If you take a look at the blog throughout this week, you’ll see that it was really quiet around here. However, that doesn’t mean that things have been quiet on this end. In fact, things have been more hectic than ever which is why I haven’t been hanging around the blog posting what’s inspired me lately. Instead, I’ve been working on a new business plan which incorporates new goals for the blog. Those goals will be announced here on Monday and the blog will move forward from there.
In the meantime, there will be no weekend job links but I’ll be back tomorrow with some links to great reading around the web.
“I always wrote with the idea that what I put out there is going to stay there. Once I publish something, it has been published. I’ve never deleted more than one or two posts from my site. I don’t think that there are takebacks.” -Alison Headley
The quote is listed on The Quotations Page for writing quotes, a source that I always find inspiring. The things other people have said about writing often give me pause for thought and this one is no exception. It’s important to realize that what we’re writing is going to be seen by others. As we write, we should keep in mind that this could be something that we’re permanently associated with. By doing so, we maintain the integrity of our own writing and always challenge ourselves to do our best work.
It’s always tempting to think, “it’s just a blog post” and slack on the quality of the writing because you know it’s going to get buried in the archives in a few days. However, something that others have seen always has the potential to crop back up again. Try to do your best writing at all times so that anything that comes back will only be something that you want to nod in agreement with.
Question of the Day: Do you ever find yourself writing with lower standards because you’re “only” writing a blog post?
[Tags] writing, quote, alison headley, inspiration, blog, standards, quality [/Tags]
HAPPY EARTH DAY!
It’s always inspiring to see people joining together in any sort of movement. Earth Day is one of those times. To celebrate, take a moment to learn something new about being green.
- Real Words posts about green writing
- Wikipedia on Earth Day
- Earth Day Official Page
- Go Green @ Treehugger: http://www.treehugger.com/gogreen.php
- Guide to a Healthy Life Style
Question of the Day: What are you doing as a writer to celebrate Earth Day?
[Tags] green writing, earth day, green links [/Tags]
Auroville is a city in South India first constructed in the late 1960’s. Based on the commune principles of the hippie era, this city was designed to be an open-minded forward-thinking community. It’s changed throughout the years but that basic foundation has remained the same. Today, Auroville is considered one of the world’s eco-cities.
It would take an entire book to explain what Auroville is all about but ultimately it’s an idealistic place where the residents aim to live above the politics and materialism that pervades most of the world. While it’s not likely a place that I would want to spend my life, it’s inspiring to me as a writer.
For one thing, it shows an alternative way to live in the world. That’s great for creating characters for fiction and is just a generally inspiring thing to see. For another, it’s constantly evolving - a process which is interesting to read about and which can be inspirational for story development.
As with all of the places, people, ideas and saying that are mentioned in this daily Real Words column, Auroville is one of those things that deserves a second glance with an eye towards how it can impact a person’s writing immediately and over time.
Question of the Day: Do you think visiting a place like Auroville would be good for your writing work?
[Tags] writing, auroville, commune, ecocity, india, inspiration [/Tags]
It was a busy, busy week. I started a new job that I’m really excited about. I had some extra work from one of my favorite jobs. And I did a bunch of writing for the usual spots. If you’re interested in seeing some of that work, these are the links:
On writing, blogging and the web:
- Mobile blogging and social networking
- Read and Amend all Freelance Writing Contracts
- 18 Ways to Find Freelance Writing Work
- The 5 Basic Levels of Green Writing
On wireless and technology:
- 10 Free Features to Personalize your Phone
- Speak to your Readers with Click-to-Call Widgets
- 25 Ways to Destroy your Old Printer
On travel:
On business and finance:
On celebrity stuff and entertainment:
- The Best Longest-Running Broadway Shows
- 5 Leading Reasons People get Tattoo Removal
- Infertility Demands Center Stage
Misc:
Question of the Day: What about you; where was your best article published online this week? Leave links in the comment section below.
[Tags] kathryn vercillo, links, writing, articles, blog posts [/Tags]
Just a few more job links for those people seeking freelance work this weekend:
Blog Jobs:
- Bloggers, various topics, $84-$140 per month
Ongoing writing jobs:
- IT / Tech writers, state your rate
- Content writers, minimum $10 per hour
- Essay writers, must currently be in college
- Writer/researcher; various projects, 40% of project rate
One-shot writing jobs:
- Non-fiction book authors, several titles available
- Website rewrite, state your rate
- Classified ad for business, state your rate
- Creative writer for teens, “market rate”
- Grant writer, $1000+
Editing jobs:
- Technical book editors, rate not stated
- Auto Trade Publication editor, work from home but must travel to Houston to meet publisher
[Tags] freelance, writing, jobs, gigs, resources, employment, links, freelance writing jobs [/Tags]
Just a quick note to let everyone know that Ghosts of Alcatraz, my second book, is now available for purchase. I’ll be adding more information to the blog soon about my experiences writing this book. In the meantime, you can check it out at the Schiffer site.
