Busy.
Another open-ended project landed in my lap last week, so I have three projects spanning September and October.
I'm reading again. Nothing heavy. Reading Eragon, and while I agree it's somewhat of a rip-off of several older fantasy series (Pern, for the most part), I have to admit it's a pretty damn good read for coming from a 15 year old kid. With that being said...the writing is fairly atrocious, and he makes mention of the fact that the book underwent heavy restructuring at the hands of his mother and then again with a professional editor, but the story itself is entertaining.
So entertaining that I caught myself the other day 30 minutes past my break, still engrossed in the story. It's true what they say...if there's a diamond in the rough, a good editor will be able to polish that sucker up until it shines.
With that being said...we are ordering some books this month. I'm going to be ordering Brandon Sanderson's trilogy, as well as the Book of the New Sun, by Gene Wolfe. Amazingly enough I've never read anything by the man, despite him being considered one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. I've been doing a lot of research in the past few weeks on refinement of my style as I continue to evolve, and I figure this man is well worth my time, given the credentials he has and the amount of respect he has earned among his peers, despite lacking best-seller status.
Short story revisions are on the order for September. I have one that's been sitting for 8 weeks. I have two other short stories I started last year that I want to finish up. I had a long talk with Evy and...you guessed it...I'm probably pushing back my personal deadline on the novel from Christmas to an undecided time. Why?
Firstly, my writing career is doing great. I've got more work than I can shake a stick at. I'm happy to be doing what it is that I always wanted to be doing. Even though it's not fiction, which is my primary desire, I have to admit that I'm making great money doing what I do, which is mostly content work with a little bit of journalism thrown in for fun. I've got several short stories in circulation. I have outlines for 4 novels for this series, and I'm 11 chapters into the first book, or around 75k words, including the prologue. I'm not in a rush. I'm not a starving artist desperate for a sale. I've sold a couple of short stories, I have more in circulation, and I'm sure they will sell eventually. In the meantime I'd rather focus on further refinement of my style so I can make this first book as good as it can possibly be.
It would be stupid of me to focus more on fiction and less on the paying work right now, especially given the fact that the entire world is a recession, yet I'm blessed with an over-abundance of work. And it's not like I don't enjoy what it is I'm doing...I've been blessed to have clients that are wonderful to work for. I'm getting to write about food, wine, travel, games, and other things which are hobbies for me, so it's really not work at all...it's simply getting paid to write about the things I enjoy in life in the first place.
So while there's no doubt that fiction--specifically fantasy and science-fiction--is my long-term goal, I see no reason to rush. I'm successful at what I do, there's no doubt about that, and I'm extremely grateful for the opportunities I've been awarded. I've had close to half a dozen talks with Evy about the subject and I've come to the conclusion that while I'm going to keep working on the novel in my spare time, it would be better for me to further refine my style with another year's worth of short stories or so while continuing to build my resume through content and journalism writing.
At the end of the day I'm still a writer, regardless of the genre I happen to working in.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
The Little Things Part VI
My profile pic here is a few months old. My goatee had gotten quite long (about 8 inches when braided). Yes...it was long enough to braid. It started off as an experiment, then it turned into a great way to fend off Gypsies and beggars on the street, because I looked like I was a person who wanders the streets and eats little babies. And it was funny, because I'm not a big metal fan, but everyone I met on the streets assumed I was a metal-head.
I cut it off yesterday, revealing my baby face. Damn baby-face!
The little thing that made me laugh was today, when Evy's friend Dessy came over. She took one look at me and said "Tim! What happened? Parts of your body are missing!"
:)
The little things that make you laugh.
I cut it off yesterday, revealing my baby face. Damn baby-face!
The little thing that made me laugh was today, when Evy's friend Dessy came over. She took one look at me and said "Tim! What happened? Parts of your body are missing!"
:)
The little things that make you laugh.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
An Environmental Piece
For those of you who haven't watched it, I present this video about our Planet Earth.
It's a bit over 1.5 hours, so consider it a feature-length film.
Shot entirely in HD, this video gives a close-up look at the world, humanity's effect on it, and how far out of balance things have become in the past 50 years, and what needs to be done to help move things back towards a proper balance.
I know not all of my readers are green-thinkers, but this is an educational piece even if you don't subscribe to my particular belief. It offers some fairly stark evidence as to how badly we (humans) have treated the earth over the years, and some pretty scary numbers which, believe them or not, at the very least motivate people to think a little harder when it comes to excessive consumption and out-right gross mismanagement of our resources.
Enjoy.
It's a bit over 1.5 hours, so consider it a feature-length film.
Shot entirely in HD, this video gives a close-up look at the world, humanity's effect on it, and how far out of balance things have become in the past 50 years, and what needs to be done to help move things back towards a proper balance.
I know not all of my readers are green-thinkers, but this is an educational piece even if you don't subscribe to my particular belief. It offers some fairly stark evidence as to how badly we (humans) have treated the earth over the years, and some pretty scary numbers which, believe them or not, at the very least motivate people to think a little harder when it comes to excessive consumption and out-right gross mismanagement of our resources.
Enjoy.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Focus!
Hard to do so when vacation is looming just around the corner :)
May be dealing with my first ever no-pay client. Thankfully it was a small project, but still...it's been 30 days since my last article was accepted and put up on their website and I haven't received payment, and the last e-mail I had was nearly 3 weeks ago with the editor who said they had a new CFO who was trying to cut back on the budget. We'll see. I'm giving them until the end of the month before I pursue legal action.
Other than that...kicking arse and taking names. Work for the month of September and October is planned out nicely.
I put the cook-book on hold. It just wasn't realistic to have it done by this point. I have all the recipes, but I don't have all the pictures I need. After talking with Evy about it, I think we'll spend the rest of the fall/winter cooking more dishes and getting more pictures, and then look at it for next spring. I'd love to do it, but I've simply got too many other irons in the fire at this point.
Found an accountant here in Sofia, recommended by the Embassy. Will be giving them a call next month and working out the intricacies of filing from overseas with non-US income and otherwise. Should be interesting.
That's a quick update. Evy's family opened up their 15th store yesterday. We left at 8 a.m. and didn't get home until 8 p.m. Lots of food, wine, and otherwise. Were at the restaurant from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m.
Great fun :) I love living here.
May be dealing with my first ever no-pay client. Thankfully it was a small project, but still...it's been 30 days since my last article was accepted and put up on their website and I haven't received payment, and the last e-mail I had was nearly 3 weeks ago with the editor who said they had a new CFO who was trying to cut back on the budget. We'll see. I'm giving them until the end of the month before I pursue legal action.
Other than that...kicking arse and taking names. Work for the month of September and October is planned out nicely.
I put the cook-book on hold. It just wasn't realistic to have it done by this point. I have all the recipes, but I don't have all the pictures I need. After talking with Evy about it, I think we'll spend the rest of the fall/winter cooking more dishes and getting more pictures, and then look at it for next spring. I'd love to do it, but I've simply got too many other irons in the fire at this point.
Found an accountant here in Sofia, recommended by the Embassy. Will be giving them a call next month and working out the intricacies of filing from overseas with non-US income and otherwise. Should be interesting.
That's a quick update. Evy's family opened up their 15th store yesterday. We left at 8 a.m. and didn't get home until 8 p.m. Lots of food, wine, and otherwise. Were at the restaurant from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m.
Great fun :) I love living here.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
What's on my mind?
I bookmark and save a lot of news articles to talk about with friends and family, and I sometimes link them here on my website. I thought I'd give readers a chance to see what's been making the rounds on my table lately for reading/thinking.
