How much can I get for a dollar?

I really hate people who advertise low-paying writing gigs. No, guys, $1 is not a good rate. Not even for a beginner. No, we are not so desperate that we'll exchange a lousy dollar for the "pleasure" of seeing our work in print.

In my job search today, I responded to an ad that I thought sounded rather fishy. It was seeking "new" and "fresh" writers, and I thought it was probably low paying. Usually people who post ads looking for beginning writers have been told too many times that their payment rates are too low. I responded anyway, figuring if it was a good job, I'd be glad I applied, and if it wasn't, I'd give the poster a piece of my mind.

It wasn't a good job. It was actually a new ad for an old job that I saw a couple of weeks ago, where you write short "free writing" articles (they're not really free writing) for a dollar each. I wrote back, telling him his rates are too low. He sent me a dubious response, including the statement,

If you feel that you are so advance, why you searching for gig’s on Craigslist then?

Interesting.

I know I say this all the time, but I'm going to keep saying it until these slimeballs go away: don't take low-paying gigs! Don't work for a dollar! Just don't do it!

I'd also like to add to my mantra a request that others join me in this cause. When you see a low-paying gig advertised, tell the poster exactly what you think of them. There may not be a practical way to institute a writer's minimum wage, but at the very least we can do the virtual equivalent of tarring and feathering anyone who tries to take advantage of writers!

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An emphatic "Screw you!" to all petty criminals

Thanks to the loser who decided my eight-year-old CD player was worth breaking a window for, I have been dealing with the aftermath of the burglary all day.

I was able to get the police department to come out and dust for prints with surprisingly little trouble. The CSI got what she thought was one good set of prints, but of course it still may be mine. She also took the frame that surrounded my stereo, which the thief took off and left on the floorboard. They'll get prints from it in the lab.

I also talked to a neighbor who saw the thief. Unfortunately, he didn't see his face, but I still gave the CSI the neighbor's name and number. I'm still trying to make contact with a couple of other neighbors.

It was hard to get motivated enough to do anything this afternoon. I took a long time going to sleep last night, and just as long getting up this morning. I wanted to just stay in bed and sleep all day, or at the very least refrain from dealing with anything at all, but I did manage to get a bunch of things done...of which I am very glad.

I decided as I was falling asleep last night this thief - whoever he was - deserves a very emphatic "Screw you!" in the spirit of Kathy Kehrli. Why should I have to feel depressed and unsafe because of some jacka$$ who wants to make a quick ten bucks? So hold on while I give this petty criminal the proverbial finger...and make plans to (almost) never leave my house again.

My no good, very bad, horrible-a$$ day

Today should have been a fantastic day. I had a meeting with a local client that went incredibly well, and a meeting with my "NaNo" friends (local writers that I met during NaNoWriMo in 2006) scheduled for this evening.

And on this day - the one afternoon in weeks that I wasn't home - my car got broken into.

It was clearly a quickie job, because not everything of value was taken. The passenger window was completely shattered, and the stereo ripped out of the dash. They left the other stereo equipment, the papers in the glovebox, and even a wallet of CDs sitting in plain view. They didn't even take the time to cut the wires to the stereo - just pulled until they came loose.

The cops came and took a quickie report to go with the quickie theft; I have to call tomorrow and see if I can convince them to dust for prints. (I think they should, since several houses nearby were hit, and this is the second string of burglaries in the last few months... I want to feel safe in my neighborhood, but unfortunately the cops may not see it that way.) I'm also going to try to talk to more of the neighbors. Our next door neighbors heard the glass breaking around 2 or 2:30pm (within half an hour after I left!), so I'm hoping some of the other neighbors might have heard something more - particularly those whose houses are closer to the alley.

And of course, I have to replace the window. I'll get it at a junkyard, and it shouldn't cost very much, but that's still an expense that I wasn't planning on. The part I'm really not looking forward to is doing the actual replacement. In addition to what a pain it is to take off the door panel and dismantel the inner workings of the door, I'm also going to have to try to get out all the glass that fell down in there - without cutting myself in the process.