Blog Jobs:
- Corporate media blogger, 2-3 500-800 word posts weekly @ $20 per post
- Personal finance and mortgage blogger, rate not stated
Ongoing writing jobs:
- Magazine writing, $30 per page
- Underwriter/copywriter, full time, rate not stated
- Dog magazine, $0.03-$0.20 per word
- Product reviews, rate not stated
- Business writer, $750-$1000 per week
- Colorado real estate writers, 4 3-5 page articles monthly, state your rate
- Travel writing, 20-50 500 word articles per week @ $7 per article
- Various projects, $3-$50 per 500-word article
One-shot writing jobs:
- 2 pg music article, rate not stated
- 12 3-pg How-To guides, rate not stated
- Interior design website content, state your rate
- Nigerian magazine, rate not stated
- Children’s script writer, rate not stated
- 13-pg legal memo, $200
Seeking submissions:
- Contributions to book about all kinds of strange stuff
- Greeting cards, pays by royalties
Editing jobs:
- 25-pg academic paper, must be edited this weekend, rate DOE
Misc:
- Spanish translation work, periodic ongoing
[Tags] freelance, writing, jobs, gigs, resources, employment, links, freelance writing jobs [/Tags]
What writer doesn’t like to receive praise for his or her work? Even when you don’t agree with the person who is giving you props, you have to smile a little bit when someone sees value or talent in the creative efforts that you are putting forth. And if you take it with a grain of salt, this praise can be really inspiring. It may even make your work better.
Praise inspires me as a writer in the following ways:
- It makes me feel like continuing to work. I’d probably write without any recognition at all but getting that praise gives me an added boost of energy to sit down and do the writing.
- It points me in the right direction. I can often tell from praise whether something is worth following up on or whether I should let a topic go. Of course, sometimes my own creative impulses will drive these decisions but that input can inspire me to go further with a topic that I may have dropped otherwise.
- It challenges me to maintain a high standard. When someone has praised your work, you know that they are reading it. This inspires me to keep writing with an audience in mind. When it starts to feel like no one is paying attention anyway, we sometimes let our writing slip. That praise can bring your focus back to finetuning your writing.
And of course, it’s just a pleasant feeling to be acknowledged for your work. Go praise one of your favorite writers today; perhaps they’ll be inspired to write something magical.
Question of the Day: How does praise inspire or hinder your writing?
[Tags] writing, praise, acknolwedgment, reward, work [/Tags]
I recently got myself into an unfortunate situation with one of my previous writing gigs due to my own failure to read a freelance contract before I signed it. The end result didn’t turn out so bad but I felt foolish because I know better than to read anything without signing it. And I know better than to faily to review my freelance writing contracts; after all, I’ve been in the writing business in some form or another for almost ten years. Heck, I ran a freelance writing company for awhile that relied heavily on the proper use of multiple forms of writing contracts.
So, what happened? I’d been working for a blog network for several months under a contract (which I did read before signing). Then two things happened. First, I began to find that the time the site was taking was much longer than I’d anticipated and I was getting less and less inclined to work for the site. Second, a bunch of changes were made in the way that the network was going to be operated. As a result of those changes, all of the bloggers were asked to sign new writing contracts.
When I received the electronic version of my contract, I skimmed it. My excuse is the typical excuse that I was busy with other things. Additionally, I thought that I knew what the major change to the contract was which was that we were going to start receiving payments in a different manner and time frame than in the past. I was comfortable with that change so I went ahead and signed the contract without further review. I then promptly forgot about it.
Over the course of the next couple of months, I found that it was too much of a drain to keep my writing commitment to that site and I resigned from the position. I still have a few payments coming in from the old work. To my surprise, the most recent payment was lower than I’d expected. Long story short, the contract had changed not only the terms of payment but also the amount. Moreover, it had changed the number of posts I was required to write. Since I hadn’t read it, I’d been almost twice the amount of work that I needed to do - and of course I didn’t get paid for the extra.
The situation was bad for a number of reasons. First of all, it’s disappointing to do work and not get paid for it (through no fault of the network; I have only myself to blame there). Second, I’m a little bummed because if I knew that the requirements for the site had changed, I probably could have kep my commitment and not quit the job. And third, I just feel ridiculous about the fact that I didn’t read that contract in full before I signed it. What an amateur error!
But it’s good because it serves as a reminder that we should always read every word of a writing contract and make sure that we know what it says. Additionally, I would encourage you to consider amending three standard parts of each new freelance writing contract that you sign:
- Late payment fee. Every freelance writing contract should specify not only the amount of compensation but when it is due (for example, the contract may say that payment is due within 30 days of the date on the freelancer’s invoice). Additionally, the contract should specify what the late fee is (such as ten percent) for failure to pay within that time frame. Most freelance writing contracts will not have this written in to them but you should negotiate a change with the client before signing the contract. This is a way to protect you from non-payment by clients (a problem which happens all too frequently in the freelance world); even if you don’t end up suing, the threat of the legal problem can suffice to motivate people to pay you in full and on time.
- Length of contract. Make sure that the contract specifies something about how long it lasts and/or how to make changes to it. This is so that you can properly negotiate raises to your pay over time. For example, the contract may state that it requires renewal after one year. At that time, you are in a position to negotiate a better rate. It also puts a time limit on other terms of the contract so that you have wiggle room if you find out after a period of time that there are certain terms you agreed to that you don’t like.
- Rights. Your contract will say somewhere in it who retains the rights to anything that you write for others. You should read this part carefully and try to retain as many rights as possible to your work. In many cases, this will mean amending the contract. Most clients are open to amending the contract within reason because they realize (or can be shown) that typical contracts in the world of publishing allow the author to retain certain reprint rights or to gain rights to the work after a certain amount of time passes. Read up on this area of copyright law so that you can protect yourself.
And read those contracts. Every time. No matter what!
Question of the Day: What stories can you share about problems and successes related to signing your freelance writing contracts?
[Tags] freelance, writing, contract, rights, legal, blogging [/Tags]
