A Writer's Haven

How to Survive as a Digital Nomad

2012-01-27T14:43:00.001+02:00

http://www.marginalboundaries.com/2012/01/how-to-survive-as-a-digital-nomad/

Looking To The Horizon

2012-01-24T18:24:00.001+02:00

http://www.marginalboundaries.com/2012/01/looking-to-the-horizo/

Live on Amazon

2012-01-23T01:40:00.001+02:00

http://www.marginalboundaries.com/2012/01/live-on-amazon/

What You Are Missing

2012-01-21T17:38:00.001+02:00

http://www.marginalboundaries.com/2012/01/what-you-are-missing/

Cancun, Mexico

2012-01-20T21:31:00.001+02:00

The Live Like a Local Guide for Cancun, Mexico from Marginal Boundaries showing you how to get the most from your location independent lifestyle living as a digital nomad.

http://onlywire.com/r/67518492

Sofia, Bulgaria

2012-01-20T21:30:00.001+02:00

The Live Like a Local Guide for Sofia, Bulgaria from Marginal Boundaries showing you how to get the most from your location independent lifestyle living as a digital nomad.

http://onlywire.com/r/67518380

Live Like a Local in Bogota, Colombia

2012-01-20T20:34:00.001+02:00

The Live Like a Local guide for Bogota, Colombia is now live at Marginal Boundaries.

http://onlywire.com/r/67515350

Bogot�, Colombia

2012-01-20T19:27:00.001+02:00

The Live Like a Local guide for Bogota, Colombia is now live. Published by Marginal Boundaries, it is everything you need to set up shop as a location independent digital nomad or pensioner, plus it's chock-full of information that you can use even if you are just a savvy traveler who enjoys getting the most out of every destination you travel to.

http://onlywire.com/r/67509357

Another great weekend

2010-03-14T20:13:00.001+02:00

No pictures, but we just had a phenomenally relaxing weekend up at Rila again. Well, technically just Saturday afternoon/evening, but still.

Left here at 2:30 in the afternoon...met our driver at around 3:30, and were up at the cabin (owned by a dentist friend of the family; more of a mansion than a cabin; it's 4 stories, with the bottom the kitchen/dining area, then 3 floors with 3 rooms each on it) by 5 p.m. Kick-ass dinner (grilled pork, sausages, steaks, salads, cheeses, wine, rakia, beer, bread, caviar, you name it, it was there) and plenty of drinks. I was tossed by 9 p.m., so I went upstairs and fell asleep...

...and didn't wake up until nearly 10 a.m. this morning (Sunday).

For the record, I never sleep past 7 or 8. Evy hates it because even on the weekends I can go to bed at 1 or 2 a.m. and I'm up by 8 at the latest. I never sleep more than 6-7 hours a night. But for some reason or another, probably because of the complete lack of traffic and noise, and the peaceful surroundings of the pine trees, mountains, and 3 feet of snow blanketing the area, I slept nearly 13 hours. I haven't felt this completely rested in years.

Then, we had breakfast. Went up the ski slopes and had coffee at one of the cafes. Then went for a walk with everyone for a few hours, came back to the cabin, had lunch, drove home, and now we are relaxing with some of our favorite shows and wishing we had spent the whole weekend instead of just one night. Sadly, Evy teaches TOEFL classes on Saturdays, so until May we are limited to 1 night ventures on the weekends.

Still...what a great weekend. Perfect Sat/Sun.

Seven Rila Lakes

2010-02-26T13:29:00.002+02:00

Now that I finally have some spare time, I’m uploading some pictures of one of our trips from 2009. I still have to get my hands on her mom’s laptop to get our Italy and Turkey trips from 2008, as well as the Paris trip. I’ll also be uploading some of our hiking trips, as well as January’s trip up to Ognyanovo, Melnik, and other ethnic mountain areas in Bulgaria. Enjoy!

The following are from the lower portion of Seven Rila Lakes, from the RIla Mountain Range. We live about 1.5 hour drive from here, and the family goes 3-4 times a year. This trip was just a half-day hiking trip where we went up to the lower portion, had lunch at one of the lakes, and came back down. A few people went all the way up to the top but we were not one of them on this particular trip, as we just went up for the lunch.

We plan on going up for a 3 day camping trip in 2010 in the same location.

Olympics!

2010-02-14T12:18:00.001+02:00

Due to the time difference, I ended up staying up till nearly 2 a.m. watching the winter Olympics. They went on until 6 a.m., but I was too tired :) Have to watch the rest online when I have spare time.

YAY for winter Olympics!

Winter Olympics soon!

2010-02-04T13:24:00.002+02:00

My favorite Olympics are the winter ones :) Less than 2 weeks away now! I can't wait.

Hoping to have some time on Sunday to get one of our trips uploaded. I was wanting to start with our early 2008 trips, but all of those files are on her mom's laptop, so we have to find time to get over to her house and stick them on a flash drive. We also can't seem to find where we stashed our pictures from Bodrum, Turkey. Yargh!

In the meantime, we have a lot of hiking trips from last year and this year to-date, so I'm going to put some of those up and start working on revamping the blog. In my spare time. Which is limited. Keep in mind this is totally a side project. I've got the main website going with all my freelance contracts, 3-4 hours a day of slushing/editing for the spec-fic 'zine, plus my fiction writing...which I've totally been slacking on. In between that I have my daily fitness routines, every-other-day market runs (we only eat fresh food, so market is every other day), and general relaxation, which takes a good 4-5 hours of my schedule =P

New offerings in 2010

2010-02-01T11:05:00.003+02:00

One of the things I'm changing in 2010 is this particular blog. I've made mention of it in the past, but I finally came to a decision over the weekend.

Starting this month (February), this blog will be changing its title and its purpose to that of a travel blog, detailing our (Evy and myself) travels throughout the world. This will incorporate pictures of our trips, as well as an online travel blog.

These will be brief discussions/blog posts about our various trips, used as a way to keep our friends/family updated, as well allow me to have an online collage as I progress further into travel writing and need additional clips/references beyond the ghostwriting that I do for Pure Content and Trav Buddy.

Expect to see some updates in the coming weeks :)

Miracles

2010-01-29T19:41:00.002+02:00

How's this for a miracle. Girl survives for over 2 weeks buried in rubble, and they have NO explanation for how she managed it.

My heart goes out to all the people in Haiti.

Opportunities

2010-01-25T18:47:00.001+02:00

Evy just received a phone call over the weekend from a university requesting her to teach a TOEFL class. To this day she has (as I understand it) the highest score in the nation from her test in 2005...293/300.

She has an interview tomorrow, and she will be teaching the class for a few months.

Great CV materiel, and another move up the ladder :)

One of those days...

2010-01-20T16:38:00.000+02:00

...when time just seems to be dragging by. I have a meeting in an hour with a literary agent to discuss some potential business information regarding our spec-fic zine here in Bulgaria, and I've been done with work since 1 p.m. (it's closing in on 5 p.m. now). I could have been working on fiction for the past 4 hours, but instead I've just sat of randomly browsed the Interwebz and wasted a good chunk of my day. First time that's happened in awhile. I think it must be necessary from time to time.

Snowed most of the morning...few inches of white stuff covering Sofia. I'm sleepy.

Things are going good. Business is steady, I've got plenty to keep me busy, and we have lots of stuff planned for the next few months. Can't believe January is already more than half over...month just flew by.

More another time :) Going to go get dressed and fiddle on YouTube while I wait for departure time.

Cultural differences, or "what I love about Bulgaria"

2010-01-12T07:30:00.005+02:00

Every day is a holiday :)

Ok ok, not every day, but here's the thing: back in the States there are only a few holidays set apart each year for people to take off work and have a get together with family and friends. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, 4th of July, and a few others. Birthdays are not always a special occasion; some people do not even celebrate with much more than a quiet dinner out.

I've lost track of Bulgarian holidays. Seriously. There are so many of them that I cannot keep up. Basically I'm to the point after two years that when my wife says "there's such-and-such coming up this/next weekend" I just nod my head and get ready for the night of my life.

Bulgarian holidays are never reserved. They are never quiet. These are moments when food must be attacked with a voracious appetite reserved for men who spent the last year starving in a prison camp, when drink is quaffed with such vigor as to imply that this will be the last night anyone will ever be allowed to enjoy spirits, where the music is loud enough to have your ears ringing, and dancing is as much a part of the experience as breathing air.

American holidays are usually reserved, especially if they are in a public place. What I want you to do is picture going to Olive Garden or the Outback Steakhouse or any restaurant you care to name, and insert the following experience. Think of how many lawsuits would occur. Just think about it. Enjoy!

I want to give you a brief example. Last Thursday was my wife's name day. We don't have name days in the United States. A name day is a day of the year associated with a particular root name. Some names can be celebrated on more than one days (what a lucky person!), and in Bulgaria, this is a HUGE tradition. EVERYONE is invited to these celebrations, not just friends and family.

Last Thursday in particular was a celebration for everyone sharing the root name of Ivan. (Ivana, Ivan, Ivanka, etc.) Close to 500,000 Bulgarians have some form of the word Ivan in their names, which makes it one of the most popular name days out of the year.

In any case, I have been to many Bulgarian parties over the last couple of years, some of them particularly wild, but last Thursday was out of this world. First, we show up at the restaurant (which was up at a mountain resort; we had a mountain retreat last week) and there are around 40-50 people inside. There is a cultural band playing folk music: drummer, keyboardist, some other stuff. There is a vocalist, but mostly it is everyone in the room taking turns on the mic singing some of the traditional songs. It is LOUD. Loud enough that you cannot hear someone shouting in your ear unless they are shouting IN your ear, and repeating themselves several times.

Everyone is drinking. EVERYONE is dancing. And not quiet, reserved dancing. I'm talking cultural dances, people joining hands and working their way through complicated steps of traditional folk dances. EVERYONE learns the cultural dances here; it is a part of growing up in Bulgaria.

The spread on the table is out of this world. There is salad, chicken, pork, beef, cheeses, wines, beers, whiskeys, vodkas, rakia, and much, much more. You eat until you are stuffed. You drink until you feel as though you could breathe fire. Then you drink some more. Then you eat some more. And you dance. You dance until the sweat is pouring down your back and forehead, until your feet ache.

The keyboardist is jamming out. The drummer has a portable drum stand which he is moving around the room with the people dancing. People are pouring alcohol over him. Pouring water on his drums, on him. He moves his drum stand onto a chair. Women suddenly step up onto the table, their feet delicately placed between the plates of food, and they are dancing. Wild, jiggly, belly dancing that has everyone in the room roaring and cheering and laughing. Fists are pumping in the air with the music, everyone is singing at the top of their lungs, everyone is applauding. Everyone is shredding napkins and blowing them into the air like confetti. It is wild.

The dinner starts at 9 p.m. Everyone is fairly sauced up by 11. The party continues until 4 a.m.

This is only a brief example of the night. There was much more, but I was pretty liquored up myself, so there are a few elements which escape me. I did, however, attempt to dance some of the traditional dances, and I danced with my mom-in-law. I never dance. I suppose this shows how much I'd had to drink :)

Most Bulgarian holidays involve dancing, singing, lots of food and lots of booze, but I'd never seen people dancing on a table before. Evy says it happens frequently, just not always in the circles we run in. It's a cultural thing. Wild times! Can't wait for the next :)

A difference in "customer service"

2010-01-06T17:33:00.002+02:00

I'm going to make a statement. You can choose to agree or disagree.

Americans have become far too reliant upon "the customer is always right". People know now that all they have to do is throw a fit, scream, stamp their feet, or claim sexual/racial harassment and they will get whatever they want, all in an attempt to placate the person and avoid a lawsuit.

This is the perfect example of someone who has come to rely upon the "customer is always right" mentality, to the point they think they can break property and wreak havoc because they didn't get what they wanted. If/when they catch up with her, you can bet your ass she'll claim racial discrimination as well.

Priceless.

Then, we have European customer service. The customer is always wrong. Today, Evy and I went back to the computer store where we bought our laptop just before New Year's. The case we bought wasn't quite big enough for the laptop, and we wanted to exchange it for the next size up. First of all, they treated us like we were thieves. Doesn't matter that we've spent over 5k in their store this year alone...we walk in with a receipt and a bag and they are like "gasp, you want to exchange this? Impossible!"

We have to wait for the manager. The manager comes down and, no joke, this is what she tells Evy.

"What's the problem?"
"Our laptop doesn't quite fit this bag, so we wanted to exchange it for something bigger."
"Why didn't it fit?"
"Because our laptop is a couple inches too big" (the lady at the time gave us a 15" bag, our laptop is 15.6", and while the bag is supposed to fit all 15" bags, ours doesn't fit)
"And you tried to push it in?"
Duh. "Yes, it wouldn't fit."
"You didn't try hard enough."

I am NOT joking. That was her answer. "You didn't try hard enough."

So folks, the next time you are at McDonald's crying about the burger you just got, think about what it's like in the rest of the world outside of America, where the customer is NOT always right.

Whew!

2010-01-05T10:56:00.002+02:00

Busy first few days of the month.

Marginal Boundaries launched yesterday, with some small fanfare. Couple hundred hits on the site, and a few submissions already. Not bad for a first day.

Writing contest over at Complete Writing Solutions is on-going. Submissions end this Friday.

I have a personal content writing project going. So far I'm averaging over 60 USD per hour. The goal is to keep this up for the month of January, and post a pros/cons list at the end of the month. I'm tracking all the relevant data...how long it takes me to keyword search for articles in my niche, how long I have to deal with style sheets, and how long it takes me to write the physical articles. Also included is any rewrites. Yesterday, for example, I worked for 2 hours and made 120 USD. My ultimate goal with this project is to show people how lucrative content writing can be, and how easy it is to simply take 2 hours a day out of your schedule and walk away with 2k a month...24k a year. Think about how much time you spend on Facebook, Twitter, watching shows like Dancing with the Stars, American Idol, or whatever.

I continually boggle at people who say they "can't afford" something because they "don't have time" to spend a couple hours a day working on a hobby project. I'm writing about topics I know, topics I enjoy. It isn't work. It's a hobby I'm getting paid for. Every single solitary person I know "wastes" 4-5 hours a day of their time on "entertainment"; that is, TV shows, Facebook applications, video games, or otherwise. And while entertainment is absolutely vital to our well-being, there is also the fact that if you need income...the only person standing between you and success is you. Everyone has two hours a day of spare time that they could spend writing content. Imagine an extra 24 grand in your bank account at the end of the year, above and beyond your normal salary. That's a car. A down payment on a house. Your mortgage payments for the entire year. A first-class all-inclusive 5+ star resort vacation for you and your spouse. The possibilities are endless.

Just a small update from my world. Staying busy!

New Year's Writing Competition!

2009-12-30T15:41:00.002+02:00

Our first-ever New Year's Writing Competition starts January 1st. For more information on contest rules and prizes, head on over to the main site, Complete Writing Solutions.

One of many...

2009-12-29T11:14:00.002+02:00

January 4th will be the official unveiling of the website we will be using for the launch of Marginal Boundaries, a forthcoming speculative fiction ezine.

At present, we are looking towards proceeding as a quarterly publication, 100% digital and 100% paperless. Submission periods will be January, April, July, and November.

Submissions will open up when the website goes live. We are aiming for the first publication to release in March.

Something to keep in mind: this first issue is more or less an experiment to see how profitable we can make the ezine be. Since we have no plans for doing any print format, we can keep the cost of production fairly low. I am not making a profit from this venture; 100% of the funds will remain in the 'zine. This means more money for the writers, more money for the artists, more money for the editors, and more money for the advertisement of the 'zine. Currently I am assembling a team of editors and artists, and while I have several on board, I'll likely be bringing one or two more editors on board in February as we start going through the submissions.

If the first issue goes as planned, we will be moving towards a second issue, and beyond. If things go beyond expectations, we will be doing an annual print format which will focus on the "best of 2010" from our online department. If things really take off, we will look at bumping production to every couple of months, and perhaps doing some POD issues as well.

2009 was a good year. I was blessed enough to have a bit of money to play around with several different investment opportunities. This is the first of several that we (Evy and I) have planned for 2010. My work in the fiction field has been slowly growing, and I'm using this opportunity to push further into the market, albeit in a new direction.

In any case...spread the word! While we aren't officially opening the website until January 4th, 2010, the more people who know about it the more submissions we can get, the more interest we can generate, and the more issues we can sell. The more issues we can sell means the wider our range of opportunities, and expansion into the professional market rather than indy.

Happy Holidays

2009-12-24T07:50:00.002+02:00

Whatever you want to call your holiday and regardless of which religion you follow...have a happy holiday with your family and/or friends.

Turn off the cell phone, log off the interwebz, and get back to basics. Enjoy some time away from the office, away from the jobs, and just revel in the sense of celebration as we embrace humanity and are thankful for all the blessings the previous year brought us.

Religious or not, the Christmas season is a time of joy for many different cultures around the world, all of them with their own unique way of celebrating. Rather than fight over whose name for the season is more politically/religiously correct, and rather than sneer down your noses at another person's way of celebrating, take the time to accept that everyone on this planet is your brother or sister, in the spirit of humanity.

Happy Holidays, and here's to a great weekend!

Hola

2009-12-20T07:45:00.002+02:00

I don't update the personal blog much these days because I'm busy elsewhere, but I will from time to time...although there may come a time in 2010 when I transfer everything over to a different place as things expand.

So, since the last update, I signed a contract for a science fiction MMORPG out of Dubai. The outline they sent me was pretty awesome, and I had an hour long interview over the phone with the head honcho regarding mechanics, outlines, story concepts, and otherwise. Basically, I'm taking the ideas he laid out in outline form and giving them a 6-12k word background story that weaves together all the elements into a short story that he is going to give to an animation team to create an intro movie that they will use to shop for additional funding.

It's a start up. Even if it doesn't go anywhere, at least it's another fiction sale, and to be honest....it paid better than Asimov's or Analog would have paid, which are the two highest-paying sci-fi magazine markets in the world. So it's a few different birds with one stone.

However...I have to say this: after all my years of MMORPGing, the concepts their team has for mechanics and story are extremely unique. I've never seen anything like what they have on paper, and while it's true there is a difference between what's on paper and what can be programmed into a game, they absolutely sold me on the concept from the first 15 minutes of the phone conversation. I truly believe that this is a game that could very well establish a healthy niche for itself based purely upon its uniqueness and its breaking away from the traditional way things have been done for the past decade. I cannot give away too much because of the NDA, but suffice to say...you haven't seen anything like it, not in any game ever created to-date. It's 100% original, 100% badass, and 100% applicable to all styles of gamer...hardcore to casual.