I'm pretty upset about the whole thing. Although my friends still came over, I had a hard time socializing. And there was absolutely no way I was going to get any more work done today. This entire thing has given me a lot more to do over the next few days - stuff I didn't have time for to begin with.

What a pain in the a$$.

I'm an expert author!

As I've already mentioned, I recently joined the Lieurance-King article challenge. Although I still haven't written or submitted any articles beyond my first two, I got an encouraging email today: my first article was accepted for publication on EzineArticles.com, and I have already been promoted to Expert Author status!

As for my other goals... Well, I was doing better about going to bed and getting up earlier. I was down to a 2am-3am bedtime, but then this morning I slept in horribly. I never even heard my alarm! Going to bed earlier may be more difficult tonight, but I'm determined not to lose ground so soon.

Goals update and time spent at bookstores

Before I talk about my goals and what I've achieved, I need to talk about bookstores.

Visiting bookstores is one of my favorite pastimes. Michael and I often go to Barnes & Noble to drink coffee, eat pastries, and work on homework (Michael) or work (me).

Right now I'm at Tattered Cover. For those of you who don't know what Tattered Cover, it's an independent bookstore in Denver - quite famous for its success, actually. This indie bookstore now has three locations, each one of them unique. Long before B&N was around, everyone in town knew that if you needed a book, Tattered Cover was where you would find it.

We're at the Highlands Ranch location, which is much more suburbanite than the other two. The others are in old buildings (one a big downtown building, the other an old theater), and are sprinkled throughout with comfy old armchairs and sofas, nothing matching. Although this particular TC doesn't have the same eclectic feel of all the non-matching furniture, I have to say that right now the modern leather armchair/recliner I'm sitting in is quite comfortable. I have my feet up and my 3-pound-laptop on my lap, and I'm feeling quite cozy at the moment.

It's also rather nice that Tattered Cover provides free WiFi. Few places in Denver do.

As for my goals for this week...

Schedule changes:

I've succeeded somewhat in shifting my schedule. Last night I was finally able to get to bed a little earlier (3:30am), and I got up this morning before noon (!). Don't congratulate me yet, though - it remains to be seen if the trend will continue.

The problem is that I generally start feeling a little tired at some point between midnight and 2am, but by the time I finish up my work and read for a bit, I'm usually wide awake again. So I keep reading.

I am happy to report, though, that I am tired right now - and have been for the past couple hours. Maybe I will be able to head to bed even earlier tonight.

Writing work:

I've gotten some good work done this week, although not everything I would have like to have done. The biggest relief was finishing several minor projects that have been on my to-do list for quite some time.

Unfortunately, I didn't get much work done today. Wednesday was my mom's birthday, so I took her out for lunch today, and we spent the afternoon together. As a result, I will still be working this weekend, as per my usual.

I signed up for the Lieurance-King Article Challenge!

I decided to participate in the Lieurance-King Article Challenge. I'm starting midway through (meaning I'll have to write very fast), but basically the idea is to write and submit 30 marketing articles by March 31st.

I have been wanting to try article marketing for a while now. I'm still not completely sold on the idea that it's going to provide enough marketing to make it worth writing for free, but I'm game to try it.

Besides, I write these types of articles for clients, so it makes sense that I should try doing it for myself, too. After all, if they're still hiring me, something about it must work, right?

Today I wrote two articles and submitted them to EzineArticles.com. I very quickly found that trying to keep the word count down (i.e. the 250-400 words that Kristen King recommends) is probably more time consuming than just writing the article. Perhaps I need to find topic ideas that will lend themselves better to shorter articles...

Anyways, I'll let you know when they my articles are live!

Spread the Google love!

Hey, everyone! One of my favorite freelance writing job search sites has gotten dissed by Google. If you use Deb's site in your job search, post a link on your own blog or site to help her earn back her search engine ranking!

If you've never visited the site, it's never too late to start - Deb's doing a fantastic thing by compiling a free DAILY list of freelance jobs!