Iran blaming Google and Twitter for corrupting their youth.
We Have More To Offer. Classic humor from German politicians. Too bad everyone has to be so up-tight.
Asian woman caned (see flogged) for drinking a beer in Malaysia. Are we living in the 21st century or back in the stone-ages when women didn't have equal rights?
Those are the three "hot topics" on my mind lately. In addition, I've been looking into experimenting/further refining my personal style for fiction. I've been dabbling quite a bit, and I think my personal style is a cross between third person limited and stream of consciousness narrative. To-date I've written a few first-person shorts (which Evy says are my best pieces), and while I enjoy writing short fiction in first-person, I just don't see myself writing a novel from that perspective. Unless it's a stand-alone, perhaps. As far as the fiction series (I've refined the 5 book outline down to 4 books) that I'm working on first, I am largely doing this as a "testing" ground to refine my personal style, learn how to properly create/define/write characters, plot elements, and so on and so forth, without worrying too much about whether or not I become a best-seller. I'm doing this primarily for a paycheck, true, but to be honest, my freelance work is paying the bills, and I'm fine with that for as long as it takes to refine myself into a sellable fiction writer. A few short stories sales do not a fiction writer make, and I've got a lot of refining to do. To that end, I'm ordering some new books in September to further research my personal style and tailor my writing a bit further as I begin to (finally!) make more progress on the book after so many months off. I started working through the first 11 chapters yesterday, and I've been making some small edits and getting ready to start on chapter 12, finally. I'm just over 70k words in right now, and the outline calls for 30 chapters, or around 200k words. Still a *lot* of work to get done by Christmas. Then there's edits, revisions....
That's the mid-week blurb.
Iran blaming Google and Twitter for corrupting their youth.
We Have More To Offer. Classic humor from German politicians. Too bad everyone has to be so up-tight.
Asian woman caned (see flogged) for drinking a beer in Malaysia. Are we living in the 21st century or back in the stone-ages when women didn't have equal rights?
Those are the three "hot topics" on my mind lately. In addition, I've been looking into experimenting/further refining my personal style for fiction. I've been dabbling quite a bit, and I think my personal style is a cross between third person limited and stream of consciousness narrative. To-date I've written a few first-person shorts (which Evy says are my best pieces), and while I enjoy writing short fiction in first-person, I just don't see myself writing a novel from that perspective. Unless it's a stand-alone, perhaps. As far as the fiction series (I've refined the 5 book outline down to 4 books) that I'm working on first, I am largely doing this as a "testing" ground to refine my personal style, learn how to properly create/define/write characters, plot elements, and so on and so forth, without worrying too much about whether or not I become a best-seller. I'm doing this primarily for a paycheck, true, but to be honest, my freelance work is paying the bills, and I'm fine with that for as long as it takes to refine myself into a sellable fiction writer. A few short stories sales do not a fiction writer make, and I've got a lot of refining to do. To that end, I'm ordering some new books in September to further research my personal style and tailor my writing a bit further as I begin to (finally!) make more progress on the book after so many months off. I started working through the first 11 chapters yesterday, and I've been making some small edits and getting ready to start on chapter 12, finally. I'm just over 70k words in right now, and the outline calls for 30 chapters, or around 200k words. Still a *lot* of work to get done by Christmas. Then there's edits, revisions....
That's the mid-week blurb.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Latest MMO Hub Article up
Latest MMO Hub article up.
Hopefully this gig continues. I have a slew of ideas and have already discussed with the editor several of them, but as a newer company there is some restructuring going on. Apparently the payment agreed upon several months ago, which is in my contract, isn't kosher with the new CFO, who just came on board in July. As a result, my editor is (supposedly) trying to convince him as to why Feature writers (like myself) deserve the rates we were getting paid for our articles, rather than things being farmed out to some content farm where they will write the articles for 5 dollars a pop.
Now, while I understand there is a varying degree of quality on this site (some of what people are getting paid to write kind of shocks me. I'm beginning to see why gaming journalism has such a bad reputation in the industry), I think it should very much be looked at on a case-by-case basis.
In any event, if I don't hear back from the editor what I want to hear (that my rates are gtg), then I'll be moving on and pitching ideas to another 'zine. This was the last article per my contract, so we just have to wait and see what we see.
Hopefully this gig continues. I have a slew of ideas and have already discussed with the editor several of them, but as a newer company there is some restructuring going on. Apparently the payment agreed upon several months ago, which is in my contract, isn't kosher with the new CFO, who just came on board in July. As a result, my editor is (supposedly) trying to convince him as to why Feature writers (like myself) deserve the rates we were getting paid for our articles, rather than things being farmed out to some content farm where they will write the articles for 5 dollars a pop.
Now, while I understand there is a varying degree of quality on this site (some of what people are getting paid to write kind of shocks me. I'm beginning to see why gaming journalism has such a bad reputation in the industry), I think it should very much be looked at on a case-by-case basis.
In any event, if I don't hear back from the editor what I want to hear (that my rates are gtg), then I'll be moving on and pitching ideas to another 'zine. This was the last article per my contract, so we just have to wait and see what we see.
Monday, August 17, 2009
The Little Things, Part V
What are you grateful for?
I'm grateful for a thriving career. A loving, supportive wife. My abilities as a writer. My friends. The Internet. Technology. My health.
I'm grateful for the opportunity to live a fruitful life.
It's amazing the way your mind changes from the time you are a child to when you are an adult. When you are younger, everything is simple. There are no gray boundaries, there is only black and white. Your inquisitive mind may question the "why" behind things, but you really only begin to understand those "whys" with time and the wisdom of old age. The philosophical begins to make more sense. The signs along the way, which had previously only been muted signals of half-garbled gibberish, are now clear and concise.
I'm grateful for the experiences I've had along the way. They have taught me how to succeed, and how to be the best at what I do. They also taught me how to deal with the problems that arise, and I've learned which ruts are you drive around, and which ones you stick it in 4-wheel-drive and drive over.
I'm grateful for the community aspect of the Internet. I've met some really amazing people in the last few years, through both our MMORPGing and our networking via our separate blogs.
We booked our hotel yesterday. Picked a small place in old-town Nesebar. We'll be out of town for 5 days around the first of September, enjoying a much-needed seaside holiday. Taking the train, rather than driving/taking a bus. Give us a chance to see more of the countryside, and enjoy a (hopefully!) nice, relaxing trip through the Bulgarian country.
Work is going good. Wrapping up a large project today and tomorrow, and I just started another large project for a new client that spans the next couple of months. I'm staying busy, and I love what I do. I look forward to a busy winter, and hopefully enough spare time to actually get my novel draft done by Christmas. I've lost nearly 3 months worth of work due to being too busy as a freelancer. The pull of the paycheck has been greater than the pull of my artistic desires, and I need to make sure I don't lose sight of what it is I set out to accomplish in the first place: transition to full-time novelist. I'm just having so much fun doing what I'm doing now, and making good enough money, that I haven't really felt like I"m losing out, if you catch my drift.
Here's to the latter half of 2009 being as good as the first :)
I'm grateful for a thriving career. A loving, supportive wife. My abilities as a writer. My friends. The Internet. Technology. My health.
I'm grateful for the opportunity to live a fruitful life.
