What It's Really Like To Be A [Freelance] Copy Editor

As an editor, over the years I've had all kinds of queries tossed at me that hinted at mistrust of my capabilities. For instance, one client insisted ahold wasn't a word because Microsoft Word spell check instisted it be two. Another asked me why I put commas before names in all her dialogue (e.g., "What's freaking up with this, Kathy?"). When I explained that it was because it was the correct thing to do, she actually got out a published book to see if it was done that way. When she discovered it was, her trust level obviously rose, but did I receive an apology? Nuh uh, of course not.

So when I discovered this article online quite a while back now, What It's Really Like To Be A Copy Editor by Lori Fradkin, I found myself nodding my head a lot. (Note that it's two words, not one.)

I particularly related to Fradkin's assertion that "Once you train yourself to spot errors, you can’t not spot them. You can’t simply shut off the careful reading when you leave the office. You notice typos in novels, missing words in other magazines, incorrect punctuation on billboards." Yeppers, reading my poorly edited local papers is actually painful for me these days.

Then there was her comment about how "Another downside of the job is that only your mistakes are apparent. The catches are basically invisible." You betcha. I've edited some pretty messy manuscripts in my time, sometimes to the point where the page is more red than black. But 9 times out of 10 it's that overlooked missing period the client's singularly focused on.

"And if you are working online, commenters will let you know so." Yeah, don't even get me started on that one.

Read it and weep ... with empathic relatability.

The Ultimate Get-a-Clue Freelace Request for the Week of September 27, 2010

This week's Middle Finger Award is one of biblical proportions...

Project Description: Music/poetry book proof reader

Specific Project Request: ASCAP musician/writer has fascinating new spiritual book that we seek proofing on. Prefer proof reader to be knowledgeable about William Blake/Bible, and also be familiar with music lyrics etc. Since this is interesting/preview read, paying $50.(payment made per completion, as we have references). Please send qualifications.


You know, all that dramatization about your project being "fascinating" and "an interesting read" doesn't change the fact that you're offering chump change in exchange for the wide breadth of knowledge (and expensive education) you're seeking. Now, I know this $50 is just a token of your appreciation and that the real payout comes from the privilege of being among the first to read a manuscript that's going to change the world and all, so I'll just point out one more thing. The fact that you have references is pretty meaningless. I have references too, which is why I often demand upfront deposits. So let's just dispense with the whole "per completion" crapola too. Screw you!

International Freelancers Day

For those of you who are unaware, tomorrow is International Freelancers Day. I wish I had the time to participate in the free online conference. It looks like a stellar lineup. If anyone else takes part, please do drop by the comments section and let us know what you thought.

Business Card Winners Please Contact Me

My winners for the free business cards contest were:

1. Tex
2. Don Shepard
3. Rachel V. Oliver

As of today, I haven't heard from any of you, and most of your don't have contact info in your Blogger profile. Please email me at the email address in my Blogger profile by 11:59 p.m. EDT Wednesday, September 22 with your mailing addy or I'll be forced to pick alternate winners.

Thanks!

Guest Post: Beware the Freelancer's Foe

While I'm on vacation, I bring you a guest post by Alexis Bonari...

As a freelancer, I've done shameless things for money. Most recently I wrote seven hundred hot sauce descriptions (there are only so many words that rhyme with "heat" by the way.) At a buck forty a description and a couple of jalapenos away from pulling my hair out, I decided that the freelancer is probably one of the most vulnerable of professions. Maybe it's because there are a billion of us clawing for the same job or perhaps it's because there are a billion idiots out there just waiting to get snowed for five bucks an hour so we can work from home, I don"t know. But I DO know that there are few rules to freelancing without getting screwed.


Clues that this job is gonna suck...

In my experience, if the description for a freelancer is posted as "Anywhere in the US", hang it up, it ain"t worth the hassle.

If the ad for a freelance job contains a link to another site with additional info, forget about it! I tried this one and fell asleep half way through the intro paragraph.

Any ad with the phrases "new writers, work from home moms or students" in the title ain"t worth the time you'll waste sending in your resume.

My personal favorite are the ads that contain misspelled words in them! If you don't have time to proof your own ad, you should be looking for a writer to type the ad up for you. Signing up for a website is a great way to get put on a junk mail list, but if you want a real job, pass this scam up.

If you've seen the ad over and over again, move along, nothing to see here folks.

And last, but not least, the famous "pay this much and start writing today!" ad. Really? I"m broke and looking for a job, please, take my money!


Bio: Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She often can be found blogging about general education issues as well as information on college scholarships. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

The Ultimate Get-a-Clue Freelance Request for the Week of September 13, 2010

Project Description: TRUTH AND HONESTY WRITERS AND EDITORS (East Denver)

Specific Project Request: TRUTH AND HONESTY WRITERS AND EDITORS


Wanted – Editors/Writers To Sift Through 10 Years Of Our Truth And Honesty Writings Into Approximately 500 Different Primary Subject Matters Of Life, After Which We Will Publish “The Truth About ________” Booklets On Each, And Make A Fortune.

