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Gah! I spent hours this afternoon faffing with the template for this blog.
The reason I'm not a computer programmer but a wordsmith is because coding is a bastard. I've picked up bits and pieces of HTML over the last 7 or 8 years but I'll never be a whizz at it. I'm still working out the finer points of this template - it took me forever to install the links on the sidebar. Getting the links up was long overdue - several people/organisations have been kind enough to put a link to this blog on theirs and it seemed only fair to return the favour and add a few other relevant ones.
Not being familiar with blog coding in the slightest, it took a lot of concentration and hard thinking about logic (yes I installed the coding chunk in the wrong place to start with and it took me 30 minutes to figure out why the links wouldn't show!).
Anyway, the links are up now.
I think I'll stick to writing ordinary words...
31 July 2006
I found a great new blog today
There I was, hanging out on a business networking forum giving someone some advice on becoming a journalist. This was a teenager who wants to write for a living - I and several others wrote some fairly lengthy replies to give her some idea of what she would be getting into. Someone posted a link to this blog, which I thought was an excellent read.
I had a look at the author's other entries and then their profile, which led me to their other blog... great site! It's always a joy to find other pedants like myself. The people that run this blog are utterly dedicated to hunting down embarrassing examples of crap grammar and piss-poor punctuation. It was a pity they couldn't spell standfirsts, though... :)
I had a look at the author's other entries and then their profile, which led me to their other blog... great site! It's always a joy to find other pedants like myself. The people that run this blog are utterly dedicated to hunting down embarrassing examples of crap grammar and piss-poor punctuation. It was a pity they couldn't spell standfirsts, though... :)
29 July 2006
Crossing a moral boundary
Browsing the Guardian this morning, I started reading this interesting article about plagiarism by students. Apparently, writing students' essays for them is a multi-million pound business. The statistics are quite shocking: one in six university students cheats in some manner; the number of companies supplying tailor-made essays is growing; one firm made £1.6 million last year alone.
Reading on, I discovered that the freelance writers employed by this firm can earn up to £1,000 a week writing essays for students who really ought to be doing it themselves.
For a split second, I was tempted - a grand a week!
But I worked hard for my English degree - it took me 4 years of hard graft, including a year out due to illness. There was no internet back then - I did all my own research, made my own drafts, then typed each dissertation up painstakingly on the old, portable typewriter that had originally belonged to my father. I've lost count of the amount of Tippex I used to get through, or whatever it's called these days (does it even still exist?).
Paying others to write your essays for you is stooping very low. It devalues your degree. But being paid to do it is even worse. Have these writers no sense of shame? I am appalled - granted, it's a tough market out there for us professional writers but there is plenty of work available if you know where to look for it.
Having struggled to graduate (I left school at 16, went straight into journalism, had to sit a mature entrance exam at 23, and graduated aged 28), I am proud of my BA Ord. in English and Creative Arts. It was all my own work.
So no matter how tempted I am at the thought of an easy K a week, that's a road I won't be going down.
The beloved P is looking over my shoulder as I blog - he just made a very pointed remark - it will be harder than ever for the less well off in our society to get a degree. If you're rich, you can just buy your way into a 1st-class honours in the subject of your choice.
Who says there is no longer a class divide in this country?
Reading on, I discovered that the freelance writers employed by this firm can earn up to £1,000 a week writing essays for students who really ought to be doing it themselves.
For a split second, I was tempted - a grand a week!
But I worked hard for my English degree - it took me 4 years of hard graft, including a year out due to illness. There was no internet back then - I did all my own research, made my own drafts, then typed each dissertation up painstakingly on the old, portable typewriter that had originally belonged to my father. I've lost count of the amount of Tippex I used to get through, or whatever it's called these days (does it even still exist?).
Paying others to write your essays for you is stooping very low. It devalues your degree. But being paid to do it is even worse. Have these writers no sense of shame? I am appalled - granted, it's a tough market out there for us professional writers but there is plenty of work available if you know where to look for it.
