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$140,000 Per Year on Elance.com?

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by Mike O’Mary

Will work for food iStock_000004304868LargeI’m curious…do any members of the Freelance-Zone.com community have experience using Elance.com to get jobs? If so, how did it go for you as a freelancer?

I ask because I’ve used Elance.com as a client, and I have mixed feelings about it. A while back, I mentioned to someone that I needed help from a graphic designer and a proofreader, but that I was on a tight budget. My friend suggested Elance.com. So I gave it a try and posted a couple of jobs.

As a client, I was pleased with the results. I got bids from graphic designers and proofreaders from all over the world. And the prices reflected the global nature of the competition. In fact, some prices were so low I couldn’t believe it.

In the end, I didn’t go with the lowest bidder. Nor did I go with an overseas bidder, although there were many. I went with U.S. providers, partly because of my comfort level, but also because I found that I could hire a U.S. freelancer and still spend way less than I had anticipated. In fact, at the end of the graphic design job, I gave the designer a bonus because I couldn’t believe how much work she did for the price she had quoted me. And that’s where my mixed feelings come in… Continue reading $140,000 Per Year on Elance.com? →

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UK Freelance Writers – Find A Desk With Office Genie

office-genie-logoFor our freelance writers (and readers!) in the UK, today we have a post from “Office Genie” – where you can find a professional place to host your business without paying for a whole office.

With us is Ciaron Dunne co-Founder of Office Genie to share more…

1.      What is Office Genie?

Office Genie is the UK’s first online marketplace for spare desk space. We match up freelancers (and small businesses) with spare desk space in shared offices all over the country.

2.      How did the idea for Office Genie come about?

The idea came about when we wanted to fill some spare desks in our office in Cambridge and we couldn’t find anywhere to advertise! We were aware of the growing trend for desk space rental (rather than traditional office space rental), and indeed we’ve rented desks in shared offices in London in the past, but it was all done through word of mouth. So we thought: why not make an online marketplace? It’s free for businesses to list spare desks and (of course) free for people looking for desks. We make our revenue from bigger advertisers wanting to purchase premium positions.

3.      Why would freelancers benefit from using Office Genie?

Desk rental isn’t right for everyone, but it is right for an awful lot of freelancers. The usual “pro’s” quoted in our surveys are that it’s cheaper and more flexible than an office lease, and that it’s much more professional and sociable than working from home. So if working from home isn’t for you and you don’t much fancy committing to a 3-year lease and forking out the legal and admin fees for a small, pokey office, then finding a shared office near you may be just the thing. Most “spare desk” schemes are on rolling monthly contracts (so no long-term commitment) and there’s no time or money spent on office management. You generally just pay a flat monthly fee (monthly average £298/month/desk – although more like £150/mth/desk outside London).

4.      What types of office space do you have available?

Mainly spare desks in shared offices, rent-a-desk schemes and serviced offices, but also some “conventional” office space to lease aimed at small businesses.

5.      Where can people find more information about Office Genie?

Simple visit officegenie.co.uk or call our office search helpline on 0800 368 0408.

Or check our shared office FAQs at http://www.officegenie.co.uk/help/desker-faqs

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Speechwriting Skills

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by Mike O’Mary

“I got skills… You know, like nunchuck skills, bowhunting skills, computer hacking skills…” — Napoleon Dynamite

ninjaI feel like a hypocrite. I am looking to hire a speechwriter. One of the requirements is that the speechwriter also have PowerPoint skills.

I feel like a hypocrite because if you have a good speech, you don’t need a PowerPoint presentation to go with it. But the requirement for PowerPoint skills stands nonetheless.

Let me get the self-serving part of this post out of the way: if you are a good speechwriter in the Chicago area with good PowerPoint skills, or if you know a good speechwriter in the Chicago area with good PowerPoint skills, please contact me via my personal e-mail address, which is mike at michaelomary dot com. Thanks.

Back to the requirement for PowerPoint skills…

Why does a speechwriter need to know PowerPoint? Because people expect it. My day job is writing executive communications for a Fortune 300 company. A recent audit showed that we produce about 120 “executive communications” a year for the company’s top two executives. Sometimes the “communication” is a relatively simple e-mail announcement to employees. But other times (about 40 times a year, in fact), the communication is a speech or a presentation.

More and more, we’ve been moving toward speeches rather than presentations. But most keynote addresses still come with the expectation that they will include a PowerPoint presentation. I think that’s just a fact of life for the foreseeable future. Still, I’m looking for a good speechwriter because my hope is that some day, if the speeches are consistently good enough, our speakers will get to the point where they feel so good about their speeches that they won’t want a PowerPoint presentation — because it will detract from their marvelous speech.