Many Positions Open. Successful Candidates Must Excel In Three Personality Traits – Loyalty, Willingness, And Obedience. Besides Your Prime Duty, The Job Requires Doing Anything You’re Told To Do Without Protest Or Objection. This Can Range From Cleaning The Office, To Answering The Phones, To Menial Tasks, To Subservient Tasks, And, Of Course, The Hardest Job Of All For Humans – Shutting-Up.

High Self-Esteem Is Also A Plus As This Environment Is Extremely Demanding Of Perfection And Winning, And Accordingly, Is Brutally Honesty With Character Flaws. When You’re Smart, We Tell You, When You’re Stupid, We Tell You, When You’re A Bitch, We Tell You. And If You Don’t Like These Rules, Don’t Apply.

All Positions Are Lifetime, And Anyone Who Quits Within One Year Is Responsible For The Costs Of Their Training.
This Is A Hard-Core, Straight-Up, Truth-Focused, Honesty-Focused, Love-Focused, And Success-Focused Environment. The Meek And Weak-Minded Need Not Apply. Hard-Core Christians Typically Don’t Make It Either, And Need Not Waste Their Time Or Ours.

Our Methodology Is Proven And We Are Not Interested In Any Modifications To It, By Those Who Don’t Agree With Everything, Or Think They Have A Better Idea. It’s Our World And You Can Accept The Entire World Or Reject The Entire World, But Suggestions To Altering The System Will Be Met With A Quick And Resounding “Shut-Up.”

This Is A Ground Level Opportunity To The Intelligent, Fearless, Loyal, Willing And Obedient. Obviously, Strong English Skills Are A Plus, But Any Willing Person Is Easily Trained.

This Is A Big Mission Tailored To Big People, Who Can See That It’s Time To Change The World, Because Our Primary Job Is To Save it.

And In Case You Haven’t Been Watching The Weather Reports, Or The World-Wide Economic News Lately, Time Is Running Out.


Compensation: Varies Greatly Depending On Individual.

Now, this is the most blatant example of capitalization abuse I've ever seen ... and I've been seeing a LOT of said grammatical liberty-taking lately, let me tell you. That's only part of the reason I selected this ad as my Middle Finger Award winner though. Obediance and shutting up? Sorry, but those two traits don't mesh with high self-esteem and perfectionism, at least not in my book anyway. I'm going to assume this entire post was a farce, but just in case it's not, Screw You!

Freelance Business Card Winners ...

Drumroll, please .....

And the random winners of the business cards are:

1. Tex
2. Don Shepard
3. Rachel V. Oliver

Will each of you email your contact information to me privately so I can pass it along to the event sponsor? (My email address can be found in my Blogger profile.) I will be away for a few days, so if you don't hear back from me immediately, don't worry. I'll give you all a week to respond before I pick alternate winner(s).

Congratulations, and thanks for playing along!

Freelance Pandering for Votes

It's a rare occasion when I ask favors of my blog readers, but I recently entered a travel writing contest that I'd love to win. Although the quality of my writing has the potential to earn me a spot in the winner's circle, secondary prizes will be handed out to top vote getters. So, if you're so inclined, I'd be greatly appreciative if you'd follow these voting steps ...


Now your friends, family, and random folks you meet on the street can vote for your entry by:
1. Visiting your trip page between September 1-30, 2010. Please note: we moved up the end date for the voting to September 30, 2010. (My trip page can be found here: Basking Under Heaven's Angelic Wings in Engelberg, Switzerland)
2. Clicking the "Save" button.
3. Signing up or signing in to Trazzler with a full account that includes a user name and password so the vote counts. (Use a span-friendly email address if you're worried about unwanted email, although I haven't found this to be a problem.)
4. If anyone has trouble signing up or seems in any way voting impaired, send them here--> http://www.trazzler.com/signup then to your entry page (see above link) to click "save."

The Ultimate Get-a-Clue Freelance Request for the Week of September 6, 2010

Lori Widmer sent me this job posting a while back, knowing how much I and my readers would love it. She briefly featured it on her blog (which if you're not reading, you should be), so you may have already seen it. Regardless, it definitely warrants a Middle Finger Award.


Project Description: I write short sex stories and looking for them to be published (philly)


Specific Project Request: Hello I'm looking for someone that is willing to work with me on getting my sex stories out in stores, i got good stuff trust me it will leave you wanting more please respond so i can send you a sample of my work thank you.

Compensation: no pay

As I told Lori, my intuition is that s/he's not looking for a publisher at all. And "i got good stuff"? Yep, them thar's good writin skills! Gotta wonder if s/he's anywhere near as good as s/he thinks he is. I'm betting not, and I'm offering up a Screw You! to reflect how much more of this stuff I'm wanting.

Final Chance for Free Business Cards

I will be closing entries to the business card contest at 11:59 p.m. Monday (Labor Day here in the U.S.). So if you haven't entered yet, please hurry. Contest rules can be found here.

Freelance Quote of the Day

This may be the most Screw You! appropriate quote I've found to date!

"The bitterness of poor quality remains long after low pricing is forgotten!" ~Leon M. Cautillo