Freelance Job Opportunities

OPRAH INADVERTENTLY SCARES UP AN EDITORIAL CONTROVERSY

Unless you've been in a cave lately, you've heard the controversy over the book, A Million Little Pieces, by James Frey. It was Oprah's October pick for her book club, which of course practically guarantees it being a best seller -- which it became.

Today, the anchors on CNN were discussing the hullabaloo about how can an author get away with telling blatant lies like that, and Soledad O'Brien, one of the anchors, responded something to the effect of, "Some publisher wouldn't cough up the $25 or $30 thousand dollars/year it would cost to hire a factchecker."

My first reaction, was, "Yahoo!", somebody realizes the value of this all-too-forgotten craft as an independent position. BUT my very next reaction was, "How sad that this is the salary quoted for this still under-regarded position."

These days, a copy editor may be a factchecker, proofreader and copy editor all rolled into one. Let's hope the publishers are listening and will soon be posting want ads for help. Mr./Ms. Hiring Official, I'll gladly post your ad free on InkwellEditorial.com.

Just a thought.
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JOB OPPORTUNITIES:

Akia is currently seeking enthusiastic people to join our team. Various positions available: - Freelance Data Entry - Administrator - Proofreader - Marketing Manager. Good opportunity for hard-working people to increase their income.

!!WARNING ABOUT AKIA!!: A reader writers, "Please stop advertising for Aika Corp. It is a scam. I worked for them in Feb and they stopped payment on there check and I now owe my bank $6500.00."
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NOTE: If you ever see a position posted with us and know the company to be fraudulent, please pass the info along. We do everything we can to protect freelancers from scams and your help is vital in this mission.
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P.S.: Learn everything you need to know to work from home as a Freelance Writer, Editor, Proofreader, etc. How? Get Our Entire Library of Work-at-Home Ebooks for only $19.95! Save $47.70!

Get 7 EBooks in All, Which Include the Following:
Medical Editing/Copyediting: An Overview (Reg. $4.95);
The Truth about Participating in Surveys & Focus Groups (Reg. $3.95);
How to Really Make a Living as an Editorial Freelancer (Reg. $9.95);
Advice from Successful Editorial Freelancers (Reg. $9.95);
The Small Business Owner's Complete Marketing Kit! (Reg. 24.95);
and more!

P.P.S.: Place Your Order Now for Immediate Delivery via Email!

A Day in the Life of . . . A Proofreader at a Tool Company

A new "Day in the Life of ..." account was added to InkwellEditorial.com today.
Periodically, InkwellEditorial.com publishes these accounts to give you an inside peek at various positions in the editorial industry -- in hopes of helping you decide if a position will really suit you BEFORE you pursue it. We hope you find the information insightful and useful.

EXCERPT

Must be comfortable in control. Sometimes you must request information multiple times to get a page done. You start to feel like a parent. But the book must get done and you can’t let other people let things fall into the cracks or put you on the backburner for too long.
Must be dependable. The book has a very strict deadline.

With everyone working on multiple projects, it might be too easy to fall behind if you miss a few days every now and again, so you’ve got to be at work all of the time. The good thing is that the general catalog (the big project) is complete by the beginning of November and does not start up again until March so many people will take a two-week vacation for Christmas since there is virtually nothing to do. Click here to read entire account: http://www.inkwelleditorial.com/CareerCenter/day-in-life/1-25-06.htm
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P.S.: Learn everything you need to know to work from home as a Freelance Writer, Editor, Proofreader, etc. How? Get Our Entire Library of Work-at-Home Ebooks for only $19.95! Save $47.70!

Get 7 EBooks in All, Which Include the Following:
Medical Editing/Copyediting: An Overview (Reg. $4.95);
The Truth about Participating in Surveys & Focus Groups (Reg. $3.95);
How to Really Make a Living as an Editorial Freelancer (Reg. $9.95);
Advice from Successful Editorial Freelancers (Reg. $9.95);
The Small Business Owner's Complete Marketing Kit! (Reg. 24.95)
and more!

P.P.S.: Place Your Order Now for Immediate Delivery via Email!

Screen/Script Writing Conference, Marketplace & Job Fair

A-List Advice -- Learn From Those Who Write!

A one-of-a-kind scriptwriting and creative development conference: Final Draft and scr(i)pt magazine present a one-of-a-kind scriptwriting and creative development industry conference, marketplace and job fair.

Panels featuring A-list screenwriters, agents, managers, producers and development executives will examine the craft and business of scriptwriting for film, television and interactive media. Don’t miss this unprecedented opportunity to learn from the professionals who drive the entertainment industry.