So that's pretty badass :)

What else? Hmm. Already mentioned selling another short story. Ah, yes! After some deliberation, I've decided to front the money for a startup of my own. 2009 was a good enough year that Evy and I have a little bit of extra money, and I'm using that to expand the business. One of the things I'll be doing in 2010 is paying for advertising for Complete Writing Solutions. I'm going to get a logo created for the website, and then I'm going to fork out a grand or so for a marketing campaign. Not much to start, but it's what I'm willing to put out at this point in time.

I still have an e-book I want to launch in January...but this sci-fi project took over for the last part of December, because it's just so damn cool :) So, hopefully that e-book will be done by the end of January. It ties into a little project that I'm going to do for the month writing for a content site to prove just how profitable it can be, while keeping an eye on global awareness.

Another thing I'm doing is starting an e-zine. I've already been in contact with a couple of editors, and I'm slowly building upon some concepts I have. It's still in the planning stages at the moment, but I'll be working on the website in my spare time during January, and launching sometime during the first month. When I say launch, I say "opening for business" and taking submissions for stories. It will be fantasy and science fiction-themed, or rather...speculative fiction. It will be 100% digital; that is, no print format. At least not to start. A major issue in the spec-fic markets today is every time you send something out, you have to wait 4-6 months to hear back from editors as to whether or not they want your story or not. Our plan is to cut that down to a month at most. We won't be dealing with the post office in any way, shape, or form. Everything will be done 100% digitally. The plan is to start small, and build up from there. I'm fronting the money for the venture, and the overall goal is that it won't be a profit venture to start, but more of an expiriment to see how many copies we can sell. If we sell enough copies to turn a profit, we'll put out a second issue, and so on and so forth.

I have some very passionate people on board so far, and I'll be keeping an eye out for more in the coming weeks. Ultimately, it's starting out as a passion project with a fairly small budget, and the first issue will be a simple test to see whether or not it's profitable. If it isn't, I'm only out a small amount of cash, but if it works...then we can head into a round 2.

Not much more than that at present. I'm still doing the research into pricing, marketing, and otherwise.

That's it for my Christmas post. I probably won't post here again until after Christmas and the New Year, so for all the readers...Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and I hope you have a great 2010!

Moving forward...again.

2009-12-14T12:03:00.002+02:00

Not much new in the world of Tim. Website brand is growing slowly, and I'm pushing the market out. Invitations to do guest posts, of which I've done one so far, with another one next week. E-book is coming along nicely.

Rights from one of my short stories just reverted back to me in November, and I just re-placed it over at Abandoned Towers. Discussed making it into a serial, but I'm just too busy to realistically do it until March at the earliest.

Three other shorts in submission. Thinking of calling about one of them because it's been in since June and I haven't heard anything from the editor yet. 6+ months is pretty ridiculous.

Stumbled across a sci-fi MMORPG being developed out of Dubai yesterday, looking for a writer. I sent off a query and the guy got back to me within a couple of hours, and I have a phone interview with him tomorrow (Tuesday), so finger's crossed. It's just a single 6k-12k word short story (background story based upon their outline) to start, but the pay is decent and there's a potential for future work if things pan out, including quest writing and further story development. Of course it's a start-up, so things are simply in pre-development stage at this point, but it was an interesting enough opportunity that I couldn't pass up querying about it. After all, it combines fiction work with freelancing, so it's the best of both worlds :) And I love writing sci-fi, plus it furthers my progress in the fiction universe, so.

In any case, I'm pretty excited about that. I'll let you know how the phone call goes tomorrow. I wasn't actively looking for work at the moment because my first few months of 2010 are booked pretty good, but every once in awhile you stumble across those gems that are just so perfect you can't help but query about them, regardless of how busy you are otherwise.

Hoping to get our Christmas tree up this week. We still haven't managed to rearrange the living room...Evy and I keep finding other things to occupy our time. We bought tickets for the Avatar premier this Friday at the Imax, in 3D, so that should be fun.

Anyway...that's it for today :) Got some studying to do and some e-book work to hit up. Hope everyone is doing well!

Dragon Age: Origins

2009-12-08T09:33:00.001+02:00

HD Trailer

Enough said :) I'm on my fourth time through now...what an epic game.

Movies!

2009-12-04T22:52:00.002+02:00

We just watched The Perfect Getaway.

Totally awesome. Enough said. Goddamn American Jedi!

Hate mail!

2009-12-03T17:30:00.002+02:00

Woot! I got my first piece of hate-mail over at the official website today :) Some lady actually took the time to go out of her way and write this really LOOONG e-mail talking about what a joke I am, how much of a hack writer I am, and etc. etc. etc.

She's just upset because I get to travel around Europe with my wife 4-5 times a year and she's stuck in an environment where her 80k a year barely manages to pay the mortage, car payments, and her kid's health insurance. I didn't chose your life for you, lady. You did!

Jealousy is an odd beast. I've never experienced it. I have always had everything I wanted in life, but I also worked hard to get those things. If I see something, I go out and get it, however I need to. I don't begrudge someone else for taking a different route, or having a different path to success.

It reminds me of my last experience in the US. I dropped my mom off at Safeway and was circling the parking lot, not looking for a space, but just waiting for her to grab a few gallons of milk on Christmas Eve. I saw her coming out, so I pulled around to the entrance and happened to park in front of an empty parking space, at which point I was visually, verbally, and audibly assaulted by a woman who began honking her horn, flashing her lights, screaming out her window, and flipping me the bird, all at the same time.

This Christmas season, take a breather, folks. Understand that the world is a great big place and you are NOT the only person on it. Act like a douche-bag and people are going to treat you like one.

Social Networking

2009-11-30T12:57:00.001+02:00

I've begun the first steps of a week-long project dedicated to getting the social networking links up for Complete Writing Solutions. The rest of the week will be spent fleshing out details at LinkedIn, getting new pictures up for Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, and getting all the networking details finished.

Then, next week, I begin the actual spreading of the brand. I've been offered a couple of guest blogging spots at some of my favorite freelance writing websites, and I've already been getting a few links back to the main site with some of the topics, so things are moving forward, which is perfect.

In the meantime...while I'm not doing any freelance writing for the month I'm going to be busy as hell! Promoting a brand is still work, it's just marketing and networking. On top of that there's the e-book work, Christmas shopping (I'm buying actually buying new clothing today for myself....I know...shocking!), and general holiday revelry.

Thanks for following folks, and I appreciate the support :) 2010 is shaping up to be a wonderful year, and I can't wait to see what's over the horizon.

Finally!

2009-11-28T13:53:00.000+02:00

Ze contract for November is done, and I'm home-free for the entire month of December. What does that mean?

Re-arranging our living room, as promised to Evy. I moved my desk into the living room so I could start work earlier, rather than in the bedroom, and since then she isn't happy about the "clutter" in the living room, so it's time to reorganize things.

Writing the first of 3 e-books I have planned for Complete Writing Solutions. That's right....three. Big plans for 2010, and I'm planning on transitioning over to mostly passive income for the year. One book will relate to globalization and learning how to become competitive on a global scale, and the other two books are going to be related to Bulgaria...but I'm not allowed to say more or I'll ruin the surprise :)

Getting Complete Writing Solutions into the market. The brand is there...now it's time to push the brand into the market. November was a pretty good start. I've had close to 1,000 hits on the website in a month. That's not enough to consider it professional by any means, but I've already been mentioned on three other freelance writer networks in the month of November, and I haven't even been pushing the brand out yet. Once I get the Twitter, Facebook, and LD connections up things should start to go nuts from here on out.

I have 2 short stories to get out in submission, and I'm still waiting on a third I sent out in June. See why I'm not relying on fiction to pay the bills? Freelance writing pays within a few days, whereas fiction can take 6 months to even hear back from editors.

Christmas, of course. Bulgarian Christmas (Koleda) is awesome :) Lots of fun traditions, and lots of good food. I'm looking forward to it, and this time I can actually speak a little bit of Bulgarian, so I'm actually really excited about that.

Other than that...I'm relaxing for the month. 2010 is going to be a kick-ass year, business-wise. Evy has some pretty big plans starting in January, and my plans are to see if I can't make at least 50% of my income next year as passive income.

That's it for now! Kicking back, drinking some beers, marinating some salmon for dinner tonight, and playing another round of Dragon Age: Origins. Cya'll on the flip side, and hope you had a happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T10:05:00.001+02:00

To those of you reading from back in the States...

Happy Turkey Day.

Another snippet

2009-11-23T09:35:00.003+02:00

In a twist of fate that I hate to say I predicted several months back, Flashing Swords has closed its doors due to "lack of funds". What does that means? It means that Medallions of Lashiva won't actually be going to print with this publication, despite the recent promo cover.

I won't get into the juicy details here, but suffice to say I saw it coming, which is why I cautioned the promo post a week or so ago with the "if it ever makes it to the publisher" comment.

You can't make a magazine without any funds. When all you can afford to do is have volunteers on staff to edit otherwise, you can't expect to make it work.

Sucks, because the previous owners had made the magazine into something worth respecting.

However...the bonus is that all rights have been reverted to the authors. Good news for me, because I still had another 5 months until the rights reverted. Since I've already been paid for the story once, I can re-sell it somewhere else now.

Just had a long e-mail from the head editor at Abyss & Apex earlier this week regarding another one of my stories. Ultimately they declined, but she wanted to take the time to actually go over why, considering it actually made it to the final editor's desk, rather than just getting slushed. Progress is progress, and honestly...fiction is a major backseat player at the moment, with most of my efforts focused on freelancing and getting some passive income going in 2010 with the website. Had another story rejected, and have one more still in submission. December will be recycling the three completed stories I have which have been searching for a home this year. I've been making it further and further up the slush piles lately, landing on the final editor's desks rather than just the assistant editor's, and I've been getting more indepth and detailed criticism from the chiefs, so the process is ongoing. I have no doubts they'll sell next year, because my freelance success is rubbing off and editors are taking a more serious look based upon my success in that field as a writer and journalist.

Had an idea the other day. For those who don't know, writers like Brandon Sanderson and John Scalzi have been popularizing the idea of sharing stories on their websites for free. In the latter's case, he actually scored his first publishing deal with Tor as a direct result of a serliazed story he had been publshing on his website for free, and since then has gone on to publish half a dozen books and is now a creative consultant for the new Stargate: Universe show. Prior to becoming a freelance writer he wrote e-books and non-fiction, and was writing fantasy and sci-fi as a passion project and showcasing his work on his website. Sanderson, as most know, was picked up to write the continuation of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, and offers a free novel on his website, as well as in-depth look at chapers of his novels, including rough draft forms, multiple endings, and otherwise, all as a way to let his readers get in touch with him on a more personal basis. As is the case with both of them, their sales have significantly increased because of the visibility.

This led me to an idea. Considering I've already been paid for Medallions, and considering that I originally had plans to turn it into a 3 or 4 part series....I'm looking at publishing it online in serliaized format, either here or on the main website. Haven't finalized decisions yet...still percolating up in ze brain. A lot of people ask"why offer it for free", but as many authors have been showing, it's a great way to generate interest, and it's a way to potentially catch the eye of editors as well, because if you can show that your stories are generating X hits per month it means you have a fanbase of readers who will probably buy your products if they are being published by an actual publishing house. Just another facet of the 21st century to think about when looking at the potential business side of things.

Enough for now. Time to get to work. Very busy week this week, then I'm home-free for all of December, and I'll be finishing the e-book and networking the website. Peace!

Snippet

2009-11-17T17:35:00.001+02:00

Was doing some random browsing the other evening (had some free time, w00t!) looking at various architectural designs for ideas in regards to our house (whenever they finally get the well drilling issues resolved). Keeping in mind that the actual exterior and layout plans have been finalized, there's a lot of interior decorating for Evy and I to do, and we keep our eyes peeled for things we like. Right now the estimate is that we might be moving into the houses in 2012 provided they actually get a start next year, but things have been pushed back once already (we were supposed to be moved in by 2010), so we're just waiting to see. In the meantime the apartment is 100% paid for, so :)

In any case, Evy has a lot of magazines she collects for ideas on furniture and such, and I'm planning on going a lot of stone work and etc. I found this cool website on the Bungalow style house, and I really dig what some of these people have done with their homes.

In any case, the "plan" is to have a good 25-30k by the time the houses are up and running. We have a few cabinet sets planned out, a bedroom set, furniture, and we are also looking at a home theater, fitness room, and various sundries. Plans change, so no idea how it will work out, but that's the idea. Anyway, enjoy the snippet.

Ninja!

2009-11-06T22:18:00.003+02:00

Just had to post this :)

Doing some random browsing today and looks like Flashing Swords might FINALLY release Issue 13. After the old owners sold it off, the new ownership has been floundering significantly, and I had thought that Medallions of Lashiva might have to be written off as a lost cause and re-sold somewhere else. It was originally sold back in 2008 (March) and was "lost" when the publication was taken over by new management.

However....they promoed the teaser of the cover (please note this might not be the final cover), along with the TOC, and right there on the front page is "featuring T.W. Anderson".

Now we wait and see if the thing ever makes it to the press. Keep in mind that Medallions was initially slated for February of 2009's edition...which was pushed back to May....and then my story wasn't in that issue....but apparently made it into this issue.

It will be interesting to see how things progress from here :)

Going off the grid for the rest of the month

2009-11-06T11:43:00.003+02:00

Starting Monday of next week, I'll likely not be posting anything to my blog until the end of the month.

There are two main reasons for that.

The first, and most important, is that I just had a rather large project land in my lap. Between that and my other clients lined up, I've got a few thousand dollar's worth of projects for the rest of November, and I'm ramping up from my normal 4-5 hour days to 9-10 hour days. Normally I wouldn't do that, but the offer was good enough that I'm willing to put in some extra time for a few weeks. Secondly...I'm swamped with language lessons, which are ongoing until February. At which point I'm taking the second round of classes for total fluency in Bulgarian, with a goal of being fluent by June (which is when the second class is finished with). Concurrent with that is the continued growth of Complete Writing Solutions as I continue fleshing it out and adding links, content, and otherwise.

The trade-off is that I'm taking the entire month of December off, outside of a few articles I have scheduled for TravBuddy. December will be focused entirely on getting my e-book polished and ready for publication. The majority of the content is already written, it simply needs to be polished up and edited...at which point I have to make a choice to either find a publisher and an agent or do it myself via POD. Still undecided on this point.

December will also be spent looking at ways to monetize the new website. Adds, networking with other writing sites and otherwise, I am looking at making the website a major source of income for 2010. It's a big step, and it requires a lot of work, but I enjoy it.

Fiction is almost entirely on hold at the moment, at least in terms of writing anything new. I have 3 short stories in circulation looking for a home. I have a fourth that needs a re-worked ending and it could also be sent out into circulation. Book work....well, as much as I want to work on it, it's completely on hold. I'm 80k words in, and have been since June.

While I'm torn between my real passion--which is fantasy and science fiction--and making money...I can't deny that I'm having an absolute blast doing freelance work. I'm getting to write in two of my favorite niches...travel and video games. I'm also doing a lot of "generic" content work for Pure Content...that is, anything they give to me. A big project I just wrapped up for them last month was for a French poker website that required me to write about poker for nearly a month. It was an absolute blast. I've also written about things like UK universities, towns in the UK, space travel, the X-Files, Robin Hood, health and fitness, and a wide variety of topics that have required me to do a lot of research. I have learned a LOT of new information in 2009, so it's been a dual blessing to be getting a nice paycheck along with furthering my knowledge.

I'm not sure where I want to take this writing career. I started out wanting to pursue fantasy and science fiction primarily. And I still do. But the pull of the freelance market, especially the digital medium where you can work for clients all over the world on all sorts of projects, allows me a great avenue for finding inspiration, and I'm gaining all sorts of new information on a wide variety of topics. The pay isn't too shabby, and I have to admit I'm looking forward to trying to make this website + e-book really pay off. I've been doing a lot of research in the past few weeks and as long as I market things properly it should work out splendidly. We'll have to wait and see. But I really don't know WHERE I want to take it. Do I want to keep writing travel? I've debated doing a Bulgarian-specific website focusing on cultural aspects and things like wine and cuisine, specifically targeting the rest of the EU as Bulgaria moves deeper into the folds and people want to know more about their newest neighbour. The country is fast turning into a major tourist destination because of the low costs, and access to several of the most beautiful mountain ranges in this part of Europe, not to mention the Black Sea. And the wine...well, I've talked about the wine before. Bulgaria is absolutely undiscovered wine country, and I full expect to see things explode in the next dozen years or so once the rest of the world discovers it. Kind of like South Africa and Australia have done in the past 10 years or so.

Who knows? Lots of ideas, lots of passions, and as long as they are making money I'll keep pushing ideas along to see how they work out. I'd love to focus entirely on fiction but at the same time...I'm having fun doing what I do, and I'm making good money and getting to spend a lot of time traveling. Who says I have to write novels right now? :)

Yap with you all later!

Dragon Age: Origins

2009-11-04T20:49:00.002+02:00

Enough said.

Bioware, you are the gods of gaming. This is hands-down the best title I've played since BG 1 and 2. Evy and I have been entranced 100% so far. This game is not only massive, but the voice overs are absolutely phenomenal, the writing is beyond stellar, and the cinematography is movie quality. This is the gaming I was born to be a part of.

Epic. I totally can't wait for ST:TOR now. Story is king :)

hiccup!

2009-11-04T08:10:00.003+02:00

So I woke up this morning to find that my brand shiny new website had been suspended. My first reaction was !!!, but upon calling their tech support found out that the reason was fairly simple: I paid for the service with my PayPal account, which is a U.S. PayPal account, but I live in Bulgaria, so the physical address I had on file didn't match their PayPal database, so they flagged the account. I have to call back this evening when the account guys are in the office (they are on U.S. time) and get that worked out. No worries. Same thing happened to me last year when we bought my new computer and put it on my Capital One card. I had to physically call the tech support to have them unblock the transaction because it got flagged as coming from Europe when it's a U.S. card...plus PayPal just did the same thing to one of my clients this weekend. He was in Beijing and issued me a payment through PayPal, but because his account is based out of California (he was on a business trip) they flagged the payment for suspicious activity and he had to call them when he got back Stateside to get the issue resolved. So no worries, it's just a little hiccup in the system :) One of the curses of being in Europe and still having a few U.S. systems in place.

I've been researching a trip to Pokhara, Nepal. I stumbled across it when I was doing some work for a client, and it intrigued me enough that I think we might make that one of our must-see destinations in the next year or two. Spending a week in that setting just looks amazing, and hotels are disgustingly cheap...like 25-30 USD a night for mid-grade, and 50-60 bucks a night for all-inclusive, or 150 USD a night for total luxury. Plane tickets are the only real pricey thing.

A couple of randoms for the week (though they are actually from last week).

Wal Mart selling caskets and urns. Any way to make a buck, eh?

