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My new freelance job has begun!

LaurelB

Senior Member
Messages
139
Congrats, Jody!! Well done! You must be so excited. I hope this is the start of even more great things soon to come for you. :)

Best wishes,
Laurel
 

Jody

Senior Member
Messages
4,636
Location
Canada
Thanks Laurel.

I am really excited. I only got back on the net 3 months ago so it's a bit like a dream.

I am hoping for some really great things for you too. Whether it's Gupta' program, or some other thing(s) that you come across, I am hoping for some healing for you.

In the meantime, I am hoping we can post interesting enough stuff on here to keep you entertained. :D
 

InvertedTree

Senior Member
Messages
166
How wonderful for you! I'm always inspired when people with this illness can return to some sort of work life.
 

Jody

Senior Member
Messages
4,636
Location
Canada
Hi Terri,

Thanks so much. It is pretty exciting after being unable to do much for so long. Not too long ago I would have said this day could never come.

So, anything can happen. :)

Welcome to the forums. :)
 

Lisa

Senior Member
Messages
453
Location
Western Washington
I'm going to Learn something from Frickly here and just say congratulations too. I sit with these pages open for days, waiting till I feel able to say more than that. Forget the waiting! :D

Congrats :)

Lisa :)
 

Jody

Senior Member
Messages
4,636
Location
Canada
LOL

Yeah, Lisa, I do that too. But a simple Congrats works fine for me. :)

Besides, you already wrote me a biggie last week when I had some other good news about my new contract.:D

So now you have done both. Good for you! ;)
 

Jody

Senior Member
Messages
4,636
Location
Canada
Well, thank goodness my job with EmpowHer.com has begun because my other job with EduBook.com has just come to a screeching halt.

Not sure how the situation came about, I was writing for them for about a month, made about $100 and things seemed fine. Then, with the last round of titles (4 in this last batch) the editor told me that my writing was full of errors. But he didn't have the time to go over them with me. I was supposed to go over all 4, because all 4 were full of errors (his phrase) and not acceptable.

This was after I'd been waiting for him for a week to get back to me on what needed fixing on one of those articles. Meanwhile, I am not making any money and not getting any more writing done, I am waiting on him.

And he has been throwing me offbalance this week (bad for someone prone to vertigo:D) by blowing hot then cold in his correspondence with me. One minute I am a promising writer the next I am a pain in the neck with bad writing habits. He told me he is a busy man and doesn't have time for this.

But he's the editor -- shouldn't he be helping me ... edit? That's what my other editor would do, and she does it diplomatically without calling my abilities into question.

And that's what I used to do when I was an editor on my site before I got sick. If I wanted a writer to change something, I went through their article with them and detailed what changes, and why. How else are they going to know what you want from them? So you do that a few times, take the time and then they are usually all set. And without the patronizing undermining talk.

I sat down last night to see if I could re-write these 4 articles, made a couple attempts and realized, I have no idea what he wants. And each time he emailed me about it (3 times) he made me more and more unsure that I could even write. Plus now, the certainty that I write-They pay, was now gone.

And the question arose -- how many hours should I spend on a $5 articles -- and no guarantee I will see any money? I have no problem pounding out a penny a word. I've done it for a few different sites for 2 months. But, I can't see spending 4 hours on an article, doing numerous re-writes, trying to guess what he wants.

Talked with Al about it trying to decide what to do. Also posted on a writers' forum (don't worry, I'm still faithful here!:D) with my dilemma. I didn't hear anything back from there till this morning, after I'd already made my decision and sent my farewell email to EduBook. The other freelancer who responded this morning, though, echoed my decision to leave and look for other work. That was reassuring.

So that's what I'ma goin' ta do. I need to shake this off. :)
 

Lisa

Senior Member
Messages
453
Location
Western Washington
You've got my support on this Jody! :)

I fully agree with your decision. Not only is the amount of time spent for $5 an issue here - but the cost to your health from this stress is what really stands out to me. Sure, that money could go to something useful - but how much more would it have cost to heal back up from what this stress could be doing to your body.

Good job on seeing that this was a situation to be left behind. Decisions like this can be very hard when there is something you need from it (like money). Things will work out better and you can now put more of your time into the real paying job with EmpowHer!

