Writer at Home

Funny, but Irrelevant Picture

Dear Wanna-be Client,

Okay, I get it. You are hiring a writer because you can’t write yourself. Or maybe you can’t find the time to achieve all of your writing goals on your own, and you need help. Maybe grammar isn’t you’re thing, or you don’t really know how to go about finding the right freelancer for your project.

However, please take the time to spell check your ad, and give it a quick once over. Does it make sense? Does it give me enough information? No? Fix it.

When you can’t be bothered to look up a reasonable rate for a project, and instead offer me something that is beyond insulting, I’m not going to apply. You get what you pay for. Also, when you are describing how easy the job will be, and the research I will be doing, do not use the term “Wikipedia”.  Please show me that you respect your site enough to want facts, not whatever mangled information Wikipedia has on it at this particular moment in time.

Do not write me back after I have contacted you, make it sound like I have the job, and then fool around with “I’m still choosing.. How should I get the most publicity for my site?” I am more than happy to answer questions like that for clients I actually work for. I would have even answered it for free. I’m just that nice. I’m not going to tell you though. I don’t work for free. Or for idiots. Don’t waste my time.

I will also not work for you if you have no idea what you actually want. Okay, let me clarify..  If you aren’t sure if you need exactly what content you want in your blog, I can help you. If you’re thinking about social media, and you don’t quite know how you want to approach it, I can help you. I will gladly help you. Just remember that it is your business we are helping. You know it best. I am an outsider. Sure, I can ask questions and do some research, but I don’t have years of my life invested in this. I want you to succeed, but you need to do a little research, and try to get an idea of what you’re looking for. I need something to go on, even if all you can give me is a website or other business that is doing something similar to what you want to be doing.

I will not edit for dirt cheap. Yes, I am fixing mistakes. If all you want is someone to read through for misspelled or misused words, I can charge you less. If you want someone to go in and really work over your document, getting rid of all the questionable phrases (please don’t call readers, or anyone else, idiots. It sounds bad.), and leaving you with a polished document you can be proud of? That takes time and effort. And a certain finesse. It’s art, baby. Not everyone can do what I do.

Look, I really would love to work for you. Truly. But you need to do your part, too. I can find work with a lot of different companies. Prove to me in your ad that I want to spend my time working for you.

Thanks.

Frustrated Freelancer

A Little Daily Inspiration

I love making lists. I love making goals. And I don’t believe that resolutions should only be made once a year. I make them every day.

New Day Resolutions are ways to improve your writing and business skills, one small step at a time. It’s a way to get back to all of the tasks that maybe you sweep aside, putting them off for one reason or another until you forget about them entirely. Maybe you want to spend more time on your own sites, or you want to get back into using Twitter or Facebook. Perhaps it’s even something as simple as spending 10-15 minutes a day doing creative writing. Whatever you want to be doing, now is the time to start.

Pull out a clean sheet of paper, and write across the top, “Today, I resolve to….”  Don’t make a long list; you want short, attainable goals. Be sure to include a couple fun, non-work related tasks on your list. Give your self a great reason to get away from the computer for a while, and recharge.Once your list is done, tape it up on the wall near your work area, right where you can easily see it. I have mine hanging in my inspiration area, along with some favorite quotes and my long-term goals.

Write your list every morning when you first sit down to your desk, or every night before you log off for the night. Start each day with your resolutions in mind, and you might just find it easier to stay on task.

My Resolutions for the Day:

Three articles (One done so far)

New Examiner article (Done!)

Two blog posts (one here-done, and one elsewhere-not done)

Art project with my daughter (after her nap)

Go play in the snow (also after her nap)

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What are your New Day Resolutions?

Getting back to blogging feels fantastic. I’m enjoying being able to reconnect with the rest of the writing world, and offer a little bit of advice here or there.

The problem is– I have no idea what to write about. So, this post is going to be a mesh of mini-posts, about inspiration, things I thought about blogging about, and anything else that comes to mind.

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One of my favorite places to browse for new gigs is Online Writing Jobs. They always have great opportunities listed, and they update several times a day.