Having struggled to graduate (I left school at 16, went straight into journalism, had to sit a mature entrance exam at 23, and graduated aged 28), I am proud of my BA Ord. in English and Creative Arts. It was all my own work.
So no matter how tempted I am at the thought of an easy K a week, that's a road I won't be going down.
The beloved P is looking over my shoulder as I blog - he just made a very pointed remark - it will be harder than ever for the less well off in our society to get a degree. If you're rich, you can just buy your way into a 1st-class honours in the subject of your choice.
Who says there is no longer a class divide in this country?
27 July 2006
Battling a small fleet
After being a bit short of paid work the last few days, suddenly it's not just a couple of sloops but nearly a whole fleet!
A web designer who contacted me a couple of months ago about rewriting his web copy has suddenly, out of the blue, decided to go ahead. To be honest, I thought that job wasn't going to materialise. But it has, and I'm looking forward to getting stuck in.
So now that's two web designers I'll be doing copy for.
An editor I know who also does a lot of financial editing (like me) has once again and very generously passed on a contact for some work. He put me in touch with the investment finance publishers earlier this year, for whom I have since edited two books, with a third expected shortly. Now my colleague has facilitated an opening with a fairly prestigious company that does treasury publications. There's a copywriting job up for grabs, working on a brochure and a sales pitch. Plus the possibility of editorial work. I owe this guy a drink - the problem is we've never met and he lives on the other side of the country. But if we ever do hook up, I'll be buying him a bottle of champagne in thanks for his generosity.
Suddenly I seem to be juggling lots of clients in a small time frame. I just hope I don't drop any balls...
A web designer who contacted me a couple of months ago about rewriting his web copy has suddenly, out of the blue, decided to go ahead. To be honest, I thought that job wasn't going to materialise. But it has, and I'm looking forward to getting stuck in.
So now that's two web designers I'll be doing copy for.
An editor I know who also does a lot of financial editing (like me) has once again and very generously passed on a contact for some work. He put me in touch with the investment finance publishers earlier this year, for whom I have since edited two books, with a third expected shortly. Now my colleague has facilitated an opening with a fairly prestigious company that does treasury publications. There's a copywriting job up for grabs, working on a brochure and a sales pitch. Plus the possibility of editorial work. I owe this guy a drink - the problem is we've never met and he lives on the other side of the country. But if we ever do hook up, I'll be buying him a bottle of champagne in thanks for his generosity.
Suddenly I seem to be juggling lots of clients in a small time frame. I just hope I don't drop any balls...
Why editors will never be short of work...
26 July 2006
Ship's come in
Well, not the QE2, but a a brace of sloops...
Hot on the heels of losing out on the Lithuanian job, I was asked at very short notice to redraft an email release for a new client who was so chuffed that I was asked to overhaul their website. Then another new client asked me to write a press release!
Happy days.
This business forum I've been networking on the last few weeks is starting to bring in new clients.
I have a nice, fat, juicy copywriting job lined up for next week too. All other work seems to be hold. I'm still waiting for the second investment book to arrive for editing, plus the rest of the university prospectuses. I remember summer was slow for business last year too - people are away on holiday and no one's in a hurry to get anything done. Things always pick up again as summer fades away.
The heat is driving me nuts - it's so hard to work constructively when the mercury's boiling - but it's been slightly cooler the last two days.
In the meantime, I'm still drafting the copy for my new website (I'm quite glad that it's a slack time for paid work, as I need to get this done). Emails have gone back and forth between my host and myself - he's supplying all the techy info I need to pass on to my graphic designer, who is now sunning himself on the Welsh Riviera while I try to write the text.
Time for a glass of wine...
Hot on the heels of losing out on the Lithuanian job, I was asked at very short notice to redraft an email release for a new client who was so chuffed that I was asked to overhaul their website. Then another new client asked me to write a press release!
Happy days.