Here's my personal favorite for the month. There's just so much wrong with this guy's thought processes. Why you should be allowed to have mistresses if you make more than 200k a year. Basically this guy honestly believes that women are like a good steak dinner. You have a favorite restaurant that you eat at a lot, but you also like to try different steaks when you are on trips or just for variety. Eating those steaks reminds you why you really love your favorite steakhouse, but you don't want to get bored with them, so you need variety.

What really blows my mind is his advocation for infidelity. The guy honestly believes that it's OK to sleep around...but notice how he only talks about MEN being allowed to do so. A bit sexist, don't you think? And also notice that the more money you make, the more liasons you are supposed to be allowed to have.

There's so much wrong with that article that I don't really even know where to start. Evy's first comment was "sounds like he needs a bullet to the brain", which made me LOL. Call me old-fashioned, but I'm a monogomous guy. The idea of my wife being compared to a steak dinner is just beyond comprehension. She is not a steak dinner. She is the light of my life. There is no way in hell I would ever cheat on her, and I can't believe there is someone out there advocating that "the richer you are, the more you should be allowed to cheat, and your woman should be damn happy you are providing for her in the first place".

Things that make you go "!?!"

Presenting...

2009-11-01T13:03:00.004+02:00

Complete Writing Solutions

That's right, ladies and gentlemen. November 1st is here. Evy's birthday was last night, I made some home-made biscuits and gravy with Bulgarian sausage this morning, and just finished putting on the finishing touches of the actual website to make it for today's official launch deadline.

The launch of Complete Writing Solutions ties into our plans for expansion in 2010. The last two years have seen my freelance business grow significantly, and Evy and I are going to be working together in conjunction with her many other projects to move Creative Writing Solutions further into the global market. Specifically, in 2010, we are going to be offering Bulgarian-to-English translations, English-to-Bulgarian translations, and I will be focusing on moving the company into the Bulgarian market, which right now is poised on the brink of the digital era. Many companies still do not offer website services, and Complete Writing Solutions is going to change that. What the company has done for clients around the world for the past two years we are now going to target for this part of Europe.

I chose the name Complete simply because it is not just a content writing website. Along with offering content for people's websites, the company will also offer consultations, freelance writing tips, links to some of the hottest topics in the market, translations (dependent upon who we end up hiring who can speak other languages), journalism, print, and a whole slew of "compete" writing solutions for the globally-aware client who is looking to diversify and expand into the 21st century, away from the centuries-old-fashioned industry that has been bogged down in trying to compete with the digital explosion of media.

The website is still in its infant stages, but we've got some big plans :) In any case, from here on out this blog will be transitioning into my personal blog only, and my freelance business will be linked entirely to the Complete Writing Solutions website.

Enjoy, and I hope to see you there in the near future!

Silence?

2009-10-26T13:21:00.000+02:00

I've not been posting here that much in the past couple of weeks. Why?

Projects. As I've stated, I'm nearing official launch date for my website. It has a planned release of November 1st, 2009. In conjunction with that, we are finally launching my wife's Etsy shop as well. She's working a full time job, full time classes finishing up her BA degree (business admin), doing translations for her company, and taking pottery classes on Saturdays, with a line of pottery goods that she'll be launching in 2010, time dependent. In between freelance work, the e-book, the website, the language lessons, and everything else...we are lucky if we have free time on Saturday afternoons and Sundays. We are both very, very busy little bees.

Once the website goes live, this blog will be transitioning into personal only. The time for seperation of professional and personal is way past due, which was the whole spark that set this into motion.

On the plus side, once the website is launched, things will slow down for the rest of the year. I'm booked solid with work until the end of the year, and I'm really hoping to have that e-book published by then as well. Had hoped to have it done by November but...well, life has a funny way of knocking your timelines around a bit. Suffice to say, business is great, and only getting better. 2010 should be a really knock-out year, and I'm looking forward to expanding my horizons in Europe, especially.

Hope you have a Happy Halloween!

Progress!

2009-10-20T18:46:00.003+03:00

Settled on a good theme for the website today, and I'm about 30% done with the content sections. Right now I'm just waiting on e-mails back from clients who I asked for testimonials from, as well as finishing up the rest of the content, adding links, bios, pictures, and customizing. Sure, you can set up a website in a day, but to flesh it out takes time, and I'm not a professional web designer. I'm taking my time. Official launch date is November 1st, so I'm not rushing anything. I want it pristine when it goes live.

Other than that...today was smooth sailing. Spent the morning/early afternoon doing some freelance work, then spent about 3 hours working on the website. I'm doing another hour's worth of work while dinner cooks, then it's time for a relaxing evening with a bottle of wine and Evy's company while we watch the latest Heroes and Castle episodes.

Update

2009-10-19T21:31:00.001+03:00

Website is coming along nicely. I expect to have it launched by the weekend. I actually spent about 4 hours this afternoon working on themes and such.

Busy. Have a test on Wed. Two projects to finish up for October. Another rejection on one of my shorts, so time to find another place to ship it off to. Evy's B-day on Halloween. Have to buy her a present.

No time!

Things that make you go "%(*)@)#!!!!"

2009-10-18T14:22:00.004+03:00

I work from home. As a result, I rarely use public transportation, other than when the weather is crappy, or if we are lugging 50 lbs worth of groceries or some such. Evy tells me horror stories about the tram, but I don't always get to experience things first-hand.

Yesterday, I did. And I can totally appreciate her perspective on it, as well as agree with the big WTF question regarding the following behavior.

Bulgarians, for some reason or another, are incapable of riding the tram without all crowding into the very front of the tram. There can be four tram cars available to sit in...but all forty people on the tram will be crammed into the first 10 feet of the first car, packed in like sardines. They refuse to budge, and they get incredibly irritable and cranky when you need to get through. To the point where they will screech at you for pushing by.

Why do they do this?

Let me explain how the tram system works here. If you want to ride the tram, you either need a ticket, which can be purchased from a kiosk on the sidewalk, or from the driver. Or, you can deposit coins into a slot machine (which rarely ever works) which gives you a paper ticket. This is at the front of the tram. You can also purchase a swipe-card which can be used at the card-reading stations located in each tram car.

If you want to buy a ticket from either the kiosk or the driver, you almost always have to have exact change. You cannot, for example, buy three tickets with a ten leva bill (tickets are 1 leva per). The driver or the kiosk attendant will tell you to get bent. Unless you do like me and just pretend like you don't understand that they are asking you for exactly three leva, at which point they get very cranky. Evy has actually had a kiosk lady yell at her (literally yell) for not having exact change.

In any case. If everyone were using the coin machine or purchasing tickets from the driver of the tram, I could understand why they are all packed in up front. But they aren't. No one from Bulgaria ever uses the coin machines, because they know that the damn things are almost always broken. Only foreigners use the coin machine because they don't know any better, which means you then have to get a ticket from the driver. Most Bulgarians who ride the tram regularly have a card to swipe at one of the various card readers. Remember, there are one per car.

Yesterday we went to the store and got a new router, a all-in-one printer/etc. (needed a new one), and some various sundries. We had coins to burn, so we decided to get on the front of the tram and the tram was just about to leave so we didn't use the kiosk, we just bolted for the door. There were 5 cars.

The front of the tram was so crowded that I couldn't get up the stairs with the printer box I was carrying. I then proceeded to get two paper cuts as I tried to jostle my way through a PACKED crowd of at least 40 people....ALL OF WHOM HAD CARDS AND WERE TRYING TO GET TO THE CARD READER AT THE FRONT OF THE TRAM. The other four cars....empty. Not a soul.

One lady yelled at me. Two older men were cursing as I tried to maneuver through with my box held above my head. Meanwhile there were at least 35 other people yelling at each other trying to get to the damn card reader. Meanwhile, Evy finds out that the coin machine is broken (imagine that) and she needs to buy tickets from the driver. Only, the front of the bus is so crowded it takes THREE stops before it's clear enough for her to actually get to the guy and purchase a ticket.

Know how many of those people purchased a ticket from the driver? Zero. Know how many of them used tickets in the punchers? Zero (when you have a ticket you have to get it punched with a hole puncher unique to each tram mounted on the wall; ticket checkers will sometimes come in and check to see that your hole punches match the tram you are on). Every single individual on that tram used their card, and they all used the very first tram card swiper, ignoring the the other four swipers in the other four cars.

Why? Why don't people use the other tram cars? Evy said she always just gets on the last car and never has to fight for a seat, while she can look ahead and watch 30-40 people all clamoring for the card reader in the first tram car.

I don't get it.

Things that make you go hrmmm

Swamped

2009-10-15T15:30:00.002+03:00

Enough said. I'm finding my schedule very maxed with the addition of language lessons, because suddenly I find myself spending at least two hours a day studying on top of doing freelance work and trying to fit all of my side-projects into my daily schedule.

I'm behind on two of my personal projects. Sounds familiar by this point, doesn't it? :) If you've been following my blog for any length of time, you'll see that my personal projects often fall to the wayside for weeks or even months at a time. That's not necessarily a bad thing, I think, because my professional career is continually progressing, and that's the important part.

Met some really interesting folks @ my language class. One guy is French, and he's my age, married to a very sweet and beautiful Bulgarian woman (met her the other night; they are a super cute couple. And yes, I used the word cute in a sentence). As far as I understand it, he works logistics for a couple of humanitarian companies helping to get medical and other types of aid packages to various places around the world. We are going out for beers next week, so I'm going to find out more.

There's also a German lady who speaks 6 languages fluently. Her husband is a German language teacher and they have traveled around the world for over 20 years living in various countries for 5-7 years at a time on contract with her husband teaching at various places, and they just came here 6 weeks ago for a 5 year stint.

Then there's this Serbian guy who is probably mid 30s. Apparently unemployed. Not sure if he's married.

Was a British woman in her late 30s/early 40s in our first lesson, but she didn't show up on Wednesday, so no idea what she does.

Another kid is an Indian who is here getting his doctorate in mechanical engineering at some university here. He's probably mid/late 20s.

Then we had a late addition last night. She's a Spanish woman who works for the Ministry of Environment and just came to Bulgaria. Probably in her late 40s, early 50s.

So, with the exception of one, we are all working professionals.

Now, having never taking a language course before, I wasn't sure what to expect at my first class on Monday night. I was totally unprepared. It was not "Hi, welcome to Bulgarian for Foreigners. This is an introduction class and we will be getting you into it nice and easy".

Instead, it was bend-you-over-the-desk-and-beat-you-over-the-head-with-a-wall-of-text. She didn't speak a WORD of English, which was a shock to everyone in the class, believe me. Me, probably least, because I didn't know WHAT to expect, but I think everyone else, who had taken language classes in other languages before, expected some sort of English introduction. Nope. This woman is hard-freaking-core-to-the-max.

But she's also very good at what she does. I struggled through the 2 hour class on Monday, but understood most of the lesson by the end. I came home, I studied, and on Wednesday night it was nice to not have to look at my lesson book like most of the others did when it came time to brush up on Monday's work.

Felt bad for the Spanish lady because she walked into day 2 and had no idea, and she was in absolute shock the whole class, because she had NO idea where we were at. At one point she asked the teacher something in English, which warranted a HUGE sigh from her and a "Only this once. Never again".

Still...we had a hell of a lot of fun on Wednesday night. Still don't understand the majority of what she's saying, but we have learned enough at this point to be able to ask people names, where they are from, what they do for a living, what languages they speak, and the generic greetings. We've also learned some of the really confusing sentence structure for Bulgarian, such dealing with that damn "li" (if you are Bulgarian you know what I mean).

Thankfully I have until next Monday, so I've got a few days to study. Had a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to getting in there on Monday and rocking out. It'll be extremely refreshing here in a few weeks to actually have a CONVERSATION with someone other than my wife and her friends :) It's been a very difficult situation at times when at family gatherings because I always need a flipping translator. Thankfully I have a very patient woman by my side, otherwise I'd be up poo creek w/o a paddle!

!)(@#$

2009-10-12T12:53:00.004+03:00

Seriously.

So, we had three year warranties on our computers when we bought them. Sounded good.

I've dealt with warranties on computers before. I had to have Dell replace 2 graphics cards back in Colorado, and getting them to do so was like pulling teeth. But they did so in the long run.

Evy's power supply crapped out the other day. Still running power, but the internal fan to keep the power supply cooled isn't working and started smelling the room up like lovely melted plastic parts. We called to see about our warranty and found out that they wanted us to bring the ENTIRE box in (as in the whole case), not just the power supply.

We then find out that because we have opened the cases twice to clean them...we've voided our warranty in its entirety.

WTF? You can't even open your computer to clean out the dust ever 6 months or so without voiding your warranty? Even Dell never pulled that one on me.

On the plus side power supplies aren't that expensive. I'm just very irritated that simply cleaning the dust from the parts voided the warranty because we "opened the case".

(Yes, they can tell. There's a sticker on the inside that gets torn when you open the case, so they know if you've opened it or not).

@)_*(@#$

Moving ahead

2009-10-07T10:38:00.004+03:00

Finally got around to calling an international tax accountant this morning, and looks like I'll be moving ahead with getting all my 2008 stuff squared away. Yes, I know I'm way beyond the date you are supposed to take care of taxes, but here's the thing...I didn't make any income last year (about 2,000 total), as we were living off our savings account the whole time. Technically I didn't even have to claim any income for the year because I made below the "claimable" level, but I still want to get things squared away so 2009 will flow easier. 2009 will be a little more complex, because I have clients from all over the world, but obviously I can't file for that until next year. The good thing is, they don't charge nearly as much as I originally anticipated, so that's nice.

Website! I finally took the time and started researching hosting and packages this morning. It looks like I'll be getting the groundwork laid in this weekend. I had a friend of mine offer to look into it for me, but after I did some digging I found some rather nice Wordpress tutorials + hosting packages through the LIP website, and it's only about 80 bucks for a year's worth of hosting, and I'm figuring it'll take me the weekend to get the actual website up and running. So...that's another thing that's about to get knocked off the list.

Next item on the agenda is the e-book. I have the general outline done, and I have the "meat" text there. I've already started doing research for the actual numbers I'll be providing in the book, based upon tax figures and worldwide income statistics, and otherwise. I am pretty sure I'll have it done by the end of October. At which point I need to start looking for a publisher.

Now, I could self publish, but if you remember my post from earlier in the year...I don't really think self publishing gives people any credentials. Anyone can self publish. Which means a bunch of absolute crap gets put on the market because there are a lot of people out there who have no business calling themselves writers, but because they can self publish a book and stick their name on it they can call themselves an author. Nevermind the fact that it's never been put past a professional editor before...in their heads, they are writers. I'm not that kind of guy. I whole-heartedly believe that until an editor has taken a look at your work and approved it, then it isn't really credible. Not everyone agrees with me. That's fine. But that's my feelings on it. So if you know any good e-book or even regular book publishers who you think would be a good fit for publishing a book on global freelancing, let me know. Otherwise I'll be starting to shop for an agent in November, and see if I can't get this thing sold in one format or another.

Evy told me I have way too many ideas, far too many passions, and not enough time. I've been stressing out lately about which projects to focus on, because I have dozens of them I want to work on, and I'm spreading myself too thin. So I made a decision on Sunday. For the rest of 2009 these are my goals:

Get the freelance book finished
Find a publisher for the book
Get a website up and running
See where I can get on the fiction novel

I'm ahead of the game with work. I'm booked solid until the end of December already, which means I don't have to worry about income. Fiction work I've been slowly making progress on. I still haven't finished chapter 12, but I've managed to put down close to 4,000 words over the past week and a half in my spare time, so I'm close to wrapping it up. The website will be done this weekend. The non-fiction book will hopefully be done by the end of the month. I think it's going to fall around 30k words. We'll see.

I really hope to cross the 100k word mark on the fiction novel by the end of the year. Maybe. I've been hovering around 80k words since June, so if I can manage to write chapters 13, 14, and 15, I can push past the 100k mark.

A big issue with fantasy novels these days is that publishers are becoming more and more unwilling to publish novels over 150k even from big-name authors like Brandon Sanderson, George R. R. Martin, and otherwise. Sanderson was discussing his issue with hist latest Mistborn novel on his website, and how the book stores were the ones throwing a fit about the size of the novel, not the publishers themselves. They were worried that a 200k novel was going to "take up too much shelf space" and cut into their profits. Now, while I don't think I'm going to be at 200k words...my outline is for 25 chapters. If I'm at 100k words with 15 chapters...well, that's at least another 60-80k worth of words to finish the outline, which will put it at around 160-180k words. For a first-time author. I have a feeling I'm going to have a hell of a time getting an agent to sell that, but it's not going to keep me from trying. I can't break it down any smaller than that, because the outline calls for 4 books and that's the best natural breaking point. I could probably shave it down to 150k, but...well, we'll just have to see when it actually gets done.

In any case, here's to success, and here's to good health. Hope you head into the holiday seasons with good cheer and good luck.

The homeless: should you be socially responsible for them?

2009-10-05T13:07:00.004+03:00

I'd like to start off with saying that I'm not the type to give hand-outs. When I see a person begging on the street I say to myself, "They lack the desire to succeed in life". And while it's true that I pass those people by without a second's thought or a moment's hesitation, there are those that I feel genuinely sorry for.

Bulgaria is a poor country. It's going to be a long climb to reach Western standards. Perhaps one of the worst parts about the country is the number of people out on the streets in the various cities with nowhere to go, and no income coming in. Now, don't get me wrong...I spent 10+ years in the Denver area, so I'm very familiar with bums. There was a guy in Denver one year (late 90s) who actually proved a point by showing that he could make more money by being a bum than many people make working a full-time job. He went out and spent the entire year living in homeless shelters and eating food from said shelters while begging for money, and at the end of the year he made over 30k USD simply by lowering his standards of living, proving that you could very well be successful as a bum.

But it's more complicated here. The government doesn't really have a Social Security system in place. If you are an elderly retired person you get (correct me if I'm wrong, I'm going off of what I've been told in the past) around 100 leva a month. I don't know the exact amount, although I'd be curious to find out the hard total.

That's about 80 USD. A month. For food...utilities...clothing...transportation...etc. You can't live off of that.

They don't have homeless shelters in Bulgaria, at least not that I know of. They also have bands of gypsies who are basically actual syndicates of beggars who give a percentage of their profits to an overlord of their syndicate. They routinely sell children to each other based upon if the kid is a good pickpocket or not, and they have been known to cut off fingers to give the children a better chance at slipping into people's pockets. There are also some who purposefully maim themselves in order to continue begging, because they know they won't be able to get a job anywhere, and they know the government won't give them enough money to pay for basic utilities, and they know nobody will hire them because they are physically deformed.

Now...I feel pity for these people, but there also has to be a limit to what one person can or even should do for charity. I'm all for helping people out if I can, but at what point do I put myself above others?

