Oh, we have common sense, but isn’t it human nature to believe what we see because we need it to be true? We’ve all done it – fallen for a lousy offer because we let down our guard for one minute.
Truth is the lousy job postings out there are easy to spot. We’ve been subjected to so many of them, we can smell their stench from a distance. However, as we get wise, they get more devious. I’ve told you recently about the “offer” to sponsor my website so long as I use their copy on the site. Basically, they wanted me to hand over control of my weblog and bastardize my bandwidth so I could help them sell you something. Let me drop my professional guard for just a second – f*** that.
There are other offers, too. I can’t tell you the number of requests I get from people I’ve never heard of or interacted with who want to guest post here. Worse, they want to guest post AND have me link back to their site, which so far have been nothing more than affiliate sites intent on driving up their traffic and hence their ad revenue. If you haven’t bothered to post here or interact, I can tell you now I’m not inclined to believe your sudden interest in this little old blog and community.
Here’s your advice for today: screw on the skepticism when faced with any offer that you haven’t heard before or from someone you don’t know. While it wouldn’t really kill anyone to read a post by a stranger here, it’s not my goal to muddy up the message with obvious salesy garbage. I’ll leave you decide that one for yourselves, but just take those offers with the same grain of salt you do any offer that can’t be explained without a pie chart and a mathematician.
What’s been offered to you lately?
13 responses to “Worthy Tip: Use Common Sense”
My blog is fairly recent so it will be a while before I hit your level of fame, Lori 🙂
The offers aren't knocking down my virtual wall. I have been approached, however, by clients who want to link and have ads on my site. My blog/website is a business writing one and I have not commercialized it for ads (on purpose) so I hesitate to start.
Recently, I had an editor send me the worst contract I’ve ever seen! There was one set of rules for first-time contributors (who got paid 60-90 days AFTER publication assuming they didn’t fall prey to the 0% kill fee) and another for regulars (who got paid within 30 days of publication and got a 10% fee if the story got killed).
I may be new to this magazine, but if you assign me a story, I have the clips and the references to prove that I can deliver it on time and to your specifications. The kill fee seemed especially ludicrous, because it’s WAY outside the norm for other magazines and meant that they could basically kill the story for reasons outside my control and pay me nothing.
This is a magazine I really love, so I tried to negotiate. Eventually they decided to assign the story in-house, and it’s probably for the best, because even the best case scenario would have been far from ideal.
I thank you for your skepticism! Your blog wouldn't be the same with salesy crap!
What?!! You mean to tell me that there won’t be any ads for Charlie’s Cha-Ching Chicken Wings or Samson’s Slam-Banging SEO Strategies? How disappointing! LOL!
I have to say, I’d rather read what YOU have to say on different topics. I don’t care to read what someone else wants you to say or not say on your blog. If it’s that important, they can say it on their own blog.
I've had some offers for projects that kicked my intuition in gear. If I have a nagging feeling that something just isn't right about it, then I pass it on.
Cathy, fame? Are you serious? LOL I'm famous to my mother only! I think because I'm foolish enough to include an email here I get these offers – nothing to do with famous! 🙂
Susan, isn't it hard not laughing sometimes? But the disappointment of wasting time for what sounded promising is just a pain.
Gabriella, if I succumbed to it, I'd lose interest myself. 🙂
Charlie's Cha-Ching Chicken Wings will have to wait, Wendy! LOL Thanks for the belly laugh! And I agree. I read blogs for the opinions and voices of the blog owners, not for a contingent of STRANGERS WITH SOMETHING TO SAY! Get your own blog, people, and maybe organize it so you ALL post to the same place. Concentrate the crap in one location….
Lori,
Just yesterday (Wednesday) I wondered why I wasn't seeing any tweets from you to RT. You have kindly visited my blog and commented on posts, I noticed.
So, this a.m. I plunged into the virtual world first thing and hopped over here to leave a comment — only to discover it's That Time of the Year already.
Aarrgh! So sorry I didn't catch it sooner. Then I rushed back to my place, having swiped your image, and posted about Writer's Worth Day (assuming Posterous shoves what I sent up Blogger's API).
I had not taken time to read your tips yet. How amusing that I should take the "starving writer" tack and now see you're having a contest with a prize from the "Well-fed Writer" Oh! The irony of it.
Actually, my tip was for people to come over here and read yours. I can't think of a better way to celebrate than by boosting each other!
Georganna @ A Writer's Edge
@GLHancock on Twitter
Whoops! Blogger is not cooperating or, perhaps, constipated.
You can still see the post at:
http://awritersedge.posterous.com/
Georganna, thanks for the link hugs, toots! I loved your post. It was hilarious! I enjoy the 9-1-1 idea (guys, you have to read her blog post – just too funny!). And your tip is duly noted. 🙂
I've been sending out tweets, but maybe at a different hour than you're seeing them. I did send a #FF shout out to you recently – are you not seeing those?
I'd bet on the latter! LOL
I tend to follow the old adage, "If it sounds too good to be true, it's not true."
Hey, some cliches are true!
See? Even the ones that sound too good to be true! How ironic! :))
Darn, Darn, Darn! I thought for sure Charlie's Cha-Ching Chicken Wings would be guest posting soon.
Alright, time to go before my squirrelly mood gets me into trouble.
No, but look for Samson's Slam-banging SEO Strategies, coming soon…. 🙂