I've been somewhat cryptic in my latest status updates on Facebook, and they have basically been alluding to what's been going on in my writing world of late.
Let me start this off by making as clear as possible the pure and undiluted, and really quite distilled, fact that it is 6:40AM here and I have been working at the kitchen table for the last 10 (ten) hours. Not straight, because I get up every hour or so to stretch. And I had to go get some Rockstar.
Am I getting ahead of myself? Can't tell.
Okay. So my client in Korea keeps feeding me lots of work. I could probably work on it full time two to three days per week. But there's so much other stuff to do during the daytime that I end up doing the lion's share of the work at night. So I have just finished something in the realm of 20 hours of work for this client. This is, of course, at my hourly rate of $25.
So that's nice. Tasty in fact. It's a lot of questions and extension activities, but I'm getting pretty good at it and I think it plays right into my strengths as an educator and writer.
I have to say right now that I am extremely grateful for this work. How wonderful it is to do something you love. Sure, this gets a little tiring and tiresome, but it pays and it is essentially what I love to do.
That's not all. I landed another client: it's basically a partner company of WeXL, the company I market for right now--which is another day job. And that day job is going okay, although with the recent goings on, I've had to keep the time I spend on that one to a minimum since it doesn't deal with deadlines so much.
So I wrote a website and sales letter for that new client, am in the process of tweaking that copy as they finalize things, and have already been paid on my invoice. Sweet!
I have a good friend who works with this new client as well, and he passed on the name of a fellow who was looking for a ghost writer to work with him on a large-ish instruction manual. I met with them three weeks ago and it went well. I spent some time with the material needing written up and sent along a sizable (very!) estimate, which is, albeit, negotiable.
Wow, I haven't slept in 24 hours (almost) and I think I just used 'albeit' correctly in a sentence. I'll just soak that up for a second.........................................zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Okay, I'm back. That should be able to be parlayed into good work, and ongoing work with that company as well, since the main client is a marketing company that specializes in web marketing. Funny, I specialize in web copy!
That's not all! HA!
I sold an article on Helium.com's marketplace. Incidentally, if you want to make some extra cash (it starts small but snowballs with diligence and patience) check out:
http://www.helium.com/marketplace?placement=CL45690
That article sold for $32. Not terrible. It was about how to make homemade bread.
I cashed out over $100 from Helium.com this last month. That was the result of my large collection of articles on there, about 8 or 10 new articles, and one sold marketplace article. Considering I spent about ten hours over the month on Helium, that's not terrible for a writing website.
Dang, my Pandora's playing U2's Mysterious Ways. I love this one. Actually, it's pretty much my favorite U2 tune.
But that's not all!
I got an e-mail from a publication out of Canada, one that has a print and online version and a readership of over 250,000 (does that mean they have 250,001?). This was the editor of this magazine that e-mailed me. She invited me to contribute regularly to their American offshoot. It's about gardening-- one of my favorite subjects to write about!
But that's not all!
But that IS all I can say right now. When the deal happens or doesn't happen (that's all the detail I can give right now, sorry!) I'll pass it on. But it could be big. I mean... uh... insanely big.
Kristi. Melinda. Kaye. Mike. (Amy too).
I owe you a huge thanks. Your advice (mostly Melinda and Kristi, but the others' support of this advice) to maybe focus on non-fiction was inspired. I know it. I am not abandoning fiction, but there's something I need to do in the realm of non-fiction. I can feel the shivers of excitement right now.
I'm not kidding. I'm trembling with this right now. Maybe it's partly the Rockstar, maybe it's the lack of sleep. I've simply got a certainty that I'm going the right way at this point. No doubt about it. And as I write that, the HOLY GHOST, who is the teacher and Comforter, confirms this certainty.
Why does so much of society, including me far too much of the time, discount our most important sense? I mean, our physical senses can be deceived so easily. But our other sense: the one many of us call soul, or spirit, or heart, or intuition is actually not so easily deceived. Yet we so easily mistrust it.
