What I’m reading downstairs: Spartina by John CaseyWhat’s on the iPod: Conductor by We Were Promised Jetpacks If you haven’t read Jenn Mattern’s in-depth examination of Demand Studios, please take ten minutes to do so. She’s done an excellent job laying things out for writers to take what they want from it. And she’s gone…
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Are You Settling?
What’s on the iPod: Peace Frog by The DoorsWhat I’m reading: Transparent Things by Nabokov (almost finished) Thanks to Devon for sending me a link to this article about newspapers now outsourcing to Demand Studios. Read it and weep. Loudly. While this news is disturbing and may indeed indicate a downward trend in publishing, what…
Nudging the Client
What I’m reading upstairs: Absalom! Absalom! by William FaulknerWhat’s playing on the iPod: Sometime Around Midnight by The Airborne Toxic EventYou? Toddle on over to Anne Wayman’s site for my latest post. Sometimes when work is slow in coming – like now – I nudge clients. I send out emails. Nothing new there, except what…
What Lost Taught Me About Freelancing
What’s on the iPod: Tupelo Honey by Van Morrison What I’m reading upstairs (I have upstairs books and downstairs books): The Thich Naht Hahn Collection Love it or hate it, Lost became a television phenomenon – a wild ride through suspended rationality and a lesson in faith over fact. When it ended on Sunday, reactions…
The Passive-aggressive Client
What I’m reading: Transparent Things by Vladimir NabokovWhat’s on the iPod: The Twist by Frightened Rabbit Like that? I thought it might be fun to share what we’re reading and listening to. Spent a great Friday off with a writer friend I’ve known for a while, but never met. She and I hit it off…
Friday Stuff and Ponderings
It’s been a rough week. Emotionally, anyway. Work hasn’t exactly been front-and-center, but it’s probably a good thing. I sat down yesterday afternoon with all intentions of putting together an article for one of my favorite magazines. Instead, I wrote a farewell note to a dying friend, one I haven’t seen in years, but one…
Your Writing Script
Over on Anne Wayman’s blog, Helen Kaiao Chang has a great post up about the writer as a salesperson. Helen outlines why we writers need a sales script, which has helped her increase her business significantly. But what’s in a sales script? Does that sound cold and repetitive? It’s not. My script is this –…
Wearing the Wellies
As I extend out into new areas trying to expand the client base, I realize just how prevalent and how deep the crap jobs have become. This week seemed especially bad, probably because I had a temporary lapse in judgment and checked out Craig’s List. Here are some sample red flags from just one day:…
Wheel Spinning
Sometimes you get those weeks where nothing is getting done, don’t you? Yesterday it was a trip to the ER to make sure the chest pains weren’t serious (they weren’t – they seem to be acid reflux, amen). My man came from work to sit with me and showed about the same level of concern…
Disturbances
Thanks one and all for the participation and camaraderie that helped make the 3rd Annual Writers Worth Day a success! I’ve heard from a few writers who have said this day and our efforts have stopped them from taking content mill jobs or jobs beneath their value. In my eyes, that means we’ve reached our…