Evy and I have started buying food for a few select people we see on our regular routes. We avoid giving them money. Why? Because we have no idea where that money will go. Booze, cigarettes, or to their "pimp"? We have no idea. We also don't give to certain ones. If they can talk, walk, and don't appear to have any ailments, I refuse to give them money. Why? Because there are jobs at nearly every McDonalds. They can sweep streets. They can empty trash cans. They can join a ditch-digging crew. And while the wages might suck, and they are the shit jobs, at least they would be working for their money. By me giving healthy people who should be out there working jobs money, I am only perpetuating the problem by allowing them to continue their way of life.

I do, however, give food to the elderly, or to those people who are missing limbs. I saw one old man, who had to be in his late 80s, literally crying on the steps to one of the subway stations. It literally wrenched my heart, and made me feel physically sick. That was about 3 months ago. Since then we have been actively going out of our way to buy food for five or six of these people that we see 2 or 3 times a week.

I wish they had a homeless shelter in Sofia, but they don't. The majority of people just don't care. They shun these people like they have the plague. I know it's the same in the States because I've been around it in big cities like Denver, Seattle, and San Jose before.

There is also a difference between the "street rat" gangs and genuinely needy people. The gangs are made up of criminals who choose to be that way. They are healthy. They could have real jobs. They just choose not to. However, the elderly have no choice. The government's not giving them enough money to pay for basic necessities, and if they are someone whose family has died off or something, there's nobody to help them out.

Now, it's getting better. They have been increasing the retirement payouts, but it's not high enough to counter the cost of living just yet. Elderly people have to have family members looking out for them or they are screwed. It's the one part of Bulgarian life that I really hope changes for the better. Don't get me wrong...I am not a big fan of the welfare system in America, but at the very least it does provide a service for a lot of people who are worse off. And while I agree that it's not my social responsibility to take care of the people who can take care of themselves, what about those who really have no other viable options than to beg?

I'd at least like to help those ones out. And I know I'm not making much of a difference, but honestly....50 bucks a month out of my pocket to buy sandwiches and food for a few elderly homeless people is the least I can do. What do you do to help the less fortunate, and what do you think could be done to help move things in the right direction?

First day of the new month, random ramblings

2009-10-05T09:30:00.003+03:00

Ok, technically it's not the first day of October. It's the 5th. But it's my first working day of the month, as I took the last few days of last week off from writing and spent it doing research for a project I'm finishing up the first half of this month.

Without getting into too much because of the NDA, I can at least say that the overall scheme of the project is about poker. Something I had little/no knowledge of prior to this project, outside of playing a few hands now and again at parties and social occasions. Little did I know just how epic in scope the game is, and how much it has evolved in the past century. I can honestly say this is a project that I have learned a lot from. I've spent a couple of weeks working on the project so far, and I've still got another two weeks worth of work, but I will say this: I never knew there were so many variations of the game, and I never knew just how lucrative (albeit risky) the game could be. There are some incredible success stories in the realm of the game. Normal people going from nothing and becoming multi-millionaires, and not just based upon sheer dumb luck. There is absolutely skill involved with professional poker playing, as is evident by the professionals who make their living playing the game.

Onto our new favorite show, Numb3rs. I can honestly say it's made it into my top 5. How the hell did we miss this show? Probably because we never really watched network TV back when we were in the States, but kept to our cable shows. We just finished season 2 of this gem last night, and both of us agree that it's been slotted into our number 2 all-time favorite shows. Absolutely phenomenal, and I have to admit...it's started a craving within me to see if I can somehow enhance my math skills to really learn more about this subject.

We've been blessed with a financially secure position at present, and there are a lot of doors opening in terms of opportunities, and we are having a hard time choosing exactly which doors we want to open. We've also got time for a lot of hobbies, and when I wrap up my language lessons in February I'm looking into taking some math classes.

I really do need to brush up on the subject, not only for personal desires. I've been debating earning a viticulture degree from one of the universities here. One of our long-term goals is property investments, and tied into that is vineyards. Bulgaria is phenomenal wine country, and my enthusiasm for the grape is such that I want to own my own. I'd like to get started on a vineyard in about 5 years or so, so that it has plenty of time to mature and get to the point where it's providing a healthy yearly revenue for us, but I don't want to be just the money behind the operation. I have a passion for the grapes, and I absolutely want to be as hands-on as possible in the daily operations of said vineyard. If there's one thing I really want to do in the next 5 years, this is it. And math does play a part in that. Seeing as how it's my only weak point, time to brush up.

If things work out the way we are planning (and keep in mind that life doesn't always give you what you plan for), working the part-time hours I've kept the majority of this year should give us around 30k USD in the bank by the end of next year, after taxes. If I work more hours, take higher paying projects, sell stories, or etc., then that number goes up. If Evy's work picks up next year, that number goes up. 30k's a good start for an investment. We don't plan on dumping all of it into something, but over half, probably. We are going to buy a piece of property to start, and go from there.

Granted, that's all based upon things the way they are now, which we don't foresee changing in the next few years. The apartment is paid for, and barring a natural disaster, we won't be moving until the houses are built out in the countryside, which is something that is currently on hold until her mother and company can get the wells drilled...which is taking extra time to get permits from the government. Originally they were supposed to be built by 2008...then 2010...and now it's pushed back again until who knows when. We are personally figuring that they won't be ready until 2014 at the earliest, even if they started building next year, because things in Bulgaria don't work like they do back in the States. Things are slow here. Getting better, but bureaucracy gets in the way more often than not.

Which actually ties into our "5 year plan" rather nicely. Yes, we have one. Yes, I know some people say it's a waste of time to have a 5 year plan, because you can't plan "life". That's fine...what you can do is set goals and have aspirations, and that's what we are doing. Our cost of living for 2009 was around 8k USD, total. Closer to 10k USD when you throw in entertainment for the year. That's 100% total.

10k vs. 60k. Same amenities. You do the math.

This was my first year working freelance "full time". As in, I've had work when I wanted it. I've landed most jobs I query for. I've found one client who has kept me busy all year long with steady work, and another client who is keeping me busy until the end of the year. I've taken pet projects between those. When everything is said and done, I'm averaging around 25 USD between high and low paying clients, although I've really only had steady income since May. First few months of the year were shaky as I was still establishing myself, but since then it's been reliable. If I wanted to work full time, I can say with reliability that I could break 50k USD for the year. Which, as far as I'm concerned, isn't too bad of a wage for a second-year freelancer with no college degree and not even a high school diploma. Especially considering only 10k of that is needed for living expenses, and the entirety of the rest goes straight into the savings account, and doesn't even factor in Evy's income.

Work could dry up next year. But I doubt it. We are in a unique place. Bulgaria is on the crux of a big development push. The last few years have seen significant changes in the country as they joined the EU. Government has changed. Money is being spent in the right places. English is more common. Businesses are in the "calm before the storm" phase due to the recession, but things are poised for a giant leap forward. The beauty of being where we are is that we are ready to take advantage of it. Now, it could all go south, but I don't see that happening. Even if my work were to dry up entirely from the US, most of my work isn't from US clients. Most of my work is from Europeans, and the European market is booming in comparison to the US.

I'm also not putting all my eggs into one basket. I'm planning on starting a construction company here next year. I'm also going to be looking into getting a translation company going for businesses. Also tied into that will be more Bulgarian-specific services for websites and companies who want to make an online presence and have a native English speaker and professional writer who can make their websites read the way they need to read in order to appeal to the investors coming into the country from the West. I have the fiction book to finish writing. I have an e-book I'm working on presently. I had a cook-book planned that I still want to do, hopefully in the spring. My freelance writing is going strong. Stories are selling.

It's an interesting position to be in, and I'm incredibly excited to be blessed enough to have the freedom to expand upon those entrepreneurial concepts.

I read something recently about a lady back in the States who was complaining about her job, and I had to ask the question: why are you still doing it? Don't like what you are doing? Change your circumstances. I honestly don't believe that "you can't do anything about it". That only holds true if you believe that you are stuck wherever you are, and that chances don't exist. The only person standing between you and success is you. You either want it, or you don't. I've seen a lot of people complain that "well I can't change jobs because there aren't any other jobs to be had." Stop being so limited. You don't have to live and work in the US or the UK. Europe is a big place, and there are a lot of countries in it. Canada, Australia...they all have similar economies, but they aren't packed full of people all with the same credentials looking for the same jobs. Market yourself on a global scale. Stop limiting yourself by local constraints. The world is your oyster. Get out there and crack it open.

Understandably everyone has extenuating circumstances, but are you going to let those get in the way of living the life you want to live?

That's enough for a Monday morning :) Time to get to work. I hope you all find success in what you do, and are happy with your circumstances. Evy and I have been extremely blessed this year, and I hope to be able to see more people enjoying such success in the years to come.

Pet Peeves

2009-10-01T12:24:00.004+03:00

At the top of my list is potential clients who don't bother to check your references or even bother to read your resume and/or your writing samples.

I recently sent a query off to a job which asked for my resume + links to published work. I did so. Within a few days I heard back from the guy and he wanted me to provide him with "additional samples" so he could judge the quality of my work.

........................

I proceeded to write him the following:

If you were a homeowner and wanted to remodel your house, you would send out a query for interested builders. Those builders would show up and give you quotes. Along with the quotes they will give you a run-down of their credentials, which allows you to determine which of them has rates and experience relevant to your particular job. You base your opinion of hiring them upon what credentials they give you.

What you do not do is ask them if they can build your son a tree-fort in the back yard for free over the weekend, so that you get a chance to "judge" the quality of the work up close and personal.

The guy replied to me with this comment: "Well, I've gotten over 30 replies to my e-mail and I just don't have the time to go through every person's resume and check all of their samples and contact their references. It's just easier for me to have you write a sample for me."

First of all...samples were included. The resume includes dozens of links to published materiel on the web and in print. Second of all...you just admitted you didn't even bother to read the resume I sent you, nor did you bother to check the credentials you asked for in the first place.

Way to inspire me to want to work with you.

Seriously. What the hell is up with people who ask you for resume/samples/references, and then don't even bother to check them? Furthermore, I just can't believe the audacity of some of these people when they come up with things like "well, we need you to provide us with some additional samples".

No, you don't. I'm a professional. When I was running a ceramic tile and natural stone company people didn't get free samples. I didn't go in and install an entryway for them for free, just so they could "see my work". They were provided with a list of credentials, which are easily verified through simple phone calls and/or Internet searching, and they were able to base their final decision upon my reputation as an installer, my prices, and the quality of my work. There was no such thing as freebies.

It's the one thing I really can't stand about freelancing. And it's becoming a far more prevalent issue.

People only want free samples for one reason: they want free work so they can use it and claim that "well, your sample didn't make the cut", and then sneak it in somewhere.

If a resume and published articles can't give them an accurate picture of your work, then they aren't worth working for in the first place. Especially if they point-blank tell you that they didn't bother to read the resume they requested from you in the first place...

Doing favors for your neighbors is now a crime!

2009-09-30T19:33:00.004+03:00

The lengths a government goes to in order to strip people of their personal freedoms suffers no limits. The latest in my ongoing study of governments who involve themselves too greatly in their people's lives shows the American government regulating neighbors and the favors they do for each other.

Remember that blog post I made earlier this month detailing how the US government is about to start telling its citizens they can't grow their own produce or have gardens because the average citizen is "too dumb" to know how to safely grow a garden? Or that if you don't have health insurance you are going to be fined, even if you couldn't afford to pay for insurance in the first place? This one takes it a step further.

Remember the days when you could knock on your neighbor's door and ask them for a cup of sugar? A couple of eggs? Watch the dog while we're on vacation? Take care of our son/daughter while we enjoy a night out on the town? Or heaven-forbid, something bad happens to your spouse, and you need someone to watch your kids while you work some extra hours in this recession-driven economy and you can't afford daycare because the rates are too high?

Enter the no-longer-allowed-to-be-a-good-neighbor-program. Gone are the days of being able to do favors for your neighbors. This is just the first step. Another personal freedom that is being wrenched away from Americans by a government that claims you aren't allowed to take care of your family in the way you see fit.

Need to go to the hospital and need someone to watch over your kids for the night? Better get a government-approved-and-appointed babysitter, because otherwise you are breaking the law and going straight to jail. Need a cup of sugar? Only if you get it from your government-approved-and-appointed sugar provider. Want to have a veggie garden? Toss that right in there with "only if it's government approved".

This article made me puke in my mouth just a little bit. Seriously. In the recession, people are having to find all sorts of ways to make ends meet. Spouses are working double shifts, taking part time jobs, doing everything they can to make ends meet, and it's not uncommon for people to ask their neighbors to help them out when it comes to taking care of the kids if grandma/relatives can't. But now the government is stepping in and telling you when and how often your friends and family can watch your children for you.

Recession got you down, hurting your checkbook, and making it so you can't afford official daycare? Doesn't matter...prepare to be fined for having your neighbour wait for your kids at the bus stop, because working that second job you need to work in order to put food on the table isn't as important as making sure that government-appointed-and-approved babysitter is getting theirs, and giving their cut back to The Man.

Makes me sick to my stomach.

Finally!

2009-09-30T11:33:00.005+03:00

So, after living here for what is now approaching two years...

...I've finally signed up to take some Bulgarian lessons.

But Tim, you ask, how could you possibly have lived there for two years and not learned the language by now?

Believe me, it's a question I field quite frequently. And, to be honest, it's a little disturbing the growing number of the elderly generation (see 50+) who have begun to think that I'm lazy because I haven't spent the time to do so yet.

Let me explain my situation.

I work from home. All of my clients are in English. All of my work is in English. Evy speaks English. Everywhere I go in Sofia there are English signs as a result of their joining the EU 2 years ago. Almost everyone you meet in the stores speak English. The only place English is not common is with the 50+ generation or the vegetable markets and interior of the country, where things are still very rural and cultural/traditional. Most of the older generation speak Russian and Bulgarian, because Russian was an unofficial language for them because of the Communist regime, but now that English is the unofficial second language, anyone who is anyone speaks it because it's required by their jobs.

What this has boiled down to is that most of the time, I very rarely have issues with communication. I can do all of my shopping without ever uttering a single phrase of Bulgarian. I can use the taxi, order food at a restaurant, and do almost all of my daily activities without needing to know the language.

That's not to say I haven't learned a bit in that time. I can understand conversations about 15% of the time, and I know a lot of phrases. I order my food in Bulgarian at restaurants (I actually know a lot of "food" related words/phrases, so I can generally read a menu pretty well). I genuinely try to use my phrases as often as I can. I know whether or not the lady at the store is asking me if I want a big bag or a small bag for my groceries. I know whether or not the waitress is telling me they are out of Stella Artois and only have Kamenitza, and do I want draft or bottle. I can "get by" if I absolutely had to, purely using "baby" Bulgarian.

However, it's not conversational Bulgarian, not in the least.

My 2 year residency is up in June, which means I can apply for permanent residency. While it's not required to be fluent in the language to be granted permanent residency, I have decided that my goal is to be fluent by that point in time. Why? Well, I got to thinking about how pissed off I used to get at the Mexican immigrants in America who came to the country and proceeded to work, live, and use American resources but never bothered to learn the language. Then I realized I was doing almost the same thing. I might not be working for Bulgarian clients, but I live here, I use their stores, I walk on their sidewalks, I take their trams, and I plan on living here for the foreseeable future over the next 10+ years, and probably for the rest of my life.

Not to mention, I know her grandparents and other people would love to have an actual conversation with me, and our rather talkative wine merchant will actually be able to talk to me directly instead of having to use Evy as a translator. And I can do more things on my own without Evy helping me when I need it.

But I also have another reason to do so. I want to branch out my business. Bulgaria is just now starting to get into the whole website craze. While a great many businesses have them, not everyone does. And not all of them are in Bulgarian + English. As more and more businesses get "up with the times" and the future with the European Union grows, more and more people are looking for translations. We have a friend of the family who recently told me how much money he was making doing translations and it was an obscene amount. Obscene! As in...a few hundred per day obscene, for just a few hours worth of work. And it got me to thinking.

Why wait? If I can get myself to the fluent stage by next spring I can start branching out my business into the Bulgarian market, offering translation services and freelance content work just like I do now all over the world. I have clients from Taiwan, Australia, the UK, the US, the Netherlands...just to name a few. I'd like to add Bulgaria to that list, and why not? I live here, and this is a developing country, which means there are far more opportunities than there are in other countries where development has stagnated or already peaked, so I might as well jump on the bandwagon of people making money off of the development.

Not to mention I was thinking (if you remember that blog post awhile back) about starting up a construction/remodeling company here catering to the high-end clients, and it would be better if I was able to communicate directly with people rather than just hiring someone to do it for me and being the "money" behind the operation only.

In any case...there are a lot of reasons I really do need to start worrying about it. And now that we are in a financially secure position, there's no time like the present. So I signed up today, and I start classes on the 12th of October.

The Shows We Love, Part III

2009-09-29T09:11:00.002+03:00

Stumbled across a new one that I'm surprised we had never watched before.

Numb3rs.

There's not a lot I can say about this show other than "amazing".

I love math. I've enjoyed reading about it since I was a small child, and its basis in science fiction has driven me to explore the "theories" of math to some small degree since that point in time. I enjoy talking about dark matter, chaos theory, quantum physics, and beyond.

The only thing is...I suck at math. I don't "get" math. I understand the theories. I can talk about it using "everyday-man" speech. But I don't get math equations. I was close to a straight A student in high school. Except for in math. I struggled to even get a B, and hovered near a C most of the time. Although it depended on the subject. In geometry I was the star public of my class, with well over 100% on my grades due to enjoying it enough that I always did extra credit just because. But algebra? For some odd reason those equations and other things just escaped me.

In any case, the show is produced by Ridley and Tony Scott, and I guess it's been on the air for 5 seasons, with the 6th just starting. We discovered it last week, and are already mid-way into season 2. It's great!

The premise, for those who don't know, is this FBI guy whose brother is a math genius. The brother uses math to help solve FBI cases. They use math for everything. It's just frickin' awesome! And they go into the math theories using analogies that are easy for us math-dummies to grasp and understand. Which makes it even more uber because I can "get it" even though I don't understand the equations or the actual quantifying of the numbers or any of the "math" stuff they are actually doing to come to the conclusions.

Still, it's highly entertaining :) I recommend you try it out if you haven't watched it yet. Very good show, and is now added into our schedule of shows we follow.

Some personal musings

2009-09-27T01:21:00.005+03:00

Just got confirmation on continuing work with one of my newer clients, with an extended schedule that will be until roughly the end of December. That means I have the rest of 2009 booked with work, and can rest easy in terms of paying gigs.

As it stands now, I've got three different projects going for two different clients. Busy, busy little bee, for sure.