That's all for now.
Or not. Actually, the WeXL thing is going well too. It's neat to be marketing something, and beginning to be successful with that something, that actually helps people. I'll actually help a client save over $650,000 in interest alone over the next eight years!
Now that's all. The update I'd been needing to post for a while.
My head's above water now, so I've got to go leap in again. I'll do the bed thing first, though.
Showing posts with label clients. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clients. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Friday, May 2, 2008
Thursday night... really late
So today was my birthday, and yesterday, Wednesday April 30th, was my anniversary. All in all a festive time in the Garrett home. We were celebrating till late last night, so I wasn't able to stop by, but I figured I had better today.
I got my client's project done today, finally. I was insanely dozy today, but after a rather long nap, snapped out of it. I think that had better be my approach to a doziness that hits hard: take a nap. Yeah, I think so.
Anyway, I won't be doing anything with ChartedCourse until some business is cleared up. So that means tomorrow I will work on The Cabin for most of the day. I am excited.
Annemarie gave me, for an anniversary gift, a ticket to see Ironman tonight, so that's why it's so late. I thought it was marvelous. A very well done movie that was visually excellent and wonderful in all other ways as well. I also got bongos as a birthday present today, along with some CDs and a sweet Steelers jacket. I pretty much scored big time. I have people around me who must love me.
I have to go to bed now so I can get up and exercise. I'll be back.
I am going to write a bestselling novel. And I am going to do it soon.
carpe somnium
No more mucking about.
I got my client's project done today, finally. I was insanely dozy today, but after a rather long nap, snapped out of it. I think that had better be my approach to a doziness that hits hard: take a nap. Yeah, I think so.
Anyway, I won't be doing anything with ChartedCourse until some business is cleared up. So that means tomorrow I will work on The Cabin for most of the day. I am excited.
Annemarie gave me, for an anniversary gift, a ticket to see Ironman tonight, so that's why it's so late. I thought it was marvelous. A very well done movie that was visually excellent and wonderful in all other ways as well. I also got bongos as a birthday present today, along with some CDs and a sweet Steelers jacket. I pretty much scored big time. I have people around me who must love me.
I have to go to bed now so I can get up and exercise. I'll be back.
I am going to write a bestselling novel. And I am going to do it soon.
carpe somnium
No more mucking about.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Sheesh, been a while eh?
It's Monday night and it's been a tough day. Heck, a tough couple of days really.
I'll start at the beginning, sort of.
I had that interview on Thursday of last week, and it went more or less well. I fear I came off as inexperienced and unprofessional and unprepared. That's because I was unprepared, kind of. I had looked at the company's website and such, but the info I gleaned completely slipped my mind in the interview. It was laughable.
Anyway, I have no doubt that they will contact me this week, saying, "We've decided to go in another direction" or some such feather rejection.
Ahhh, Green Day just came on my Internet Radio. Nice.
Moving on. I had gotten a job from a client on Wednesday night but got pretty much nothing of it done until Friday. Then I finished it today. Friday was an interesting day. I spent my time on Helium, writing a few articles and then looking at jobs. It was kind of a blah day, unfortunately. I've been wanting to move back to Alaska lately, and it's kind of depressing because it's so expensive to live up there. We saw some lots for sale in Wasilla, one of which we might want to explore buying so we can build later, and that made me even more eager to get up there. Ugh.
So then Saturday was incredibly busy, with gardening work and other stuff, topped off by a last minute request to move somebody. I gathered some guys and we showed up, but it turned out the dude wasn't able to move. I have since been trying to help this fellow get his feet under him.
Sunday was busy as well, with Church meetings and several visits which went really well.
Today I had this client's project to do, but I woke up feeling sick, with a sore throat and running a slight fever. I hadn't slept all that well either, so it took me a while to get going. But get going I did and finally churned out the work.
Now I'm done. Tomorrow I will write 3-5 articles for Helium, rate for thirty minutes (this will take me two hours), then I will work up a newsletter for ChartedCourse.