It's amazing the way your mind changes from the time you are a child to when you are an adult. When you are younger, everything is simple. There are no gray boundaries, there is only black and white. Your inquisitive mind may question the "why" behind things, but you really only begin to understand those "whys" with time and the wisdom of old age. The philosophical begins to make more sense. The signs along the way, which had previously only been muted signals of half-garbled gibberish, are now clear and concise.
I'm grateful for the experiences I've had along the way. They have taught me how to succeed, and how to be the best at what I do. They also taught me how to deal with the problems that arise, and I've learned which ruts are you drive around, and which ones you stick it in 4-wheel-drive and drive over.
I'm grateful for the community aspect of the Internet. I've met some really amazing people in the last few years, through both our MMORPGing and our networking via our separate blogs.
We booked our hotel yesterday. Picked a small place in old-town Nesebar. We'll be out of town for 5 days around the first of September, enjoying a much-needed seaside holiday. Taking the train, rather than driving/taking a bus. Give us a chance to see more of the countryside, and enjoy a (hopefully!) nice, relaxing trip through the Bulgarian country.
Work is going good. Wrapping up a large project today and tomorrow, and I just started another large project for a new client that spans the next couple of months. I'm staying busy, and I love what I do. I look forward to a busy winter, and hopefully enough spare time to actually get my novel draft done by Christmas. I've lost nearly 3 months worth of work due to being too busy as a freelancer. The pull of the paycheck has been greater than the pull of my artistic desires, and I need to make sure I don't lose sight of what it is I set out to accomplish in the first place: transition to full-time novelist. I'm just having so much fun doing what I'm doing now, and making good enough money, that I haven't really felt like I"m losing out, if you catch my drift.
Here's to the latter half of 2009 being as good as the first :)
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Socialized Health Care
The big debate. America is one of the only countries in the world which does *not* use a version of the SHC, and Obama is in favor of it. So am I. Naturally, Americans are in an uproar about it. Mostly, because they don't understand the benefits, which far out-weight the downsides. And while I can appreciate both sides of the fence, I think it's important that people know all the facts.
Dr. Steve wrote an interesting piece on this the other day, and I have to say that I liked his analogies, because they make a lot of sense. You wouldn't want the government telling you what kind of house you can/can't buy, so how is there any difference in private health care?
But there is also the issue of the ridiculous fees attached to private health care. Which leads to the phrase I found in this article from the Associated Press, in which Britains are expressing their outrage over criticism from Americans about their health-care system.
My favorite part was the "Land of the Fee" play on Land of the Free.
Evy just had a round of dentistry over the past few weeks to remove one of her teeth. She spent several weeks in and out of the dentist. X-rays, lab work, couple of fillings on other teeth, and eventually they decided to pull this one rather than try to do a root canal. After all was said and done her total bill was 160 leva. That's about 120 USD.
We did the math on what it would have cost us, without insurance, in America, and the cost for the work she had done was well over 5 thousand USD, including office visits.
I'm sorry, but there is no comparison. While I understand there are pros and cons to each system, I don't agree with the mentality that "you can't put a price tag on the worth of your health", because all that leads to is the "Land of the Fee" mentality, which is where private medicine has arrived at in this day and age. The cost of insurance, office visits, medication, and otherwise, far outweigh the benefits of having private medicine. And while it's true that there are downsides to socialized medicine/health care, like longer lines and less personalized attention in *some* cases, you have to admit that a great many Western countries, including Britain, have been using socialized health care for years, to great avail.
Personally, I'm for socialized medicine. I think it's great that doctors and such be able to make a fair wage for what they do, because keeping us healthy is an important job, but I don't agree that doctors and health care in particular should be costing people an arm and a leg.
Dr. Steve wrote an interesting piece on this the other day, and I have to say that I liked his analogies, because they make a lot of sense. You wouldn't want the government telling you what kind of house you can/can't buy, so how is there any difference in private health care?
But there is also the issue of the ridiculous fees attached to private health care. Which leads to the phrase I found in this article from the Associated Press, in which Britains are expressing their outrage over criticism from Americans about their health-care system.
My favorite part was the "Land of the Fee" play on Land of the Free.
Evy just had a round of dentistry over the past few weeks to remove one of her teeth. She spent several weeks in and out of the dentist. X-rays, lab work, couple of fillings on other teeth, and eventually they decided to pull this one rather than try to do a root canal. After all was said and done her total bill was 160 leva. That's about 120 USD.
We did the math on what it would have cost us, without insurance, in America, and the cost for the work she had done was well over 5 thousand USD, including office visits.
I'm sorry, but there is no comparison. While I understand there are pros and cons to each system, I don't agree with the mentality that "you can't put a price tag on the worth of your health", because all that leads to is the "Land of the Fee" mentality, which is where private medicine has arrived at in this day and age. The cost of insurance, office visits, medication, and otherwise, far outweigh the benefits of having private medicine. And while it's true that there are downsides to socialized medicine/health care, like longer lines and less personalized attention in *some* cases, you have to admit that a great many Western countries, including Britain, have been using socialized health care for years, to great avail.
Personally, I'm for socialized medicine. I think it's great that doctors and such be able to make a fair wage for what they do, because keeping us healthy is an important job, but I don't agree that doctors and health care in particular should be costing people an arm and a leg.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Back to our regularly scheduled programming!
A few comments buzzing over the recent topics discussed here got me thinking: I should monetize my blog. I haven't yet. I don't get paid for people coming here to read my opinion pieces, or hear me talk about our latest trip, my latest job, the newest article up, or any of the things I post about. I'm beginning to think that it's probably pretty silly of me *not* to monetize my blog. I've mostly kept this blog as a way to keep my friends/family updated, as well as showcase my work to interested parties/peers.
Then again, I'm still relatively new to this writing career and I still have a lot to learn. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it :)
On a side note, Evy's aunt flew back to Seattle this morning. Was good to see her, and the little sprout of a cousin. We had a huge get-together last night at a restaurant. I met the latest business partner for the family business, a man named Franco from Italy. He is the investor/importer in charge of the Italian products the family business is importing. Olive oil, pasta, tomato sauce, and I think they are finalizing the wine selections at present.
Booking our seaside holiday this weekend. Spent the last couple of weeks finalizing our hotel. We opted for something mid-range this trip, allowing us to spend more on dinners. Will head to the train station this weekend and book our tickets. First class, because I can't stand riding in coach. Not that there's a huge difference, but you do get more privacy, and I won't have to deal with Random_Bulgarian_101 freaking out about "the draft" and keeping the windows closed when it's 40+ degrees C inside. I thought I would die the last time we were on a train here. I was in shorts and a t-shirt sweating my arse off and the lady across from us was bundled up in two sweaters + a coat, and she got up and closed the window. Had to have been at least 35 degrees (C again.)
Had a bout of insomnia last night, and I've been up since 4 a.m. On the plus side I was able to get some extra work done between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m., which left the rest of my afternoon open, which means I'm spending it working on another client's project. Here's to success, and more jobs for everyone in this recession-burdened time for the globe.
Then again, I'm still relatively new to this writing career and I still have a lot to learn. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it :)
On a side note, Evy's aunt flew back to Seattle this morning. Was good to see her, and the little sprout of a cousin. We had a huge get-together last night at a restaurant. I met the latest business partner for the family business, a man named Franco from Italy. He is the investor/importer in charge of the Italian products the family business is importing. Olive oil, pasta, tomato sauce, and I think they are finalizing the wine selections at present.
