Regarding "stringing". Stringing means acting as a casual correspondent. You might live in a small town in the middle of your state. You are a stringer for a capital city newspaper. When something happens in your town that the city newspaper wants to report, the paper contacts you. Or, you call them up with an idea. A stringer may work on a retainer plus so much per story, or just so much per story when there is a story. This works in various other ways. A national rural publication may have stringers for particular topics, such as cow disease or farm machinery. A stringer is different to a columnist or someone who writes for every issue. A stringer is more casual. Stringing is great casual work, as it keeps some semi-regular freelance money coming in.