I talk about it a lot, but I really am torn. I love my job, but I do want to write fiction full time. The downside is that fiction writing doesn't pay well...not for the first few years, unless you get exceptionally lucky. It also takes an increasingly frustrating length of time to hear back from editors regarding your submission. Right now I'm at the four month mark on three different short stories that I haven't heard back on yet. I won't make much more than a few hundred dollars per story at most if they manage to sell, so you can see how getting started in the fiction world just doesn't work unless you happen to have a paying job and/or a spouse who is willing to foot the bills while you struggle at finding yourself getting published.

Now, I'm blessed in that I've already been published here and there with some short stories. The real issue I'm having is this: do I want to pursue my passion, or do I want to keep padding the savings account?

Thing is, we spent all of our savings in moving over here + living off of it for the entirety of 2008. By the end of October we will be where we were before we moved here in terms of how much we have in the savings. On the plus side, we will be considerably more than that by the end of December. This year has been very good to us in terms of finances, which was a blessed relief in comparison to 2007, which was a horrid year. Up until that point I had been making a steady 60k a year on the net end, which afforded us to live rather high on the hog. 2006 I dropped to 48k, and then in 2007 I didn't even clear 38k on the gross end of things, and I was working twice as many hours and driving 4 hours up the mountain every week. I'd leave home on Monday mornings at around 6 a.m., and I'd work four 10-12 hour days, leave Steamboat Springs around 6 p.m. on Thursday evening and be back home by 10 or 11 p.m. and get to spend Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with Evy, before turning around and doing it all over again. There was literally no work in the Denver area in 2007, nor along the Front Range. Housing market had dried up completely, and with the immigration crisis on top of it...well, it wasn't a pretty picture.

So...we are padding up nicely. I have now determined that my book, as much as I enjoy working on it, and as much as I want to get it done, has pretty much been pushed to the back burner. I started out at the first of the year with good intentions. I did the first 11 chapters plus the prologue between January and June, with each chapter between 6 and 7k words. Not a bad start. I was doing at least 2 chapters per month. But by June my freelance work had picked up to the point that the book got shelved in favor of paying gigs...and now I find myself still struggling to get chapter 12 written. Not for lack of wanting to, nor for lack of time. I just...don't seem to be that motivated. It's pretty much turned into a pet project that I do in my spare time. As much as I want to work on it, I just don't. I started working on chapter 12 last Sunday...and that's the only work I've done on it all week. I'm hoping to get some more work done on it tomorrow morning while she's sleeping, but we have to go to Grandma's house to help paint tomorrow afternoon, so my time is limited there.

However, when everything's said and done I have one consolation: I'm being successful. Which makes it really hard to feel all that bad about not getting work done on the novel. It's a passion project, after all. A life-long dream. And I will get to it. I'm just enjoying what I'm doing right now so much that I'm not stressed about it.

Now, of course a lot of it's simply motivation. I have a lot of spare time. A lot. But Evy and I do a lot of different things. We take walks every day. Those take 2-3 hours. And yes, it's every single day. Then there's working out...that takes at least an hour. We also watch a lot of shows, and September means that all of the ones we follow just started new seasons...Fringe, Dexter, Dollhouse, Castle...and Legend of the Seeker, Sanctuary, and Stargate: Universe all start in October. Plus she follows Gray's Anatomy (or is it Grey's?). I also read, do a lot of Internet browsing, and we also play computer games from time to time.

As the winter months come closer, I think what will happen is that our 2-3 hour walking sessions will end up transferring into book writing sessions. Or at least, that's what I hope happens. It's too damn cold to go traipsing around Sofia in the middle of winter, so that's a slot of time I hope to put to good use, and stop procrastinating for no good reason.

I think what it boils down to is that I've become complacent in my success. I didn't anticipate freelance writing was going to be this easy, or this lucrative, and now that I'm firmly established in the field as a bonafide writer, I've met one of the major goals in my life. It also doesn't hurt that our living expenses are negligable, and we aren't starving by any means. Mostly, however, I think it's something psychological in terms of being established as a writer...any writer. It doesn't necessarly have to be fiction. I just wanted to be a writer. And I've done that.

So...kudos to me. And kudos to Evy for letting me spend the time necessary to branch out to do it. The first few months were noticably barren, but since then it's only continued to grow, and I am extremely comfortable now, which is a good thing.

I've been having a discussion with some of our gaming friends recently about Halloween traditions around the world. I find it interesting that America has commercialized every single holiday under the sun in order to maximize profits year-round, and when I'm in other parts of the world it's sometimes disconerting in a sense to notice an absolute lack of marketing in regards to holidays. Not to mention many European countries don't even worry about "celebrating" Halloween, or other such days. There is no trick-or-treating, no decorating, no costume parties, or otherwise. It feels weird to me.

In any case, it's close to 2:30 a.m. here, and I've a need to sleep. More next time!

On the Aion bandwagon

2009-09-24T15:01:00.002+03:00

We waited until the last minute, but decided to jump on the bandwagon for Aion.

Contrary to AoC and WAR last year, I think Aion is going to take those 500k+ pre-launch subs and keep them...and keep growing.

In the past few days since we've had a chance to play on the headstart, I can say this:

It's flawless. No glitches. Amazing graphics. Smooth as silk. We get 65+ FPS regularly, dipping down to around 50 in the most crowded cities...and with 1 hour queues during prime time, they are crowded.

Combat is a lot like Fable...very fast-paced, but also very complex. The higher you get, the longer your chains become, and the more branches become available. I can see this being a strategy game at the higher levels, needing to choose which branch to take dependent upon where the fight is, or if you are in a group or not.

Gameplay is easy, a lot like WoW. Very easy to pick up and learn. The storyline and cut-scenes remind me of the single-player storyline in Guild Wars, so it's very easy to get sucked into being "the main hero" of the story. While there is a lot of extra fluff quests to do, the main storyline is very linear, so it's impossible to get lost along the way.

Harvesting reminds me of EQ2. Crafting is fairly complex, actually, but also reminds me of EQ2.

Flying around with wings is...pretty damn cool. The first time I experienced it I was literally giggling like a little school girl with her first Barbie doll. Was pretty epic.

Also, the leveling is fairly slow in comparison to some of the recent games I've played. Took us about 5 hours to get to level 10, which is about twice as long as it takes in LOTRO or EQ2. Hell, in EQ2 you can get level 10 in about an hour, hour and a half.

So far...I'm impressed. It's a nice, new, fresh MMO, and I think it's going to keep us busy for the winter months. LOTRO just kind of grew stale, and the fact they are going to start charging for book quests now on top of the monthly fee just kind of put us off, even though it's Middle Earth and all. We may still play, but...probably only when Rohan and/or Gondor/the major expansions come out.

Anyway, yep...on the Aion bandwagon in our spare time, and loving it.

Coming Soon™

2009-09-21T11:15:00.004+03:00

An actual website.
A book on freelancing.
The separation of personal and professional.

As my career continues to grow I find the need to distinguish my personal blog posts from my professional blogs posts. I've discussed this in the past, but it's becoming even more prevalent as my business continues to expand. I've gotten to the point where my resume is literally so thick that it's impossible to cover it all in a simple blog, and in order to give clients the opportunity to really explore my credentials as a professional, I need to expand into an actual, full-blown website.

I've also finally taken that nugget of an idea my wife suggested months ago and I'm taking my consultation and advice for freelancers to the next level: a book. Probably an e-book. I can't give away too much on it at this point in time, but suffice to say it will be regarding freelancing in general, and how to be competitive and successful in a global market, based largely upon my own success and the success of a few of my peers and friends. The outline started to go into effect this morning, and my new schedule is as follows:

8-10 is work on the e-book.
10-3 is freelance work.

In the evenings I continue to work on fiction as I find time. I got a good chunk of chapter 12 done yesterday morning.

I think I can have the majority of this e-book done by the end of the month. I've already written most of the content via my blog here, and this morning was spent sifting through my blog posts and creating the outline. Tomorrow will be refining the main points and continuing the outline. I'd like to further edit and refine and flesh out and have a marketable product by the end of October.

I never anticipated having so much success as a freelance writer when I first started out in this career last year. I went into it knowing that I had a talent, and a passion for the work, at least from a fiction perspective, but I never knew that the industry could be this lucrative. I am absolutely thankful to have been blessed with these opportunities, and I am eternally grateful that I have made it as far as I have, as fast as I have. I honestly feel like shouting it from the rooftops some days because that's how passionate I am about this career. It's incredibly invigorating, incredibly rewarding, and incredibly fun.

Also in October/November will be a new blog attached to my website. Again...I'm still in the early phases of planning everything, but I fully anticipate having an entirely new website and blog up by the New Year. I have a ton of energy and I have been finding a lot of reasons to be inspired lately, mostly due to the amazing successes I've been blessed to accomplish. I can't go into details on everything due to NDAs and such, but suffice to say I am swimming in work up to my ears, and the opportunities just keep rolling in. I'm diversifying in a lot of ways, and I've also got a lot of opportunities I'm looking at here, locally, in Bulgaria. Most of those won't begin to go into effect until 2010, and of course are dependent upon other things, but so far everything is looking swell.

In any case, I hope this message finds all of my readers enjoying as much success in their own careers, and I look forward to continuing these little notes from time to time, and making this blog my personal, with the other being aimed at professional blog information.

Cheers!

The World is Your Oyster: Part Six

2009-09-17T12:50:00.004+03:00

It's been a couple of months since I've written one of my "World is Your Oyster" posts, and I figured it was time to dive back into it.

Recently I have been discussing the topic of digital media and the Location Independent Lifestyle with a lot of different people. The Internet has changed the face of the world not only on a communication level, but also on a business level. As I've discussed in previous posts on the topic, you (the person working in the digital age in digital media, regardless of its form) are no longer simply competing with people in your same town/city, state, or even country. College degrees exist in nearly every country in the world, and as long as someone has the relevant qualifications it doesn't matter if they live in the US, Canada, Australia, the Philippines, some coastal town in Scotland, a hut in the middle of some unheard-of South Pacific island, or kicked back on the beach in Milan or somewhere in Montenegro.

Digital media has opened the doors for people on a world-wide basis. You are no longer locked into the concept of "I have to live in X to take advantage of Y". As I've expanded my base of operations over the past couple of years, and through my travels as well, I have come across a wider and broader range of people who are taking advantage of working in digital media by living and working in countries far removed from their country of origin.

And contrary to popular belief, it doesn't always have to deal with the tax benefits of living and working abroad. Quite possibly the best part about the LIP lifestyle is the fact that you can live anywhere, as long as their is an Internet connection, and take advantage of the same wage you made back in your home country, but such a drastically reduced cost of living that you can literally spend your hard-earned money on things that you can appreciate now...not in 30/40/50 years when your house is paid off and you can finally retire.

I regularly meet people now who are from the UK, America, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and otherwise, who work from countries where the cost of living is a fraction of what it is back in their homeland. People who make 60k+ a year, but in their home country, 55k of that goes towards living conditions and taxes. Now they live outside of their home country and their hard-earned paychecks go towards what they want, because their cost of living is negligible.

I talk about our own situation quite frequently because it's proof of how this works. Our living expenses are less than 1,000 USD per month. In fact...they are about half of that, INCLUDING entertainment. And yet we have the *same* amenities we had back in the US and were costing us 4500+ a month while living in Colorado in a 40+ year old apartment.

One of my favorite websites on the topic, Location Independent talk about this regularly on their website and blog. They chronicle their journey since they first started the lifestyle back in 2007, about a year before Evy and I started doing similar. I actually wasn't even aware of their website until a few months back, but since then I've become an avid fan and I promote the concept to everyone I talk to, and I regularly meet people who are involved.

If you are lucky enough to work in digital media, it's worth looking into. Don't be fooled into thinking that you have to live in a country where your cost of living is 50k+ a year for as a couple, or 25-30k as an individual. You can live quite comfortably in another country for literally a fraction of what it costs to do so in a Western country, and you can enjoy the benefits of frequent travel, a paid-for home LONG before you are 60, and plenty of time/money to enjoy your life now, while you are still young and in your prime.

I highly suggest you read the aforementioned website/blog, because it is extremely informative on how the world really is your oyster.

My schedule

2009-09-16T14:27:00.002+03:00

I was talking about this with Evy the other day when I was reading Brandon Sanderson's blog on his writing schedule. For those of you who don't know, he was the writer brought on board to finish the final book in the Wheel of Time series after Robert Jordan passed away. What was initially supposed to be one simple book...was split into three by the publisher and Jordan's widow. Apparently when Sanderson was brought on board he thought he could do it in 200-250k words. Now, 2 years later (almost 3 now) he's 500 thousand words in and estimates the final word count around 750-800 thousand words. As a result, the publisher broke it up into three volumes, with the first coming out this November, and then (theoretically) another one next fall, and then a third, making three separate 250-275k novels encompassing the final outline.

Now...on top of his work for the Wheel of Time book, he is also under contract to various publishers for his other projects as an author. He was talking about working 14-16 hours a day to meet all his deadlines, and I got to thinking....

I'm a lazy slacker.

Seriously. I get up at 7 in the morning. I work out, take my shower, have my breakfast, check my e-mails, read the news, and I generally start work between 9:30 and 10 a.m. I rarely work past 3 p.m., and when you throw in a lunch break and various other little pee breaks and such I'm only working realistically for about 4 hours a day.

Now, I'm fine with that. I've covered our living expenses and my income more than enough times in other blog posts and, suffice to say, working 4 hours a day freelance means we are putting quite a bit into the savings accounts, and affording a lot of nice toys and vacations. This is on top of Evy's income, which is continuing to increase at her job.

What do I do when I get done at 3? I generally wait around for 15-20 minutes until Evy calls me that she's off work, then I go meet her for our daily walk to the park. We usually get ice cream and a beer (she the former, I the latter) and our walk usually takes 2 hours or so. We generally get home around 5:30 or 6. We browse shops, tuck into side alleys, walk around the parks, and enjoy the weather. Sadly, that will come to an end when winter hits, but still.

Back in the house around 6. I don't go to bed until 11 or midnight. That means I've generally got 5-6 hours of "free time" after we get home. We watch movies, play MMORPGs together, or we read books and other things. This is when I have "free time" to work on my fiction work which, sadly, I have completely been slacking on in the past few months.

I finally started working on the book again this week, after months of not doing so. Chapter 11 got edited this morning while I was eating breakfast and sipping coffee, and I've begun putting down a few words every night. The hard part is getting back into the saddle again after so many months of not working on the fiction work.

Almost every professional author aims for 1,000 words a day, minimum. That's not that hard. It's around 2-3 hours worth of work if you take your time, longer if you type slow, faster if you aren't too hard on your first draft edits. I tend to just vomit on paper and come back and clean it up later.

In any case...I can't imagine sitting in front of the computer writing for 14-16 hours a day. The guy was talking about taking a few months off and I kind of nodded my head and went, um, yeah...some breathing space is needed from time to time. Why burn yourself out on a career that is supposed to be fun and enjoyable?

On that note...it's getting close to my beer-and-a-walk portion of the day. See you on the flip side.

Nesebar Pictures

2009-09-14T19:37:00.002+03:00

After our lovely little trip to Nesebar last week, I thought I’d put up a few of the shots we got. I took a couple hundred pictures (not all of them good), but there were a few that I really liked out of the mixture. Enjoy!

This first shot is looking out of our hotel room into old-town (which is on an island). The northern bay is to the left (you are facing east through this view), and the southern bay is to the right, with new-town west across the bridge. The water is about 100 feet to the left, but the shots I got aren’t very flattering.

That boat above? This giant wine barrel is the same restaurant, and I’m basically standing just at the tip of the boat, hunkered down to get this shot of the grapevines twining overhead into the eaves of the half-timbered house that is the restaurant.

Same restaurant, different angle, viewed through this giant, rusted old anchor.

Random shot through old-town. I love Nesebar…everything is ancient, cobbled streets, with lots of old ruins dotting the island and dozens of half-timbered and ivy-covered structures.

The elusive writer, contemplating philosophy and wine. Mostly wine. Especially wine.

Random shot from one of the restaurants on the south-eastern end of the island.

Shot of the south-western portion of the island viewed from the mainland here.

A park on the mainland, with a shot into the hillside going down, with someone tucked away in that little boat taking a nice shot of the sea.

Same park…tip of boat to the bottom left. Beach is up there to the right, along the coast of the mainland.

Same park, random shot.

The best part about Nesebar is the age of the island. And for someone who loves the aesthetic of crawling ivy covering stone structures and buildings, and grape vines twining overhead at every outdoor restaurant that you sit at, and the cool sea breeze in the evening washing over you…this is absolutely a great place to take a vacation.

I recommend old town, however. Our hotel was relatively inexpensive, and was small…only 2 apartments and 4 rooms, and it was right on the northern coast of the old town island. If you stay on the mainland you are going to run into the “party animal” tourists, or the people who only come there for the brew, the beach, and the babes. We much prefer old town for its quiet simplicity and elegant beauty.

America. Land of the Free?

2009-09-09T18:36:00.004+03:00

What do you think about this new proposal for FORCED health insurance?

I can appreciate people who are a little leery of Nationalized Health Care. After all, I can appreciate the view that people like Dr. Steve put forth when talking about how you wouldn't want the government telling you when/where/how to build your house, nor would you want the government telling you what kind of car you are "allowed" to drive, or where you are "allowed" to buy gas, or what brand of cell phone you are "allowed" to purchase.

I'm sorry. Penalizing people for not having health care is beyond ridiculous. It's flat-out stupid. I'm going to throw out a generalization here and suggest that perhaps 9 out of 10 people who don't have health care don't do it because they don't want to have insurance/health care. They do it because they can't afford it. It's frigging expensive. And now there are a group of politicians who want to tell you that, well, since you can't afford health insurance in the first place, now we are going to fine you for not doing your civic duty and paying thousands per year to the insurance companies.

Or how about the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009? Nothing like the government telling you that you can't grow your own vegetable garden anymore because you, the lowly American citizen, are too stupid to know how to safely grow produce. In fact, if you try and grow your own food your property could be seized and a 1 million dollar fine imposed upon you for daring to grow food to feed yourself rather than relying on FDA-Approved (see injected with chemicals) produce.

Or how about the IRS using Facebook and MySpace to track you down? There's no such thing as privacy anymore...only piracy and devilry. No one is innocent until proven guilty. You are guilty until proven innocent. Big Brother, We Greet You.

Or how about (my personal favorite) America being the only country on the planet which requires its citizens to pay federal and state taxes even if they aren't living in the country. This one really chaps my ass. More so because I'm having to deal with it as an American citizen living abroad. What makes it even worse is that America is currently trying to force the European Union to allow the IRS access to their tax records to eliminate tax havens. Needless to say, the EU isn't really happy about it, and so far the talks I've been watching have been falling through.