This business forum I've been networking on the last few weeks is starting to bring in new clients.
I have a nice, fat, juicy copywriting job lined up for next week too. All other work seems to be hold. I'm still waiting for the second investment book to arrive for editing, plus the rest of the university prospectuses. I remember summer was slow for business last year too - people are away on holiday and no one's in a hurry to get anything done. Things always pick up again as summer fades away.
The heat is driving me nuts - it's so hard to work constructively when the mercury's boiling - but it's been slightly cooler the last two days.
In the meantime, I'm still drafting the copy for my new website (I'm quite glad that it's a slack time for paid work, as I need to get this done). Emails have gone back and forth between my host and myself - he's supplying all the techy info I need to pass on to my graphic designer, who is now sunning himself on the Welsh Riviera while I try to write the text.
Time for a glass of wine...
25 July 2006
Undercut
I just heard back from the Lithuanian travel company - they gave the job to someone else because they were cheaper. I shouldn't be astounded and I'm not. At least, I'm not astounded that they awarded the job to someone who offered to do it for less.
What does astound me are the people out there who ruthlessly undercut the market going rate for copywriting. I'd already pitched the job at less than half my usual hourly rate - this was partly because I knew the company wouldn't be able to afford to typical UK rates (and it would have been an interesting job) and partly because it only involved rewriting existing copy rather than creating copy from scratch.
The amount I would have earned, had the job been mine, was lower than even the lowest proofreading rates. Someone out there has offered to do the job for probably as little as £10 an hour - I'm hazarding a guess here, of course, but £10 an hour is way below what I was pitching at and it's less than a third of the going rate.
Tellingly, my contact told me his boss had decided to go for the cheapest option (which I suspected would be the case), and added that "we will see if it pays off", strongly suggesting that he thinks that quality counts for more than cheap rates.
You generally get what you pay for, and this is as true for copywriting as other things. Anyone offering to do that job for peanuts is going to race through it as fast as possible in order to maximise their already paltry return. I can't see that a good job will be delivered. Perhaps the Lithuanians will come back to me after all, they already hinted as much...
What does astound me are the people out there who ruthlessly undercut the market going rate for copywriting. I'd already pitched the job at less than half my usual hourly rate - this was partly because I knew the company wouldn't be able to afford to typical UK rates (and it would have been an interesting job) and partly because it only involved rewriting existing copy rather than creating copy from scratch.
The amount I would have earned, had the job been mine, was lower than even the lowest proofreading rates. Someone out there has offered to do the job for probably as little as £10 an hour - I'm hazarding a guess here, of course, but £10 an hour is way below what I was pitching at and it's less than a third of the going rate.
Tellingly, my contact told me his boss had decided to go for the cheapest option (which I suspected would be the case), and added that "we will see if it pays off", strongly suggesting that he thinks that quality counts for more than cheap rates.
You generally get what you pay for, and this is as true for copywriting as other things. Anyone offering to do that job for peanuts is going to race through it as fast as possible in order to maximise their already paltry return. I can't see that a good job will be delivered. Perhaps the Lithuanians will come back to me after all, they already hinted as much...
Wannabes
Maybe it's the heat or something, but suddenly the business forums I network on have been hit by a rash of wannabe copywriters. One of them said he was bored with his job in a large organisation, wanted to become self-employed, and decided on copywriting because he thought he could have a crack at it and earn lots of money!
Well, you can, but copywriting is not just for anyone. It's a skill. Being good at English when you were at school, for example, doesn't mean you'll be any good as a copywriter. You need talent to write well and it needs to be honed. It's not just about "writing stuff". If it was, everyone would be a blockbuster novelist!
