July 2006 Archives
Good Advice
Found on eWriteLife. Thanks Shai!
“You must write, not just think you’re going to.
And you must read widely, not in order to copy,
but to find your own voice.
It’s a matter of going through life
with all one’s senses alive,
to be responsive to experience,
to other people.”- PD James
More Superstitions
I was browsing through some other writing blogs and I found this entertaining link at Writer Unboxed: Linktopia, SuperFly Girl Edition.
Are you interested in your horoscope as a writer? I was.
Capricorn: Life isn’t all bad, even though the Sun is opposing you. The new Nodes, Virgo and Pisces,make teaching and traveling a must -do for you. Writers Conferences may be on your docket..proceed full force into the fray with such plans. You’ll be brilliant.
(Also, please note the quote from T-Bone as the title of this page! I love the literary world!)
Screwed Up!
I overbooked myself last week, and then ran into a few emergencies situations. Does this sound lame to anyone else? It does to me, and it was my life!
In the end I blew a deadline. F*@$! I emailed the editor when I realized that I wasn’t going to make it, offering to do the work for a reduced fee or to have the project reassigned. That was 4 days ago and the deadline passed 3 days ago. I’ve heard nothing back.
How do I beg forgiveness for such a grievous failure? Is there any hope of keeping this position or should I count myself as dismissed?
Keyword Articles
Nothing fancy here. I just want to vent about keyword articles. Maybe I write too slowly, but $2.00 USD for an article that takes nearly an hour to write seems a tiny bit low. These articles are usually 200-2500 words and require a phrase to be repeated verbatim in every paragraph. Sometimes it is more than one variation on a phrase, but it is always a pain in the rear end to incorporate that phrase into the prose without it sticking out like a sore thumb.
These articles are written for updating web content and the repetitive phrases are for searchablity. I’m perpetuating the low pay because I accept these little assignments. Sometimes it pans out though. I have a large assignment of these little fellows with a short deadline on a subject I enjoy: outdoor activities in Summit County, CO. EEEEeeeee.
Oh, and an update on the website. I’m thinking of using this style sheet for the site. I collect globes and actually own that particular figurine. Any opinions?
PR and the Internet
Working though the internet with a low budget it a matter of time management, being multi-talented, hard working and patient. For example, I built Boese Online myself. I entered the HTML code, I figured out the graphics, and I found ways of making a really flat site seem more interactive that it is. It still looks homemade, but it is a well done homemade website. *vanity* It works without issue for over a year.
However, this blog was built by Blogger. Some fellow who knows his stuff designed the theme and someone else probably wrote the HTML/HTML/CSS. I just plug in my text and call it a day. This is nice, but it makes the main site look positively cheesy in comparison. Damn.
My site is usually my the closest thing that I get to an actual job interview. It has to look as good as possible. It is PR. It is advertising. It is a revenue generating entity, and I know that what I have available now is not particularly impressive. A solution?
I could make my blog match my web page: simple and corny, but mostly effective. Better yet I could design a new theme or style or whatever, and update the entire site so it matches, looks slick, and is more unique. Great idea! How do I do that? I need to polish my HTML. I need to learn XHTML and XML. I need to get a decent graphics program (right now I have Paint). I need to learn CSS. Then it would be a good idea to learn more about RSS feeds and maybe advertising…
By the time this site matches the images in my mind I will be 190 years old with some solid marketable skills and no life.
