What’s on the iPod: On Fire by Eminem
Note the new page for The Worthy Writer’s Guide to Building a Better Business.
To paraphrase Robert Burns, yesterday was one wad of best-laid schemes gang aft agley-ing all over the place. I started the day okay, working on another one of my side projects (and finishing it, amen). Then a quick trip to the local convenience store, with plans to buy – and mail off – my son’s favorite coffee quickly going down the tubes.
My car – my lovely, quirky, moody little car – decided yesterday was the day it would not start. I sat outside the convenience store waiting for whatever electrical issue is causing this intermittent sputtering to reset itself.
I tried my “Saab Repair Kit” – a bottle of tap water poured over the transmission – usually an easy fix. Nothing.
Ten minutes later I’m seeing my work day dwindle away. I gave up and called the daughter, got the lift home, then had her drop me off again on her way to work. It was an hour total – enough time for a fickle little Saab to exhale and say “Okay, I’m ready now.”
Like I said. Quirky.
And no, the coffee never made it to the post office.
I did have time in the morning to chat with a writer chum. There was plenty of lamenting (on both ends of the phone) the state of the market and the increasing frequency of what he calls the “ten cents a word” gigs. I call them other things, none of which are printable. He said he’s seeing more of these and fewer “legitimate” jobs. I’d love to say he’s wrong. But he’s not.
So what’s happening? My best guess – content farms and SEO cheap-o jobs have effectively driven down the rates.
So what can we do? Look somewhere else.
There are any number of great places to sell our work – places that pay us decent rates. They may be currently outnumbered by places not interested in paying those same rates, but they’re there if we look.
I’m a firm believer in perception creating reality – if I believe I’m not going to find anything better, guess what? I won’t. I “uh-uh” -ed my way through the recession, refusing to believe it would impact my income. It didn’t – until this year. And I’m still refusing to believe it. There’s something else going on. I’d rather believe I’m looking in the wrong places rather than give in to the easy opt-out.
So if the small-fry jobs are all that you’re seeing, you’re simply looking in the wrong places. Repeat that until you believe it. And while you’re doing so, start looking elsewhere.
Today I hope to get my article roughed in and get a press release started for a new client. Plus a few blog posts and hopefully some marketing for both the e-book and the soon-to-come project.
It’s mid-week: how are you doing?
11 responses to “Mister, Can You Spare a Dime?”
You should remove the distributor cap next time and see if it has a bad seal and it letting water in. If so, dry it out and she should start up. Then you need to get it replaced and she should behave a bit better on those icky wet days. If you have something where moisture's getting where it shouldn't (not uncommon w/ rainy day no-starts), not sure pouring water in is the best idea. 🙁 You should take it to the Tires Plus guys over on 113. They've been quite good to me and I'm damn fussy about mechanics.
As for the gigs, I don't see fewer high-paying gigs at all. I see more small businesses entering higher paying markets (a trend that I've seen for years). I just also see more writers who don't look beyond the advertised gigs (big mistake). Just because more people are trying out cheap-ass content (and many of them will learn the hard way), it doesn't mean there are fewer good gigs out there. You're right. If you're not finding them, you're looking in the wrong places.
Good thought, Jenn, but that's not it. The problem has occurred in dry weather more often than wet. In fact, until yesterday I thought it was a conductivity issue – the water was acting as a ground, which was helping keep the thing running. Every time I pour water over the tranny, it starts. Except yesterday. I think my aim was off. 🙂
Great point, too. I think we tend to mistake what's being advertised as representative of the market. Not so. Look elsewhere. I contend those are not the jobs for us.
Finally feeling better, and getting started on the edits for ASSUMPTION OF RIGHT. My editor has great ideas!
my monday was extremely productive – i wrote an article, a column and finished off one smaller project. before i hit send on the article, one of my favorite editors sent me an unexpected assignment.
tuesday wasn't quite as productive. i voted, deposited a teeny-tiny check, fed the neighbor's cats and then the day derailed. i noticed the interior front door of one of the two vacant/foreclosed homes on my block was wide open, with no sign of any maintenance contractors or other legitimate individuals near the property. I called the police non-emergency number then spent the next two and a half hours trying to work while watching for the police. this was the second time police were called to my neighboring properties in less than one week. [not sure who called about a domestic disturbance last thursday, but those people moved out the very next day.]
one good thing happened on tuesday – a woman i 'met' through ravelry [a social networking site for knitters and crocheters] – asked to see my resume. she co-owns a design company and they need someone to write copy for their patterns. i'm sure i'm not the only knitting writer they found on rav, but at least they wanted to see the resume.
"Best-laid schemes gang aft agley-ing all over the place."
*Love* this – not sure whether to start incorporating it into daily conversation, have it embroidered onto all my shirts, or just add it to my e-mail signature 🙂
Also love your auto-repair technique, Lori. Will have to add that to my bag of tricks (which currently consists of "turn up the radio so I don't hear the rattle" and "cover the warning light w/ black tape & pretend it's not there anymore").
On the "real" topic of this thread, been a pretty productive week thus far — here's hoping Wed/Thurs/Fri continue the trend set by the previous two days!
On a quasi-related note, congrats again on the e-book. Purchased my copy Monday morn — looking forward to having some quiet time to curl up w/ it before too long.
Paula, don't you hate when it hits the fan like that? You think "Just work it in" and then something else comes up. And then something else, and then….
Email sig, Hugh. Definitely! 🙂
And the auto repair trick works for Catholic Saabs (they must be baptized) and to diagnose cracked ignition coil packs on Jettas. Soon I'll have my own Click and Clack show….
Thanks for buying the book, Hugh. I hope it helps in some way. 🙂
Your quirky car story left me chuckling. It reminds me of my old Datsun. It was my first car and I loved it so. When I first moved to Atlanta, it finally decided to die while I was driving on the interstate. The engine just shut off with no warning while I was traveling at 70mph. 🙁
I had a phone interview with a very pleasant dentist this afternoon so that I can begin working on his upcoming newsletter. Had lots of work on my plate today, but I'm looking forward to reading some of your ebook later this evening.;)
Those quirky cars are ones we grow accustomed to, aren't they Kim? I loved the reliability of my Jetta, but this one is capturing my heart through its weirdness. 🙂
Neat project you've got to work on! Sounds terrific. 🙂
Love them quirky vehicles. I once drove a Mecury Montego. The "repair kit" I had for that was a bunch of pennies. The only starter we could get for it was one for a Ford Torino. With a little creative ingenuity, it fit. I just had to slip in a penny every time the car wouldn't start. If I found pennies on the sidewalk, it would promptly be donated to the "repair kit" fund. Annoying, but I still felt it was an extension of me, ya' know.
Lori – Have you had the main relay checked? That's a pretty common start issue. But if you have to pour water on to cool things off, I'd still lean towards distributor problems. It might not be the cap letting fluids in, but sometimes they overheat which can cause the car not to start until it "rests" and cools down again (or has cool water poured over it). I've usually seen the opposite problem in the rain, but might be worth checking out. 🙂
You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water. Don't let yourself indulge in vain wishes.