my ah-ha moment.
How do you stand out in your field?
The thing that makes my work unique is also what can be a challenge at times. I incorporate all of my passions and callings in my business, but it’s not practical to pour energy into everything at once.
I’ve had to learn that it’s okay to prioritize one area of my work over another, and it doesn’t mean the other areas will shrivel up and die.
I gladly own the fact that I take my work personally because my work is personal. All of the creatives, musicians, and entrepreneurs I’ve worked with take their craft, their line of work, their means of living extremely personal. If it wasn’t personal to some degree, we probably wouldn’t be doing it.
Because I take my work personally, I take my clients’ and collaborators’ work personally. I am often an advocate, a mediator, a sounding-board, and a loyal contributor.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
I’m working on some digital products that incorporate journaling and tarot cards to help develop one’s intuition and expand on their personal growth.
I’ve read tarot since 2015, and once I figured out how to read tarot for myself, I knew I wanted to share that with others to really get in touch with their inner self and follow their own guidance system.
Part of my vision for Gigcraft is for the term itself to be used by other professional creatives and “slashies” to describe their work and career. To do that, I’m building a community around developing your intuition and owning your passions in the work we do.
WHAT'S YOUR STYLE/PERSPECTIVE/TASTE? DO YOU HAVE A PROJECT THAT REPRESENTS THIS?
I’ve always described my editing and aspire my writing as, what I like to call, “the Hemingway approach.” Omission is powerful and telling when done correctly. Sometimes it’s best to cut out embellishment and flowery things (which I try to edit out of my own writing as best I can).
And write the truest sentence you know.
I interpret that as: Create the truest thing you can right now. Which means, be you and do it only for you. Don’t go back and erase the mistakes because it shows growth.
WE ARE ALL SLASHIES WITH MULTIPLE SKILLS, WHICH ONE DO YOU WISH YOU COULD DO MORE OFTEN?
I think I will always be a writer, but my slightly-unsung passion is film. I have made strides in developing knowledge and skill in that area, and ultimately, I believe it incorporates most—if not all—of my interests.
WHAT IS FRUSTRATING YOU RIGHT NOW?
I’m fairly frustrated by the aversion a lot of people still have towards social media. We villainize it, blame it for our problems, and don’t take it seriously.
I think people are generally confused about their disdain of social media. Social media has been around much longer than social media platforms. It is simply media that is social. Think of people calling into radio stations, your local news reporting on small business, flyers promoting a punk show downtown. Those are all examples of media which is shared socially.
It’s really social media platforms we have mixed feelings about, not social media.
Social media can be used for good. It can grow your community and light a fire or overwhelm your work and exhaust your passion into compliance.
I believe we should steer the conversation away from what is wrong with social media and instead, bring our motivation, the story we want to tell, and our “why” into focus.
IF YOU COULD HIRE SOMEONE FOR $20/HR, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE THEM DO TO MAKE YOUR DAY EASIER?
I’d hire someone to do my laundry and put it away (I leave clean clothes in the dryer for days), as well as make sure everything I own with a battery was charged: my camera batteries, my external battery, my iPad, my laptop, you get the idea.
LET'S BRING OUT THE TIME MACHINE. WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU COULD HAVE TOLD YOURSELF, WHEN, AND WHY?
I wish I could say I’d go back in time and tell myself not to bother with boys or don’t go out with a certain guy. Now, I appreciate that those obstacles were opportunities for growth and has shaped the kind of friend and partner I am today.
Instead, I’d tell my 18-year-old self not to get a credit card. Ever. Just please don’t. It’s a trap for my youthful folly and impulsive shopping.
IF YOU COULD TALK TO AN EXPERT TO GAIN MORE INSIGHT ON SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE ABOUT?
Oh, I’d love to chat up someone about cryptocurrency. It’s just one of those newer, shinier things in the world I think is fascinating, but I know very little about it. Plus, I think there is something romantic about the idea of disrupting classic currency when money doesn’t really “exist” unless we are observing, retaining, and using it.
WHAT KIND OF OPPORTUNITIES/PROJECTS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
I’m looking to partner with other creators and businesses. I offer a 2-hour one-on-one session to really spend some quality time brainstorming new ideas and crafting a narrative to better connect with an audience and a mission.
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL JOB/CLIENT/COLLABORATION.
I love working with clients who are excited, stoked, and pumped to tell their world their story. Because when they are excited, I’m over the moon.
I reflect my client’s or partner’s needs. If they need their hand held through the process, we’ll talk every other day. If they are cool with setting out a strategy and trust the job will get done, I stay out of their inbox until necessary.
I look to work with people who understand that they are an authority in their work as I am an authority in my work, but we are also equals. We’re all adults here, and we all have something to learn from each other.
WHAT IS YOUR HOURLY RATE, RETAINER, OR SALARY RANGE?
Depending on the project or service, the rates will vary but they are proportional to their context.
My “Breaking Ground” one-on-one sessions are a flat rate of $247 for two hours together. These sessions are a la carte but can evolve into long-term work together, which the rate will vary.
For manuscript editing and development, I offer a coaching program for $150-$300 a week and a monthly retainer for editing.
I do require a manuscript audit prior to the monthly retainer, which runs at $15 per 1,000 words.
HOW SHOULD SOMEONE APPROACH YOU ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER?
As much as I love a good follow on Instagram, the very best way to reach me is at my email mavenofgigcraft@gmail.com.
You can visit my website gigcraftmedia.com to check out the different nooks and crannies of my work as well.
HOW DO YOU STAY CREATIVE?
Creation and creativity don’t exist in a vacuum. I find whenever I feel stuck or kind of dull, hanging out with and conversing with my close, trusted friends and fellow creatives helps to keep things fresh—and from getting stuck in my own head!
Also, getting a change of scenery! Even if it’s just getting outside of the house for a few hours.
This member profile was originally published in February 2020.