Copywriting is about writing in way that entices people - to buy, to enquire, to take action... It's not particularly easy. I should know - it's a large part of what I do. Sometimes I can spend ages staring at a brief, while I try to figure out what to say and how to say it. Then polish it and polish it again. And keep polishing it until it's perfect. It's actually pretty damn hard to find the right words to convey a complex message concisely and clearly. It can be an agonisingly slow process at times, although fortunately, at others, it comes quickly and easily. I guess it's a bit like writing computer coding. Either you can do it or you can't. It's not for everyone. I couldn't write computer code, but I can write quality English.
Copywriting is not the same as journalism either. Journalism also requires good writing skills but of a different kind. It's probably easier to blag a career as a journalist if you can write reasonably well, but you still won't "make it" unless you have something to say that people want to hear. And you can be a journalist and still write lousy English - when I worked as a sub-editor for various magazines in London some 15 years ago, we were the unsung heroes of journalists: correcting their spelling, punctuation and grammar, rewriting large chunks of their copy, cutting out the waffle, shuffling paragraphs so the article would flow better...
These editorial tasks have to be done by the copywriter, because no one else will do it for them. Copywriters don't have editors to clean up their mistakes, so they'd better have good editorial skills too if they wannabe. A case in point - one of my current clients had previously used a marketing agency to produce some exhibition banners. There, in foot-high letters, in the middle of the banner was the word "industirial"...
Well, you can, but copywriting is not just for anyone. It's a skill. Being good at English when you were at school, for example, doesn't mean you'll be any good as a copywriter. You need talent to write well and it needs to be honed. It's not just about "writing stuff". If it was, everyone would be a blockbuster novelist!
Copywriting is about writing in way that entices people - to buy, to enquire, to take action... It's not particularly easy. I should know - it's a large part of what I do. Sometimes I can spend ages staring at a brief, while I try to figure out what to say and how to say it. Then polish it and polish it again. And keep polishing it until it's perfect. It's actually pretty damn hard to find the right words to convey a complex message concisely and clearly. It can be an agonisingly slow process at times, although fortunately, at others, it comes quickly and easily. I guess it's a bit like writing computer coding. Either you can do it or you can't. It's not for everyone. I couldn't write computer code, but I can write quality English.
Copywriting is not the same as journalism either. Journalism also requires good writing skills but of a different kind. It's probably easier to blag a career as a journalist if you can write reasonably well, but you still won't "make it" unless you have something to say that people want to hear. And you can be a journalist and still write lousy English - when I worked as a sub-editor for various magazines in London some 15 years ago, we were the unsung heroes of journalists: correcting their spelling, punctuation and grammar, rewriting large chunks of their copy, cutting out the waffle, shuffling paragraphs so the article would flow better...
These editorial tasks have to be done by the copywriter, because no one else will do it for them. Copywriters don't have editors to clean up their mistakes, so they'd better have good editorial skills too if they wannabe. A case in point - one of my current clients had previously used a marketing agency to produce some exhibition banners. There, in foot-high letters, in the middle of the banner was the word "industirial"...
24 July 2006
Pitching
One of the things I hate most about freelancing is pitching for work. It takes a special kind of chutzpah to put yourself on the line and wait for a prospective client to decide that they'll hire you.
Last week, I offered to help a Lithuanian travel company redo their web copy. Several emails went back and forth and I spent some time going through almost 150 pages of existing web copy to work out a price for doing the job. Because they are in Vilnius and don't have the kind of hard currency we take for granted, I offered them an extremely generous fixed fee at way lower than my usual rates. The job looks very interesting and enjoyable so I didn't feel I would lose out overall. Today they mailed me back to say they are talking to a few other editors. Ok, I probably should have seen that one coming, but I was given the impression that I was the only one in the running until today. I expect it will all hinge on price, ultimately. Never mind the amount of time I have spent on it.
That's why I hate pitching. You can spend ages pricing a project for a potential client only to get turned down.
I'll know tomorrow, anyway, if I get the job or not.