I will then have the rest of the week to work on The Cabin, although I expect to get another job from this new client. If I do, I'll bash it out fast. Unless it's some esoteric topic like Medieval Minstrel Songs or something...
I got a call from a company I applied to a little while ago, which is called Pearson. They are an education company and I applied to be a technical writer with their SLC office. Anyway, I imagine that today's call was a preliminary interview. The guy I talked to said he would send my resume off to the hiring director in Salt Lake City.
So I should hear back from Spillman and Pearson this week. I'm also headed to Austin on Friday for an interview thing that lasts six hours. This is what they call an 'Interview Event' for all Texas Teaching Fellows candidates. See, the lame thing is that they just e-mailed me saying that they no longer have openings in my field of preference: ESL. But I already bought my tickets and I am excited to see what Austin's like. And it'll be neat to see Jena again, of course! The plan is to do the interview and get my name on a waiting list, even though teaching is not my first choice.
What this all adds up to is that I am feeling a little stressed (little... ha!). But I get to see mountains out my office window, I get hugs from kids during the day, smooches from Annemarie whenever she's around and I feel the need, so stress is a minor irritant when all is said and done.
Am I aiming too high as I try to get into a job as a technical writer? The truth is that I would prefer to be a copywriter or editor at a journalistic publication, but I'm having trouble finding openings for those anywhere that we want to live.
But in conclusion, on Friday I found a job that I could get as excited about as I am about The Friend. It's at Challenger School, which is a worldwide school for primary and grammar school. They are a great company and they want an educator who is a writer, or a writer who is an educator. I am both, so I really have to fight the hope that always seems to boil up when I find a choice job.
Why fight hope? That's dumb. Okay, I'm not going to fight the hope. If I compare hope and despair, hope comes out looking like a good cup of tea. So I figure I'll take it.
That's why I know I'm going to be a bestselling author, even if at the same time I write that doubt comes knocking.
carpe somnium
If you can't feel the determination, I can. In my bones, the corners of my eyes and the set of my jaw; I feel it.
I'll start at the beginning, sort of.
I had that interview on Thursday of last week, and it went more or less well. I fear I came off as inexperienced and unprofessional and unprepared. That's because I was unprepared, kind of. I had looked at the company's website and such, but the info I gleaned completely slipped my mind in the interview. It was laughable.
Anyway, I have no doubt that they will contact me this week, saying, "We've decided to go in another direction" or some such feather rejection.
Ahhh, Green Day just came on my Internet Radio. Nice.
Moving on. I had gotten a job from a client on Wednesday night but got pretty much nothing of it done until Friday. Then I finished it today. Friday was an interesting day. I spent my time on Helium, writing a few articles and then looking at jobs. It was kind of a blah day, unfortunately. I've been wanting to move back to Alaska lately, and it's kind of depressing because it's so expensive to live up there. We saw some lots for sale in Wasilla, one of which we might want to explore buying so we can build later, and that made me even more eager to get up there. Ugh.
So then Saturday was incredibly busy, with gardening work and other stuff, topped off by a last minute request to move somebody. I gathered some guys and we showed up, but it turned out the dude wasn't able to move. I have since been trying to help this fellow get his feet under him.
Sunday was busy as well, with Church meetings and several visits which went really well.
Today I had this client's project to do, but I woke up feeling sick, with a sore throat and running a slight fever. I hadn't slept all that well either, so it took me a while to get going. But get going I did and finally churned out the work.
Now I'm done. Tomorrow I will write 3-5 articles for Helium, rate for thirty minutes (this will take me two hours), then I will work up a newsletter for ChartedCourse.
I will then have the rest of the week to work on The Cabin, although I expect to get another job from this new client. If I do, I'll bash it out fast. Unless it's some esoteric topic like Medieval Minstrel Songs or something...
I got a call from a company I applied to a little while ago, which is called Pearson. They are an education company and I applied to be a technical writer with their SLC office. Anyway, I imagine that today's call was a preliminary interview. The guy I talked to said he would send my resume off to the hiring director in Salt Lake City.
