tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6732836741375038854.post1737635432897195628..comments2023-11-03T06:40:38.810-07:00Comments on Hack Writers' Guild: Why you need to break the rulesGrace Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05231033372024472872noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6732836741375038854.post-6833055972774376082009-04-22T18:15:00.000-07:002009-04-22T18:15:00.000-07:00Another great post for 'peeps' like me to chew on ...Another great post for 'peeps' like me to chew on for awhile. The comments too! Thanks everyone.Dianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09818249321432380704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6732836741375038854.post-62092899663759629902009-04-20T16:26:00.000-07:002009-04-20T16:26:00.000-07:00GREAT post!
There's nothing wrong with starting sm...GREAT post!<br />There's nothing wrong with starting small or working on the cheap. I write penny rev articles on a few sites- not because I don't value my work, but because it's enjoyable and bulks up the portfolio. I can probably thank those articles for the better paying work I get now.<br /><br />As for writing rules- Amen! Some (most) of the greatest writers pay no attention to "the rules". Most of the grammatical rules don't even apply to free-flowing English. They. Are. Stuffy. (I love sentence fragments).KMRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09644412676248051155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6732836741375038854.post-86901240261187997882009-04-20T14:22:00.000-07:002009-04-20T14:22:00.000-07:00I do so looove the clients who ask you to "polish ...I do so looove the clients who ask you to "polish it" a bit. Especially when I have sweat blood finding the precise way to phrase each sentence perfectly. The first time someone gave me that "it just needs to be tweaked a little overall" with no specifics I sent them a long checklist. I politely asked if they had noticed any of the following that needed to be corrected:<br /><br />Run on sentences<br />Typos<br />Incorrect spelling<br />Poor grammar<br />Flawed syntax<br />Factual errors<br /><br />And then asked them to direct me to the passages they felt should be reworked for:<br /><br />Tone<br />Style<br />Phrasing<br />Length<br /><br />Or to include:<br /><br />More specifics<br />Less detail<br />Anecdotes<br />First person experiences<br />Scientific data/references<br />etc.<br /><br />This made my point that without actual guidance it was improbable that I would be able to identify which portion of the content they felt could be improved or how I could go about improving it. Needle in a haystack!<br /><br />That worked like a charm.Daisyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09430197444830973366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6732836741375038854.post-15289219894300673032009-04-20T13:04:00.000-07:002009-04-20T13:04:00.000-07:00I absofrikkenlutely loved this post - I thought it...I absofrikkenlutely loved this post - I thought it was fantabulous AND superdelicious!!<br /><br />I'm going to have to visit Mandy just so I can with her to a Yankees game - just one of those little perks the Baseball Goddess has scored.<br /><br />She's dead right - why work yourself to the bone to keep clients who don't appreciate you? There are as many different venues FOR writing as there are different styles OF writing.<br /><br />This doesn't mean we can't learn new ways to do things - but it does mean we don't blindly follow the latest trend.<br /><br />Well done, especially the point about bloging - I hear them say NEVER give your work away or no-one will appreciate you, NEVER work for less than you will be willing to work for forever after, or you'll never be able to get more -- excuse me?<br /><br />How many of you learned a trade by volunteering, then started at entry level and worked your way up? Will you never be a highly paid construction contrctor because you volunteered with Habitat For Humanity as a teen, then worked your way up as a helper on cnstruction sites to apprentice, to journeyman carpenter, to subcontractor?<br /><br />I didn't expect to get top dollar when I started. I paid my dues, and have doubled and redoubled my rates as I went along... and I still have some of my original clients - the ones who appreciated me, the ones who told me I didn't charge enough and gave me bonuses at the end of projects, the ones who gave me a nod or a credit even when I had only contracted to ghostwrite, the ones who refer other clients to me with glowing words.<br /><br />There is no shame in starting small. We all had to crawl before we could walk, and walk before we gcould run... and run before we cuold bungee off a bridge with no safety net, which is what freelancing feels like sometimes! :)Grace Alexanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05231033372024472872noreply@blogger.com