It's just that I find pitching almost humiliating. Not quite, but almost. I strongly believe that the quality of my work speaks for itself. And most of my work comes from word-of-mouth referrals, which is how I like it to be. But as a freelance, you can't stand still. There is always a need to search out new markets and find new clients, so selling yourself is part of that process. It's just that that's the bit I hate most. I've never been a competitor - I used to hate school sports days, for example - and I'm not particularly ambitious. I just want to enjoy what I do and be paid well for it. Let's face it, I am good at what I do. And that's not arrogance, just honesty.
So I prefer my work to speak for itself. Except that I can't stand still, the nature of freelancing means I have to keep touting myself, which goes against my nature.
Besides the Lithuanian job, I'm also pitching for some financial editing at a quarterly magazine. I'm more likely to strike lucky there as there is a shortage of copy-editors who know their way round the financial stuff.
It's summer anyway, the silly season, when things are quiet. In the meantime, I'm keeping myself busy writing my new website copy for my all-new, all-singing, all-dancing website... who cares about weekend breaks in Vilnius?
Last week, I offered to help a Lithuanian travel company redo their web copy. Several emails went back and forth and I spent some time going through almost 150 pages of existing web copy to work out a price for doing the job. Because they are in Vilnius and don't have the kind of hard currency we take for granted, I offered them an extremely generous fixed fee at way lower than my usual rates. The job looks very interesting and enjoyable so I didn't feel I would lose out overall. Today they mailed me back to say they are talking to a few other editors. Ok, I probably should have seen that one coming, but I was given the impression that I was the only one in the running until today. I expect it will all hinge on price, ultimately. Never mind the amount of time I have spent on it.
That's why I hate pitching. You can spend ages pricing a project for a potential client only to get turned down.
I'll know tomorrow, anyway, if I get the job or not.
It's just that I find pitching almost humiliating. Not quite, but almost. I strongly believe that the quality of my work speaks for itself. And most of my work comes from word-of-mouth referrals, which is how I like it to be. But as a freelance, you can't stand still. There is always a need to search out new markets and find new clients, so selling yourself is part of that process. It's just that that's the bit I hate most. I've never been a competitor - I used to hate school sports days, for example - and I'm not particularly ambitious. I just want to enjoy what I do and be paid well for it. Let's face it, I am good at what I do. And that's not arrogance, just honesty.
So I prefer my work to speak for itself. Except that I can't stand still, the nature of freelancing means I have to keep touting myself, which goes against my nature.
Besides the Lithuanian job, I'm also pitching for some financial editing at a quarterly magazine. I'm more likely to strike lucky there as there is a shortage of copy-editors who know their way round the financial stuff.
It's summer anyway, the silly season, when things are quiet. In the meantime, I'm keeping myself busy writing my new website copy for my all-new, all-singing, all-dancing website... who cares about weekend breaks in Vilnius?
22 July 2006
An odd sort of week
I've not done much that could be described as concrete. It's been a period for pottering. On Wednesday, my graphic designer dropped by my house - we lunched on quiche in my back garden, nattered about personal stuff and also about our future work plans. I'm much clearer now about where I want to go workwise than I was when I started freelancing early last year. He also can see directions to head for. Then we got down to the nitty-gritty of my new website. We sketched out a rough site map and talked about a few ideas for the look. He's off on holiday now so his assistant will start the building work.
Next day, he mailed me a quote. I was shocked at the price, even with the very generous discount he was giving me. I decided I needed some time to think about it so I didn't ring him back straightaway. He caught me on the hop next morning by calling me... We know each other well enough so I was honest with him about my feelings on the price. It's not that I can't afford it - I can. I just hadn't expected a simple site to be so pricy. He was kind enough to agree to do the same amount of work for my own budget. We settled on the new price fairly quickly and I was happy although I felt guilty for bargaining him down. I promised to do the copywriting for his own website revamp at an equally bargain price though (which means I'll probably end up doing it for a fiver an hour!).