Mark Your Calendar! Join us at Universal Studios -- April 7, 8 & 9, Sheraton Universal Studios,Universal City, CA-- in the heart of the entertainment community for this gathering of professionals dedicated to promoting the art and business of scriptwriting.

A few of the Featured Writers: Craig Kestel, Literary Agent, William Morris Agency; Michel Shane, Producer, Catch Me If You Can, Producer, I, Robot; Steve Faber and Bob Fisher, Screenwriters, The Wedding Crashers; Bobby Moresco, Co-writer/Producer, Crash; Chris Morgan, Screenwriter, Fast and the Furious 3; Jon Macks, Former Writer, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno; and more!

Register before January 31st for only $99! Full details at http://www.scriptwritersshowcase.com/
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P.S.: Get Our Entire Library of Ebooks for only $19.95!
Titles Include: Medical Editing/Copyediting: An Overview (Reg. $4.95);
The Truth about Participating in Surveys & Focus Groups (Reg. $3.95);
How to Really Make a Living as an Editorial Freelancer (Reg. $9.95);
Advice from Successful Editorial Freelancers (Reg. $9.95);
and more!

P.P.S.: Place Your Order Now for Immediate Delivery via Email! Log onto http://www.inkwelleditorial.com/bizguides.htm now.

How to Educate Your Clients into Giving You More Assignments

Clients won't purchase what they don't understand. "But," you say, "my service is self-explanatory."

NOT!

Educating clients about your editorial services provides three immediate benefits: 1) it demonstrates to them that you have anticipated (hence, care about) their needs; 2) that you are knowledgeable about your sector; and 3) it gives you an opportunity to once again highlight benefits.

So, how do you determine what clients need to be educated about, and how? This can be done in three easy ways.

1. Solicit Outside Feedback: Ask a friend/associate/family member to examine your marketing materials. Preferably this person should be someone who is NOT knowledgeable about your business. This way, they can approach it as a novice.

Sometimes, you or someone who is in your field are too close to the service to look at it from a fresh perspective. This is when the most obvious questions failed to be asked and answered. It's kinda like proofreading your own writing. A fresh eye is always better to pick up on the obvious.

2. Go Through the Process: Have you ever purchased from your own website? Have you ever mailed yourself one of your marketing materials? Do you use your own service?
Going through the process of actually receiving your marketing material in the mail and/or using your own service puts you in the position of "clent."

The insight to be gleaned from doing this is immeasurable. Did you frown when you received your brochure in the mail? Did you wonder why your brochure didn't mention "x" service? Was the contact information easily accessible?

When you act as client, note the instant feeling you receive in your gut as you go through the process. DON'T dismiss your feelings because if you're feeling it, 9 times out of 10, some of your clients are too. Start addressing what you can change to address deficiencies.

3. Constantly Ask Questions: The best way to educate clients is to ask them what they want to know more about; what is not clearly evident; what would make them feel more at ease. There should be some forum where frequent customer queries are addressed (eg, an FAQ section on a website). As new questions/queries come in and you answer them, update this section of your marketing material.

What do you gain by explaining what you think should be clearly evident? In short, trust. If clients trust you, they will naturally think of you first when they need your type of service. So, take the time to clearly explain the "obvious" because if it's not obvious to the buyer, then obviously you aren't doing your job to get the assignment/next gig.

Now, what are you going to do today to get where you want to be tomorrow? Starter Tip: Get a second eye to peruse your marketing materials. Ask for input on what needs to be explained, expounded upon, improved, etc.
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P.S.: Get Our Entire Library of Ebooks for only $19.95!
Titles Include: Medical Editing/Copyediting: An Overview (Reg. $4.95);
The Truth about Participating in Surveys & Focus Groups (Reg. $3.95);
How to Really Make a Living as an Editorial Freelancer (Reg. $9.95);
Advice from Successful Editorial Freelancers (Reg. $9.95);
and more!

P.P.S.: Place Your Order Now for Immediate Delivery via Email!
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Reprint Rights. May be reprinted with inclusion of the following in full: ©2006 InkwellEditorial.com: THE business information portal for and about the creative and editorial industries. Visit our informative, up-to-date blog at http://inkwelleditorial.blogspot.com/ for first-hand information on how to start, grow and/or maintain a successful freelance, editorial career. Copyright violators will be prosecuted.