And don't let some flip-flopping, down talking, unhelpful sort of guy cause you to question your writing abilities anymore. You are a proficient writer and worth more than the five bucks he was willing to pay you for your work. :) Now go give Al a hug for being there when you needed him, give yourself a shake back to normal, and keep on writing! hehe

Hugs!
Lisa :)
 

Jody

Senior Member
Messages
4,636
Location
Canada
Thanks Lisa

I think it was the right decision for me, but it has been discouraging the last couple of days, dealing with this.

You are right about the physical stress, I could feel it beginning. And on top of that, I have found myself feeling a bit tentative about my writing and I know that stems from this situation.

I have been really fortunate up till this point. I had some articles that they asked for changes in, at the other 2 sites I'd written for. But it was always done in a courteous way and they stayed with me on it patiently until I knew what they wanted, and until I could get it done.

It's funny how getting many positive responses can get pale, after one negative one. :rolleyes:

I know that in the writing business, you have to keep your ego in check, and be prepared to get your work critiqued. That's what it's all about, so you can produce something that is really good work. I have been really, really lucky up till now with all the encouragement I've received these past few months.

Needed a little more encouragement today. Thanks for bringin' it. :)

I will go give Al that hug now. I'll tell him, -- Lisa said! :D

I've been a bit ... absent on here since mid-day yesterday as I was sitting on this thing. Gotta make dinner now but I should be able to be back and present in a few hours. :)
 

Frickly

Senior Member
Messages
1,049
Location
Texas
Jody

Sorry about your other job but I hope you don't take it personally. There are alot of people in the world that get their self esteem from making others feel bad about themselves. You should feel good about taking control of the situation and moving on. I am sure there are better things to come for you in the future.

Take care,
 

Jody

Senior Member
Messages
4,636
Location
Canada
Thanks Frickly.

I really appreciate all the encouragement and support.

I am feeling better today about the whole thing. Hearing these nice comments makes it easier. :)

As a matter of fact I just spent the last couple hours writing a couple of articles and getting them up on Ncubator.

Just the extra therapy I needed.

Thanks so much for backing me, it means alot.
 

KC22

Senior Member
Messages
161
Location
Ohio
Hi Jody,

Congratulations on your new job!! You will be great.

P.S. I am glad you decided to stick around here, too!!
 

Jody

Senior Member
Messages
4,636
Location
Canada
Thanks KC,

Had to dump another online writing job I had the other day.

This new one (which doesn't feel new and intimidating because I had already been dealing with them) helps to keep my hope up.

I'm glad I decided to stick around here too. I love this place. :D
 

Jody

Senior Member
Messages
4,636
Location
Canada
I've been working for empowher.com for 2 wks now, submitted 4 articles, all seem to have been well-received.

So I was enjoying this fact after the last submission, relaxing a bit. Then remembered, I had to do it again THIS week.:eek:

I guess I will get used to this, as I've gotten used to everything that has led up to it. The first time I ever submitted an article, after I clicked Send, I thought my heart would stop. :eek:

Doesn't have that effect any more thank goodness. But with each new article needing to be written, I seem to go through an initial stage of stewing because I don't know what to write about. Then I have to research it and get all balled up in that for a day, trying to get it all to come together and make some kind of sense and be worth someone's while to read it.

Then, I finally can pull all the pieces together and make an article out of it. And hope... somebody wants to read it.:rolleyes:

Went through the stew process yesterday and today, I think I have an almost finished product ... then, I'll do it again later this week.

I do love it though. I just have to get the rhythm of things again. They seem to keep changing on me lately ... :)
 

Jody

Senior Member
Messages
4,636
Location
Canada
I am pretty excited right now.

I've been freelancing for empowher.com, a women's health website, for the last 6 months, and I just got a raise. :D

I've been writing 8 articles a month for them, 6 on Brain / Nerves and 2 on CFS. And now they are letting me write 16 articles a month. The ones on Brain / Nerves and CFS, and now 8 more on the delectable subject of Kidneys / Urinary conditions. Double the writing for double the payment.

It is still what one would consider part-time work and still not enough to live on every month. But things are definitely heading in the right direction.:Retro smile: