freelance-zone.com

Documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney is responsible for a new film about my favorite American literature icon. Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson looks like a must-see, it’s just hit the cinemas so I can’t comment about the film just yet but I am excited to see a feature-length doc on one of freelance writing’s most notorious names. 

As a freelancer, Thompson was a fascinating character. He often cracked under pressure, blowing so many high-profile gigs that it’s hard to believe he ever got an editor to take him seriously. His most famous work, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, came as the result of a failed freelance assignment. He was fired from Time magazine, had an ongoing tempestuous love/hate relationship with Rolling Stone, and spent his final years writing an often-late, slightly on-topic column for Sports Illustrated. It was the Thompson way, love it or hate it. Somehow, he managed to make it all work in the end.

The movie is tantalizing, as it features many of the people who figured largely in Thompson’s writing and those infamous collections of letters, The Proud Highway and Fear and Loathing in America. Jimmy Carter, Pat Buchanan, George McGovern, Johnny Depp, and Thompson’s first wife Sandi Wright are just a few of the people highlighted.

When Hunter Stockton Thompson shot himself on February 20, 2005, the western world of literature lost one of its most unique voices. There won’t be another like him, which is probably one of the reasons the documentary was made. Just who was this amazing, mad writer? If you don’t know much about the man or his work, this film is an excellent place to begin–after reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, of course.

You can catch this interview with Gonzo director Alex Gibney which will more than whet your appetite for the documentary. It was shot at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, and features Plum host Jeb Berrier. I’ll file a report on the film after the holiday.

Worldtimeserver.com is a perfect resource for those who do a lot of interviewing. Need to know what the time is in New York or Japan? Just type it in and look it up. Finding the time anywhere is a snap with this website…good to know if you have an important source to talk to that isn’t in your neighborhood…

Are you a writer who is trying to get into photography? Some people find that the world of digital photography is filled with definitions and words that they don’t know. That can make reading directions or following instructions extremely difficult in the beginning. Learn more about the terminology here.

Once you know how to provide photography for your articles, you will add another layer to your money-making ability. I highly recommend it.

Gizmodo, one of my favorite gadget blogs, has accidentally come up with a brilliant marketing idea. Intended as a spot of harmless fun, the entry “Harass Your Neighbors With Your Wi-Fi Hotspot Name” advises people to rename their wi-fi networks all kinds of amusing, snarky things including “ISawYouNaked” and my favorite, “KeepThatNoiseDown”.

Funny thing is, this can also work well for marketing your writer’s blog or resume site. Do you have a short URL? FreelanceZoneDotCom might just fit, though I haven’t tried yet. How many people are within range of your wi-fi network? You might just discover a sympathetic neighbor, or even a fellow freelancer lurking in your ‘hood.

Of course, you can always resort to “YourDogWon’tShutUp” but isn’t a nice friendly chat with the offending neighbor a better way to go? Especially when you’ve got shameless self-promotion to consider.

There are many weeks that I wind up working every day. This really isn’t as bad as it sounds though…

I just totally blew off work for the past few days. Spent time with family. Hung out. Took naps. Ate out. Granted, I have to make up for it now, but working for yourself allows you that liberty. That luxury.

Most weeks I work on and off during the day and a little bit on weekends too. I find it is actually very easy to do once you realize that your workload can be subdivided into little chunks that you can chip away at however you want. This kind of career is not for the unmotivated or the procrastinator, but if you don’t fall into those categories, you can make a fine living at this type of work by simply doing it a little bit at a time. 

So why this post then? I guess it is for the newer writers. A little inspiration to keep at it. Working hard in the beginning allows you some “perks” later on down the line in terms of how you live your life. I won’t lie and say it is easy, but if you want it, and you are willing to work for it, it’s out there for you. And working 7 days a week isn’t so bad when you can pick your own hours–or blow off an entire day (or two)–just because you feel like it. Oh, and one more little secret….I generally don’t put in a full workday either!

Indeed. Now it’s back to work!

I read a great post just now by John Windsor on his Cultural Radar blog. Windsor made some observations about people who are so tied to their cell phones, PDA, e-mail, and instant messaging that a new phenomenon seems to be emerging. Techno-lonliness is what he calls that feeling of being cut off from the rest of the world because you can’t or aren’t allowed to access your gadgets (mid-flight, for example).