So I should hear back from Spillman and Pearson this week. I'm also headed to Austin on Friday for an interview thing that lasts six hours. This is what they call an 'Interview Event' for all Texas Teaching Fellows candidates. See, the lame thing is that they just e-mailed me saying that they no longer have openings in my field of preference: ESL. But I already bought my tickets and I am excited to see what Austin's like. And it'll be neat to see Jena again, of course! The plan is to do the interview and get my name on a waiting list, even though teaching is not my first choice.
What this all adds up to is that I am feeling a little stressed (little... ha!). But I get to see mountains out my office window, I get hugs from kids during the day, smooches from Annemarie whenever she's around and I feel the need, so stress is a minor irritant when all is said and done.
Am I aiming too high as I try to get into a job as a technical writer? The truth is that I would prefer to be a copywriter or editor at a journalistic publication, but I'm having trouble finding openings for those anywhere that we want to live.
But in conclusion, on Friday I found a job that I could get as excited about as I am about The Friend. It's at Challenger School, which is a worldwide school for primary and grammar school. They are a great company and they want an educator who is a writer, or a writer who is an educator. I am both, so I really have to fight the hope that always seems to boil up when I find a choice job.
Why fight hope? That's dumb. Okay, I'm not going to fight the hope. If I compare hope and despair, hope comes out looking like a good cup of tea. So I figure I'll take it.
That's why I know I'm going to be a bestselling author, even if at the same time I write that doubt comes knocking.
carpe somnium
If you can't feel the determination, I can. In my bones, the corners of my eyes and the set of my jaw; I feel it.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
It's a late Wednesday night, but I figured I ought to report...
For most of today's work day I was perusing job listings. I actually ended up digging deeply in the Craigslist postings for Anchorage, since that is where my family and I ultimately want to end up. We've seen that there are lots for sale in a town outside of Anchorage and so our thoughts are turning more and more to how we can get back up there for good.
Anyway, I ended up applying to a job in the Salt Lake City area and to one or two in Anchorage as well. I apply to all these jobs and then I hear nothing back, so it's a little discouraging, but I'll keep on plugging along.
I also got another set of jobs from my newest client. This is turning out to be a good set up. I got a tiny start on it today and hope to get a lot of it done tomorrow. But I have an interview in SLC tomorrow, so I will probably finish the work on Friday morning.
I also wrote two articles for Helium today as well. Here they are:
http://www.helium.com/items/1003355-oprah-winfrey-certainly-omniscient
*This is a commentary on Oprah Winfrey's show, which I've never really approved of.
http://www.helium.com/items/1003275-peruse-annals-cinema-quickly
*This is an article about some of the best fantasy film villains of all time. It was a fun one to write.
I also got started on a mystery story for www.helium.com 's Marketplace, but it still needs work.
I need to hit the sack. I will be back tomorrow to report on the interview.
Gonna write a bestseller.
c a r p e s o m n i u m
Anyway, I ended up applying to a job in the Salt Lake City area and to one or two in Anchorage as well. I apply to all these jobs and then I hear nothing back, so it's a little discouraging, but I'll keep on plugging along.
I also got another set of jobs from my newest client. This is turning out to be a good set up. I got a tiny start on it today and hope to get a lot of it done tomorrow. But I have an interview in SLC tomorrow, so I will probably finish the work on Friday morning.
I also wrote two articles for Helium today as well. Here they are:
http://www.helium.com/items/1003355-oprah-winfrey-certainly-omniscient
*This is a commentary on Oprah Winfrey's show, which I've never really approved of.
http://www.helium.com/items/1003275-peruse-annals-cinema-quickly
*This is an article about some of the best fantasy film villains of all time. It was a fun one to write.
I also got started on a mystery story for www.helium.com 's Marketplace, but it still needs work.
I need to hit the sack. I will be back tomorrow to report on the interview.