Every other country on this planet says that when you work in another country you pay taxes to that country. Period. You aren't living at home, so you don't need to pay taxes at home. You aren't a burden on your homeland's taxpayers, you are a burden to the other country's tax payers. You are eating their food, riding their trams, taking their taxis, driving their roads, participating in their programs, watching their TV, and etc. Naturally you should be paying taxes to them.

Not America. Nope. The greedy IRS wants every penny they can get their hands on to perpetuate those "freedoms" that Americans think they have.

Don't get me wrong. I love America. I'm an American citizen. The country has afforded me a lot of luxuries and a lot of opportunities over the years that I wouldn't have had elsewhere. But I honestly feel like Johnny Depp does when it comes to the US.

In any case, that's my ranting for the month. I actually have to schedule an appointment later this month with an accountant I found through the Embassy in order to start dealing with the chaos that is filing my taxes from overseas.

So to all you vegetable lovers and people who can't afford health insurance...hope you enjoy starving and being fined to your death-bed! It's all downhill from here.

Nothing personal, it's just business

2009-09-09T18:20:00.002+03:00

While I regretted having to do so, today marked the day that I sent out my first Cease and Desist letter against a client.

I have been extremely blessed in my clients to-date, and I would like to think that I can attribute that to the fact I spent many years prior to becoming a freelancer working in the business world, so it's not necessarily my first rodeo when it comes to contracts, guidelines, and expectations between client and clientele. With that being said, I've been fairly confident on nearly every project I've walked into that my arse was covered by contracts and guidelines.

I issued a demand for payment on September 1st, giving them until September 4th to make payment in full. They did not. I gave them a few more days of leniency, just to give them the benefit of the doubt, but still...no dice. So, regretfully, I just sent off a Cease and Desist letter.

Nothing personal. It's just business.

That's what contracts are for. They protect both parties in the case of something going wrong. And no matter how professional you are, no matter how professional your clients are, at some point down the road you will come across situations where all that paperwork comes in handy. In my previous line of work I was proud to give people a warranty, because I knew I wouldn't have to go back and fix anything as a result of my labor, because I always do a good job. It's not arrogance, it's simply fact. I don't half-ass anything. If I enter into an agreement with someone then I will work to my utmost to insure that the quality of my work is above and beyond anything they could get from the competition. Why? Because I want repeat work, and I want word of mouth work, and that only happens by doing a good job.

However, sometimes things come up. One time I had spent a couple of weeks working on an outdoor kitchen patio and deck area for a restaurant owner in Greeley and two or three days after the installation the weather had turned nasty and it had rained heavy for two days and the temperature dropped below freezing. As a result a couple of pieces of slate along the edges of the balcony hadn't had a chance to dry properly and the water had penetrated through to the thinset and they had fallen off. It was a simple fix, and while technically it wasn't covered under my warranty (it wasn't a labor flaw or manufacturer's flaw...it was simply bad timing with the weather), I still went and spent the 15 minutes necessary to fix the problem, because I value my reputation as a business owner.

It's unfortunate to have to write such a letter, but that's just business. It's a multi-million dollar company with plenty of financial backing, so there is no excuse as to why they haven't paid me. As of this point in time they have 48 hours to make payment or pull my content off of their website before I move to stage 3, which is when things start getting fairly ugly.

Ahhhhh

2009-09-08T12:08:00.002+03:00

Nothing like a vacation to sooth the weary soul and enjoy some much-needed and well-earned respite from the duties of work and real-world responsibilities.

One word for our trip: Amazing. We went significantly over our budget (cough twice over cough) but it was well worth the money spent. The food was simply divine. Evy swears that the dinner we had on Sunday night was the best she has eaten in her life, and to top it all off the restaurant offered us a 150 dollar bottle of Argentinean Chardonnay at a significantly discounted price, due to their closing for the season in a few days. Evy is not a wine person. She could not stop oohing and aahing over the wine. The fish was scrumptious, the setting was perfect, and the weather was splendid, except for the last day, which was our travel day, and poured down rain with horrid coastal winds.

We are already planning the same trip next year, to the same hotel, only next time we are going to rent an apartment rather than simply a room, and we will stay for 7 days instead of only 5. We scouted the beaches, know where to go, which restaurants are the best, and we know what to realistically expect for the budget next time around, because there were a few things we didn't plan for this time around (although going twice over was because we had a few dinners where we absolutely splurged. After all, we busted our butts this year so far and if we can't spend our hard-earned money from time to time, what's the point of earning it?)

Train ride there was fun, although Bulgarian trains need a significant upgrade. We had a cabin all to ourselves, although first-class isn't really anything more than coach. Ride back was a little more adventuresome. We shared a cabin with a Bulgarian guy on vacation from London, and two German chaps who spent two hours educating us on the intricacies of German beers, as well as which types are the best, which places are the best to go, and etc. They were older chaps (older than us) in their 40s, a pair of brothers out on an adventure while the wives stayed at home. One of them has been married to a Thai woman for 17 years, so we got some up-close-and-personal tips on traveling to Thailand, which was great. We ended up helping them get situated into a hotel in Sofia when we arrived, as they had to stay overnight for a flight the next day, so we pointed them in the right direction and gave them tips on where to find some good restaurants for dinner and such.

Also met a friendly Scottish gent on the bus ride back from Nesebar to Burgas. He was out scouting locations for him and his wife to take a seaside holiday.

I think one of the things I like the most about traveling is meeting adventurous souls like Evy and myself who enjoy getting out and seeing the true heart of the countries they are in, rather than just sticking to the cities. You don't really get to experience the hospitality of the country until you strike out into the interior. Bulgaria, for example, is a country where the difference between the city folk and the country folk is night and day. The people in Sofia are snobbish, rude, crude, and boorish (generalization here) in the way that most city folk are...only focused on the almighty buck, and getting from day to day through the normal grind. Out in the countryside, however, people are far more hospitable, and they would gladly offer you the shirt off their backs without asking for anything in return. Cities are the haven for the fast-paced and self-centered, while the countryside is languid and relaxed, and the people don't always need money in exchange for common decency and hospitality.

We had fun. We've already planned out 3 trips for next year, although it looks like our China trip might be put on hold. Another thing we plan on doing next year is multiple weekend-getaways to Bulgarian interior destinations, to see the monasteries, the wineries, and the little cultural towns that you don't' find on the map. On top of that, however, we are absolutely going back to Nesebar next summer, and we are talking about Montenegro and Croatia for our two non-Bulgarian holidays next year, plus a week in Rome (which we were going to do this month but decided to do seaside instead at the last minute).

In any case...back to the grindstone! I've got work booked out to the end of October, Evy's got a load of clients lined up, and we are heading into a great latter-half of 2009.

Back from vacation!

2009-09-07T21:27:00.000+03:00

Back from Nesebar :)

Will have a new profile picture uploaded tomorrow, as well as all of the pictures on Facebook. Literally just walked in from t he train about 10 minutes ago, so we've got to unpack and such, but damn...what a good little 5 day adventure. Absolute blast, and had the best food we've ever had in our lifetime. Went x2 over our budget, but every penny was worth it.

More details tomorrow when I've got some spare time after work :)

First time for everything, part II

2009-09-01T08:50:00.004+03:00

Well, I've officially stumbled upon my first "client who hasn't paid by the deadline".

The editor has given me several excuses, but he at least has been prompt in reply to my queries over the last week. He said a new CFO took over, there were issues setting up their corporate account with PayPal, and otherwise. He also gave me the e-mail of the CFO, who I e-mailed last Friday morning regarding the issue. Deadline for payment was August 31st, which was yesterday.

As of this morning, I still have no payment for the articles, nor did their CFO ever reply to me. I got to write my first "pay up or face legal action" e-mail this morning, out of 19 months of Freelancing. Not bad, I suppose, for a year and a half of work. Still, there's a first time for everything.

I've given them until midnight of September 4th to make payment.

Fun times, right before vacation.

Update for the end of August/first of September

2009-08-31T20:26:00.003+03:00

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.

The Little Things Part VI

2009-08-28T11:56:00.003+03:00

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.

An Environmental Piece

2009-08-25T12:59:00.002+03:00

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.

Focus!

2009-08-23T13:50:00.003+03:00

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.

What's on my mind?

2009-08-20T12:10:00.003+03:00

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.

Latest MMO Hub Article up

2009-08-18T08:23:00.000+03:00

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.

The Little Things, Part V

2009-08-17T08:54:00.002+03:00

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 :)

Socialized Health Care

2009-08-15T11:34:00.002+03:00

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.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming!

2009-08-14T12:48:00.004+03:00

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.

An Example

2009-08-14T10:13:00.008+03:00

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.

For your consideration...

2009-08-14T09:53:00.006+03:00

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.

Irony

2009-08-13T13:28:00.007+03:00

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!"

New client

2009-08-11T09:20:00.003+03:00

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.

random blurb II

2009-08-07T13:24:00.006+03:00

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.

First time for everything

2009-08-07T00:27:00.003+03:00

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.

New MMO Hub article up

2009-08-04T21:10:00.002+03:00

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.

Brewing

2009-08-03T21:25:00.004+03:00

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!

wiped!

2009-08-03T01:21:00.003+03:00

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 :)

Something I've never contemplated...

2009-07-31T08:53:00.002+03:00

Apparently the pictures I took on our trip in mid-July have sparked some interest from photography buffs. The comments left on my wife's blog where she posted a handful of the shots have generated quite a bit of buzz, and when I posted the entire set on Facebook, I received even more oohs and aahs over the pictures.

Photography. It's something I've never even considered in my life. But I have to admit, I was shocked when I saw the pictures when we got home, astounded by their beauty, and I have been further shocked by the few comments we've received in regards to the pictures, as well as the fact that it seems to have sparked interest in at least a few members of the professional photography community.

I may actually start looking into doing this on a semi-professional level. Why?

Bulgaria, and this area of Europe in particular, is a hidden gem when it comes to natural wonders of the world, as well as ancient structures from the Byzantine and Roman empires. My wife and I are in a financially free situation that allows us to travel several times a year, and we have been making a point to visit some of the most geographically beautiful locations within Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, Italy, and otherwise.

One of the people who followed us recently, in particular, has something mentioned on his blog that I had never in my life thought about before. His name is Stephen Baird and his comment was this: "I really believe that anyone can be a great photographer with ANY kind of camera."

I had never even contemplated it, but after seeing how good our recent shots came out, and feeling inspired by such comments as his, as well as knowing that we are going to be setting out to see some of the most amazing natural wonders of the world in coming months (like our trip to Seven Rila Lakes this weekend...leaving at around 5 this afternoon), I'm wondering if perhaps I might want to look into investing in a more professional camera and seeing about doing some freelance photography along with my freelance journalism and freelance writing.

In any case, just so the camera buffs who are following us can boggle (or not!), those shots were taken on an Olympus X-820, which my wife and I bought a few months back. Nothing fancy, just a nice, new digital camera for us to use in our casual sessions shooting pics of her crafting goods, around Sofia, on our walks, and otherwise. But even I, an unprofessional by any use of the word when it comes to photography, was shocked at how well those recent pictures came out. I don't even know the ins and outs of working that camera fully, and those pictures were awe-inspiring.

In any case, I'd like to thank the few photographers who have made comments and are now following along, as you guys have inspired me to start looking into (potentially) a new side-line for creative output.

Seven Rila Lakes trip

2009-07-29T09:32:00.004+03:00

We'll be out of town for the third weekend in a row...with yet another getaway up to the mountains!

First weekend was Milanova, the small village where Evy's grandmother (on her dad's side) had a home, which is now grossly overgrown as no one has done anything with it for 13 years. She has some pics up of our hiking trip on her blog, and I just uploaded the entire batch to Facebook this morning.

Last weekend was a nice picnic trip up with the family to celebrate her aunt being here from Seattle for a month.

This weekend we are going up for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to the Seven Rila Lakes. We are going with her family for a relaxing weekend getaway to one of the many beautiful spots within Bulgaria to enjoy some hiking, great food, great climate, fresh air, and plenty of hiking trails. Should be an absolute blast.

Enjoy the pictures! I'm in amazement, and can't wait to head out on Friday afternoon! We should have a new round of pictures available for people next week!

What did I do before I became a writer?

2009-07-28T10:41:00.006+03:00

I don't talk about it much on this blog, but I figured I'd give people a chance to see some of what I did. I don't, sadly, have a portfolio anymore because I retired from the industry, but I do keep an updated resume which includes all of my previous jobs plus contact points for reference for individuals who want to know.

Basically, I was a third generation ceramic tile and natural stone contractor. I was on job-sites from the time I was 5 years old. My grandfather started out around 50 years ago, and three of his four sons went into the industry as well. My dad and his two other brothers have collectively done between them over 750 million dollars of work, nation-wide, with my dad running the more "commercial" branch of the family businesses. Both of his brothers have had extremely successful years as well, each with their own unique brand of success.

By the time I was 19 years old I was a supervisor for a multi-million dollar company owned by my father. I was overseeing multi-million dollar projects and running crews of up to 20-25 employees at a time. However, commercial work wasn't all we did. Some of the projects my dad worked on over the years included some extremely high profile projects for such individuals as Wayne Newton, Johnny Cash, and (forgetting the name) the CEO of the Denver branch of the Oppenheimer corp. I worked on many of these projects growing up.

By the time I was 22 years old I was starting to branch off on my own, but I had to take an 18 month hiatus for health reasons. When I came back to the industry in 2004 I went straight into forming my own company, which had a specific focus on high-end residential projects, with some remodels thrown in to generate some extra income from time to time when necessary. Two of the highest profile projects I worked on over the years were up in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Namely, The Porches and Marabou Ranch.

I was not the contract holder on those projects (I worked specifically for John Porter of Classic Tile and Stone, who eventually partnered up with my dad's company, Artisan Tile and Stone), and I did a great many projects in between, including several high-end condos, as well as my spec home and remodel projects down on the Front Range in Denver, Ft. Collins, Greeley, and otherwise, but those two projects in particular I spent a great deal of time on. The Porches project I spent nearly three years working exclusively on, and one of the last projects I did before my wife and I moved to Europe was working through the two partnered companies listed above on the Marabou Ranch project for about 6 months on the owner cabins. I did not personally work on the other buildings listed, but Artisan Tile and Classic Tile picked up the contract after the previous company had proven unable to hold up their end of the deal. There was another installer on-site about 4 months prior to my own work on it, doing work on the other buildings.

The last home we did at The Porches featured an individual who purchased both sides of the duplex and ripped out the dividing wall between them. We spent almost 6 months in that home. Every single bit of it featured exotic natural stone from all parts of the world. The stairwell down into the basement featured coral reef slab from off the coast of Australia, with the skeletons of fish inside the stone all "swimming" down the walls along the stairway. The guest master upstairs featured this copper slate that took me nearly three weeks to install, floor, walls, and ceiling. The daughter's bathroom was a cream marble, floors, walls, and ceilings. The master bathroom itself took me and two other installers around 2 months to complete, and was this deep, green marble imported from India that went up into a vaulted ceiling above, and the entire thing was set on a diagonal pattern with 12x12 marble, with all of the interior and exterior corners having a 3 inch black marble strip.

It actually got me thinking the other day that I need to e-mail the guy I used to work for, John Porter, and have him e-mail me some of the portfolio pictures, because I know he keeps a detailed record of all the things we worked on. I did as well, but I didn't bring it with us, thinking I had retired from the industry. But I find myself debating starting a company here to do 2-3 spec home projects a year, and I might want to look into getting all my portfolios set up again. The main issue is that my portfolios were not digital...which is why I just left them behind. Not to mention, I didn't take as many pictures as I could have over the years, because I was always in a situation where I could point to my family's name, reference a list of jobs I had worked on, and didn't have to worry about pictures.

My dad actually told me that pictures do more harm than good, because anyone can claim a picture as their own. He also claimed that a "true" master craftsman doesn't need pictures to back up his work...he lets his bank account and his reputation do the talking for him. And while I somewhat agree, I've found in recent years that digital media is the world, and has been for the last decade or so, and it really does help if you can give people pictures IF you can prove that you were in fact the person working on that particular project. That's the beauty of having a detailed resume attached to your portfolio...people can clearly see the pictures linked to the jobs, and they can make relevant phone calls to verify your information.

I love writing, and I absolutely want to transition to full-time novel writing in the next couple of years, but I'm also in a unique position in the sense that Evy and I aren't locked in to only working on ONE project at a time, so we have a lot of different things we are trying out, and I'm thinking I may want to see about setting up a high-end, custom-home company next year just to do 2-3 spec homes or high-end homes for this part of Europe. There are a *lot* of Westerners coming here and buying homes, and let's just say the Bulgarian way of construction leaves a little lacking, and many people I've talked to wished they could find Western-style craftsmanship in this part of the world. It might be a niche market I could make an extra 30-40k a year out of. Have to wait and see.

Websites and ideas

2009-07-27T11:37:00.006+03:00

I've talked about it before, and I think it's time to actually get around to doing one. A blog is nice, but it's not the same level of professionalism that a website brings to your business. Not to mention as I diversify I need a place that more clearly showcases the different aspects of what I offer clients, whereas the blog is a mixture of professional and personal posts. I need to make the distinction between the two, and to that end, I'm looking ahead to creating a website.

I'm not going to worry about it for the month of August, but I think I'll take a look in September and see about either hiring someone to build me one, or doing it myself. Nothing fancy, just a few pages to showcase a clients list, my resume, contact list, and services offered. I've firmly established myself as a content writer over the last 18 months, and I'm beginning to rack up some serious credentials as a journalist, and on top of that I'm racking up experience as a gaming journalist, not to mention I've served as a writer on a RPG which is finally releasing in August, where I get to claim 6 months of writing and editing experience. On top of that I've also been actively helping other writers get established in the field, with my list topping a dozen writers now since the first of the year. Nothing against you guys personally, but it's time for me to start charging for consultations, because that's just another aspect of business.

I've also debated two other business ideas. One is starting a freelance writing community site. The other is to start a short-story critiquing site for burgeoning writers who are looking to get started in the industry, but don't want to have to wait 2-3 months on critiques like other organizations do, such as Critters. On the record, I love Critters, and I think they do a great service to the industry, but they have gotten so large now that it takes literally 3 months (or around there) to hear any feedback on your stories, and when you add to that the 2-3 months most magazines take to get back to you on a story, you are looking at 6 months of downtime before you realistically know how your story is doing. That's unacceptable for working people who are trying to realistically get established in the field.

I've also debated about starting a fantasy and science fiction e-zine for the English speaking European market. I have to look into this with a little more detail over the coming months, and it's absolutely not something I will be doing this year, but I'm looking at actively pursuing this because there aren't a lot of high-quality fantasy and science fiction 'zines on the European front. I would also be funding this venture out of my pocket, and as with any business venture you want to research the industry as much as possible before you invest any money. Still, it's an idea that's brewing.

