I volunteered to teach a Vietnamese woman English. Every Wednesday for the past 2 years, we’ve met at the library and worked our way through new words, new idioms, and proper spelling. She gets the spelling part very well. Too bad we Americans don’t. We’re kind of lazy when it comes to spelling. Sure, English…
Down Time
Time spent on a swing is never time wasted. I bought a swing a week ago – one of those ones with a canopy and room for two. It’s amazing how much that little swing has changed my perspective. I sit down and I’m in a different world. I’m not running through lists of things…
Working with the Ebb and Flow
Jennifer over at CatalystBlogger had this post echoing my Seven Truths of Freelancing post of July 1. Jen’s points were equally true. A number of them stood out, but her point about learning to love the ebb and flow of our jobs stood out to me. It’s because right now, things are slowing down. That’s…
What Kind of Editor Are You?
I was meeting with a potential client last night about her book project. She came well prepared with an outline of what’s been done and what’s to be done on her manuscript. Amen. This is someone who understands how to organize! I can’t wait to get to her story. In the conversation, I asked her…
The Sexy Side of Technical Writing
Yesterday’s post showed you the downside of technical writing points, which are actually more your problem than ours (we tech writers, that is). We love what we do. And here’s why: 1. We can talk geek. Oh, honey. It’s sexy when someone opens up to a conversation with, “So, how are those captives of yours?”…
The Downside of Technical Writing
I write technical stuff. Okay, stop that yawning right now. When I say technical, I’m not talking math or science or even computers. I’m talking stuff you use or come in contact with, like insurance (okay, go ahead and yawn, but just for a second!), risk management, healthcare, offshore investing, accounting, financial services, sales reps,…
Terror and Self Doubt
I’m facing a brand-new project area today. I will meet with the client and go over her plans as well as my outline of her project. It’s an area I’ve long wanted to expand into, and the outline’s been written for a year. And I’m terrified. With all this experience, with the skill set I…
The Absence of Copy Editors
You just have to read it to understand. This article appeared in The Washington Post last month. Hysterical!
Six Phrases That Mean “I’m Not Paying”
By now we can pretty much recite most of these, but just in case you’re new to writing, here are some sure signs the employer has no intention of paying you for your work. 1. “This is a labor of love for us.” Time and again, this has gone on to say “….and for that…
Defining Success
Saw an interesting post somewhere on the blogosphere about a writer whose friend looked down on her, took pity on her for not making the kind of money he does (that could be any number of blogs, eh?). Okay, that’s just wrong. Pitying someone for making less than you do? What the heck? One thing…