Gonna write a bestseller.
c a r p e s o m n i u m
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Yes, it's Saturday morning, but...
I figured I didn't post last night and there are a few things to mention, but from life in general and the writing career.
First, I bought a new laptop yesterday. I will be picking it up today; they needed to optimize its performance by getting all the advertising and trial junk off of it. While we didn't need the expense, I really needed it for work. More and more I'm needing to be online using several windows, or tabs, of browser for research while at the same time writing up notes. My current laptop was making this nearly impossible.
As for writing, I started working with a new client that I am hoping will keep giving me steady business. They seem like an ideal client, so I am excited. I also wrote four articles on www.helium.com that are more or less pretty good.
http://www.helium.com/items/992409-beowulf-cinematic-ancient-poems
*This one is a critique of the movie Beowulf in general and particularly on Angeline Jolie's work in it.
http://www.helium.com/items/992366-there-doubt-original-trilogy
*This is a listing of the lamest Star Wars characters ever, with explanations attached. Somewhat amusing but mostly spot on!
http://www.helium.com/items/992327-licensed-clinical-psychiatrist-therapist
*This is an amusing commentary on the phenomenon that is Paris Hilton. I usually get pretty angry halfway through these commentaries on politics and celebrity and pop culture, so buckle up!
http://www.helium.com/items/992282-brother-visit-family-summer
*This is a slightly tongue-in-cheek discussion of whether hybrid cars are cool. The short answer? Yes, they are.
http://www.helium.com/items/989922-stonehenge-conjures-feeling-mystery
*This is the article that I wrote as a proposed title. Helium people, in all their wisdom (I say that with mostly sincerity), figured it worked inside an existing title. That's just fine. Anyway, it's about Stonehenge's real purpose. This is further practice with writing up new events, although since it's for www.helium.com, I need to keep it timeless. Thus, it's also speculative and a commentary.
And that's it for now. I have to get to chores and yard work and stuff. I might tear out a tree today-- we'll see.
Gonna write me a bestseller. This is MY somnium to carpar. Okay, I don't know if I did the infinitive correctly there. Anybody want to guide me?
First, I bought a new laptop yesterday. I will be picking it up today; they needed to optimize its performance by getting all the advertising and trial junk off of it. While we didn't need the expense, I really needed it for work. More and more I'm needing to be online using several windows, or tabs, of browser for research while at the same time writing up notes. My current laptop was making this nearly impossible.
As for writing, I started working with a new client that I am hoping will keep giving me steady business. They seem like an ideal client, so I am excited. I also wrote four articles on www.helium.com that are more or less pretty good.
http://www.helium.com/items/992409-beowulf-cinematic-ancient-poems
*This one is a critique of the movie Beowulf in general and particularly on Angeline Jolie's work in it.
http://www.helium.com/items/992366-there-doubt-original-trilogy
*This is a listing of the lamest Star Wars characters ever, with explanations attached. Somewhat amusing but mostly spot on!
http://www.helium.com/items/992327-licensed-clinical-psychiatrist-therapist
*This is an amusing commentary on the phenomenon that is Paris Hilton. I usually get pretty angry halfway through these commentaries on politics and celebrity and pop culture, so buckle up!
http://www.helium.com/items/992282-brother-visit-family-summer
*This is a slightly tongue-in-cheek discussion of whether hybrid cars are cool. The short answer? Yes, they are.
http://www.helium.com/items/989922-stonehenge-conjures-feeling-mystery
*This is the article that I wrote as a proposed title. Helium people, in all their wisdom (I say that with mostly sincerity), figured it worked inside an existing title. That's just fine. Anyway, it's about Stonehenge's real purpose. This is further practice with writing up new events, although since it's for www.helium.com, I need to keep it timeless. Thus, it's also speculative and a commentary.
And that's it for now. I have to get to chores and yard work and stuff. I might tear out a tree today-- we'll see.
Gonna write me a bestseller. This is MY somnium to carpar. Okay, I don't know if I did the infinitive correctly there. Anybody want to guide me?
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