Did anyone see this headline?

Craigslist faces off against eBay

I knew that eBay was part-owner of Craigslist (according to this article, 28 percent). What I didn't know was that it was against Craigslist's wishes: A former Craigslist employee had sold the stocks to eBay.

Now eBay is apparently trying to strong-arm Craigslist. They are complaining that Craigslist is "trying to dilute its [eBay's] stake to reduce its potential influence over the company's board."

Knowing how eBay operates, I don't blame Craigslist one bit. Craigslist strives to create community and provide services for free, while eBay (who also owns PayPal) has the ultimate goal of raping users for every penny they possibly can.

Despite the problems with low-paying and non-paying writing gigs, I have found many of my best gigs — and longtime clients — on Craigslist. I hope they can continue to hold out against eBay!

Labels: news

I hope all the mommy writers had a great Mother's Day!

I, for one, spent Mother's Day with my "fur children." We took a walk in the morning, and in the evening I rode my horse and spent some time at the barn.

How did you spend your Mother's Day?

Labels: holidays

All work and no play this time of year gives freelance writers cabin fever this time of year! My last post was about the challenges I'm facing with the onset of warmer weather; this post will be about how to enjoy the warm weather enough to stave off cabin fever, but not so much that your business suffers.

Here are some tricks I usually use to get out and enjoy the weather:

1. Work outside. This one is my favorite, which is why it goes first. I love taking my laptop out on the front porch to work during the warmer months. (This year, though, I'll probably need to invest in a new battery — I have only about a third of the capacity as I had last summer.)

I may also try taking my laptop out to the barn to work this summer. That way I can be around my horse and still get work done. I may even have access to wireless there, since the stable owners have it up at the house!

2. Get out during lunch. Last summer I usually took an hour for lunch and just read. This summer I'll probably be spending long "lunch breaks" at the barn. The barn's owner, Karen, also has a full-time telecommuting job, and she often takes her lunch break atop her horse's back.

3. Take daily walks. Even if you don't get out to do much else, a walk is a nice treat. Last year during the warmer months, Michael and I took a walk every morning before he had to go to work. We're planning to do that again this year — providing I can readjust to the earlier schedule.

4. Go out in the evenings. I don't know about you, but summer always makes me think of socializing more. Being sure to get out occasionally in the evenings helps stave off cabin fever, particularly back when I was otherwise cooped up in the house for days on end.

5. Plan a day off for summer activities from time to time. Not too long ago, I rediscovered the advantages to taking a vacation. I also plan to take a day off here and there during the summer. Living in Colorado, heading up into the mountains from time to time is a nice treat; and of course, I'll probably spend at least one of those days at the barn.

Of course, the biggest problem with getting out during the summer is that it usually makes you want to work even less. Hopefully you are more disciplined than I am — I have no doubt that I'll be spending many unplanned afternoons at the barn this summer!

Labels: advice for writers

The weather is getting warmer now — and staying warmer. No more freak snowstorms between warm spells! But along with this warm weather comes a very tempting set of distractions.

I've always had my heaviest workload during the summer, so not having a chance to enjoy the warm weather has pretty much been the norm for me. This year promises to be different, since I now have horsey responsibilities to make sure I get outside regularly. Unfortunately, this also means that I have the unique challenge of trying to balance horse time with work time.

Yesterday is a good example of why this will be such a challenge: I had a horseback riding lesson at 12:30, which turned into an entire afternoon at the barn. As a result, I didn't get as much work done as I'd hoped. It's like the clock stops for me when I'm at the barn, even though it goes on ticking everywhere else. I can spend hours there and be perfectly content.

As a reminder for me and a tip for you, I am going to write my next blog post on how to find a proper balance between work time and play time.

Labels: freelancing

I recently started writing for METROMODE, a Denver gay and lesbian magazine. Although I'm straight and happily married, I have been writing for gay and lesbian publications for a couple of years now, starting with The Rainbow Babies during the summer of 2006.

Anyway, the April/May edition of METROMODE recently came out, and inside its pages is my first article for the magazine: a profile of Senator Jennifer Veiga, the Colorado legislature's first openly gay politician.

My name was even listed in the masthead under "Contributing Writers." I'm so proud!

Labels: my published work

A couple of weeks ago, I came across a Salon.com article by Catherine Price, chock full of tax advice and other suggestions for freelance writers.

Price has some pretty good advice for freelancers, such as maintaining a separate account for your business income and expenses, paying your quarterly estimated taxes on time, setting aside a percentage of your income for taxes (and then not touching it), and contributing to an IRA.

(For the record, I only do one of these, and that's to make my quarterly tax payments on time. I haven't self-destructed yet, so you might be okay with the bare minimum, too.)

Anyway, a few of Price's suggestions made me think, "Hey, that's me!" Here they are:

"Do not wear your pajamas after noon."

Yeah, I am sometimes (okay, often) guilty of violating that commandment. But I'm getting better! A few years ago (before I had my horse responsibilities to force me out of the house at least every other day), I would sometimes go a couple of days without changing out of my pajamas. But I'm getting better, I promise! Now I change into sweats first thing when I get up in the morning.

"Take a shower. At least every other day."

I can't tell you how relieved I am to know that I am not the only freelancer who struggles with this. Although visiting the barn frequently has created some incentive to bathe regularly, there doesn't seem to be much point when all I do is hang out at home. And of course, there are also times when I am so busy that I feel like I don't have time to shower.

"Get health insurance."

When I read this paragraph, my jaw dropped. There is another freelance writer out there who is also type 1 diabetic! Someone else who knows what a nightmare health insurance can be for a freelancer! I just about jumped for joy. I don't even know Catherine Price, but I do know the heartache she went through dealing with our country's crappy health system... because I've gone through it too.

Anyway, I highly recommend Catherine Price's article for freelancers. My guess is there are a lot of things on this list that other freelancers can identify with.

Labels: advice for writers

I have interesting timing — Blogger just announced today, shortly after I first started experimenting with scheduled posting in Blogger in Draft, that the scheduled posting feature is now available to everyone in regular Blogger.

In other words, you don't have to log in to Blogger in Draft at all — just start future dating your posts from regular Blogger, and they'll publish at the date and time you schedule them!

Labels: blogging