Booking our seaside holiday this weekend. Spent the last couple of weeks finalizing our hotel. We opted for something mid-range this trip, allowing us to spend more on dinners. Will head to the train station this weekend and book our tickets. First class, because I can't stand riding in coach. Not that there's a huge difference, but you do get more privacy, and I won't have to deal with Random_Bulgarian_101 freaking out about "the draft" and keeping the windows closed when it's 40+ degrees C inside. I thought I would die the last time we were on a train here. I was in shorts and a t-shirt sweating my arse off and the lady across from us was bundled up in two sweaters + a coat, and she got up and closed the window. Had to have been at least 35 degrees (C again.)
Had a bout of insomnia last night, and I've been up since 4 a.m. On the plus side I was able to get some extra work done between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m., which left the rest of my afternoon open, which means I'm spending it working on another client's project. Here's to success, and more jobs for everyone in this recession-burdened time for the globe.
An Example
This was just one example I pulled in about 2 minutes worth of digging, just to prove my point and help those people with a "pics or it didn't happen" mentality.
Please note that while this post was not written by Deb personally, it was sponsored and featured as one of the premier Blog Tip posts.
Pay special attention to this part:
IF YOU DON'T WANT TO START A BLOG BUT WANT CLIPS SHOULD YOU TRY SITES LIKE ASSOCIATED CONTENT, OTHER ARTICLE MARKETING SITE, OR CHEAP-O PLACES LIKE E-HOW THROUGH DEMAND STUDIOS
I’m gonna say no. First of all it doesn’t make you look all that credible. A published piece at a content site where anyone can publish a piece is not the same as a piece written for a paying site or even a blog post that lends to your niche credibility. I’ve had my own pieces stolen and plagiarized at some of these sites and I’m sure others have as well which takes away from the credibility. Also, Deb recently told me that “Colleges don’t allow AC to be used as a source for papers because much of the writing isn’t more than other Google stuff regurgitated.” I didn’t know this, but it makes sense. If you don’t believe me start running content site pieces through copyscape and you”ll see how many pieces are copied in part or entirely.
If you’re going to work for free, better choices include guest posting at an already popular blog, or contacting an editor of a blog network or reputable website and writing one to three free piece. Another credible route to go would be to offer some free pieces to a non-profit for their website or even for a print newsletter. Then you get clips and look nice too.
As you can clearly see, this is just one of many posts which lump Demand Studios into, as the writer mentioned, "cheap-o" places that writers shouldn't work for. While this post doesn't necessarily mention no-talent hacks, I would like to point out that it is one of the many posts on the FWJ website which paint Demand Studios out to be a low-paying place that you shouldn't work for. In fact, this particular poster went so far as to say "no", you shouldn't write for such places because it's "cheap-o" and anything published through such sites "isn't credible".
While Deb did not necessarily write this piece, it should be noted because it was a Premier piece of content written by a contributor as a Feature Article in the Blog Tips section of the website, therefore supported by Deb as "acceptable" content for the FWJ website.
Need I say more in regards to the irony of the situation? My original post on the matter stands.
Please note that while this post was not written by Deb personally, it was sponsored and featured as one of the premier Blog Tip posts.
Pay special attention to this part:
IF YOU DON'T WANT TO START A BLOG BUT WANT CLIPS SHOULD YOU TRY SITES LIKE ASSOCIATED CONTENT, OTHER ARTICLE MARKETING SITE, OR CHEAP-O PLACES LIKE E-HOW THROUGH DEMAND STUDIOS
I’m gonna say no. First of all it doesn’t make you look all that credible. A published piece at a content site where anyone can publish a piece is not the same as a piece written for a paying site or even a blog post that lends to your niche credibility. I’ve had my own pieces stolen and plagiarized at some of these sites and I’m sure others have as well which takes away from the credibility. Also, Deb recently told me that “Colleges don’t allow AC to be used as a source for papers because much of the writing isn’t more than other Google stuff regurgitated.” I didn’t know this, but it makes sense. If you don’t believe me start running content site pieces through copyscape and you”ll see how many pieces are copied in part or entirely.
If you’re going to work for free, better choices include guest posting at an already popular blog, or contacting an editor of a blog network or reputable website and writing one to three free piece. Another credible route to go would be to offer some free pieces to a non-profit for their website or even for a print newsletter. Then you get clips and look nice too.
As you can clearly see, this is just one of many posts which lump Demand Studios into, as the writer mentioned, "cheap-o" places that writers shouldn't work for. While this post doesn't necessarily mention no-talent hacks, I would like to point out that it is one of the many posts on the FWJ website which paint Demand Studios out to be a low-paying place that you shouldn't work for. In fact, this particular poster went so far as to say "no", you shouldn't write for such places because it's "cheap-o" and anything published through such sites "isn't credible".
While Deb did not necessarily write this piece, it should be noted because it was a Premier piece of content written by a contributor as a Feature Article in the Blog Tips section of the website, therefore supported by Deb as "acceptable" content for the FWJ website.
Need I say more in regards to the irony of the situation? My original post on the matter stands.
For your consideration...
In case my comment is deleted or edited (I've now been switched to "awaiting moderation" on the FWJ boards apparently. I guess more people than I thought were reading this blog, considering the owner apparently made an open post regarding me personally, and then edited it later due to what was probably a vehement "righteous indignation" post), I'm going to link it here in case it gets nuked by the owner in her haste to paint herself in a good light and avoid the controversy.
Furthermore, I'd like to point out that I never accused her of calling me a no-talent hack, nor did I accuse her of making derogatory comments towards me personally. Someone referenced me to the post she made and apparently she read into the article that I was personally accusing her of being the one who used those terms against myself and others. I'd like to point out that nowhere in my last blog post did I accuse her of anything other than taking a paycheck from someone who previously was considered "beneath" the FWJ community. This is what I meant by my comment regarding the "unable to handle criticism". Perhaps a more politically correct way of putting it would have been "overly-sensitive to people who question her".
For those of you who have been around for any length of time (and not all of you have), you will notice I didn’t lie about anything.
Deb, as well as several others, specifically mentioned Demand Studios earlier in the year and decried them as a low-paying haven for no-talent writers. I’m not going to take the time to actually search through the comments on this site to find the specific, relevant ones, but they do exist. For those of you who remember the poster known as “Plan”, he was one of several encouraged by the leaders of this community in his comments regarding “whores”, a term he used more than once in more than one post. Furthermore, Demand Studios was lumped in with other content sites as being a haven of low paying gigs that were/are “bastardizing” the industry and the rates professional writers work for.
Deb, and many others, have made derogatory comments over the months regarding Demand Studios as well as other content sites. This is why I made my blog post regarding the irony of the situation. If you will notice the blog post I praise this community and the leadership for providing the service that they do. I simply pointed out that, while months ago she and others were lumping Demand Studios into the low-paying gigs that should be avoided in favor of the higher paying gigs, we now see her, and others, touting the same words of praise that myself and others were saying all those months ago, and were called no-talent hacks and whores over.
It’s irony in its most basic form. As soon as they were willing to cut her a check for sponsorship, Demand Studios went from being a low-paying haven for no-talent hacks to being the best thing since sliced bread.
If you haven’t been around long enough to have seen the derogatory comments in the past then you have no frame of reference for your comments. Like me or hate me, it doesn’t change the fact that what I said wasn’t vindictive in the least. It was simple an observation regarding how ironic the situation is.
Am I an arrogant blow-hard? That’s entirely up to the viewer. I’m definitely proud of what I do, and I absolutely do have an ego about it, but I feel it’s justifiable. I’ve come a long way in a short amount of time and I’m incredibly proud of that fact. I continue to progress as a writer, and I’ve done it *despite* the open criticism on this site. Love me or hate me, I’m successful at what I do, and while my opinions aren’t always agreed with, that’s the beauty of human nature. Everyone is different.
