Talking with a writing friend the other week, he expressed the need for a backup drive. He’s talking external drives. I should have one, too. I don’t, but what I have is pretty good – it’s Mozy. Mozy lets you back up your files virtually. You get 2GB of free storage. All you do is…
Bossing Around
Yesterday’s post included the link to a Yahoo! hotjobs article giving tips on finding a job that fits. The first tip was “Who’s the Boss?” Great question not only for job seekers, but also for those of us who have just taken on client projects. I’ve been on projects that have had a hazy line…
If the Job Fits
In a recent one-on-one with a potential client, I was doing my best to convince her I was capable of A, B, and C functions. Problem was she wanted D, E, and a smattering of F. We both came to that conclusion at almost the same time. She expressed reservations and then cited the group…
The Aging Office
I realized yesterday that my ancient tape recorder (seriously, I think I’ve had it more than 20 years) was dying. I could record, but the tape had both the new recording and older ones. At first I’d thought it was the tape, but after about four of them, I figured it had to be the…
How To Get The Job
Dear friend Anne Wayman has a great post on her blog detailing how to apply for freelance gigs. She includes the top two reasons why you’re not getting jobs now. Please read them. These are the mistakes I’ve seen writers do when answering ads. I know. I placed an ad once. And of all who…
Glass Ceiling or Timidity?
An interesting discussion is brewing on Allena Tapia’s About Freelance Writing blog. She shows a few articles that bring up the idea of a glass ceiling in freelancing. One article she points to is a New York Times piece on a perceived glass ceiling in blogging. Wisely, Allena doesn’t draw conclusions on the suggestion, but…
Background Checks for Clients
Many of you know about my run-in with an alleged scam artist. While he’s still making his way through the court system, it’s indicated that the authorities do have enough evidence to prosecute and that this man may indeed be found guilty of a number of charges. Since this episode, I’ve been extremely careful with…
The Maddening Silence
Don’t you love beyond reason doing a project, meeting a deadline, and never hearing back from the client? I finished a project four or five weeks ago – one of those “We really need to get this done ASAP” projects where I broke my neck to give them a great product on deadline. I did…
The Idea Files
Amanda at From Ink to Ether has a great post up about finding ideas by reading magazines and seeing trends within the articles. It got me thinking about how we writers find ideas for our queries. Like Amanda, I read trade magazines. Okay, not as thoroughly as she does, but I do read them. It’s…
Cleaning the Freelance House
I’m back. Let’s just say the fishing was adequate but not great. I did manage to catch two northern pike that measured up nicely. I won’t bore you with details as they weren’t all that impressive. But it was nice to see the parental units again and equally nice to spend time in the wilds…