I don't know why I'm being so antsy about the website. Someone else built me my original site more than a year ago and I never paid for it. Not from lack of trying - he put a design together, I liked it but it needed some tweaks, he went away again to do them and I never heard from him again. I sent several e-mails and left several voicemails, all unanswered. I became increasingly desperate to get the site up and running. In the end, I sent the nearly-finished pages I had to my graphic designer and he tidied them up and then I found someone to host the site (the original bloke was supposed to arrange that). I got it all sorted within 2 days - the tweaks were done for free and I only had to pay the hosting fee. I then e-mailed web designer no. 1 to tell him it was out of his hands but that I would pay him for the work he had done. He never replied!
I've had a free site for a year and in a way I'm quite glad because, over the last 12 months, my freelance business has taken off in unexpected ways and I've outgrown the original site.
So, that's all sorted - it should go live during August.
I tried to call the publisher of the mag I'm going to edit - he's too busy putting the current issue to bed so we'll talk next week. In the meantime, I may have solved the Mac problem. I need one to work on the mag and someone local has offered to sell me one for a few hundred, as long as it's compatible with the apps I need.
I caught up with my book-keeping again. I wasn't happy to discover that the bank took £7 off me in charges for a payment from my Dutch client. I need to sort that on Monday. I think I need to get a PayPal account, as I've also been asked to do a Lithuanian website overhaul and I want to be sure I'll get paid.
It's been too hot all week to work hard anyway - I was quite happy to potter. Summer is always a slack time in my trade, for some reason. I've used the spare hours to look through the new reference books I bought. I now have up-to-date copies of the New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors, the new Oxford Spelling Dictionary, a new and better dictionary of banking and finance and the latest copy of the Oxford Guide to Plain English.
Next day, he mailed me a quote. I was shocked at the price, even with the very generous discount he was giving me. I decided I needed some time to think about it so I didn't ring him back straightaway. He caught me on the hop next morning by calling me... We know each other well enough so I was honest with him about my feelings on the price. It's not that I can't afford it - I can. I just hadn't expected a simple site to be so pricy. He was kind enough to agree to do the same amount of work for my own budget. We settled on the new price fairly quickly and I was happy although I felt guilty for bargaining him down. I promised to do the copywriting for his own website revamp at an equally bargain price though (which means I'll probably end up doing it for a fiver an hour!).
I don't know why I'm being so antsy about the website. Someone else built me my original site more than a year ago and I never paid for it. Not from lack of trying - he put a design together, I liked it but it needed some tweaks, he went away again to do them and I never heard from him again. I sent several e-mails and left several voicemails, all unanswered. I became increasingly desperate to get the site up and running. In the end, I sent the nearly-finished pages I had to my graphic designer and he tidied them up and then I found someone to host the site (the original bloke was supposed to arrange that). I got it all sorted within 2 days - the tweaks were done for free and I only had to pay the hosting fee. I then e-mailed web designer no. 1 to tell him it was out of his hands but that I would pay him for the work he had done. He never replied!
I've had a free site for a year and in a way I'm quite glad because, over the last 12 months, my freelance business has taken off in unexpected ways and I've outgrown the original site.
So, that's all sorted - it should go live during August.
I tried to call the publisher of the mag I'm going to edit - he's too busy putting the current issue to bed so we'll talk next week. In the meantime, I may have solved the Mac problem. I need one to work on the mag and someone local has offered to sell me one for a few hundred, as long as it's compatible with the apps I need.
I caught up with my book-keeping again. I wasn't happy to discover that the bank took £7 off me in charges for a payment from my Dutch client. I need to sort that on Monday. I think I need to get a PayPal account, as I've also been asked to do a Lithuanian website overhaul and I want to be sure I'll get paid.
It's been too hot all week to work hard anyway - I was quite happy to potter. Summer is always a slack time in my trade, for some reason. I've used the spare hours to look through the new reference books I bought. I now have up-to-date copies of the New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors, the new Oxford Spelling Dictionary, a new and better dictionary of banking and finance and the latest copy of the Oxford Guide to Plain English.
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