I point to my own success with regularity because I happen to enjoy inspiring others, particularly those people who want to enjoy a LIP lifestyle. That is, moving away from the perceived normality of being a slave to the clock until you are 60 years old and can finally have your house paid off and afford to go on nice vacations. It is a growing trend among professionals in the digital industry, and I happen to think it’s an amazing opportunity that more working professionals should take advantage of.
In any case….love me, hate me, it doesn’t matter. While what I posted on my blog was entirely an opinion, it was not a lie, in any sense of the word. All you have to do is be willing to spend the time to search through 6-8 months of back-logged comments to find the posts I referenced, or be one of the people who was here when they were going on and know which ones I’m referring to.
Furthermore, I'd like to point out that I never accused her of calling me a no-talent hack, nor did I accuse her of making derogatory comments towards me personally. Someone referenced me to the post she made and apparently she read into the article that I was personally accusing her of being the one who used those terms against myself and others. I'd like to point out that nowhere in my last blog post did I accuse her of anything other than taking a paycheck from someone who previously was considered "beneath" the FWJ community. This is what I meant by my comment regarding the "unable to handle criticism". Perhaps a more politically correct way of putting it would have been "overly-sensitive to people who question her".
For those of you who have been around for any length of time (and not all of you have), you will notice I didn’t lie about anything.
Deb, as well as several others, specifically mentioned Demand Studios earlier in the year and decried them as a low-paying haven for no-talent writers. I’m not going to take the time to actually search through the comments on this site to find the specific, relevant ones, but they do exist. For those of you who remember the poster known as “Plan”, he was one of several encouraged by the leaders of this community in his comments regarding “whores”, a term he used more than once in more than one post. Furthermore, Demand Studios was lumped in with other content sites as being a haven of low paying gigs that were/are “bastardizing” the industry and the rates professional writers work for.
Deb, and many others, have made derogatory comments over the months regarding Demand Studios as well as other content sites. This is why I made my blog post regarding the irony of the situation. If you will notice the blog post I praise this community and the leadership for providing the service that they do. I simply pointed out that, while months ago she and others were lumping Demand Studios into the low-paying gigs that should be avoided in favor of the higher paying gigs, we now see her, and others, touting the same words of praise that myself and others were saying all those months ago, and were called no-talent hacks and whores over.
It’s irony in its most basic form. As soon as they were willing to cut her a check for sponsorship, Demand Studios went from being a low-paying haven for no-talent hacks to being the best thing since sliced bread.
If you haven’t been around long enough to have seen the derogatory comments in the past then you have no frame of reference for your comments. Like me or hate me, it doesn’t change the fact that what I said wasn’t vindictive in the least. It was simple an observation regarding how ironic the situation is.
Am I an arrogant blow-hard? That’s entirely up to the viewer. I’m definitely proud of what I do, and I absolutely do have an ego about it, but I feel it’s justifiable. I’ve come a long way in a short amount of time and I’m incredibly proud of that fact. I continue to progress as a writer, and I’ve done it *despite* the open criticism on this site. Love me or hate me, I’m successful at what I do, and while my opinions aren’t always agreed with, that’s the beauty of human nature. Everyone is different.
I point to my own success with regularity because I happen to enjoy inspiring others, particularly those people who want to enjoy a LIP lifestyle. That is, moving away from the perceived normality of being a slave to the clock until you are 60 years old and can finally have your house paid off and afford to go on nice vacations. It is a growing trend among professionals in the digital industry, and I happen to think it’s an amazing opportunity that more working professionals should take advantage of.
In any case….love me, hate me, it doesn’t matter. While what I posted on my blog was entirely an opinion, it was not a lie, in any sense of the word. All you have to do is be willing to spend the time to search through 6-8 months of back-logged comments to find the posts I referenced, or be one of the people who was here when they were going on and know which ones I’m referring to.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Irony
I've come across it in varying degrees over the years but none so poignantly as last week.
For the record, I happen to think that the Freelance Writing Jobs website does a great service to the freelance community. However, that doesn't change the fact that I think the representative/owner of the website is a bit two-faced in her dealings with the public, as well as being unable to take criticism regarding her views, which many people consider naive at best, despite her length of time in the field. With that being said, we come to the irony of the situation.
For those of you who have stumbled here from that direction you know that over the past few months myself, and several others, have drawn sharp criticism from the owner, as well as some of her staunchest allies, for writing for Demand Studios. The first few months of the year in particular featured some rather heated debates as to whether or not Demand Studios was considered a "legitimate" place to work. We (the writers working for Demand Studios) were called names ranging from "hacks" to "incompetents" to "whores". These were literal words used. I don't need to reference the specific posts, because those of you following along know exactly which individuals I'm referencing.
The debate raged on. For months the owner of FWJ and her closest affiliates continued to call Demand Studios a "content mill", and a "haven for low paying gigs". Many writers from her side of the camp came on and verbally abused those of us writing for Demand Studios, claiming that we were "bastardizing" the industry by writing articles for 15 dollars a pop when we should be charging 50 or more per How To or About article.
Then, earlier this month, Demand Studios pops up as a sponsor of FWJ. Suddenly the owner, and her affiliates, are touting Demand Studios as one of the greatest content sites on the web, where writers can go make thousand of dollars.
I'm sure I'm not the only one seeing the irony here.
I've known for months that Demand Studios pays thousand of dollars. There are regularly anywhere from 300k to 800k worth of jobs available to choose from. For awhile there I actually considered making them my primary source of income because I can literally knock out 4-5 How To or About articles in an hour, if I happen to know the subject matter. And considering most of the articles I write through DS end up on DIY.Com or EHow.com or various other sites using my 15+ years of experience as a ceramic tile and natural stone installer/contractor, I've been happy with making a quick 60 bucks an hour here and there to pay for a nice weekend out.
I have verbally touted the benefits of Demand Studios over at FWJ for months, and continually been attacked for supporting a "content mill".
I just find it incredibly ironic how, for months, the owner of FWJ and other writers on that site were calling Demand Studios one of the "worst" sites out there, but now that they are giving her a paycheck they're the best thing since sliced bread.
It's good to see that even the so-called high and mighty are willing to do anything for a buck, even change their tune when it comes to being sponsored by a website that for months was considered "low paying" and a "haven for hacks and no-talent writers".
Irony. The little things in life that make you go "lawl!"
For the record, I happen to think that the Freelance Writing Jobs website does a great service to the freelance community. However, that doesn't change the fact that I think the representative/owner of the website is a bit two-faced in her dealings with the public, as well as being unable to take criticism regarding her views, which many people consider naive at best, despite her length of time in the field. With that being said, we come to the irony of the situation.
For those of you who have stumbled here from that direction you know that over the past few months myself, and several others, have drawn sharp criticism from the owner, as well as some of her staunchest allies, for writing for Demand Studios. The first few months of the year in particular featured some rather heated debates as to whether or not Demand Studios was considered a "legitimate" place to work. We (the writers working for Demand Studios) were called names ranging from "hacks" to "incompetents" to "whores". These were literal words used. I don't need to reference the specific posts, because those of you following along know exactly which individuals I'm referencing.
The debate raged on. For months the owner of FWJ and her closest affiliates continued to call Demand Studios a "content mill", and a "haven for low paying gigs". Many writers from her side of the camp came on and verbally abused those of us writing for Demand Studios, claiming that we were "bastardizing" the industry by writing articles for 15 dollars a pop when we should be charging 50 or more per How To or About article.