So....these are all business ventures which are on top of the other irons I already have on the fire. As you can see, I keep myself pretty busy outside of freelance writing and working on fiction :) In any case, the first step towards any of these is getting the website going sometime in September, at which point I'll be making this blog my "personal" blog, and using the other blog as my professional blog, in conjunction with the website itself. Part of my research for the month of August is seeing if I can find someone willing to do the work for a relatively inexpensive rate, as well as researching a few more sites to find what I feel is a good design for me, or determining if I want to do the work myself. It's not that I can't...it's just that I'd rather pay someone else to do it if they are affordable, and focus my efforts on other areas.

That's the mid-day update :) Time to get back to writing.

Slowly but surely

2009-07-26T20:47:00.005+03:00

We *finally* had the time to get crafting supplies.

It's largely her project, with me simply providing some consulting and doing some helping when I can. Largely I'm just her go-to person when she asks "what do you think about this idea?". Everything she's coming up with is absolutely her creations, and there are some really, really cool ideas. Also, like I said in another blog post, she's going to be taking a pottery course starting in September and gearing up to do ceramics as part of her shop as well.

We stayed up till nearly 4 a.m. Friday night discussing her quitting her part-time job. There are a lot of issues behind it, and she's not entirely sure if she will or not, but she will have a final decision on it by the end of August. Basically what it comes down to is the fact that she's working at a clinic here, and they pay Bulgarian wages. Which is essentially the same as Mexican wages. She works 40 hour weeks for a baseline salary of around 300 USD a month. She gets a 30% commission on procedures, so if she gets clients, that edges up to around 500-600 USD a month. She is the lowest person on the totem pole there. The doctors, and the girls who have been working there for several years, make comparable wages to most American and European workers...40k USD a year, roughly. However, Evy is nowhere near that level of expertise, and she is forced into working for what is considered the "average" Bulgarian wage....400-500 leva a month, or 300-400 USD a month.

This is why she is so keen to do "something else" while she's finishing up school. Now, the blessing with her job is that it's so relaxed that she can literally take a week off of work...whenever she wants. One of the girls just came back from 8 months of maternity leave. In America you would have been replaced for taking maternity leave that long.

It's not that she hates her job. She actually likes it, most days. It's the pay that is the issue. I'm sitting at home working a fraction of the hours she works and I'm pulling in significantly more than that. I basically make 25-30 dollars an hour at present with all my clients combined together, and I work 4-5 hours a day, so I'm doing about 2200-2500 a month. If I bumped up to full-time (which I was supposed to do for July but I've been spending half of my time helping her with her crafting stuff, which is fine...it's still income) 40 hours a week I'd easily be clearing 4k a month, or basically 50k a year.

As you can see, her frustration lies in the fact that's she's working 40 hours a week and making less in an entire month than I make in a week, working half the hours. Enter the frustration of most Bulgarians, because they don't get paid a fair wage. It will be interesting to see what happens when the country finally switches to the Euro and companies are forced to pay on a European pay-scale, rather than on the antiquated Bulgarian pay-scale.

The downside is she really doesn't want to do what I do, but she is terrified of "not contributing". This is a huge issue for Evy. She cannot *stand* it when I'm the only person putting money in the bank account because she feels worthless. But as I discussed with her the other night, there are so many benefits to staying home and working out of the house that it would outweigh the fact she doesn't really want to write content for websites. But as I explained to her, she would only need to do a couple hours per day to make the same amount of money she's making in an entire month now, and she would have the rest of her time to spend working on her crafting business. Not to mention she wouldn't have to take the tram, deal with people, traffic, the heat, and otherwise.

In any case...it's progress. She'll know by the end of August what she wants to do. Her school starts back up in late September, and we are going to head to the seaside for a week around the first of September for a little vacation before she gets back into it. She's also looking at her Masters degree, and determining how she wants to do that. She also has the benefit of a mother who is funding *all* of her business outings. Her mom offered to pay for her pottery course, she is already paying for Evy's school, and she has already said she will give Evy a significant portion of start-up funds when she's ready to branch off with her landscaping business in a few years.

So, lots of irons in the fire. On the flip side, I've honestly been debating getting some tile tools and getting back into the industry on a two-or-three-time-a-year basis, with the emphasis on third generation, traditional craftsmanship. My clients would not be Bulgarians, but rather Westerners who are moving here, building vacation homes, and looking for skilled labor. I don't miss the business side of the industry, but I do miss the hands-on, arts-and-crafts side of designing and building something from the ground up that you can take a step back and be proud of. The issue would largely be pricing, because my rates back in the US were based upon 3 generations in the industry and 15 years of personal experience in the field. I'm not sure what that translates to here. Most spec homes that have around 1500 feet of natural stone in them go from 15 thousand USD on the low end, to around 30 thousand USD on the high end, just for labor alone. When we went up to the mountains yesterday for a picnic I happened to see a luxury home going up, and the entire face of the house was 18"x12" travertine stones, and the only thing I could think of watching the Bulgarian laborers was "those poor sods are probably only making 10-15k leva on a job that should have them making 70k USD minimum".

Just have to wait and see. They do things drastically different here in terms of construction, so I'm not sure if I would want to deal with the head-aches. But then again, if I could get into the right client base based upon my expertise in the field, it might be worth doing a couple few projects per year as long as I can pull a good 15-20k per project. A decent spec home job should run you about a month, and I could easily afford to pay a few local grunts double or triple what they currently make to give me a hand and deal with all the Bulgarian technicalities I'm not familiar with. Again...this is something that is absolutely nothing more than a little pea idea at the back of my head to simple make some extra blow money purely because I find myself with a *lot* of spare time on my hand since I'm not forced into working a 40 hour work week.

We'll see. Evy and I have sooo many ideas that it's hard to pick which ones we want to try out. At the end of the day it's just nice to know that I can make an easy 25-30k a year working part time, with our total living expenses around 6k USD...maybe 8k at most if we REALLY splurge on entertainment. We are at an interesting cross-roads right now. Debt free, and nothing but prospects on the horizon. I've honestly never been debt free, not since I was a teenager, so it's an interesting feeling. I mean, there is literally this weight lifted off my shoulders and both of us are looking ahead going "well, we can actually afford to try a lot of different things because our money isn't going towards living expenses. Let's try and make a couple of them pay off and see how it goes from there".

So yeah! It's exciting. I've already got the novel I'm working on, I've got short stories in rotation, I'm firmly established as a freelance writer and journalist, I've got a cook-book planned, Evy has her crafting shop about to launch in August, we've been talking about publishing a couple of magazines here in Bulgaria, I'm debating looking into a small-time custom ceramic tile and natural stone business here in Bulgaria for 2-3 projects a year, and who knows what else. Her mom mentioned starting a remodeling business last year with me playing supervisor to projects, but I'm still bound by the language barrier. I really need to hire a tutor this year, because I'm never going to actually go take classes, and when all my clients are English, all our friends speak English, and everywhere we go in Sofia people understand English...yeah, I'm not really learning Bulgarian at all.

That turned out loner than I expected :) Needless to say, I'm entirely grateful, I'm eternally blessed, and I'm absolutely hopeful. We are in a really unique situation right now in the sense that we are both young, we have our health, we have a multi-million dollar family business backing us up if we need it, and we are able to try out multiple projects simply to find out what we really want to do for the next 30 years or so. I love writing, and it's something I always wanted to do, so the last year and a half have been an absolute blast establishing myself in the field. I'm pretty much where I wanted to be (with the exception of having a novel published, but that'll happen eventually), and she's still spreading her wings and figuring it out. I can honestly say that I'm really, really looking forward to the rest of this year and next year.

Latest MMO Life Article up

2009-07-24T18:22:00.001+03:00

My latest MMO Life Network article is up. It is a continuation of the "gaming with your significant other" series. Enjoy.

Slacker!

2009-07-24T12:25:00.003+03:00

Sort of. But not really.

I generally try to avoid working weekends, and I also don't work more than about 5 hours a day on the weekdays. I'm lucky in that I have a series of clients who don't really give me deadlines, other than on a month-to-month basis, so my schedule can be as flexible or as tight as it needs to be, depending on the circumstance. While this is a boon in one sense, it's a bane on the other hand because sometimes the knowledge that you can slack off leads to extending your personal deadlines a bit further than you would if someone was breathing down your neck about submission dates.

On the flip side...I don't miss the days of being a slave to the clock back in the States. I highly enjoy the European way of doing things...or rather, the Mediterranean way of doing things. Work a few hours in the morning, take the afternoon off, and maybe put in a couple more hours in the evening, spending the rest of the time enjoying life.

I skipped writing yesterday, not necessarily to slack, however. Evy was asked (and paid) by her mom to come paint her bedroom at the other downtown apartment. What she initially thought was a simple two day project looked like it was going to take her 4 days on her own, because it was significantly more challenging than she first anticipated. So I took a couple hours off on Wednesday to help her out, and then decided to spend the entire day yesterday helping her finish off the room. It took us about 7 hours, but we got the project finished.

So while I didn't get any writing done, we made some money anyway, which means it wasn't "wasted" time. And it's actually another branch project because her mother has been suggesting that Evy perhaps do painting part-time for friends of the family and such, basically doing projects every couple of months when they come up for some extra money from time to time.

Evy is about to take a pottery class starting in September. It's a professional class that takes 3 months to complete, and it's several hundred dollars. It's worth it, though, because it's another aspect of what she's going to be doing for her hand-crafted shop, which is making custom ceramics, ranging from kitchen items to decorative pieces, and with a professional course behind her she's not just some person who picked up a piece of clay and says "look what I made!". I'm tempted to take the course as well...I guess we'll have to wait and see where we are at by September and if I really want to take that extra creative load on my shoulders when I already have so many other irons in the fire.

I like diversity. I don't like being locked into just one source of money. Especially in today's climate, where you never know if the business which made you money prior is suddenly going to drop the bottom out from underneath you, leaving you without a job and no income. Right now we have three different sources of income, and we are about to start two additional. Also, if we follow through with these two magazines we've been talking about publishing, then there will be that additional income stream as well.

And at the end of the day, if something goes tragically wrong, there's always her family's business to fall back on. They've opened three new stores this year alone and I'm pretty sure by the end of this year they will be worth more than 20 million Euro as a business, which is saying a lot. Evy doesn't want to work for the company, and I don't blame her (her mother *never* has a spare moment to enjoy the money she works so hard for), there's always that last-ditch if the carpet gets yanked out from underneath us.

In any case...while I slacked on the writing, I don't feel that bad about it, because we were off making money in another area. I've also spent some time doing additional drafting to the outline for my novel, and refining ideas for the middle section, which I will start work on again in September. We are also planning a 5-6 day holiday to the Black Sea in September, for a much-needed seaside getaway. It's nice to be able to take half a dozen vacations of the year. LIP lifestyle ftw!

More scary stuff

2009-07-23T18:05:00.002+03:00

Another article I read last week but saved until I had time to write about.

China is the last great communist nation still clinging to the old socialist ways. Well, other than Cuba, I guess. And nothing against the Chinese (every one of them I've met has been an absolutely friendly and upstanding individual) in general, it's kind of scary what this article talks about.

It's kind of frightening to think that this sleeper country, who for centuries has been laying dormant in the background, suddenly emerges as this burgeoning global power with more money in their bank than the US Government owes in debt. I was kind of shocked to find out that the US actually owes 25% of their overall debt to the Chinese government.

But what was most disturbing about this article is China's snatch-and-grab approach towards resources in the past few years, and how the only option left to the Western countries is to try and block them from making purchases via political measures as a last-chance, last-ditch act of desperation to keep the balance of power from shifting from Western society to Eastern.

Are we all going to be speaking Chinese in the next half a century? I wonder if I should start prepping now.

An interesting read. My wife and I are actually planning on taking a 3-4 week backpacking trek to China next September. I'll say this...I love the country, love the people, love the landscape...but communism scares me. It's a great principle, but human nature keeps it from really working, and if you look at the VAST majority of people who have lived under communist rule...they live in absolute poverty, while only those associated with the Party actually are allowed to advance and reap the benefits. It's just not a fair system.

On the other hand, as we've seen with America and Britain, an unchecked Capitalist society can swing too far in the opposite direction, leading to companies and fiascoes like AIG.

In any case...enjoy.

Abuse of power.

2009-07-22T18:19:00.004+03:00

Credit. A controversial subject.

Back in 2002 on the night before my 22nd birthday I had congestive lung failure. Long story short, I smoked 3 packs a day, smoked a lot of grass, and on top of it all, I worked in an environment where I was sucking down concrete dust all day, every day, and I never wore a respirator or a mask or anything.

It was fairly serious. I couldn't work for 18 months after that, as my lungs were healing up, and I was going through some serious recovery issues in terms of health. I ended up having hospital and doctor bills over 20 thousand dollars. At the time I had 16 thousand dollars saved up in my savings account, and every penny went to pay for bills, as my employer didn't cover me with health insurance and I had never bothered getting it, believing at the time that I was invincible.

As a result I ended up getting my vehicle repossessed after I was unable to pay the payments on it, and I ended up with a few thousand more that I couldn't pay to the hospital system. Enter bad credit.

My health improved, I went back to work (wearing a respirator around dust this time!) and I had quit smoking. I bought a new vehicle, and when I went to get insurance on it, I was shocked to find out that my credit could affect more than just my ability to get a loan. When the lady initially quoted me 80 dollars a month on full coverage insurance, she called me back 15 minutes later and said that because my credit was bad, my rates were going to be 300 dollars a month.

!?!?!

The system didn't care that I had a health reason for my credit. They lumped me in with all the people who don't pay their bills because of drug addiction, lazy attitudes, or because they are welfare abusers. And all of a sudden I found myself being judged because of a rating that I hadn't previously ever been affected by, because I had always been a pay-your-bills-on-time kind of guy. I still am. Always have been. The only time I didn't was when I had a health crisis that kept me from working.

The worst was when I first went back to work. I had a six thousand dollar check in hand from my first job after coming back into the industry and I was in a new city and needed a new bank account, since my old account was 4 hours down the mountain. I went into the first bank I found. Imagine my surprise when they told me I couldn't open up a checking account. When I asked why, they said that my credit was bad.

The next 4 banks I went to did the same thing. Sorry. Doesn't matter that you have a 6 thousand dollar check in your hand. We can't give you a checking account, because you are a BAD PERSON! FINANCIALLY IRRESPONSIBLE! We don't care that you had a health reason for your unpaid bills. YOU ARE NAUGHTY!

Finally Wells Fargo let me start an account. I've been with them since 2004. And it's been a long climb out of that hell-hole that is bad credit. It took me 5 years, but as of right now I'm over 700 on the credit rating, which is pretty good compared to the really bad number I had a few years back.

My issue with the credit system is that it's abused. It should only be used to determine whether or not you are a financial risk when it comes to loaning you money. Instead, companies use it as a way to judge your character. This is wrong! People have all sorts of reasons for why their credit is "bad", and not all of them are just because people are "bad" people. Especially in today's climate where people are losing their jobs left and right, their wages are getting cut, and people are having to make decisions like whether or not to buy groceries for the kids, put a tank of gas in the car to get to work, or pay the electric bill to keep the heat on.

I stumbled across this article the other day and it made me sick to my stomach.

Employers using your credit rating to determine whether or not you are a responsible person? The one that really made me sort of puke in my mouth was the example about the college kid explaining why his credit rating was poor. His response to the interviewer was "I'm sorry I was a bad person and extended myself too far. Please forgive me for being a bad person. It was wrong of me to do such a thing".

Are you joking? We've got people like Madoff doing pyramid schemes for billions of dollars, AIG execs living abroad and making millions on bad management schemes, and a college kid has to worry about whether or not he forgot to pay his beer tab? And the one about opening up a line of credit at Vickys and having your bra and panty tab be considered as to whether or not you are socially responsible is just...laughable.

Does anyone else out there think that the credit system is out of whack? I totally support it for what its intended purpose was for...seeing how much your debt to income ratio is and figuring out if you are a delinquent payer or not on a frequent basis...but isn't it going too far when employers, insurance companies, banks, and others can look at that number and attempt to put a LABEL on you?

Score below 700? BAD PERSON! NO JOB FOR YOU! HIGHER INSURANCE RATES FOR YOU! Score above 700? Welcome welcome, would you like a towel? How about a beer? Some chocolate? Enjoy our low, premium rates, higher income bracket, and lower taxes because you are a fiscally responsible person! Score below 400? GO TO JAIL, YOU CRIMINAL!

I'm appalled. Happier and happier every day that I don't live in the States anymore.

LAWL @ Credit Card Companies

2009-07-21T14:48:00.001+03:00

The saga of my Chase credit card payoff continues.

Here we are, a few days after I paid off the account in full. The day I called up to cancel my account, the CS rep was a hag. She wouldn't let me close out my account, even though it had been paid off in full. The reason? She said the company had already closed down my account and had sent me a letter.

How did they send me a letter, I asked, when I am 100% paperless and have been for years. Where was my e-mail? Why was my card closed down without me being given any warning? (not that I care, because I was going to cancel out the card anyway; it was the principle of WHY they closed it without my knowledge) Several scripted moments later I asked her to transfer me to her manager, which she refused to do. I hung up. I called back. I got another CS rep who also refused to transfer me to her manager to answer why they had closed out my account for me, BEFORE I called in to cancel the card. She also mentioned the letter, AFTER I explained to her TWICE that I live overseas and said letter would never arrive. She just kept reading off that little script.

Whatever.

Today I log into the account to make sure it's been closed out. Imagine my surprise when I find a fifty dollar balance that I supposedly owe. WTF? I call, and this time I actually get to talk to a guy who will answer my questions. The card was shut down by them simply because I hadn't used the card in over a year, and their policy is that cards which are inactive are shut down. Sweet, ok. I was all panicked that there was a credit issue or some identity theft or something. So what's up with the 50 dollars?

Apparently there is a Chase finance charge that they charge ALL CLOSED ACCOUNTS on the final balance of the account on the day it was closed. How bogus is that? They wait until I pay off the card in full (2600 dollars) and then they nail me with a 50 dollar finance charge which, btw, is non-negotiable.

I fuggin' hate credit card companies. Especially Chase. Apparently now I owe another 50 bucks, which just rubs me the wrong way. What's to stop them from charging me another 50 dollar fee after I pay off this fee? Where does it end?

I'm glad we are debt free now. Our last few credit cards are getting cut up and shut down over the rest of the year once we get a little more money bunked up in our savings, because I don't want to have to deal with this crap ever again. I'm all sorts of stressed out right now :)

Mountain trip pictures.

2009-07-21T13:23:00.001+03:00

Remember those ones I said we'd have up on Facebook?

Evy just posted a handful of them on her blog. Go over and take a look at our trip from Saturday.