What really got my gears turning was the reply by a reader discussing the expectations of people who employ you (freelance writers, take note). For some–myself included–it’s that expectation of an editor or client who assumes instant access to you any time they want.

This can be a dilemma for those of us who are at once serious workaholics, but also want to take time to enjoy life outside of the 15-inch screens that dominate our world.  Just today I caught myself contemplating the purchase of a Palm Treo so that I could stay on Skype while out to lunch and dinner…the better to communicate with those clamoring for my freelance attentions.

At some point, you have to draw the line and say “enough!” and I think that while my intentions are noble, the Palm Treo idea is a bad one, at least for now. Circumstances may dictate otherwise at a later date, but for now I am keeping my worlds seperate. Kudos to John Windsor for a great post, and for reminding me NOT to give in to all my workaholic urges.

The Language Learning Library is a super resource for those looking to brush up on foreign phrases prior to going on a trip. Choose from Spanish, French, German, Chinese and more. You can also find cultural information and other details. The site is organized very well and extremely user-friendly. Travel writers may want to bookmark this one…

I found this post at Performancing by accident. Sure, it’s two years old, but the info is timeless. Markus Merz lists the top ten lies told to freelancers, including my all-time Craigslist writing ad favorite:

“Do this for us and you’ll get great exposure! The jobs will just pour in!”"

If I wanted exposure, I’d go to the window in my home office and remove my clothes.

Performancing is a blog for bloggers, and I think I’ve just become a regular reader of this one–a claim I frequently make of new blogs I get excited about. If my posts are to be believed, I am a regular reader of just about everything I’ve ever written about. Still, this blog looks pretty good, worth the time investment over morning coffee.

If nothing else, I’m quite tempted to check out the Social Media Bootcamp advertised in a recent post. If you are a new blogger or looking for ways to increase your traffic, and event like this is sure to give you at least a couple of new ideas.

George Orwell had some misadventures, eh? Whenever I find myself in need of some inspiration I turn to a book like this to remind me just how bad it can get before you find a way to make the sale. No matter how desperate for cash you might become, chances are you won’t come anywhere near the levels discussed in this Orwell classic.

There aren’t any far-reaching government plots in this one, no telescreens and no Two Minutes Hate; just trying to scrape by as best one can. Real life, disguised as a novel. Before there could be any Henry Rollins travel journals (those in the know get my meaning here) there was Orwell telling it like it is, but unlike Rollins, Orwell attempts a thin veneer of “fiction” for respectability’s sake.

He needn’t have bothered, but apparently publisher T.S. Eliot disagreed–my research material says Eliot rejected the book regardless.

The real lessons for freelancers in this book–at least for me–have to do with recognizing that any experience can turn into a writing gold mine if you know how to look at them. Orwell certainly did.

If you haven’t read these classic tales of life and poverty in London and Paris, grab a copy and see how those lean years transform into literary gold. Some will be fascinated by the section on London gutter slang–worth the price of the book all by itself.

Buy Down and Out In Paris and London for $11.20

The CIA World Factbook is something to check out. You’ll find 267 full-color maps, and profiles for all kinds of countries that include information such as population, literacy rates and economic data. This terrific reference tool comes in very handy in a variety of different applications.

In the early stages of developing my new blog, I’ve been stumped for effective marketing techniques. Namely, anything that does NOT make me resort to posting comments on my “friends’” Facebook and MySpace pages, a la “Cammie, luuuuvvv ur site–read mine: [link to my site]“. First off, I find those tactics incredibly annoying. Furthermore, it seems to be a tremendous waste of time. And I was glad to find I’m not alone in that feeling.

On Rosalyn Gardner’s very in-the-know site (read: she’s spent ten years online, with her sites and blogs earning 100K a month), Net Profits Today, she recommends investing your time in a pay-per-click campaign rather than random forum or site comments for the sake of a few backlinks. The rewards are greater, she says, because the results are a targeted audience for your site, rather than random people–who may not even have any interest in what you do–culled from a social networking site.

Gardner posted in response to Caroline Middlebrook’s “Stats & Analysis for October ‘07? blog post on Darren Rowse’s ProBlogger, in which Middlebrook wrote that she logged 235 hours of work on her Web site and never saw any financial gain, despite 11,000 visitors to the site in its two-month infancy. That’s a hell of a lot of work to not be making any money. The kicker is Middlebrook had quit her full-time job to pursue “a living online.” I found Middleton’s story, as well as Gardner’s reaction to it, incredibly interesting but not because of the obvious.

