Books, books, and more books

Reading, writing, reading, writing...that seems to be the name of the game when it comes to my free time. If I'm not nose-deep in reading a book, I'm knuckle-deep typing one up.

Yes, that's correct! Yours truly has been commissed to write a series of novels. The only thing I can say at the moment is that it falls within the urban crime genre. An excellent type of subject matter to work within, and one I honestly prefer to write.

Gritty, dark, revenge type stories are my bread and butter. I've revised the submitted summary and have gotten into these characters' heads already. I'm charging through and the 50K word count shouldn't be a problem.

50K? It's my own persoanl NaNoWriMo. Only this one comes with a contract promising compensation.

Good news, kids! Daddy is taking you on a whirlwind tour of NYC's gutter trash. Perhaps the next time you're in a book store, you'll search for a little tome that shall be called, "The Brass Ring."

Back in action!

I've been taking some time off as I get through the summer months at my day job. Summer is the busy time of year for my industry and I just don't have the free time to get much writing done, personal or otherwise.

Now that things have slowed down, I'm finally able to get back into this madness! I have a lot of projects lined up and have found some new contacts, too.

Current sites I frequent looking for freelance work:

www.freelancewritinggigs.com
fiverr.com
www.elance.com
www.freelancer.com
www.voicebunny.com
pittsburgh.craigslist.com

I highly recommend you start looking around, too! Um...but don't look at my frequented sites. I wouldn't want to track you down and destroy your computer because you stole a gig out from under me.

Currently working on things for Amazing Mutts, a few short stories, a commission ebook, random podcasts and radio spots, and more. Summer is done, so now I can hibernate with my laptop and make some $$$.

The way of the dodo

Nein!

I have not faded away. I'm just super busy at work, and running like a writer with his head cut off while at home. My daughter just turned two years-old and my son is  5 1/2 months-old, so you can imagine that sleep and free time are valuable commodities in my household.

I've been working on a ton of commission stuff, balancing about 30-40 clients per month. Maybe a little more. Audio production is in full tilt, and I'm churning out some quality material (like the segment just sent to the owner of Blue Cattle Dog Boxing Gym this morning). Lots of podcasters looking for me to edit stuff, too, which is cool.

Just submitted something to The WiFiles. We'll wait the 90 days and see how it goes. This particular story was rejected six times previously from other places, so I massively edited it and have crossed my fingers.

I have two mroe pieces to rewrite today and submit...somewhere. I'll have to look on Duotrope and pick a place.

I'm also in need of intereted parties to submit to an anthology I'm pulling together. The genre is probably anything sci-fi/fantasy/weird/pulp. Ed Ainsworth and Mike Hintze are on board. Anyone else?

Busy, busy, busy

A rough week around these parts, as I lost two days of productivity due to a family funeral. It was a sad event, but we're through it now and it's time to get back to daily living.

Today turned out to be an awesomely awesome day full of sales and surprises. I've scored a steady gig writing web copy for a real estate marketing company based in Florida. I've been working up page content for brokerages around the country (from South Huntington Beach to Brainerd), and it's proving to be quite lucrative. So much so that I'm thinking of outsourcing some material. There's a lot of writing to be done here, and it's getting paid for, but I don't have all day to get it done anymore.

I also got a lovely e-mail alerting me that three stories I wrote last year were purchased by All Access HD, LLC. I call it lovely because it was more money than I was expecting to get, with a promise to look at any more material I send over. Stories sold include the following:

Citizen Cog and the Vampire Society
One Life to Lose
Midnight Mistress; Dangerous Damsel

When the releases come around in the associated anthologies I'll put the word out. And have you noticed the LLC attached to the end of the buyer? I'm thinking of going that route myself, but I'm not sure on what all the benefits would be other than not getting destroyed by the government for tax reasons.

Hey! I'm still here!

So, all of the commission writing has been taking off. I'm writing short stories, articles, and SEO material for more sites and ebooks than I can name. It's becoming quite lucrative. So much that I'm actually thinking of outsourcing. Not sure if that's plausible right now, as I would have to find some efficient writers that I trust, but we'll see how it goes.

Freelancing work has tripled in the last two months. That's not blowing smoke. I'm running out of free time, and my day job is only getting busier.

The latest thing I've worked to see the world wide web thingy-ma-bob is a nice compilation of work. I wrote two short stories for this Facebook page, which is a business selling computer hardware. I also was comissioned to record and produce audio version of my stories, plus three others. Check it out, some cool stuff (even if it is technically propaganda for the stuff they're shilling).

