Friday 20 May 2016

EBooks: Added a Skill

Courtesy Pixabay

In an effort to expand my freelancing skill set, I took the time to learn how to create and publish eBooks on Amazon. At this point, anyone interested to hiring me to do that is advised that pricing is negotiable. There is such a wide range of capability here, so I haven't settled on any kind of set price list.

Biggest challenge for me is to keep the formatting straight. On the bright side that is pretty much figured out. I can create copy, add photos and graphics and build a professional looking cover. I was quite pleased with my first creation on the site. I am comfortable offering this type of service to any potential clients.

If you are looking to have eBooks made up and need a freelancer to ghostwrite, format and/or upload to Amazon, I do it. Give me a shout (or just send me an email).

Thursday 25 February 2016

Why Hire a Freelancer Instead of a Forum Content Company?


Courtesy Pixabay

So you've decided that giving your forum a boost by paying for content is a good idea, but you're not sure whether you should hire a freelancer specializing in this work, or one of the bigger companies that provide forum content. Both have advantages and disadvantages.

Where the big company is king

  • If you have a big job, where you are hoping to have what looks like a large number of people on site, the big company is hard to beat. They have the bodies to throw at the job. Theoretically, I can be up to ten “people” as a freelancer but am not comfortable beyond four or five. (That's why I have several affiliated writers I can trust to help me out. Even with that, I'm in no position to handle a huge order for 20 or more usernames).

  • Easy to make an order. With the big companies you go to their website, fill out their form, choose a package, pay (often multiple payment methods available) and they do the rest. I'm only able to offer Paypal at this point. To make my life manageable, new clients can only contact me via email. I have one phone line and I can't afford to have one random person blow it up.

Myth

Requesting a package offering ten usernames means you have ten writers working for you. If the writers for that particular company see your order as prime work chances are you have only three writers. You would have to make it clear to the content company that you want different writers for all usernames from the start or that is not what you'll get. Ordering from several different providers still won't guarantee you're getting the variety of live writers you think you are. Most of the really good forum content writers I worked along side took as many job slots as they could (I learned to do the same). Not only that, most of them work for all of the top forum content providing companies at the same time. Don't let that bother you, though. The writers that do this are quite good and you are unlikely to be able to figure out which users are in reality the same people.

What the little guy has to offer

  • A more personal working relationship. Administrators with the big companies are good at what they do but with a freelancer like myself you are working directly with the writer. From top to bottom, it's my financial well-being and reputation on the line. 

  • Consistent quality. If you hire a good freelancer you can be pretty certain of what you're getting. You don't have to worry about a problem writer sneaking in. I've seen it happen before. A new writer claimed a couple job slots where I worked regularly and started doing unacceptable work. The administration was tipped off by one of the other writers. The culprit was pulled from the job and replaced but it is still possible damage was done. I read the offending posts. They were a horror.

If this service is right for you, a freelancer like myself might be the way to go. I'd be happy to fill this need and build working relationships with new clients such as yourself.

Wednesday 24 February 2016

Open For Business

And we're launched!

This site needs a great deal of work yet but the basics are here and ready to go. I'm ready to start serving clients and in fact I already am. I completed my bio earlier today and a short while ago completed a basic pricing list. The contact page is already functional, I just had to make sure the tabs all worked.

I will be adding a short bio in the sidebar with a link to the more extensive version. I also have a post to write but for today I'm getting tired. It can wait till tomorrow. Might be better to spread out some of the work anyway.

My visitor tracking graph has indicated that someone has been checking the site at regular intervals (looked like a heart rate monitor read out). I'm hoping that it is a prospective client. Whoever you are we are ready. Hopefully the services listed show that I could work for you.

The hope is that this marks the beginning of something good for my writing career. I am looking forward to being of service to all my future clients.

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