What Have I Been Writing?

It's been a busy month. Between commuting three hours a day, cheering on GrammarHubby in his theatrical endeavors (his fantastic run as Bill Sikes in Oliver! ended last week, and now he's getting ready to start rehearsals for Assassins, where he's playing Leon Czolgosz), and dealing with a broken computer, I've been swamped.

And I was just cast in a one-act play that takes place on August 2, so I'll be busy with that for the next few weeks. Yay, theatre!

Sad thing is, I haven't been able to write much, although that's mostly due to the nasty Trojan virus currently infecting my laptop. Bleh. My brother-in-law is going to take a look at it this weekend (hopefully), but it's really thrown a kink in my ability to:

a) write new blog posts (have you missed me?);
b) search for new writing jobs; or
c) keep up on MySpace and Facebook. (You can see where my priorities lie.)

I have been able to do some work, though. Here's a quick sampling of what I've been up to. Enjoy!

TV Guide Celebrity Profiles: Jessica Tandy, Joe Jonas, Ashley Newbrough, Nathan Kress, Geoffrey Arend

Web Content Articles: An Overview of Gin, An Overview of Tequila (Mmmm, alcohol.)

Also, there's a possibility I may be authoring a TV Guide blog next season. (Pushing Daisies, maybe? I love that show and, as far as I know, there's no current blogger for it.) I'll update with more details as they come.

Oliver! at the Wilmington Drama League

PSA for anyone in the Delaware/Philly/NJ/Maryland area:

Come see Oliver! at the Wilmington Drama League!

It's shaping up to be a spectacular show. I'm not involved with it, but several of my former Beauty and the Beast cast mates are. GrammarHubby is playing Bill Sikes, and he's just as awesome and scary and foreboding as you could possibly want the big bad villain to be.

Click here for more information, directions, and to find out how to reserve tickets. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for students and seniors, and $8 for children. Show dates are:

Friday, June 13 8:00 pm
Saturday, June 14 8:00 pm
Sunday, June 15 2:00 pm
Friday, June 20 8:00 pm
Saturday, June 21 8:00 pm
Sunday, June 22 2:00 pm

As a teaser (and because I'm absolutely in love with these photos), here are some production shots:

Bumble and Oliver: "Boy for Sale"


Oliver: "Where Is Love?"


The Artful Dodger and Company: "Consider Yourself"


Fagin and Oliver: "You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two"


Nancy and Bet: "It's a Fine Life"


Fagin and Gang: "Be Back Soon"


Nancy: "Oom-Pah-Pah"


Bill Sikes: "My Name"


Nancy: "As Long as He Needs Me"


Oliver and Company: "Who Will Buy?"


Nancy and Oliver


Fagin, Nancy and Sikes


Nancy and Sikes


Fagin: "Reviewing the Situation"

Awesome, right? Come see it!!

Friday Giggle

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Warning: Avoid Scams

One of the biggest problems plaguing freelance writers is the sheer amount of scams masquerading as legitimate writing jobs on the 'Net. Is there anything more frustrating than seeing a job you're absolutely perfect for, and putting in the time and energy to craft the perfect cover letter—only to find out that you've just been taken in by a convoluted sales tool?

Well, yeah—I guess if you actually fall for it, that's worse. So don't.

Let me share my most recent experience:

I recently applied for a proofreader job. The gig sounded interesting and relatively straightforward—perfect for my part-time freelance lifestyle. I sent an e-mail to the address provided, expressing my interest in the job.

Today, I got the following response (names removed to protect the guilty):

Hi Angela,

Thank you for your interest in the proofreading job. My name is **** and I am here to assist with the application process.

This job is for a start-up educational development company proofreading their website and marketing material. This is a freelance job that can be done anywhere. To be considered for this job you must apply here (*link removed*).

Feel free to email me with any questions you may have.

Okay, fine. Some companies like to do things their own way, and I'm fine with that.

Here's the thing. The link she gave me ended up redirecting to GoFreelance.com.

UGH.

GoFreelance (and most other pay-for-membership or bidding sites) prey on struggling and wannabe writers. They either make you pay to see job listings or force you to bid on jobs, essentially enabling most clients to select the lowest bidder—who offer bids as low as pennies per gig. It's wrong and awful, and it undermines all working freelance writers trying to make an honest living. I never use them.

Luckily, I knew about GoFreelance from other writer friends. GoFreelance lures you in with a "low" $2.95 per-month charge to see their job postings, and then jacks it up to $29.95 a month. That's absolutely ridiculous. There are way too many places to find writing jobs for free; you should never have to sign up with GoFreelance to find gigs.

