Amid the flood of time, work and personal task management articles that pop up without fail Dec/Jan, this is the one tip that stuck in my head. Sorry, I don’t remember where I read it (most probably some in-flight magazine). It’s been working pretty darn well so far, so I thought I’d share.
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Here’s an excellent comment by Deb Gallardo, the kind that stimulates a bit more thought, on one aspect of my Test Project? What They’re Looking For… post, the part that mentions the need for pro freelance writers to be editable/able to work with editors.
Now looking at it from a writer’s POV (instead of an editor’s), I have to admit that I really do not like anyone messing with anything I write. Hate it, in fact.
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It’s been quiet around here. And no, it wasn’t that I was away or too busy with my “day” work… something even bigger took place. My wife and I just had our first kid earlier this month: Daniel Domenico Sarte. All 8.5lbs and 19.25″ inches of him. That’s my little boy there on the right.
And you betcha I’m a proud papa!
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Here’s another good piece we ran a ways back. Time for a refresher. Dina’s advice, by the way, is good for all freelance writers, not just copywriters. — EES
Article by Dina Giolitto
Are you a freelance copywriter working from home? If so, you’ve probably been on the project bidding war sites, like eLance. You’ve probably seen ads like this:
“Need 50 Articles Ghostwritten. 500-800 Words. Budget: $250-$500. Timeframe: one month.”
“How insulting!” you think to yourself, and yet sheer curiosity lures you to the bidding area. What do you see? Lowbrow bidders losing their minds… chomping at the bit for this embarrassing offer: “Bid: $500.” “Bid: $300.”
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Here’s another Wordpreneur oldie worth revisiting again (and maybe again) for those of you looking for simple inspiration and motivation to get your writing careers moving along. Seems simple enough, doesn’t it? — EES
Article by Steven Barnes
There is a way to virtually guarantee your publication within a single year. No, it has nothing to do with self-publication. This path is not for dilettantes, and will push you to the limit, but it has worked for dozens of my students, and it will work for you.
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Here’s an interesting Washington Post article on a Cornell University study on a “pricing trick” that seems to work. The study’s specific to the home real estate market, but it most likely has psychological implications for how we price what we sell (what doesn’t?).
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By Chris Garrett in Freelance Folder, veteran freelancers will be nodding along while reading each of the items.
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A little addendum to that multitasking thing… I find that the techniques I describe in that post aren’t really specific to writing-related activities; they also work very well for other tasks we have to do and focus on.
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I’m not a multitasker. In fact, I hate it. Funny thing is that I saw something on the news just last night where some scientist had hard data proving multitasking did not equal better productivity. Could have told him that. But I digress…
For a shot at making a living writing, the probability is you’ll have to be juggling multiple writing assignments and projects and doing them pretty close to simultaneously.
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Since I’m bold enough to actually be giving tips and pointers to other freelance writers, I must have a pretty good success rate with my queries, right?
Are you kidding me?
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Probably the most difficult thing to do when first starting to work at home is getting yourself into “work mode.” After all… you’re at home!
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As I go through bunches of writing/editing help wanted ads and gig announcements on a regular basis, one thing that always seems to impress itself onto my psyche is the number of ads I see — and frequently at that — that upfront tell you they won’t be paying and then proceed to promise the possibility of being paid later if things work out.
So, boys and girls, what do you think your chances are of actually seeing any gold at the end of that rainbow?
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Once you’ve settled on which job boards you’ll be visiting regularly, here’s what I suggest you should try to do to maximize your chances of landing good assignments:
Check each job board multiple times each day.
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I may have already mentioned in passing that my main desktop PC in my basement home office, a form that has served me very well as my main work PC in all the years prior, now serves predominantly utilitarian duties while I clickety-clack away on my “new” laptop upstairs.
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I didn’t “get it” when my father gave me this tip many eons ago. But as usual, he was right:
“No matter how much time you think it’ll take you to finish a job, double it.”
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I don’t really need a laptop, but I got one anyway for the heck of it when Vista came out. My old primary workhorse desktop PC running XP is still in my home office, chug chug chugging along doing everything I ask of it.
Well, it was.
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I play golf. But not very well. Funny thing is that my golf buddy and I never warm up before we tee off on the first tee. We usually show up few minutes before our tee time, rush to the first tee, maybe make a few token stretches and body twists and — whack! — we tee off.
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Smart employers of freelancers do what are best labeled as test projects, a smaller amount of less critical (yet nevertheless real and for pay) work meant to gauge and evaluate the freelancer in ways not readily apparent in clips and other writing samples. Doing well obviously opens the door for bigger, more lucrative projects with that employer.
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I am not a lawyer. So take this post with a grain of salt stamped all over the place with boilerplate “I’m not responsible if you’re nuts enough to think I know what I’m talking about legally” disclaimers.
But what’s so freaking hard about work-for-hire contracts?
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Welcome to the very first Wordpreneur Carnival!
What is it? Here, let’s have the good old Wikipedia explain it to us:
“A blog carnival is a type of blog event. It is similar to a magazine, in that it is dedicated to a particular topic, and is published on a regular schedule, often weekly or monthly. Each edition of a blog carnival is in the form of a blog article that contains permalinks to other blog articles on the particular topic.”
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