We recently got back from a week of vacation, something that I wasn't sure I wanted to do, and indeed wasn't sure we could do since the L word was first spoken in our house. No, not that word. This one. We actually get an extremely good accommodation deal, sometimes completely free, through having connections. That sounds really Mafia, not that there is one, but it's just dumb luck on my part. Anyway, I discovered several things during my foray into Florida:
Being able to do actual freelancing work is a tenuous thing when you're out of town. Away from home, everything becomes infinitely more complicated all of a sudden. One of the offspring was injured during the trip and it took forever to find out what to do about it, What doctor to see, where to even find one, etc.
The main thing that you can generally count on being able to do is managing email. Even when I didn't have much time at the hotel to actually try to work, there is always time to read and respond to emails, which doesn't take that long even if you have a lot of them. Even just a few minutes in the morning and again at night is enough to manage email, stay in communication with ongoing clients and answer questions sent to you. In the end, that's most of what I could do while away this time.
A number of people really are clinging to the mid-80s idea that the tanner you are, the more attractive you are. This isn't the case.
Every part of the offline economy seems to be having problems. Even the place that I went, generally a hugely profitable place, is in the middle of layoffs. The shops, usually bustling, were empty. Virtually all of them were having sales, something I've never seen in all the trips I've made there over the past mhhmmmm years. There were items available as much as 75 percent off, and people weren't buying.
Upon returning, I was super glad that I work almost exclusively online, which numerous reports have shown to be a growing sector of the economy. And then I read this. So, the apocalypse is pretty much around the corner. This sucks on many levels, one of which being that I recently applied to be a Google Quality Rater, and now I won't be able to afford any of the pre-apocalypse sales.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Firefox and Misspellings
If you have issues with spelling, or you just want to make sure you don't have any, Firefox is likely the best browser ever because of its built-in spell checker. I'm not afraid to admit that I have a few spelling issues. Ok, I'm a little afraid because I actually make a living writing things for people. But, no matter how bad your issues with spelling are, no one ever has to know if you have the right tools on your side.
With a combination of Word and Firefox, none of my misspellings ever see the light of day. No one would ever find out how often I misspell things because I use both all of the time without fail. Well, thy might find out if I spilled it on my blog or something. Oops.
Anyway, one of the things that I do regularly is to go through my Firefox dictionary additions to make sure that I haven't accidentally added misspellings to it. Surprisingly, this is a common occurrence that many people are guilty of. I discovered one recently because I usually cross-check anything I've written by checking it in both Firefox and Word. That ensures that if Word is being weird, Firefox will catch it. And if something was added to Firefox by accident, Word will catch it. Here's a detailed explanation of how to do this. It's pretty simple to do, and if you use Firefox, you might be surprised at what you find.
With a combination of Word and Firefox, none of my misspellings ever see the light of day. No one would ever find out how often I misspell things because I use both all of the time without fail. Well, thy might find out if I spilled it on my blog or something. Oops.
Anyway, one of the things that I do regularly is to go through my Firefox dictionary additions to make sure that I haven't accidentally added misspellings to it. Surprisingly, this is a common occurrence that many people are guilty of. I discovered one recently because I usually cross-check anything I've written by checking it in both Firefox and Word. That ensures that if Word is being weird, Firefox will catch it. And if something was added to Firefox by accident, Word will catch it. Here's a detailed explanation of how to do this. It's pretty simple to do, and if you use Firefox, you might be surprised at what you find.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Freelancing and Insurance
One of the troubles with freelancing in the U.S. is the insurance situation. I know a lot of Web writers who rely on their spouse's insurance to cover them, and I have periodically been able to do this. But since mine was laid off earlier this month, that insurance will run out at the end of February. If you're a freelancer who is unsure about the insurance situation, I wrote an article about finding insurance recently that sums up some of the companies that I have used.
That article was written only four days ago but there has already been a change that can affect a freelancer's choice of insurance. A new bill was signed two days ago that allows anyone laid off recently, going all the way back to September of 2008, to have the government pay 65 percent of their COBRA payments for nine months. Our COBRA payment was going to be over $900 a month, so I was about to sign up for a family plan from Blue Cross Blue Shield when the bill was passed. The subsidized coverage sounds great, and I was quite excited to hear that we could actually keep our policy after all. Unfortunately, there are problems.
The first problem is that no one will discuss it with me yet because it doesn't go into effect until March 1st, and no one is dealing with it until it does. Coincidentally, that is the same day that our insurance lapses. So, employers have 60 days after that date to send information out to laid off workers about the program.