Suicide Doctors: Your Thoughts

2009-07-20T23:38:00.004+03:00

I know it's been about a week or so since I read this article, but I'm a bit behind the times on my blogging lately as I'm simply too swamped with work.

The basic gist of the article is this: here is an old couple who have lived their lives. They are in their late years, and both have degenerative conditions. Rather than spend the last few years of their lives in agonizing misery, wasting away while their families watch on in despair, not to mention each other, they decided to go to a clinic and have some doctors put them to sleep.

The moral issue is something I'm undecided on. I can totally agree with them in their situation, but where do you draw the line at who should or shouldn't be allowed to have a doctor help them bring their life to an end? Who gets to be the judge of when a person should or shouldn't have the right to determine their own way off this rock? I can understand if the person is in good health but simply has a death wish for whatever emo reason, but what about the truly suffering people, like this elderly couple, who have already lived their lives to the fullest extent and rather than wither away in agony they decide to make a peaceful end, together.

Still not quite sure how I feel about this. It's definitely a morally questionable issue, but one on which I can see both sides of the fence.

Day trip

2009-07-19T10:43:00.003+03:00

We will have pictures up on our Facebook pages later on today. Still too early to worry about it :)

Took a nice hike up the mountains yesterday. We left about 6:30 in the morning and took the train out to the base of the area we were going to, a little village called Milanovo. There are a few different ways to get up to the town, but we took the road, hiking up the switchbacks. Took us about 2 hours of vigorous hiking to get up...it's about 6 miles, all up-hill. Then we had a couple hours around the town, visiting her grandmother's house. Sadly, the grounds have been let go to waste in the last 15 years, as the people who inherited it (her aunt...her dad's sister) have no desire to do anything with it. Which is sad, because it's an awesome house out in this awesome village in the mountains, but the yard and trees are literally so overgrown that you can't see the house from the road, which is barely 20 feet out. It's literally so thick with vegetation you can't see anything.

Then we took the hiker's trail back down from the village. This was where I started cursing the fact I wore sandals, rather than hiking boots, but we were sort of exploring along the way, so we know what to expect for future trips.

All I can say is...wow. We are absolutely going back. There were tons of people our age camping along the trail, and there are a couple of points where if you are easily sickened with vertigo (like I am) then it's a bit stomach-wrenching, especially the top point. VERY high up!

Neither one of us can move today :) Thighs are absolutely in agony, but it was sooo worth it. Going to go back in a weekend or two for another hike, but this time we will take the trail up and have a picnic, and then come back down. Yesterday we did around 12 miles which was a bit too much for people who haven't hiked in years. It's one thing to do 12 kilometers on the elliptical, quite another to do 20 on a hiking trail.

In any case, stay tuned to the Facebook pages, where Evy'll have pictures up later on today (Sunday)

yargh!

2009-07-16T14:00:00.002+03:00

On one of the hottest days yet this summer our living room AC decided to kaput again.

It did this last year. We just had the technician out (as I stated in an earlier blog post) a couple months back to figure out what was the issue. He filled it with freon, assured us that he couldn't find a leak, and charged us 80 bucks and said that if it ran out again they would replace the freon for free and look into it further.

Here we are, 2 months later, and the damn thing just ran out of freon again. As I've mentioned in earlier posts...I am a REALLY GRUMPY PERSON when I have to swelter in my house. It is the one non-green feature of my life. I refuse to live in a hot home. I absolutely want a maintained temperature of around 68-70 degrees F, or 20-22 degrees C. The worst part about it is the sun is moving around to the western side of the building as I type this, with the hottest part of the day about to hit (3 to 7 p.m.) as the sun beats down on the side of the building that our bedroom and office are situated on. I am *not* looking forward to spending a sweltering night in bed. I literally can't sleep when I'm hot and cranky.

Now we get to see how quickly they can get out here and fix the issue which they SHOULD HAVE FIXED the last time they were here.

Not looking forward to having no AC. Worst part about it is that it's Thursday afternoon already, and I guarantee you they won't be able to get a guy in here until next week, which means we are likely looking forward to an incredibly hot and incredibly uncomfortable weekend. Thankfully the AC in the kitchen is still working (and has ran continually for 5 years now without running out of freon, so I KNOW there is a leak in the living room one...I just don't know why the technicians can't ever seem to find it despite the fact they've had to come here THREE times now over the course of 18 months to "fix" the issue.), so if I get really hot and cranky I can go hide out in the kitchen for a little while. Sadly, I don't have a laptop, and I'm not moving my whole office rig to the kitchen just to work.

*hides in a corner and whimpers while he melts*

One down...one to go.

2009-07-15T19:18:00.004+03:00

Once upon a time there was a credit card. The credit card had a nice home. His family gave him a nice room to sleep in, they fed him on time every time he was hungry, and they treated him with absolute care.

One day, the little credit card decided that he didn't like the family anymore. He didn't care that they had fed him, clothed him, and taken care of him his whole life. He felt that they owed him even more, so one night while everyone slept he snuck out of his room and ran away and joined a cult. The cult convinced him that he needed to sue his family because it was the American way.

I've been very careful in my life to not rack up a lot of credit card debt. We always simply used it for groceries and a few other things, but since we moved, we have only used them twice: to buy new computers.

We had 6 cards, three of which we never used. I cancelled those earlier this year, and kept the three larger cards. One of them has a zero balance, and my Capital One card has about 1900 on it, and our WaMu card had about 2300.

Enter the WaMu buyout by Chase.

My monthly payment due date changed. I was given no warning. No notice. I am 100% paperless, and have been for years. I never received an e-mail telling me that my due date for payments had changed. It had been the 19th of the month for years, and suddenly the new company moved it up to the 14th of the month. Not only that, but they raised my monthly payment by 100 dollars. Imagine my surprise when I log into my account one day and see that I have a juicy little 300 dollar payment that is expected of me (this was a couple of months back).

I call. I complain. I get the run-around. I dig deeper. Not only did they change my monthly payment requirement, they changed the due date. And, as I found out the next month...they raised my interest rate from 8.5% to ....30%.

No, that's not a typo. 30%. Chase Bank moved in, took over WaMu, and not only did they raise my monthly minimum, but they changed my due date without warning, nailed me with a 100 dollar late fee for being late on a payment I didn't know was going to be late in the first place, and then they proceed to raise my interest rate from 8.5% to 30%, meaning they effectively started charging me 80 dollars a month in interest.

It became priority number 1 to get rid of that card. We paid it off today. I am cutting the card into little shreds and literally telling Chase to go **** themselves tomorrow afternoon when I call customer service. I feel sorry for the poor customer service person who is going to have to sit through me raining down hell through the telephone at him, but I'm going to vent. I am going to positively freak out over the phone and get all this stress out of my system at how retarded it is that companies can get away with crap like that.

Meanwhile my Capital One card, which still has about 1900 dollars on it, has been a nice, steady 9% interest for 4 years. I have a nice, low, 30 dollar a month minimum payment, and I continue making 50 dollar payments just like I always have while we save up the cash to pay that one off (which will be paid off next month).

I'll keep my Juniper and my Capital One cards, just for emergencies. But that Chase card is going to be shredded, burned, shat upon, and desecrated in every way I can imagine. 30% interest my ass.

On the plus side, Evy and I will be 100% debt-free next month. No debt. Period. No rent, no mortgage, no car payments, no credit card bills, nothing. Our only bills are the living expenses and fluff. Good times, good feelings, and I'm stoked to finally have this monkey off my back.

Now back to your PG rated reading. Enjoy your stay!

Something I wonder...

2009-07-15T10:12:00.002+03:00

Last week I had a couple new rejections on a couple of stories I have circulating, looking for a home. In both cases the editors had the same positive note: we loved the story. One editor went so far as to include line edits along with his note, and said that the story pulled him in from the very first moment and kept his attention all the way until the end, which he felt was a little too "weird" for their publication. Fair enough. Not a weak ending, just a "different" ending that he wasn't comfortable with.

The second editor gave me similar praise and editing tips, and also mentioned that he loved the fleshing out of the world around the character, the action of the story, and the pace, but he felt as though the ending was too contrived because the main character really didn't have any serious challenges to overcome. I can absolutely agree with him, because I even said to Evy that I didn't think the ending on this particular story was very good, but I was going to send it along anyway and see if I couldn't get some positive or negative feedback from an editor on it.

So, with that being said, I'm wondering. With the first case, the editor felt that the overall story was great, but the ending wasn't what their publication wanted, as it was too "weird". He didn't suggest "bad", just "weird". I've had three rejections on that particular story and his was the first that gave me specific feedback. Personally I feel comfortable that the story will sell somewhere, just that the ending won't work for some publications.

The second story, on the other hand, definitely needs a revision. Which I plan on getting to sometime this month. The question I have is...after I re-work the ending, is it worth sending back in to the same publication with an editor who loved the story, but simply disliked the ending?

I'm going to e-mail the editor back this morning and ask. I have to admit, this is one of the few times I've come across a situation where I wasn't exactly sure with how to proceed. I'm still learning how the fiction process works, and I'm unfamiliar with protocol, but I'm just going to do what I normally do in the non-fiction world, which is talk with the editor and see what they say.

Just some ponderings for hump day.

Monday's musings

2009-07-13T15:20:00.003+03:00

Not much today. In the middle of crunch-mode, as I have that personal deadline I'd love to hit by the end of the month, but we'll just have to wait and see how much of a reality that is when we get closer to it. My initial estimates was that my larger project would run into the first week of August, and more than likely that's going to be the case. I wanted to do more per-day, but it's just not proving realistic with the 4 different clients I have going at present. There's only so many hours in the day, and I'm unwilling to work more than 8 hours a day at most. That's what happens when you get Europeanized :) You turn into a slacker who only wants to work 4-5 hour days!

Having fun, regardless. Doing some short-story revisions this week in my spare time, and Evy and I are going over the final details of her crafting stuff. We decided to delay her launch of the Etsy store, because the people who were supposed to get in touch with us about those china sets never got around to calling us, so....that got put on hold.

Other than that...not much for this Monday. I finished another article for the MMO Life Network over the weekend and submitted it this morning, so I'll wait to hear back on revisions (if any) for that one while I move ahead with my other projects.

Latest article up.

2009-07-11T10:16:00.004+03:00

Looks like my first article for the MMO Life Network went live yesterday. There will be a lot more of those coming up in the future months as I expand on the social aspects of MMORPGs, as well as work on features that the company asks me to write. It's looking to be a very fun experience. Enjoy!

A hard decision

2009-07-10T09:11:00.004+03:00

Today, I came to a crossroads. It was the first time in my freelance career that I have determined that a particular client, who has been incredibly fun to work for, is no longer a viable option for me to continue working with. While the exposure has been great, as I progress in my career I simply cannot afford to work for clients who pay a wage which is below what I consider to be my minimum standards.

It was a difficult decision. I have literally spent the last week determining whether or not it was worth it to continue writing for this particular client, because I do enjoy the work, and they have been very good to me over the past few months. However, it comes down to simple numbers, and as a businessman first and foremost, I simply cannot continue at the present rate of compensation.

This morning was spent drafting a letter of thanks to the editor of the publication, as well as a request for a higher rate of pay. If the publication is unable or unwilling to compensate me accordingly, I simply let them know that I would respectfully be moving on, and that I hold their publication in the highest regards.

It's difficult making such decisions. You obviously want to keep your professional relationships at the highest standards possible. Burning bridges is not something you want to go around doing with regularity. And if you do your job correctly ( which any writer worth his salt will), then your request/resignation will read well enough that the client understands that it's nothing personal, it's just simply business. In this case, I really don't want to burn the bridge, but I simply can't continue working for exposure combined with a ridiculously low wage.

It's not simply about meeting your financial needs. It's about climbing the ladder of your chosen profession. Everyone starts out at the bottom and works their way up. Monetary compensation is simply the first step in moving up the rungs. I started out as a grunt pushing a broom when I was a teenager working for my dad's company for 8 dollars an hour. By the time I was 22 years old I was making 25 dollars an hour. By the time I was 24 I was making 35 dollars an hour, and I started my own company. By 2007 I was making 400-500 USD a day. It's just the rules of advancement. They hold true no matter what the career is. As you gain more experience, you earn more money.

So, while it was a hard decision to write a letter to an editor and put an ultimatum on the table, at the same time it's for the better. My career is advancing, and I am not simply writing for the exposure. My resume has expanded exponentially over the last year, and I am to the point now where I am no longer considered a fresh-faced newbie, and the rates adjust accordingly. It's nothing personal against past publications, it's just that the wages need to be acceptable according to national averages based upon the level of experience. It's business.

Anything new?

2009-07-09T07:58:00.004+03:00

Almost to the end of the first week of July, and I have to say, it's been a productive week. A lot of planning going on.

Firstly, I've got to start organizing things and figuring out for next year how to deal with taxes. They get kind of convoluted when you are living overseas, and the US is anal-retentive about how you have to deal with it. Technically you can make up to 87k a year overseas without having to claim it, but you have to first "prove" that you fit all the criteria for working and living overseas. I didn't worry about last year, because we lived off our savings in 2008 and I didn't make a red cent, but this year I most certainly have been making money, and while 95% of it has been from non-US sources, I still have to worry about filing next April. So I need to call the Embassy and figure out the ins and outs of how to deal with accountants and filing from overseas. I also have to figure out about a driver's license for Bulgaria. I haven't worried about it to-date because we live in the heart of the city and use public transportation, but we are talking about buying a car next year, so I have to look ahead to that eventuality. We have no plans to go back to the US, not even to visit (at least not for the foreseeable future of 5+ years) so it's not like I can go back and get another International Driver's Permit (mine expired back in January; they are only good for a year)

Secondly, my wife's Etsy shop. I think we are launching this weekend. That was our initial plan, although that might be backed off till next weekend depending on how much crafting we get done this weekend. She is waiting on a bunch of tea cups and plate sets from a friend of the family who has had them stashed in the attic for 20+ years, and we are possibly getting our hands on those tomorrow...we'll see. Evy also informed me she is taking the first two weeks of August off work to focus 100% on crafting for 8+ hours a day, in order to get a bunch of hand-made items up for sale and see about making her crafting business a viable business, and not just a part-time hobby. If she can make enough money off of it, she'll quit her part-time job and work from home, like me, while she finishes up school. She has quite a large reader-base now, and it's not just people from the US and the UK who we are targeting. Her mother's business means that we have significant connections to the wealthy, ritzy people within Sofia, and a great many of them have expressed interest in Evy's hand-crafted goods, and her mom has been helping promote the idea, so we may get an unknown bonus set of clients from here in Bulgaria as well. Not to mention all the girls Evy deals with at work have been oohing and aaahing over all the things she has been making and then taking in to work for them to see. I think she's going to do just fine.

What else? Hmm. Paying off the last credit card. I thought that would be done a couple months back, but things got sidetracked a bit with some RL expenses. Still...the first of those is paid off next week once I get my next client's payment, and the last 2k worth of debt will be paid off at the end of August when I get paid for the work I'm doing this month. Then, it's ship our last boxes out of the States, see about closing down our US bank account (which will be interesting considering Wells Fargo won't even let you do a simple wire transfer without physically being in the office to sign the paperwork, despite the fact that a court of law considers a digital signature legal and binding), and sever the last of the ties we have back there so we can show the IRS that I have, in fact, "moved on" and am not still using the US as a base of residence while living abroad in a tax haven. My wife's family is here, the family business is here, her school is here, and she doesn't even have a green-card, nor have we applied for one (thinking about it, but haven't gotten around to it when we have no plans of heading back anytime soon), we have a bank account here, the apartment is in our name and it's here, we have our cell phones here....etc. etc. etc. It's amazing how the first thing the IRS looks at when a person files from overseas is whether or not you did so just in order to use one of the many loopholes that exist. You aren't ever allowed to have an actual, viable reason to move overseas that has nothing to do with taxes (like, oh, I don't know...a WIFE?)...everyone is immediately presumed guilty until proven innocent, which is bassackwards from the way it's supposed to be, which is innocent until proven guilty. Needless to say, while I have never been paranoid about dealing with the IRS before (I had a kick-ass accountant in Colorado), I have to admit I'm a little irritated with the amount of paperwork I'm going to have to do in order to prove that I'm not here simply to avoid paying taxes. It's really stupid. Meanwhile, people like Madoff and AIG are ripping American taxpayers off for hundreds of billions of dollars and I have to sweat simply being honest. It's ridiculous. You can't imagine the sheer number of hoops I've had to jump through in order to transition to a foreign country, and the amount of money we had to spend getting everything taken care of, but knowing that I have to deal with even *more* hassles is just...ugh. Thankfully I really don't have to "sweat" any of this until next year, but I want to start looking into it now so I can have a gameplan when the time comes and give myself plenty of time to deal with the interviews with various accountants and paperwork and etc.

My cook-book is also on my "hot" agenda. Chapter work on the novel is on hold until September. I also have no plans to do any more short stories (for those of you just checking in) for the 2009 fiscal year. I have 5 in circulation. I had a 6th that I was requested to write for another publication, but I canceled it after a significant disagreement with the owner of the publication. One of those 5 has been on hold in Australia for 2 months, and according to their reading list the main editor should be getting to it in a week or two, and their slush editor said held stories usually have a 35-40% chance of getting "in", so I'll keep my finger's crossed. I pulled another one off the rotation list because I feel it needs a little more refinement. The other ones are good to go, and I've been getting favorable responses from editors, rather than just form letters, which is a good sign. The last two editors, in fact, have gone on to give me lists of their sister publications where they think the stories might fit better, and have been including their personal reasons for not accepting the stories.

One thing I've noticed is that as my freelance and journalism resume gets thicker and thicker (I include my background in my cover letter) editors are actually physically replying to my queries and manuscripts. True, 99% of my work isn't fiction, it's journalism and content creation, but when people see you are making a living doing this, it tends to lend some credence to your work, even if you haven't won any awards yet. The simple fact you are landing clients and keeping them long-term means you are a reliable, solid writer. That doesn't necessarily mean I've mastered fiction writing, and I'm not too arrogant to know that I have a long way to go in that regards. Still, I've sold 2, had positive replies on a few more, and I'll keep refining and circulating the 5 I have finished until they find homes. The other good thing is that I'm not a starving writer so desperate for a credit that I'll put up with haughty editors and hack publications. In the meantime, I've got my plate full with writing gigs outside of the fiction world, and I'll get back to work on the novel sometime in September, after I get this cook-book finished. I still haven't decided if I'm going to go the route of e-publishing or talk with a friend about getting it published in paper format. Just have to wait and see.

That's it for this Thursday's update. I've got some work to do, so I'll yap with you guys next time around.

Latest Green Diva Mom article

2009-07-07T07:49:00.001+03:00

Latest Green Diva Mom article up.

Enjoy.