But until that day comes, best to keep up-t0-date on your skills…you know, like nunchuck skills, bowhunting skills, computer hacking skills…and PowerPoint skills.

Mike O’Mary is founder of Dream of Things and of the Note Project. He is also responsible for executive communications at Discover Financial Services.

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Book and Script Editing

book and script editor for hire Joe Wallaceby Joe Wallace

I have been editing for a long time now. In the last 20 years I’ve edited everything from television scripts and documentaries to musician bios, press kits and websites.

In all that time, I’ve noticed a consistent mistake that everyone tends to make–a simple concept that can save a writer a great deal of time and agony in the second and third draft processes.

My most frequent critique of all written work is that the material fails somehow to give a reader unfamiliar with the subject matter the right amount of simple, jargon-free information to really understand what’s going on in the text.

For example; once I edited a television script that mentioned the U.S. Air Force’s AWACS aircraft. AWACS stands for Airborne Warning and Control System.

That all by itself seemed to be enough in the original script until the helpful reminder that even though the story would air for a largely military audience, not everyone sitting in front of the TV would understand that “Airborne Warning And Control” meant basically an airplane full of a bunch of  people with electronic eyes on a battlefield–they were watching so that an Air Force fighter pilot, flying at hundreds of miles an hour and in dire need of full concentration to avoid crashing, wouldn’t have to.

Book editing–ANY kind of editing, really–is a challenge because you have to have two minds at once. You need the author’s mind to know where the work is supposed to go, what the writer wants to achieve page after page. But you also have to read with the audience’s mind and strike the balance between keeping the reader and keeping the narrative on target.

I mention all this because as a freelancer, you can use this concept to your advantage in your own work. Learning to think with two minds isn’t an easy thing to do, but it has served me well over the years as I try to balance the writer’s intent with the audience’s need. Especially when it comes to writing proposals for new clients and my own marketing copy.

I also mention it because if you take a side gig or two as a book or script editor, you can get amazing insights to your own work. Imagine what happens when you start seeing the writing process through an editor’s eyes and adjust your own material accordingly. Book and script editing could be the type of training you’ve been looking for all along…it certainly was for me.

Joe Wallace is a freelance editor and writer. He is currently editing a book on voice acting. He also spends a fair amount of time ghost writing and editing for a confidential client, and is preparing to start a new project in the video game industry. Wallace brings the snark about bad album covers and vinyl collecting at Turntabling.net. Contact him about your next project by e-mailing him: jwallace@freelance-zone.com

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Getting Un-Fried

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by Mike O’Mary

I’m fried. Over the past ten weeks, I’ve written at least ten speeches and presentations, plus video scripts, articles, blog posts, and hundreds and hundreds of e-mails. I’m seriously fried.

Midnight in ParisWhen I get like this, I need to relax. Music usually does it for me. Pretty much any kind of music. Getting away from the computer is important, too. Even if it’s just to take a walk – or to do any kind of exercise, because doing something physical is good not just for your body, but also for your mind.

Years ago when I was in graduate school, I got into a nice rhythm of working really hard for a ten-week quarter, then doing something physical to give my mind a break for a week. I remember refinishing an old oak desk during one break. That was a good break – and I used that desk for about twenty years after that.

Enjoying the arts is another great way to give yourself a break and also spark your creativity. I often find myself dreaming up new ideas while listening to a concert or watching a play.

What about you? What do you do to give yourself a break when you’re getting burned out? Please leave a comment and share your advice.

PS: Speaking of walks and the arts, I strongly recommend that you take a break this week and see “Midnight in Paris.” It’s a whimsical and humorous trip back to the literary scene of Paris in the 1920s that starts when a writer takes a walk and gets lost in Paris one night. (It’s a little like the great Griffin Dunne movie “After Hours,” but not as distrubing!) It you’re a writer, “Midnight in Paris” contains some special treats for you.

Mike O’Mary is founder of the Note Project, a campaign to make the world a million times better, and of Dream of Things, a book publisher and online bookstore.

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Today’s Writing Tip Is Take a Listen

Over the last year or two, I’ve heard a number of newscasters use the expression, “take a listen.” I don’t know where that came from. Why do we need to use two verbs? Why not just say, “Listen”?

There are other instances where people routinely use two or even three verbs. “Alejandro was going to go see his mother.” A cleaner  version of that sentence would be: “Alejandro was going to see his mother.”

Be aware when you’re using more words than necessary. Simplicity allows your message to come through clearly without any distractions.

Author of Be Your Own Editor

http://sigridmacdonald.blogspot.com/
http://beyourowneditor.blogspot.com/