Irony

I've come across it in varying degrees over the years but none so poignantly as last week.

For the record, I happen to think that the Freelance Writing Jobs website does a great service to the freelance community. However, that doesn't change the fact that I think the representative/owner of the website is a bit two-faced in her dealings with the public, as well as being unable to take criticism regarding her views, which many people consider naive at best, despite her length of time in the field. With that being said, we come to the irony of the situation.

For those of you who have stumbled here from that direction you know that over the past few months myself, and several others, have drawn sharp criticism from the owner, as well as some of her staunchest allies, for writing for Demand Studios. The first few months of the year in particular featured some rather heated debates as to whether or not Demand Studios was considered a "legitimate" place to work. We (the writers working for Demand Studios) were called names ranging from "hacks" to "incompetents" to "whores". These were literal words used. I don't need to reference the specific posts, because those of you following along know exactly which individuals I'm referencing.

The debate raged on. For months the owner of FWJ and her closest affiliates continued to call Demand Studios a "content mill", and a "haven for low paying gigs". Many writers from her side of the camp came on and verbally abused those of us writing for Demand Studios, claiming that we were "bastardizing" the industry by writing articles for 15 dollars a pop when we should be charging 50 or more per How To or About article.

Then, earlier this month, Demand Studios pops up as a sponsor of FWJ. Suddenly the owner, and her affiliates, are touting Demand Studios as one of the greatest content sites on the web, where writers can go make thousand of dollars.

I'm sure I'm not the only one seeing the irony here.

I've known for months that Demand Studios pays thousand of dollars. There are regularly anywhere from 300k to 800k worth of jobs available to choose from. For awhile there I actually considered making them my primary source of income because I can literally knock out 4-5 How To or About articles in an hour, if I happen to know the subject matter. And considering most of the articles I write through DS end up on DIY.Com or EHow.com or various other sites using my 15+ years of experience as a ceramic tile and natural stone installer/contractor, I've been happy with making a quick 60 bucks an hour here and there to pay for a nice weekend out.

I have verbally touted the benefits of Demand Studios over at FWJ for months, and continually been attacked for supporting a "content mill".

I just find it incredibly ironic how, for months, the owner of FWJ and other writers on that site were calling Demand Studios one of the "worst" sites out there, but now that they are giving her a paycheck they're the best thing since sliced bread.

It's good to see that even the so-called high and mighty are willing to do anything for a buck, even change their tune when it comes to being sponsored by a website that for months was considered "low paying" and a "haven for hacks and no-talent writers".

Irony. The little things in life that make you go "lawl!"

New client

Picked up another client last week. Will be working on a project spanning the next couple of months, writing travel overviews for TravBuddy.

It's nice when your hobbies can turn into paying gigs. I love the 21st century. It's been a real pleasure being able to make money writing about video games, something my parents used to always claim were rotting my brain. I've seen the video game industry transition from just a closet-hobby for nerds back in the 80s into a multi-billion dollar industry that is now considered the norm. Every household has a console of some kind, be it a Wii, PS3, X-Box 360, or otherwise. And similarly is traveling. Travel writers have existed for years, but it's nice to be able to transition into that market myself. I've done some travel work in the past (over 800 articles for various clients), but that was through a third party. This time I'm working direct.

Traveling across Europe, and other places, was always something of a dream when I was a kid, but my hard work and diligence in my late teens and early 20s paid off, and I've pretty much been able to take at least 2 trips every year since I was nineteen years old. My first trip was to London back in 1999, and I spent two weeks in and around the city, as well as going up to Oxford, to Stonehenge, and various other places around the nearby countryside, not to mention living it up because I was able to drink legally in the UK vs the US, the only country in the world with a 21 year old drinking limit.

In any case, the last three years have seen those trips increase to 4-6 trips a year, due to our blessing of having Evy's family, whose business is doing exceptionally well. As a result, we get to tag along on several vacations a year, which the family pays for in their entirety, outside of spending money. Which allows Evy and I the chance to save up for our own unique little side trips that we take on our own time, which bumps us up over the 4 trips per year part.

This year we've only taken three vacations so far (not counting several weekend hiking trips), but the fourth is just around the corner. We'll be heading to Nessebar the first week of September for a much-needed seaside holiday. Our last one of the year, because we are wanting to save up for three big trips next year on our own dime....back to Rome for round 4, Paris for round 2, and we are going to head to China for a 3 week backpack trip in the fall. Not to mention I think we are buying a car sometime in the Spring, but that's to be determined when we get to that point and dependent upon how much money we want to spend on something we'll only drive once a month, at most. Living downtown in a city has its advantages, because public transportation is 5 seconds out of the front door and you can take a cab anywhere lengthy.