So, during that 60 days, are we covered? Do we have to pay the full premiums? Will we be reimbursed if we do? What if we wait until we get the information to sign up and have to go to the doctor before the program is available to us? Will we be covered retroactively? The insurance companies aren't sure. The employers aren't sure. I don't know that even the government is sure. So far there are zero answers about any of it and I'm getting nervous. I don't want to be without insurance for even a day and I sure as heck am not chancing it for the two months that employers have to send out the materials.
If you're a freelancer waiting for COBRA coverage or looking for short-term coverage while you're looking for a job, I recommend Blue Cross Blue Shield's temporary policy. They have short term policies for up to three months that are dirt cheap. I'm going to sign up for a month of that coverage just to make sure I'm covered while the powers that be mill around and decide what they're going to do about the whole COBRA situation.
That article was written only four days ago but there has already been a change that can affect a freelancer's choice of insurance. A new bill was signed two days ago that allows anyone laid off recently, going all the way back to September of 2008, to have the government pay 65 percent of their COBRA payments for nine months. Our COBRA payment was going to be over $900 a month, so I was about to sign up for a family plan from Blue Cross Blue Shield when the bill was passed. The subsidized coverage sounds great, and I was quite excited to hear that we could actually keep our policy after all. Unfortunately, there are problems.
The first problem is that no one will discuss it with me yet because it doesn't go into effect until March 1st, and no one is dealing with it until it does. Coincidentally, that is the same day that our insurance lapses. So, employers have 60 days after that date to send information out to laid off workers about the program.
So, during that 60 days, are we covered? Do we have to pay the full premiums? Will we be reimbursed if we do? What if we wait until we get the information to sign up and have to go to the doctor before the program is available to us? Will we be covered retroactively? The insurance companies aren't sure. The employers aren't sure. I don't know that even the government is sure. So far there are zero answers about any of it and I'm getting nervous. I don't want to be without insurance for even a day and I sure as heck am not chancing it for the two months that employers have to send out the materials.
If you're a freelancer waiting for COBRA coverage or looking for short-term coverage while you're looking for a job, I recommend Blue Cross Blue Shield's temporary policy. They have short term policies for up to three months that are dirt cheap. I'm going to sign up for a month of that coverage just to make sure I'm covered while the powers that be mill around and decide what they're going to do about the whole COBRA situation.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
News and Bacon
I haven't been around Ye Olde Blogge in awhile, but anyone who reads it may forgive me when they hear my so-sad tale of woe. Actually, I'm not all that sad about it and I don't really have any woe. Sorry. My spouse was laid off since last I posted and I have had to keep us all afloat with my freelance writing.
I've been earning a good percentage of the family's income for a year now, and before that I was earning most of it. Unfortunately, spouse works in an industry that is no longer what it once was in this country and this is not the first time there's been a layoff. I don't think I expected it this time, though, even with the bad economy. But, a freelancer must press on. If you are freelance writing and don't think you could pull it off, you might be surprised by what is possible. Here's what I did as soon as I heard the word "layoff" (redundancy, for my Brit friends):
I bought a very tiny vacuum
. Now I can giggle as I vacuum my desk with its retro hideousness. No kidding. First thing.
I made a layoff budget to keep things we can't live without (Netflix!) and to get rid of things that we can (McDonald's).
I figured out exactly how much that I need to earn per day in order to meet that goal. I usually work seven days a week anyway and I already had a daily goal of what I had to make before in order to meet bills, pay off debts and buy stuff we want. The new daily goal is more than double the old one, but it's still doable.
I figured out what the most lucrative gigs are that I have been doing lately and started concentrating on those more than my millions of side projects. That has increased my income and I'm really not working many more hours than I did before.
I started adding bacon to random websites to amuse myself.
If you're a freelancer and are fearing the economy, it is possible to keep going online and to earn a respectable income. Business on the Web is actually increasing, according to the latest figures. I have heard that PPC rates have gone down a little, but people are buying online, setting up websites and hiring writers just like they did before. I suspect that the Web content business is staying afloat because as people lose their jobs they are attempting to set up businesses online to replace their income.
I've been earning a good percentage of the family's income for a year now, and before that I was earning most of it. Unfortunately, spouse works in an industry that is no longer what it once was in this country and this is not the first time there's been a layoff. I don't think I expected it this time, though, even with the bad economy. But, a freelancer must press on. If you are freelance writing and don't think you could pull it off, you might be surprised by what is possible. Here's what I did as soon as I heard the word "layoff" (redundancy, for my Brit friends):
I bought a very tiny vacuum
. Now I can giggle as I vacuum my desk with its retro hideousness. No kidding. First thing. I made a layoff budget to keep things we can't live without (Netflix!) and to get rid of things that we can (McDonald's).