Lots more stuff brewing right now, and lots of submissions sent out recently, too. I'll get around to talking about them when I get the time.

Ah. Time. Where does it all go? I think as a people we ought to consider going to the 27 Hour Day.

WWiR

Another really busy week, and would you look at that? I actually managed to fit in some original writing (and sold some of it, too).

Did a bunch more content for Epic Polls, and four short stories. I'll only talk about three of them, though, because who knows what will ever happen with the fourth. If something ever comes of it I'll bring it up again, but I won't be holding my breath. These were all done on commission, but I'm not always able to determine what happens to these things once they leave my email.

First, we have "The Ravaged Earth." This little piece is concerned about just how desperate a man can get when the end of the world has actually come to pass. He's linked up with a group of survivors, but the story is more about how he's able to continue getting up every day.

Next, we have "The War for Internatioanl Intelligence." I was asked by a repeat client to pen the first in a potential series of shorts that feature a new government team of spooks. This particular team is called MTU and populated by six agents, three American and three British. It was a fun piece to write and I hope he places another order soon.

Finally, we have "The Wolf of Black Creek." It's technically unfinished, and I doubt that I'll ever get back to it. The client wanted me to write this story 1,000 words at a time so he could review the progress. I sent him the first portion and he complained that it was double-spaced instead of single-spaced. Anyone who has ever opened a modern word processing program knows what an easy change this is to make. He demanded that I change it and when I offered to walk him through the process so he could know how to do it in the future, he got really rude with me. Haven't heard from him since. So...yeah. It is what it is.

WWiR

Wow, what a week! Lots of work happening around here, so let's run down the list, shall we?

Lots more content for Get Exlcusiv! Go and comment, please, because this guy pays me very well. He's also hooked me up with some friends of his that are going to launch a new site soon, and I've been talking to them about providing web content.

Working on more content for Epic Polls, which is about as basic as my services get. This is easy money, and the guy that owns the site seems to enjoy my work, because he keeps ordering more. I found this guy through Craigslist, which goes to show that all those listings aren't out to get ya.

Wrote up a petition for Amazing Mutts, another regular client. Some serious stuff here. There's a guy endorsed by Animal Planet that is making a lot of people angry. I researched it, and they do seem to have a case here. But...I'm just the writer. I don't know anything about this legal stuff.

I edited some brochures for DistincVision Marketing. Nice guy, but I don't really get how his company can do what they claim if he needs someone else to edit his material. Maybe he just needs a second set of eyes to catch his mistakes.

Designed a sales page for Legs Gear, which seems like a great deal if you live in Australia.

Got a commission story finished called "The Ravaged Earth." This guy is putting out an ebook and asked me to pitch in a story. No word on when the ebook will come out, but I'll be sure to announce it and promote the crap out of it when it rolls around. The story is set ten years after your typical infection-wipes-out-population scenario. Just a quick piece that the buyer plotted himself.

Also started up my NaNoWriMo entry for the year, but there is just no way I'll get it done. Absolutely none. But, I'm not going to lose sleep over it. I just like getting the emails from famous writers that I respect and read. My story, "MonstroCity," is about a seven year old necromancer with her undead bodyguard as a supporting character. His name - Frank the Tank. He's an undead mob legbreaker that the little necromancer has coerced into helping her defeat a larger magical problem.

On the audio production front, I cut a spot for some Balaji guy who wants to help you with your karma, worked up a spot for List A Business, another spot for Mintmicro Computer Repairs, a spot for Movember, a spot for Rate Locking,

WWiR

Lots of sales this week, a few commissions, and a bunch of web content. It's another busy week at this casa, and the new job is putting some straing on my writing time.

At my old job I had all time to write. I was able to do two things at once, but now I'm limited to just working on my writing during my lunch hour. I've been staying up late, often until 2am, to get production squeezed in as well as some writing time. It's rough, but it's worth it.

I did more content for http://www.getexclusiv.com/, http://www.mintmicro.com/, and a few bits of research for a collection of places that aren't worth mentioning. I produced spots for a few UK companies, and even got in touch with some of my old DJ coworkers at Forever Broadcasting to do some lines for me. It's nice to have a network of productive, talented people.

"Stranded With A Killer" got an overhaul and I'm starting to look for places to sell the story to once it's done. I'll take suggestions! Keep in mind, this is a space noir murder mystery pulp adventure...with chicks. Got to have chicks, man, or Joel McHale won't pay attention.

