There are a few people from my past who keep showing up occasionally wanting favors. They don’t ask how I am, nor do they care. They want help. Free help. And they want it yesterday. They’re life suckers – they roll into my life and suck up any and all free time, help, money, etc….
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Murphy’s Law and Putting Your Foot Down
It never fails – the minute I’m facing a slow day and I think maybe I’ll take the laptop and disappear into the local cafe, the work comes flying at me like those monkeys in the Wizard of Oz. That was my yesterday. Two small projects that I could have finished by 11 am were…
No You Didn’t
I was reading a fun post by Maria Schneider the other day about the stupid things people say to writers. Go read the “You Get Paid For That?” post. I’ll wait…. So what was the stupidest/rudest thing someone said to you upon learning you were a writer? We’ve all heard the “Oh wow! I’ve always…
Is Time Off a Deal Breaker?
Good news on the work front – a call came in yesterday from what turned out to be a potential client. Honestly, the client identified his company, but having at least 12 calls a day from telemarketers, it wasn’t until I hung up I realized he was calling about work. He’d asked if I had…
Even Cheerleaders Need Prozac
I didn’t want to admit it, and I tried keeping my chin up and my cheerleader game face on, but it’s no use. Work, right now, is mighty tough to come by. Maybe it’s not fair to compare one year over another, but last year at this time I couldn’t keep up with the projects….
Can We Charge for It?
On Twitter the other day a fellow writer was lamenting how she’d spent quality time putting together a proposal for a client she suspected had no money. Turns out she was right. She wondered out loud (in Twitter Land) if there was something to be done so that she could stop spinning her wheels and…
And the Winner Is….
…Stacy Quarty! You are the winner of the Amazon e-gift card. Send me a note with your preferred email (just click on the link to the left there) and I’ll send your Amazon card today! Here’s how we decided – I went to Random.org and typed in numbers 1 through 10 as values (I’d posted…
What I Finally Get About Twitter
Update on the Great Social Networking Experiment I get it, okay? I finally understand that Twitter, like any other social networking tool, works as well as you make it work. It takes a little time to get your rhythm, but it does work. Here’s what I’ve learned about Twitter: Twitter in small doses. My first…
Three Years and Counting
Three years ago today, I posted my first blog entry and wondered “If I write it, will they come?” They did. At first in trickles, but three years later the Words on the Page blog is a thriving little community of commenters, online chums and offline friends who keep coming back for more. I’m honored,…
Giving Good Phone
Last week I had a call that was expected to take 20 minutes. An hour and a half and several failed attempts to interrupt the talker later, I made excuses and hung up. It was gawd-awful. Worse, the caller was offended when I halted the one-sided conversation. Devon came to my rescue beeping in on…