I figured out exactly how much that I need to earn per day in order to meet that goal. I usually work seven days a week anyway and I already had a daily goal of what I had to make before in order to meet bills, pay off debts and buy stuff we want. The new daily goal is more than double the old one, but it's still doable.
I figured out what the most lucrative gigs are that I have been doing lately and started concentrating on those more than my millions of side projects. That has increased my income and I'm really not working many more hours than I did before.
I started adding bacon to random websites to amuse myself.
If you're a freelancer and are fearing the economy, it is possible to keep going online and to earn a respectable income. Business on the Web is actually increasing, according to the latest figures. I have heard that PPC rates have gone down a little, but people are buying online, setting up websites and hiring writers just like they did before. I suspect that the Web content business is staying afloat because as people lose their jobs they are attempting to set up businesses online to replace their income.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
And That is a Big But
I was recently in negotiations with a client for a large number of Web content articles. I had written a handful for him before and he was interested in hiring one of several writers who had written for him before to handle a much larger project. After much back-and-forth negotiation (including on Christmas Day), the answer came that he was choosing someone else. Why? Well, the answer comes down to the "but" that shouldn't have been.
In the end, this client, like many others out there, made their decision based on the price per article rather than what he wanted to market, how it could be marketed and the potential readership of the resulting articles. In other words, he cheaped out. I was told that I was the best of all the writers he was considering, but that I was also the highest priced so he couldn't hire me for the project. Did you see the but? Let's examine the but.
If you really think about it, the but is the problem with a lot of clients. It should never have been a but- it should have been an and. I was the best of the writers in the running and I charged the highest price. You get what you pay for, though many clients still don't realize it. They still think that a virtual product is different from a physical one or that the laws of business don't apply to Web businesses. Both of these myths couldn't be more wrong.
If someone is fairly good, expect them to charge more than people who aren't. If you want a plumber who will take his shoes off and won't call you "sweetie," expect to pay more. If you want someone to write your content who has a degree as well as experience in corporate communications, print news writing and Web writing and marketing, expect to pay a little more than someone dabbling in writing to pay off their credit card. And don't ever but me again.
In the end, this client, like many others out there, made their decision based on the price per article rather than what he wanted to market, how it could be marketed and the potential readership of the resulting articles. In other words, he cheaped out. I was told that I was the best of all the writers he was considering, but that I was also the highest priced so he couldn't hire me for the project. Did you see the but? Let's examine the but.
If you really think about it, the but is the problem with a lot of clients. It should never have been a but- it should have been an and. I was the best of the writers in the running and I charged the highest price. You get what you pay for, though many clients still don't realize it. They still think that a virtual product is different from a physical one or that the laws of business don't apply to Web businesses. Both of these myths couldn't be more wrong.
If someone is fairly good, expect them to charge more than people who aren't. If you want a plumber who will take his shoes off and won't call you "sweetie," expect to pay more. If you want someone to write your content who has a degree as well as experience in corporate communications, print news writing and Web writing and marketing, expect to pay a little more than someone dabbling in writing to pay off their credit card. And don't ever but me again.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
New Year's Resolutions
Yeah, it's already the 11th. Don't judge. I still have last year's resolutions in the back of my mind to do. I think at this point it's time to let go of the old and to make new ones. I've been thinking about new goals since the 1st of the year because I take resolutions very seriously. I actually have all of my resolutions for each year since I was 16. Seriously.
Last year's resolutions went sort of OK, though I didn't do the ones that I thought were the most challenging, so that's pretty much a fail. In reality, this year's will likely end up like this, but I will press on anyway. Here's what I've come up with:
Stick to a basic work schedule. For a freelancer, that doesn't necessarily mean that work is done at a specific time- just that a set amount of work gets done each day. I've been trying since the first to work with a daily schedule planned out a week at a time to ensure that I don't try to take on too much work in a day, burn out for a day and then come back with trepidation at the thought of more misery.
Work on my novels. I have a list (yes, I am waaay into lists) of the novels that I have either begun or have in mind to begin. Some of them have been buzzing around in my head for about 15 years. If I can stick to my work schedule and can feel assured that enough work is getting done to allow us to continue to eat and all of that, I should feel no guilt at delving into my novels and perhaps actually finishing one.