Then, earlier this month, Demand Studios pops up as a sponsor of FWJ. Suddenly the owner, and her affiliates, are touting Demand Studios as one of the greatest content sites on the web, where writers can go make thousand of dollars.
I'm sure I'm not the only one seeing the irony here.
I've known for months that Demand Studios pays thousand of dollars. There are regularly anywhere from 300k to 800k worth of jobs available to choose from. For awhile there I actually considered making them my primary source of income because I can literally knock out 4-5 How To or About articles in an hour, if I happen to know the subject matter. And considering most of the articles I write through DS end up on DIY.Com or EHow.com or various other sites using my 15+ years of experience as a ceramic tile and natural stone installer/contractor, I've been happy with making a quick 60 bucks an hour here and there to pay for a nice weekend out.
I have verbally touted the benefits of Demand Studios over at FWJ for months, and continually been attacked for supporting a "content mill".
I just find it incredibly ironic how, for months, the owner of FWJ and other writers on that site were calling Demand Studios one of the "worst" sites out there, but now that they are giving her a paycheck they're the best thing since sliced bread.
It's good to see that even the so-called high and mighty are willing to do anything for a buck, even change their tune when it comes to being sponsored by a website that for months was considered "low paying" and a "haven for hacks and no-talent writers".
Irony. The little things in life that make you go "lawl!"
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
New client
Picked up another client last week. Will be working on a project spanning the next couple of months, writing travel overviews for TravBuddy.
It's nice when your hobbies can turn into paying gigs. I love the 21st century. It's been a real pleasure being able to make money writing about video games, something my parents used to always claim were rotting my brain. I've seen the video game industry transition from just a closet-hobby for nerds back in the 80s into a multi-billion dollar industry that is now considered the norm. Every household has a console of some kind, be it a Wii, PS3, X-Box 360, or otherwise. And similarly is traveling. Travel writers have existed for years, but it's nice to be able to transition into that market myself. I've done some travel work in the past (over 800 articles for various clients), but that was through a third party. This time I'm working direct.
Traveling across Europe, and other places, was always something of a dream when I was a kid, but my hard work and diligence in my late teens and early 20s paid off, and I've pretty much been able to take at least 2 trips every year since I was nineteen years old. My first trip was to London back in 1999, and I spent two weeks in and around the city, as well as going up to Oxford, to Stonehenge, and various other places around the nearby countryside, not to mention living it up because I was able to drink legally in the UK vs the US, the only country in the world with a 21 year old drinking limit.
In any case, the last three years have seen those trips increase to 4-6 trips a year, due to our blessing of having Evy's family, whose business is doing exceptionally well. As a result, we get to tag along on several vacations a year, which the family pays for in their entirety, outside of spending money. Which allows Evy and I the chance to save up for our own unique little side trips that we take on our own time, which bumps us up over the 4 trips per year part.
This year we've only taken three vacations so far (not counting several weekend hiking trips), but the fourth is just around the corner. We'll be heading to Nessebar the first week of September for a much-needed seaside holiday. Our last one of the year, because we are wanting to save up for three big trips next year on our own dime....back to Rome for round 4, Paris for round 2, and we are going to head to China for a 3 week backpack trip in the fall. Not to mention I think we are buying a car sometime in the Spring, but that's to be determined when we get to that point and dependent upon how much money we want to spend on something we'll only drive once a month, at most. Living downtown in a city has its advantages, because public transportation is 5 seconds out of the front door and you can take a cab anywhere lengthy.
In any case...new client, new project. I can't go into too many details due to the NDA, but suffice to say that it's another fun project I'm glad I get a chance to work on. I'm continually thankful for the opportunities I've come across as a result of getting into bed with this new career. She has been a most excellent mistress!
Kudos again to Evy, for letting me take this opportunity in the first place last year.
It's nice when your hobbies can turn into paying gigs. I love the 21st century. It's been a real pleasure being able to make money writing about video games, something my parents used to always claim were rotting my brain. I've seen the video game industry transition from just a closet-hobby for nerds back in the 80s into a multi-billion dollar industry that is now considered the norm. Every household has a console of some kind, be it a Wii, PS3, X-Box 360, or otherwise. And similarly is traveling. Travel writers have existed for years, but it's nice to be able to transition into that market myself. I've done some travel work in the past (over 800 articles for various clients), but that was through a third party. This time I'm working direct.
Traveling across Europe, and other places, was always something of a dream when I was a kid, but my hard work and diligence in my late teens and early 20s paid off, and I've pretty much been able to take at least 2 trips every year since I was nineteen years old. My first trip was to London back in 1999, and I spent two weeks in and around the city, as well as going up to Oxford, to Stonehenge, and various other places around the nearby countryside, not to mention living it up because I was able to drink legally in the UK vs the US, the only country in the world with a 21 year old drinking limit.
In any case, the last three years have seen those trips increase to 4-6 trips a year, due to our blessing of having Evy's family, whose business is doing exceptionally well. As a result, we get to tag along on several vacations a year, which the family pays for in their entirety, outside of spending money. Which allows Evy and I the chance to save up for our own unique little side trips that we take on our own time, which bumps us up over the 4 trips per year part.
This year we've only taken three vacations so far (not counting several weekend hiking trips), but the fourth is just around the corner. We'll be heading to Nessebar the first week of September for a much-needed seaside holiday. Our last one of the year, because we are wanting to save up for three big trips next year on our own dime....back to Rome for round 4, Paris for round 2, and we are going to head to China for a 3 week backpack trip in the fall. Not to mention I think we are buying a car sometime in the Spring, but that's to be determined when we get to that point and dependent upon how much money we want to spend on something we'll only drive once a month, at most. Living downtown in a city has its advantages, because public transportation is 5 seconds out of the front door and you can take a cab anywhere lengthy.
In any case...new client, new project. I can't go into too many details due to the NDA, but suffice to say that it's another fun project I'm glad I get a chance to work on. I'm continually thankful for the opportunities I've come across as a result of getting into bed with this new career. She has been a most excellent mistress!
Kudos again to Evy, for letting me take this opportunity in the first place last year.
Friday, August 7, 2009
random blurb II
I haven't really paid attention to the "success" of my work so far above and beyond the fact that I'm getting a nice paycheck every month that is allowing Evy and I to live out our dreams.
Couple of days back I was on Twitter, and I happened to be scanning Tweets from some of my followers when I noticed that someone said they were reading one of my articles over at so-and-so's website. I was intrigued, so I followed the link.
I was surprised to find a 2 page topic that included a link to my original article and a series of responses in regards to said article that were all extremely positive, discussing the positive aspects of the piece.
Now, I'm not one to let success go to my head, but I have to admit it was sort of a rush, and definitely an ego boost. I called Evy right away and told her.
I'm debating today whether or not I should go back to that website and create an account just to post and say thanks for the appreciation.
I must be doing something write (ok ok silly play on words!) to be achieving both financial and critical success in terms of appreciation by readers. I honestly can't wait to get my book done and see how it fares in comparison to my non-fiction work, which is really starting to become more than just a paycheck. This is awesome!
Original article can be found here. The discussion I stumbled upon can be found here.
Couple of days back I was on Twitter, and I happened to be scanning Tweets from some of my followers when I noticed that someone said they were reading one of my articles over at so-and-so's website. I was intrigued, so I followed the link.