In any case...new client, new project. I can't go into too many details due to the NDA, but suffice to say that it's another fun project I'm glad I get a chance to work on. I'm continually thankful for the opportunities I've come across as a result of getting into bed with this new career. She has been a most excellent mistress!

Kudos again to Evy, for letting me take this opportunity in the first place last year.

random blurb II

I haven't really paid attention to the "success" of my work so far above and beyond the fact that I'm getting a nice paycheck every month that is allowing Evy and I to live out our dreams.

Couple of days back I was on Twitter, and I happened to be scanning Tweets from some of my followers when I noticed that someone said they were reading one of my articles over at so-and-so's website. I was intrigued, so I followed the link.

I was surprised to find a 2 page topic that included a link to my original article and a series of responses in regards to said article that were all extremely positive, discussing the positive aspects of the piece.

Now, I'm not one to let success go to my head, but I have to admit it was sort of a rush, and definitely an ego boost. I called Evy right away and told her.

I'm debating today whether or not I should go back to that website and create an account just to post and say thanks for the appreciation.

I must be doing something write (ok ok silly play on words!) to be achieving both financial and critical success in terms of appreciation by readers. I honestly can't wait to get my book done and see how it fares in comparison to my non-fiction work, which is really starting to become more than just a paycheck. This is awesome!

Original article can be found here. The discussion I stumbled upon can be found here.

First time for everything

I've been around the block when it comes to running a business. That was one of the skills which I honestly believe helped me transition into a successful freelance writer. I used my knowledge from running a small company back in Colorado, combined with several years of supervising for a multi-million dollar construction company, and applied it to my writing business.

One of the things you learn fairly early on is never, under any circumstances, do spec work. Ever.

With that in mind, I've been fairly lucky in my freelance career so far. I've never had a client not pay me, and I've never come across any that fished for free samples. Until today.

I'm still waiting to see how it pans out, but the gist of it is this: I am fairly steady with the few clients I have. I'm not starving, by any means. I can afford to be picky, and I only apply to new jobs when they are ones that really pique my interest. Such was the case with a recent job I came across. I submitted a resume + three previously published samples that were relevant to the job, plus a fourth sample as requested by the client on a topic they requested. I heard back within 24 hours, and had a favorable response. They loved the samples, felt that I was perfect for the position. We moved to phase 2 of e-mails. I received the Author Agreement/contract, as well as the project overview. Cool. Everything looked good. I did not sign it, but sent an e-mail back saying that everything looked good, but the client was asking for a faxed copy of the contract. First of all, I haven't touched a fax machine in over 6 years, much less even seen one. That's so 20th century ;)

The next e-mail said a scanned copy was fine, but that they would need me to provide them with 3 of the initial articles out of the batch, to "make sure" that my style was going to fit in with their website.

SCREEEECH!

Uh-uh. I don't do spec work. Never have, never will. Especially not when the initial e-mail said that my four samples were "exactly what we're looking for" and that "it would be a pleasure working with you". I'm sorry. You already have 3 samples. You do not need an additional three. Furthermore, in retrospect, I'm afraid that I will be unable to start the project for you unless a good-faith payment is made, in advance, for the first 15 articles of the project. I am more than happy to put my name to a signed contract in regards to that.

We'll see if I hear back or not. Honestly. Asking for 3 additional samples to "make sure"? You have my resume. You have dozens of links to my previously published materiel. I provided you with published samples. References that you can check to verify my credentials. You absolutely do *not* need me to write you anything for free.

In my previous occupation that would have been like a homeowner calling me in to look at a 15 thousand dollar project and then asking me to do the entire entryway for free, so they could determine whether or not my craftsmanship was going to work for them. Wrong answer.

My construction contracts actually had clauses depending on who I was working with. Some clients I would specifically ask for 25% of the money up front, in cash, before I would even unload materiel and tools on-site, with the stipulation that the next 25% was due halfway through the project and the remaining 50% upon completion and a signed letter of agreement of completion.

I'm a HUGE fan of legal binding documents. They protect EVERYONE involved, both the seller AND the buyer. People who try to get you to do things without paperwork, and even worse, for free, are just potentially scammy.

So I'll wait back and see if I hear from this guy or not. I have to admit it was a nice little 2 thousand dollar project, but his request for an additional three samples (the first three articles off the list they sent me) just threw all sorts of huge red flags up for me, and unless he's willing to give me a good-faith payment up-front, I'll be walking away from that one.