Beginning- of-Year Do's for Freelancers

Make a List & Check It Twice -- Beginning- of-Year Do's for Freelancers

As the year begins, evaluating how to run smoother and more profitably in this year should be at the top of every freelancer's list. A beginning of year assessment will give you a head start. Following are four areas, at minimum, that should be scrutinized:

1. Type of assignments: Which segment of the market sold? Which didn't? Which markets are you going to focus on this year? How? By what means? Will you add new skills/market segments? Discontinue others? Adjust rates? Add complementary goods/services?

If you've kept adequate records, you should be able to glean all of this information quite easily. This is no time to be sentimental. Numbers don't lie. Stop focusing on markets that didn't pay and add more of those that did.

2. Tax Preparation: Don't wait until March/April. If you are a corporation, your return is due March 15th, not April 15th. Organize now so that you can start this year ahead of the competition. While they're mired in last year's paperwork, you'll be servicing customers. If the thought of accounting and inventory makes you nauseous, as it does me, invest in good software for these purposes. QuickBooks, Peachtree and Microsoft BCentral come to mind. It will pay huge dividends this time of year.

If you're thinking you'll just outsource these functions - forget it. Unless you can afford a part- or full-time bookkeeper, you will have to do some amount of accounting for your business. In fact, even with a bookkeeper, it is essential that you know your own books. Remember: Numbers are the lifeblood of your freelance business. There's no way around this. If there were, I would have found it by now - trust me.

Good software, though, can make it soooo much easier. You'll be able to run applicable reports, organize receipts (which you've been doing all along, right?), and hand everything over to your accountant in good order. Now, just think how accomplished you're going to feel!

3. Working Policies: The beginning of the year is a perfect time to reflect on your internal policies: rates, retirement plans, insurance coverage, billing systems, etc. If you want to change carriers, add incentives, phase out others, etc., now is the time.

It is much easier to begin new relationships and terminate others at the beginning of a year. Mainly, it makes for easier accounting. And, we don't want to complicate that process any more than necessary, do we?

4. Income Projections: Now it's time to look at your numbers with an eye toward the future. What can you do to increase your income by 5, 10, 20%? You should already have an idea of where the bulk of your revenue came from and what types of projects you could add/drop to increase sales. Gather all of your reports, eg, project types, income, expense, etc., and go through them thoroughly. With concrete numbers in front of you, you will be able to devise a plan for this year's income goals.

Editorially yours,
Y. Black
Moderator, InkwellEditorial.com
P.S.: Get Our Entire Library of Work-From-Home Ebooks for only $19.95!
Titles Include: Medical Editing/Copyediting: An Overview (Reg. $4.95)
The Truth about Participating in Surveys & Focus Groups (Reg. $3.95)
How to Really Make a Living as an Editorial Freelancer (Reg. $9.95)
Advice from Successful Editorial Freelancers (Reg. $9.95)
And more!
*******************************************************************
Reprint Rights. May be reprinted with inclusion of the following in full: ©2006 InkwellEditorial.com: THE business information portal for and about the creative and editorial industries. Visit our informative, up-to-date blog at http://inkwelleditorial.blogspot.com/ for first-hand information on how to start, grow and/or maintain a successful freelance, editorial career. Copyright violators will be prosecuted.

2006 Freelance Dreams

As the new year came in, I noticed a lot of traffic on the site. It was to be expected, as many renew their interest in accomplishing the dream of working as a freelancer from home, writing the next great American novel, telling the boss to stuff it once and for all ... and on and on and on.

By mid-February, all should be calm again as reality sets in, ie: freelancing is a business and must be treated as such; writing the great American novel will not happen overnight (how DOES one start such an apocalyptical event anyway); and although the boss is a jerk, this job does pay the bills.

My point in bringing up the obvious: When mid-February approaches and you haven't stuck to your plans and are slowly letting your zest for accomplishment fade -- come back to this post and remember the resolve you had at the beginning of this year. FOR, 2007 will be here before you know it and do you really want to look back on this year knowing that you gave up, digressed, didn't make any progress?

So, chin up and pencils down -- let's get cracking!

Editorially yours (and back on a weekly basis),
Y. Black
InkwellEditorial.com
P.S.: Get Our Entire Library of Ebooks for only $19.95!
Titles Include: Medical Editing/Copyediting: An Overview (Reg. $4.95); The Truth about Participating in Surveys & Focus Groups (Reg. $3.95); How to Really Make a Living as an Editorial Freelancer (Reg. $9.95); Advice from Successful Editorial Freelancers (Reg. $9.95); and more!

P.P.S.: Limited Time Offer. Place Your Order Now for Immediate Delivery via Email!
Click to order: http://www.inkwelleditorial.com/bizguides.htm