So if a potential client responds to you, how can you tell if it's a legitimate opportunity or a scam? Every situation is different, but here are some red flags to look out for:

• You should never, ever have to pay in order to apply for a job. EVER. A legitimate client may want to see samples of your work, or maybe an article on spec, but that's very different (although it has its debates, too). Beware of any client who asks you to apply through a site that requires a membership fee.
• See if other people have experienced the same problem with this client. Writer message boards, like AbsoluteWrite.com, have forums specifically devoted to deadbeat clients, scams, fraud, etc. If the job posting was on a blog, check the blog comments to see if there are any warnings for other writers. (If not, consider posting one yourself to alert other writers who may be interested in the job.)
• Trust your instincts. If something in the client's communication feels off to you, don't click on any links in their e-mail messages. Write it off and move on.

I did respond to my own personal Scammy McScam-a-Lot, explaining that I don't use sites like GoFreelance but that I'd be happy to apply through e-mail or some other means:

Hi ****,

Thank you for your assistance. I'm still interested in the job; however, I was wondering if there was a way to apply without registering with Go Freelance. Like many other freelance writers and editors, I make it a point not to use bidding sites or job boards that require a membership fee.

I'd still love to apply for the job outside of Go Freelance, and I'm happy to send you anything you need—résumé, proofreading samples, etc. Please let me know.

Best,
Angela

We'll see if I get a response from them. I'm not banking on it.

May Goals Revisited

I'm back. Did you miss me?

Well, between auditioning for shows, catching up on all of the television season finales, and stressing out about $4.00/gallon gas prices, I haven't really been great about keeping on top of my May goals. Since the end of the month is a mere three days away, I'm just going to cut my losses and turn over a brand-new leaf for June.

Here's the recap of what I got accomplished (or not) in May (and here's the original post, for anyone who missed it):

• Apply for at least FIVE new freelance jobs per week. I've applied for, uh, two assigments. All month. Eeeesh. (On the other hand, I've applied for two assignments this month! That's two more than I applied for at this time last year! *cheers weakly*)
• Blog at least THREE times a week. On both blogs. I started the month strong in this category, but finished pretty weakly. This is my seventh blog post here at Grammar Scribe. I did slightly better over at Beginner Fitness Junkie, blogging a total of nine times over the course of the month.
• Start researching computers. Still in the process of doing this. I can in no way afford a new laptop right now (any extra money I do get is going toward a bike so that I can leave my car parked at home all the time), but I'm still checking around to see what's out there.
• Continue to be an awesome copy editor at my regular job and an awesome freelancer for my existing clients. Check! I got some new freelance assignments this month, and things are still going pretty well at work.

Not great, not terrible. I'm feeling pretty down on myself, though, since a) I didn't get into the show I auditioned for last week; and b) I came up so short on my writing goals. I'm going to spend the next couple of days compiling a list of goals for June---hopefully that'll help perk me up a bit and help me get focused.

Favorite Childhood Books

It's inevitable. Every year around this time, I get seriously nostalgic for the books I read when I was younger. I think it's the fact that whenever I go to Borders in the late spring and summer, I'm surrounded by "summer-reading list" books.

Books you read in your childhood and teenage years affect you like no other book you read in your lifetime. I still steadfastly maintain that Frances Hogsden Burnett's A Little Princess is my favorite book of all time, even though I first read it almost 20 years ago.

Also, I was a huge dork in high school---and proud of it, by the way. I was one of the only people who actually enjoyed reading the monthly assignments for my English classes, and hitting up the library with my summer-reading list was always a really exciting adventure.

As an adult, I don't have as much time to read as I did back then. Too many other things end up taking priority of my time---work, commuting, performing in community theatre, spending time with the hubby, and watching TV. (Hey, don't judge---I need to watch TV to be able to keep up at work.) It's one of the reasons I'm looking forward to my new train commute that's starting in June---I'll have lots of time to read on the way to and from work.

So I'm planning to hit up the local library over the long weekend to stock up on reading material, and I'm thinking about re-reading some of my favorite books from when I was younger (middle school and high school). My wish list includes:

• Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery (currently reading)
• A Little Princess, Frances Hogsden Burnett
• The Secret Garden, Frances Hogsden Burnett
• The Giver, Lois Lowry
• To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
• The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
• The Chocolate War, Robert Cormier
• Bridge to Terabithia, Katherine Paterson
• Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck
• Animal Farm, George Orwell
• Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
• Lord of the Flies, William Golding

What were some of your favorite books that you read when you were younger?

Who/Whom

Woohoo---I scored 100% on today's quiz over at Triangle Grammar Guide. That was a fun diversion from writing the two articles I have due tomorrow.

If you want to take it, the quiz is here: Who/Whom. Have fun!