New MMO Hub article up

Latest MMO Hub article up.

Oddly enough, they aired my fourth article third, which makes sense, I suppose, considering these three have been related to the social aspects of gaming with your significant other/family.

Fourth article should be up next week, and is of a slightly different nature.

In any case, enjoy.

Brewing

Thoughts, that is.

A bit tired on this Monday evening. Was a long day, but we got a lot done. Did some shopping, I made fish and chips for dinner, got some healthy writing in, some e-mails, some editing, some notes, uploaded our Seven Rila Lakes photos to Facebook, made some changes here and there, worked out, and now I'm relaxing.

Busy week this week. Busy month, as I stated in my last post. I actually didn't get everything done today that I wanted to, mostly because we had a few loose ends to tie up. The rest of the week should go fairly smoothly, schedule-wise.

Evy had a rough day at work. She just found out that her boss's son, who works 3 hours a day, forgets things all the time, and basically has every single woman in the clinic shaking their heads in frustration at him on a daily basis, is getting paid more than double what she is getting paid for working 40-45 hours a week. Nothing like an unfair situation.

I may not have agreed with my dad over the years but the one thing he most certainly never did was coddle me. I never got paid more than the other guys. I was given a fair wage, but I was also given double the work load and the responsibility because I was expected to be more reliable than anyone else. He also rode my ass twice as hard as any other employee, which led to me being fired or quitting at least 4 times over 8 years.

In any case, she is also "brewing" in the sense that she is one step closer to make a final decision about her job by the end of August. They are supposedly having a group meeting on Wednesday to discuss what, she isn't sure. But she is extremely upset about the situation with her boss's son.

I know he's a nice kid and all, but he's completely unreliable. It's too long to go into here, but he's the kind of kid who just wants to party all the time. He's failed his entrance exams into college something like 3 times now. He lives at home with his parents. He's 22 or 23. They pay for all his bills. He never remembers things at work. Evy is constantly cleaning up after him in terms of his accounting screw ups. He constantly shorts or overpays people on payroll, and I mean constantly. Every week. He only comes in for 2-3 hours a day at MOST, yet he's making more than double what Evy makes working full-time. How is that fair?

Not to mention, Evy doesn't make mistakes. She is analytical to the point of insanity when it comes to being organized and detail-oriented. The doctors and other girls praise her for these skills on a daily basis. She is always on time. She stays late, all the time. She fixes his mistakes on a daily basis. And on top of doing his job + her job she also has the added responsibility of doing procedures, something he doesn't do. Yet she makes less than half of what he makes? How is that fair?

In any case...there's stuff brewing on the horizon for both of us :) I'm swamped, already got another project getting lined up for mid-August into September, and we are one step closer to launching Evy's Etsy shop (Finally!). We have two of the bird-houses done, two of the floral wall pictures done, and we still have a couple of jewelery boxes, a wall-mounted key-holder, jewelery, and several other sundries to finish up by the end of August.

That's my rambling notation for Monday. Cheers!

wiped!

What an awesome weekend. We didn't even come close to scratching the surface of the hiking trails up at the Seven Rila Lakes. Pictures will be up on Facebook tomorrow or Tuesday, when I get some spare time, and I may show some here as well. We went up there with a large group of family/friends (over 30 people), so we were rather limited in what we could do. Evy, myself, and one of our friends, Dessy, are already discussing taking a 3 day camping trip up there later on in the month so we can actually see the rest of the trails with the proper provisions, and without a group of people to worry about.

Rest of it was nice. Hotel was a few klicks down the mountain from the trail head, and the group also rented a house up in one of the valleys just around the bend, so we had cookouts on Friday night and Saturday night. Plenty of food, plenty of rakia, plenty of beer, wine, and "Cloud", as they call it here....1/2 Mastika and 1/2 mint liqueur. The saying is that by the third one, you are so bombed that you think it's raining, and the sky is cloudy. For the uninitiated, Mastika is a liquorish tasting clear alcohol, and the Mente is a mint-flavored liqueur, so it's an interesting combination.

I can attest to the fact that it is indeed quite potent. But I had already had a few glasses of rakia by that point, so :) In any case, everyone was pretty well liquored up by 8 or 9 p.m., and while Evy and I retired around midnight, everyone else stayed up until 2 a.m. or so. On Saturday night they even broke out the karaoke machine, which was epic in its own right.

Another phenomenal weekend, which was perfect for the end of July as I wrapped up a busy month of writing. August is looking even busier, but we have a Black Sea holiday to Nesebar planned for the first week of September, so that's a nice motivator to keep the nose to the grindstone for now :)