Read my work more often. Once a piece is written and proofread, I tend to never want to see it again. It's over. Finished. I have come to believe, however, that reading over your work after it's cold and dead will give you some objective insight about your style in a way that reading over a still-warm work can't. I have been reading some items that I wrote a year ago or more and I have seen several spots that could be improved. I think that a person's writing style is always evolving and that this evolution can be helped by sucking up your pride and visiting those old items.
Continue to build residuals. This has become important to my income and I hope it will allow me to take it a little easier this summer. Last summer was rotten as the economy tanked and work dried up. With less free time at that time of year, I had less time to market myself and communicate with potential clients and we all suffered for it. To offset this, I am working hard at creating income streams that will continue to come in even if the freelancing market slows. Having a little bit of cushioning like that is important when you rely on your freelancing income for the basics.
Last year's resolutions went sort of OK, though I didn't do the ones that I thought were the most challenging, so that's pretty much a fail. In reality, this year's will likely end up like this, but I will press on anyway. Here's what I've come up with:
Stick to a basic work schedule. For a freelancer, that doesn't necessarily mean that work is done at a specific time- just that a set amount of work gets done each day. I've been trying since the first to work with a daily schedule planned out a week at a time to ensure that I don't try to take on too much work in a day, burn out for a day and then come back with trepidation at the thought of more misery.
Work on my novels. I have a list (yes, I am waaay into lists) of the novels that I have either begun or have in mind to begin. Some of them have been buzzing around in my head for about 15 years. If I can stick to my work schedule and can feel assured that enough work is getting done to allow us to continue to eat and all of that, I should feel no guilt at delving into my novels and perhaps actually finishing one.
Read my work more often. Once a piece is written and proofread, I tend to never want to see it again. It's over. Finished. I have come to believe, however, that reading over your work after it's cold and dead will give you some objective insight about your style in a way that reading over a still-warm work can't. I have been reading some items that I wrote a year ago or more and I have seen several spots that could be improved. I think that a person's writing style is always evolving and that this evolution can be helped by sucking up your pride and visiting those old items.
Continue to build residuals. This has become important to my income and I hope it will allow me to take it a little easier this summer. Last summer was rotten as the economy tanked and work dried up. With less free time at that time of year, I had less time to market myself and communicate with potential clients and we all suffered for it. To offset this, I am working hard at creating income streams that will continue to come in even if the freelancing market slows. Having a little bit of cushioning like that is important when you rely on your freelancing income for the basics.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
2008's Resolutions
I've kept my 2008 New Year's resolutions in the back of my head throughout the year, fully intending to implement all of them. In some ways I succeeded and in some I failed. Rather than just make new resolutions on top of old ones this year, I thought I'd look back at the last batch and see where things could have been improved. Here are last year's in a nutshell and how I did with each:
Get less distracted by shiny things and entertaining YouTube videos: Sadly, this will probably never happen. I have just found ways to integrate the shiny moments with the work that needs to be done so that I still get to catch up on SNL sketches that I missed and get work completed on time.
Make more residual income: I've continued with this and make roughly seven times as much per month in residuals as I did last year at this time. That's still not great, actually, but it is starting to become something that I can count on as part of my income.
Start writing for magazines: Whammy. Never happened.
Read more classics: Um, do Kim Harrison novels count? I think they'll be classics someday. No, I laid off the Regency novels this year and got into Colonial history for some reason. I wouldn't consider any of them classics, but I think that most of what I read this year had merit.
Ignore more advice: Oh hells yeah. Most of the advice I get from other Web writers just doesn't work out for me. I know they are a nice, helpful bunch and they are only trying to share what they have learned, but I very, very rarely ever have success doing anything that another Web writer has suggested. I love ya, but I'll stick to my own methods for now. Good luck in 2009!
Get less distracted by shiny things and entertaining YouTube videos: Sadly, this will probably never happen. I have just found ways to integrate the shiny moments with the work that needs to be done so that I still get to catch up on SNL sketches that I missed and get work completed on time.
Make more residual income: I've continued with this and make roughly seven times as much per month in residuals as I did last year at this time. That's still not great, actually, but it is starting to become something that I can count on as part of my income.
Start writing for magazines: Whammy. Never happened.
Read more classics: Um, do Kim Harrison novels count? I think they'll be classics someday. No, I laid off the Regency novels this year and got into Colonial history for some reason. I wouldn't consider any of them classics, but I think that most of what I read this year had merit.
Ignore more advice: Oh hells yeah. Most of the advice I get from other Web writers just doesn't work out for me. I know they are a nice, helpful bunch and they are only trying to share what they have learned, but I very, very rarely ever have success doing anything that another Web writer has suggested. I love ya, but I'll stick to my own methods for now. Good luck in 2009!
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