Just because I’m away doesn’t mean we can’t still have fun. So why not a round of This Job, Not That Job to placate ourselves as summer becomes a shrinking memory?
This beauty came via Twitter, where I didn’t have enough characters to tell him what I really thought:
#freelance #writing #job – Make my short biography read like an super engaging story (Max. $500) – http://t.co/XWY5gAL #jobs
In the spirit of investigation, I clicked on the link, which took me to a site called Do Nanza. The rest of the posting went like this:
I am not a good writer, so I need someone to help me make my draft short biography better by: * Making it read like an super engaging story that will make readers want to read from start to finish * Write in a conversational manner * Improve the grammar and spelling * Incorporate snippets of text into my main short biography where appropriate so make it more engaging * Remove redundant expressions * Remove unnecessary bits, bits that don’t add to my story * Help express the story of my short back ground better * Make my story concise and not waste a single word I have attached my draft so you can assess if you can help me. I have also includes additional snippets of my writing for you to play with and insert if you feel it makes my draft better. ——————————————
Well, there must have been some questions, because this was added later:
Added 5 SEP 2011, 8:09 AM EDT Additional info This bio is to be my bio for my website and promotional materials to share with the world. It’s my story and why I got where I am. I am creating a website for my boutique marketing technology advistory and training business. I help small to medium size businesses beat through the marketing myths and lies, to help them make more money using high return marketing technologies such as the internet and Facebook. I’ve personally know many business owners who invested their dream and life savings in starting a business, but end up losing everything because they can’t market or sell.I want to help them with what I know about marketing and technology. My primary audience is small to medium sized business owners. People who are having trouble with their marketing and sales and looking for a way to improve their situation. From my perspective, my biography is for web presentation and should not be longer than 400-500 words ( about the maximum length people can read comfortably on a computer screen). I have written most of it and have included snippts of writing to be included if relevant (see attachments). So I’m thinking it should not take more than 5-7 hours of work for an expert writer. I have much content (books, speeches…etc) that I will need a good writer for so I am looking to form a long term working relationship. So please don’t apply if that’s not something you can do or writing is simply to make a quick buck before you move on to whatever you real dreams are. Thanks!!
And you can imagine some real writers were giving him some grief. This showed up a day after the last amendment:
—————————————— Added 6 SEP 2011, 7:05 AM EDT Because I have already spent significant time writing my initial bio, I believe this job should not take a talented writer more than 5-8 hours to make it shine. At $12/h, this means my expectations for this job is less than $96. I don’t know or can imagine how much can be added by spending more than that amount of time on this. So if you look to quote more than this, please give me an example to help justify your case. I suggest rewriting one paragraph to show me what you can help me achieve and I will seriously consider investing in you. I am happy to pay for quality, but I need some confidence by seeing what you can add to my draft. Thanks Desired Skills: Article Writing, Excellent English, Story Telling
Ho hum. Such a boring, repetitive offer. It has it all – low pay, extensive explanation, the need for perfection at a fraction of perfection’s going rate, and justification of a low, low price. He doesn’t expect $96, you see. You can write at $12. To put it bluntly, what the hell does that mean exactly? He’ll be happy with crap work or he’ll only bitch at a $12 rate? Hard to say.
Instead, try this:
The Business Journal
The Business Journal is a weekly tabloid covering a wide cross-section of industries. Stories are written for business people. The audience is primarily upper-level management. Open to freelancers.
Needs nonfiction articles between 700-2,500 words. Pays $175-400 per article.
It’s not as much as that Twit-erer was going to pay, but it’s an article in a respectable publication. The pay isn’t super, but the job-to-hassle ratio is infinitely lower. The amount of work one article brings is much, much lower than writing a “short” biography of someone so scattered he can’t even keep his explanation short.
What do you think of either of these jobs? Would you take either one? For the record, I wouldn’t. The pay isn’t within my current earnings scale, but maybe you have a different view for different reasons.
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