I sympathized with Middlebrook (and my younger self) for putting so much time (with such risk at stake) with zero monetary reward. When I first started out as a blogger, I simply didn’t understand there was money to be made so I took pro bono job after pro bono job, thinking the clips and/or experience would be worth it. And I was always assured, “Well, after the site takes off, we hope to compensate you for your time.” Keywords naive Sarah didn’t pick up on were “after” and “hope.”

Of course, I received nothing. Only slightly higher rankings in Google, which I guess, is better than absolutely nothing. What’s worse though, is that I truly didn’t expect to find money in blogging. Had I read the vastly experienced Gardner’s suggestions prior to my entrance into blogworld, I wouldn’t have had to look back with a mixture of regret and embarrassment.

Charles and Marie is one of my favorite net window-shopping destinations, but today I might just break down and actually make a purchase. The Sanctuary is an all-in-one universal battery charger and cable organizer compatible with more than 1500 electronic devices from most major brands. A handy USB port lets you power up cell phones, PDAs, Blackberry, iPods, MP3 players and bluetooth headsets in one convenient place.

I’m a huge fan of both space-saving devices and universal battery chargers, so this one’s a natural for me. Plus, all those gadgets look pretty sharp all gathered together like that at the end of the day.

The Sanctuary costs approximately $130 from Charles and Marie, and be sure to specify you want a USA-compatible power plug or the EU version. Busy travelers may do well to purchase both!

Angela Booth’s Fab Web Writer has a recent blog entry on how to attract paid writing gigs via your writer’s site. One of the suggestions is to add your location to every page in your site. Although Booth doesn’t address the SEO value of regional keywords in the article, I do think using them is an excellent strategy–especially for those who live in areas frequently Googled such as Chicago, St. Louis, NYC, Boston, etc.

If you are a freelance writer in Springfield, Illinois, you might not get the same Google power from this tactic as you might from an address in Manhattan, but there is still plenty of networking value. How many other freelance writers do you know in your zip code? Chances are your fellow writers and editors search for other regionally-based freelancers, if only to see who else is out there.

Never ignore the power of NOT living in a major metro area–the isolation factor can sometimes work in your favor. If you are easy to find on the net because of city, state and regional keywords in your site, living in a writer-challenged area could turn into great relationships with editors near you who need the extra help. How many publications, websites and local blogs are in your area? How many freelancers? Making yourself more visible with city and state keyword and related SEO content could result in gigs you never realized were in your own back yard.

For those living in the big city, the Google clout is desirable. Are you taking advantage of these great keywords in your blogs? We here at FZ never thought of it until reading Angela Booth’s blog…thanks for the inspiration, Angela!

Hard to believe the 4th of July is nearly upon us. It’s a holiday tailor-made for pulling yourself away from the infernal machine (yes, I mean the laptop) and enjoying some lovely barbecue and the adult beverage of your choice. My vote for number one coolest BBQ gear this holiday goes to the Suck UK Fire Bucket portable barbecue grill. This little beauty is great for stashing in the trunk of your car or in the corner of the garage until it’s time for that impromptu beach party or backyard meat-fest. The only thing missing is an identical bucket, painted blue with thermal insulation that would hold the ice and beverages until it’s time to pour liberally.

My rule for such events is simple–NO LAPTOPS. Alas, rules were meant to be broken, especially by an unrepentant e-mail junkie and workaholic such as myself. Still, I am going to try very hard not to give in on this particular 4th of July.

It’s official–Freelance-Zone.com has joined the podcasting fray. This is our first episode, so we thought we would introduce ourselves and give a bit of background on who we are and how we got into the biz. It’s a bit basic, but since it’s Episode #1, we wanted to keep it simple, iron out any bugs, and get a bit more elaborate over time. Eventually we’ll branch out into video episodes, since there actually are things we do better in the visual medium–especially when it comes to improving your work with photographs, troubleshooting computer problems, even some grammar and sentence construction issues. We’re excited about this next step, and we’re looking forward to longer and more entertaining episodes in the months to come.

Click the icon below (the “play” button, not the speaker icon) to listen to the Freelance-Zone.com Podcast, Episode One.