Yesterday, however, they posted this little nugget:

Erotic Stories (Southern, NH)

Looking for a female aged 18 years and over who is willing to write about some of her real life sexual experiences. Looking for someone
who can write it from your vantage point and what you were thinking. Looking for first time sexual experiences, and also things
about kinkier first times.

I stress from females only, no real names needed, pay pal will be the payment method.

• Location: Southern NH
• it’s NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
• Compensation: $35

Wow. Scary, right? And evidently, this isn’t the only weirdo out there looking for a writer to **cough, cough** inspire the client with their writing. Check out A Freelance Fairy Tale, off one of my new favorite blogs. Check out the rest of your blog while you’re there.

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Finding Inspiration

When I get really stuck for ideas, I go to Amazon.com and browse book titles, looking for marketing, writing and other books that might strike upon a great idea. All this really does is make my wish list longer, but sometimes I come across a great idea for a post.

Also, when you find a great idea, write it down. I had a fantastic idea for today’s post, and I lost it.

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What I’m Doing Now:

This will eventually be a longer post, but here are the basics:

I left Wisegeek, and I never followed through with Suite101. Maybe I’ll try again someday.

I am still specializing in real estate. I do blogging for a couple people, and I tend to lean towards those articles with Demand Studios. I also apply for more real estate jobs than other type.

I just became the Syracuse, NY Real Estate Examiner. Nothing is up yet, but once I am fully a member of the community, I’ll be posting an affiliate link in the sidebar. There are a lot of openings, and the work is easy, but I don’t know how great the pay is. It’s all residual. I’ll let you know how it goes…

I’m also a writer and contributing editor for Bright Hub. They pay upfront, with residuals after the work has been published. It’s a perfect combination. There are a lot of changes going on over there right now, so it might be a long and stressful month for anyone working there, but the changes are all (in theory) for the better. It’s just going to take some time.

I’ve also been customizing Wordpress Themes and setting up new sites for some clients, providing social media consultation, and writing marketing copy. Which is fun. I really enjoy the challenge of letting customers know about a product, service or company in a way that comes off as professional and high-quality, not cheesy.

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I finally remembered what today’s post was supposed to be about. Come back tomorrow, and you’ll see what you were supposed to be reading about today.

I am a member of a couple different freelancing communities. Being involved gives me a chance to stay current, and it also provides a lot of food for thought.

Maybe it’s just because of the holidays, but it seems like there are a lot of freelancers living paycheck to paycheck. And it’s not just freelancers, of course; a lot of people do it. As freelancers, however, we don’t need to. A little extra planning, and a little extra work, and we can beat the cycle and get ahead of our finances.

I’ll be the first to admit that I am just as bad about not planning ahead with my expenses as anyone out there. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve pulled last-minute working sprees, just for the sake of paying a bill on time. It’s stressful, and I’m trying to leave this habit behind this year. This is how I’m doing it.

1. Figure out my monthly expenses. I want to be at least one month ahead, so I need to have that amount extra in the bank. My expenses are around $1500 each month.
2. Set a goal, and divide it up. I would like to be entirely ahead in 6 months. That means that I need to set aside $250 a month, or about $63 a week.
3. Create a plan for making the extra money. I know that I can hit this goal with 4-5 extra articles at Demand Studios. If I write an extra 5 articles a week, I can have the full $1500 in 20 weeks, or about 5 months.
4. Stay motivated. Determine a reward for when you hit your goal. I plan on making this a family project, with my husband and I both working towards making sure the money is set aside. We’ll come up with a reward for once we complete the goal, maybe a night out or picking up a couple movies and ordering Chinese. We’re easily pleased, but your reward can be as big as you’d like (as long as it doesn’t cut into your new savings).

Once we hit the $1500 mark, I want to keep going. If I put aside that same $75 a week all year, I’ll have $3900 set aside by the end of the year. That’s enough for a car repair, new laptop, and a month of expenses.

I’m done living paycheck to paycheck; this year, I’m breaking free. Not having to worry about money when I need to take a few days off here or there will be more than worth the extra effort.

So, who’s with me?