I was surprised to find a 2 page topic that included a link to my original article and a series of responses in regards to said article that were all extremely positive, discussing the positive aspects of the piece.
Now, I'm not one to let success go to my head, but I have to admit it was sort of a rush, and definitely an ego boost. I called Evy right away and told her.
I'm debating today whether or not I should go back to that website and create an account just to post and say thanks for the appreciation.
I must be doing something write (ok ok silly play on words!) to be achieving both financial and critical success in terms of appreciation by readers. I honestly can't wait to get my book done and see how it fares in comparison to my non-fiction work, which is really starting to become more than just a paycheck. This is awesome!
Original article can be found here. The discussion I stumbled upon can be found here.
First time for everything
I've been around the block when it comes to running a business. That was one of the skills which I honestly believe helped me transition into a successful freelance writer. I used my knowledge from running a small company back in Colorado, combined with several years of supervising for a multi-million dollar construction company, and applied it to my writing business.
One of the things you learn fairly early on is never, under any circumstances, do spec work. Ever.
With that in mind, I've been fairly lucky in my freelance career so far. I've never had a client not pay me, and I've never come across any that fished for free samples. Until today.
I'm still waiting to see how it pans out, but the gist of it is this: I am fairly steady with the few clients I have. I'm not starving, by any means. I can afford to be picky, and I only apply to new jobs when they are ones that really pique my interest. Such was the case with a recent job I came across. I submitted a resume + three previously published samples that were relevant to the job, plus a fourth sample as requested by the client on a topic they requested. I heard back within 24 hours, and had a favorable response. They loved the samples, felt that I was perfect for the position. We moved to phase 2 of e-mails. I received the Author Agreement/contract, as well as the project overview. Cool. Everything looked good. I did not sign it, but sent an e-mail back saying that everything looked good, but the client was asking for a faxed copy of the contract. First of all, I haven't touched a fax machine in over 6 years, much less even seen one. That's so 20th century ;)
The next e-mail said a scanned copy was fine, but that they would need me to provide them with 3 of the initial articles out of the batch, to "make sure" that my style was going to fit in with their website.
SCREEEECH!
Uh-uh. I don't do spec work. Never have, never will. Especially not when the initial e-mail said that my four samples were "exactly what we're looking for" and that "it would be a pleasure working with you". I'm sorry. You already have 3 samples. You do not need an additional three. Furthermore, in retrospect, I'm afraid that I will be unable to start the project for you unless a good-faith payment is made, in advance, for the first 15 articles of the project. I am more than happy to put my name to a signed contract in regards to that.
We'll see if I hear back or not. Honestly. Asking for 3 additional samples to "make sure"? You have my resume. You have dozens of links to my previously published materiel. I provided you with published samples. References that you can check to verify my credentials. You absolutely do *not* need me to write you anything for free.
In my previous occupation that would have been like a homeowner calling me in to look at a 15 thousand dollar project and then asking me to do the entire entryway for free, so they could determine whether or not my craftsmanship was going to work for them. Wrong answer.
My construction contracts actually had clauses depending on who I was working with. Some clients I would specifically ask for 25% of the money up front, in cash, before I would even unload materiel and tools on-site, with the stipulation that the next 25% was due halfway through the project and the remaining 50% upon completion and a signed letter of agreement of completion.
I'm a HUGE fan of legal binding documents. They protect EVERYONE involved, both the seller AND the buyer. People who try to get you to do things without paperwork, and even worse, for free, are just potentially scammy.
So I'll wait back and see if I hear from this guy or not. I have to admit it was a nice little 2 thousand dollar project, but his request for an additional three samples (the first three articles off the list they sent me) just threw all sorts of huge red flags up for me, and unless he's willing to give me a good-faith payment up-front, I'll be walking away from that one.
One of the things you learn fairly early on is never, under any circumstances, do spec work. Ever.
With that in mind, I've been fairly lucky in my freelance career so far. I've never had a client not pay me, and I've never come across any that fished for free samples. Until today.
I'm still waiting to see how it pans out, but the gist of it is this: I am fairly steady with the few clients I have. I'm not starving, by any means. I can afford to be picky, and I only apply to new jobs when they are ones that really pique my interest. Such was the case with a recent job I came across. I submitted a resume + three previously published samples that were relevant to the job, plus a fourth sample as requested by the client on a topic they requested. I heard back within 24 hours, and had a favorable response. They loved the samples, felt that I was perfect for the position. We moved to phase 2 of e-mails. I received the Author Agreement/contract, as well as the project overview. Cool. Everything looked good. I did not sign it, but sent an e-mail back saying that everything looked good, but the client was asking for a faxed copy of the contract. First of all, I haven't touched a fax machine in over 6 years, much less even seen one. That's so 20th century ;)
The next e-mail said a scanned copy was fine, but that they would need me to provide them with 3 of the initial articles out of the batch, to "make sure" that my style was going to fit in with their website.
SCREEEECH!
Uh-uh. I don't do spec work. Never have, never will. Especially not when the initial e-mail said that my four samples were "exactly what we're looking for" and that "it would be a pleasure working with you". I'm sorry. You already have 3 samples. You do not need an additional three. Furthermore, in retrospect, I'm afraid that I will be unable to start the project for you unless a good-faith payment is made, in advance, for the first 15 articles of the project. I am more than happy to put my name to a signed contract in regards to that.
We'll see if I hear back or not. Honestly. Asking for 3 additional samples to "make sure"? You have my resume. You have dozens of links to my previously published materiel. I provided you with published samples. References that you can check to verify my credentials. You absolutely do *not* need me to write you anything for free.
In my previous occupation that would have been like a homeowner calling me in to look at a 15 thousand dollar project and then asking me to do the entire entryway for free, so they could determine whether or not my craftsmanship was going to work for them. Wrong answer.
My construction contracts actually had clauses depending on who I was working with. Some clients I would specifically ask for 25% of the money up front, in cash, before I would even unload materiel and tools on-site, with the stipulation that the next 25% was due halfway through the project and the remaining 50% upon completion and a signed letter of agreement of completion.
I'm a HUGE fan of legal binding documents. They protect EVERYONE involved, both the seller AND the buyer. People who try to get you to do things without paperwork, and even worse, for free, are just potentially scammy.
So I'll wait back and see if I hear from this guy or not. I have to admit it was a nice little 2 thousand dollar project, but his request for an additional three samples (the first three articles off the list they sent me) just threw all sorts of huge red flags up for me, and unless he's willing to give me a good-faith payment up-front, I'll be walking away from that one.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
New MMO Hub article up
Latest MMO Hub article up.
Oddly enough, they aired my fourth article third, which makes sense, I suppose, considering these three have been related to the social aspects of gaming with your significant other/family.
Fourth article should be up next week, and is of a slightly different nature.
In any case, enjoy.
Oddly enough, they aired my fourth article third, which makes sense, I suppose, considering these three have been related to the social aspects of gaming with your significant other/family.
Fourth article should be up next week, and is of a slightly different nature.
In any case, enjoy.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Brewing
Thoughts, that is.
A bit tired on this Monday evening. Was a long day, but we got a lot done. Did some shopping, I made fish and chips for dinner, got some healthy writing in, some e-mails, some editing, some notes, uploaded our Seven Rila Lakes photos to Facebook, made some changes here and there, worked out, and now I'm relaxing.
Busy week this week. Busy month, as I stated in my last post. I actually didn't get everything done today that I wanted to, mostly because we had a few loose ends to tie up. The rest of the week should go fairly smoothly, schedule-wise.
Evy had a rough day at work. She just found out that her boss's son, who works 3 hours a day, forgets things all the time, and basically has every single woman in the clinic shaking their heads in frustration at him on a daily basis, is getting paid more than double what she is getting paid for working 40-45 hours a week. Nothing like an unfair situation.
I may not have agreed with my dad over the years but the one thing he most certainly never did was coddle me. I never got paid more than the other guys. I was given a fair wage, but I was also given double the work load and the responsibility because I was expected to be more reliable than anyone else. He also rode my ass twice as hard as any other employee, which led to me being fired or quitting at least 4 times over 8 years.
In any case, she is also "brewing" in the sense that she is one step closer to make a final decision about her job by the end of August. They are supposedly having a group meeting on Wednesday to discuss what, she isn't sure. But she is extremely upset about the situation with her boss's son.
I know he's a nice kid and all, but he's completely unreliable. It's too long to go into here, but he's the kind of kid who just wants to party all the time. He's failed his entrance exams into college something like 3 times now. He lives at home with his parents. He's 22 or 23. They pay for all his bills. He never remembers things at work. Evy is constantly cleaning up after him in terms of his accounting screw ups. He constantly shorts or overpays people on payroll, and I mean constantly. Every week. He only comes in for 2-3 hours a day at MOST, yet he's making more than double what Evy makes working full-time. How is that fair?
Not to mention, Evy doesn't make mistakes. She is analytical to the point of insanity when it comes to being organized and detail-oriented. The doctors and other girls praise her for these skills on a daily basis. She is always on time. She stays late, all the time. She fixes his mistakes on a daily basis. And on top of doing his job + her job she also has the added responsibility of doing procedures, something he doesn't do. Yet she makes less than half of what he makes? How is that fair?
In any case...there's stuff brewing on the horizon for both of us :) I'm swamped, already got another project getting lined up for mid-August into September, and we are one step closer to launching Evy's Etsy shop (Finally!). We have two of the bird-houses done, two of the floral wall pictures done, and we still have a couple of jewelery boxes, a wall-mounted key-holder, jewelery, and several other sundries to finish up by the end of August.
That's my rambling notation for Monday. Cheers!
A bit tired on this Monday evening. Was a long day, but we got a lot done. Did some shopping, I made fish and chips for dinner, got some healthy writing in, some e-mails, some editing, some notes, uploaded our Seven Rila Lakes photos to Facebook, made some changes here and there, worked out, and now I'm relaxing.
Busy week this week. Busy month, as I stated in my last post. I actually didn't get everything done today that I wanted to, mostly because we had a few loose ends to tie up. The rest of the week should go fairly smoothly, schedule-wise.
Evy had a rough day at work. She just found out that her boss's son, who works 3 hours a day, forgets things all the time, and basically has every single woman in the clinic shaking their heads in frustration at him on a daily basis, is getting paid more than double what she is getting paid for working 40-45 hours a week. Nothing like an unfair situation.
I may not have agreed with my dad over the years but the one thing he most certainly never did was coddle me. I never got paid more than the other guys. I was given a fair wage, but I was also given double the work load and the responsibility because I was expected to be more reliable than anyone else. He also rode my ass twice as hard as any other employee, which led to me being fired or quitting at least 4 times over 8 years.
In any case, she is also "brewing" in the sense that she is one step closer to make a final decision about her job by the end of August. They are supposedly having a group meeting on Wednesday to discuss what, she isn't sure. But she is extremely upset about the situation with her boss's son.
I know he's a nice kid and all, but he's completely unreliable. It's too long to go into here, but he's the kind of kid who just wants to party all the time. He's failed his entrance exams into college something like 3 times now. He lives at home with his parents. He's 22 or 23. They pay for all his bills. He never remembers things at work. Evy is constantly cleaning up after him in terms of his accounting screw ups. He constantly shorts or overpays people on payroll, and I mean constantly. Every week. He only comes in for 2-3 hours a day at MOST, yet he's making more than double what Evy makes working full-time. How is that fair?
Not to mention, Evy doesn't make mistakes. She is analytical to the point of insanity when it comes to being organized and detail-oriented. The doctors and other girls praise her for these skills on a daily basis. She is always on time. She stays late, all the time. She fixes his mistakes on a daily basis. And on top of doing his job + her job she also has the added responsibility of doing procedures, something he doesn't do. Yet she makes less than half of what he makes? How is that fair?
In any case...there's stuff brewing on the horizon for both of us :) I'm swamped, already got another project getting lined up for mid-August into September, and we are one step closer to launching Evy's Etsy shop (Finally!). We have two of the bird-houses done, two of the floral wall pictures done, and we still have a couple of jewelery boxes, a wall-mounted key-holder, jewelery, and several other sundries to finish up by the end of August.
That's my rambling notation for Monday. Cheers!
wiped!
What an awesome weekend. We didn't even come close to scratching the surface of the hiking trails up at the Seven Rila Lakes. Pictures will be up on Facebook tomorrow or Tuesday, when I get some spare time, and I may show some here as well. We went up there with a large group of family/friends (over 30 people), so we were rather limited in what we could do. Evy, myself, and one of our friends, Dessy, are already discussing taking a 3 day camping trip up there later on in the month so we can actually see the rest of the trails with the proper provisions, and without a group of people to worry about.
Rest of it was nice. Hotel was a few klicks down the mountain from the trail head, and the group also rented a house up in one of the valleys just around the bend, so we had cookouts on Friday night and Saturday night. Plenty of food, plenty of rakia, plenty of beer, wine, and "Cloud", as they call it here....1/2 Mastika and 1/2 mint liqueur. The saying is that by the third one, you are so bombed that you think it's raining, and the sky is cloudy. For the uninitiated, Mastika is a liquorish tasting clear alcohol, and the Mente is a mint-flavored liqueur, so it's an interesting combination.
I can attest to the fact that it is indeed quite potent. But I had already had a few glasses of rakia by that point, so :) In any case, everyone was pretty well liquored up by 8 or 9 p.m., and while Evy and I retired around midnight, everyone else stayed up until 2 a.m. or so. On Saturday night they even broke out the karaoke machine, which was epic in its own right.
Another phenomenal weekend, which was perfect for the end of July as I wrapped up a busy month of writing. August is looking even busier, but we have a Black Sea holiday to Nesebar planned for the first week of September, so that's a nice motivator to keep the nose to the grindstone for now :)
Rest of it was nice. Hotel was a few klicks down the mountain from the trail head, and the group also rented a house up in one of the valleys just around the bend, so we had cookouts on Friday night and Saturday night. Plenty of food, plenty of rakia, plenty of beer, wine, and "Cloud", as they call it here....1/2 Mastika and 1/2 mint liqueur. The saying is that by the third one, you are so bombed that you think it's raining, and the sky is cloudy. For the uninitiated, Mastika is a liquorish tasting clear alcohol, and the Mente is a mint-flavored liqueur, so it's an interesting combination.
I can attest to the fact that it is indeed quite potent. But I had already had a few glasses of rakia by that point, so :) In any case, everyone was pretty well liquored up by 8 or 9 p.m., and while Evy and I retired around midnight, everyone else stayed up until 2 a.m. or so. On Saturday night they even broke out the karaoke machine, which was epic in its own right.
Another phenomenal weekend, which was perfect for the end of July as I wrapped up a busy month of writing. August is looking even busier, but we have a Black Sea holiday to Nesebar planned for the first week of September, so that's a nice motivator to keep the nose to the grindstone for now :)
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