BY THE WAY - Stay far away from The Rag. I inquired about their submission process and the editor, Daniel Reilly, wrote me back to tell me that online submissions must pay a sum of $3.00 for consideration. WTF? Are you serious? You want me to pay for you to take a look at something you're thinking of buying?

Oh, wait, it's cool because they offer people who make online submissions $4.00 off a yearly subscription! Well, that makes it all better, doesn't it! You still have to pay the remaing amount for the yearly subscription, of course. They claim to pay their writers upwards of $250 per piece, which I find highly unlikely since they've only had one issue released.

This is obviously a scheme to get novice writer to give them money. I doubt a third of the submissions are even looked at. Don't waste your time, save your money, and send your hard work into a site that will actually take you seriously as a professional.

WWiR

Scored another recurring gig, this one writing web content for Epic Polls. The clients are racking up enough that I'm now offering some of them a labeling of "Preferred Client." Basically, if you're on the PC list and you need me to do something for you, I bump all of my other work back and focus on your needs. There's no cost associated with this labeling, it's just an incentive to keep the decent paying clients coming back.

Did more work for Get Exclusiv!, Mintmicro Computer Repairs, RE Cloud, Rock Weddings, and some research for a guy that's looking into black magic (not kidding on that last one). Once again, I didn't get much done in the way of original writing this week. With the new job and all I just haven't had time. The paying gigs come first these days.

NaNoWriMo is coming up in under two weeks. Any takers? I've done it for the last four years, and usually had a great time. It's a little stressful, but it is a lot of fun and very motivational. I might need to use it for a way to get through the rest of my novel. Lord knows I need the motivation to get it done.

Manic Monday

It's only Monday, and I've already gotten a lot lined up for the week. Two rejections (for Drunk Tank, and Citizen Cog), thus leading to two submissions. Drunk Tank was sent to The Drabblecast and Citizen Cog to...I haven't decided yet. But I will. Tonight.

I also began a short fiction piece that I was commissioned to write, entitled The Non-Life of Christopher Mahoney. Just a quick flash on the keyboard, really.

And I also signed a guy to SEO his realty site. Pays a hundred smackers, so hooray for $$$.

WWiR

*whew*

Got really busy this week, and not just with writing and producing. I started a new job yesterday, in a new career field. My previous employer was fantastic, but I had to resign for a number of reasons. I won't go into it here, but I will say the decision to change jobs was purely from a logistics standpoint. No ill will harbored here, and I truly hope that I have an opportunity to return to them someday (for the right amount of money). Everyone at my new company is really nice and I'm looking forward to moving up the corporate ladder.

Anyway, back to what you're all here for. Here's the rundown of all the work I did this week:

Five articles for Get Exclusiv! (coming soon; owner is away on business)
Content for Amazing Mutts
Promo for Fresh Radio
Promo for Fashion Show Inc
Promo for KuduBids
Commercial for The Prophecy 23
Article for Things I Fear
Content for a Super Bowl 2012 site (launching soon)
Article on Kindle Fire vs the Nook (site unspecified)
50 polling questons on comics and books (site unspecified)
Article on the LA Staples Center (site unspecified)

Plus, I did some work editing on an autobiography. Sadly, because of time contraints, I had to drop this project. The book is awesome: this guy really went through a lot in his life, through many amazing circumstances that would be hard to pull yourself up from. However, he did pick himself up. Really nice guy, and I'm dissappointed that I won't have time to work with him on the rest of the project.

I did absolutely no work on my own writing this week. Just too busy. And it super-sucks because the deadline for my novel is fast approaching. The stuff that pays immediately is going to have to take a step back if I plan on actually making my deadline. We'll see.

Insanity strikes!

Crazy weekend. Here I thought I wasn't going to get any work done. Instead I found myself able to edit a chapter of a dude's book, finish six articles, write a script for a :60 spot, and then produce that same spot.

All that and I still had time to visit the Franklin Apple Festival with my wife and daughter. Surprisingly, not a lot of apples.

WWiR

Another week in writing, another few dollars made. Things only seem to be picking up for this fledgling freelancer, as I obtained several more commission articles and a few pieces of audio production. I also got some insane offers, which baffle me. Just because I am a freelancer does not mean that I will lance for free. I'll explain:

I got an offer yesterday to be a staff writer for Steel City Magazine, which is Pittsburgh based. At first glance that seems awesome because I live in Pittsburgh and I really love it here. However, I was quickly informed that I would not be paid for the articles I write. Instead, I would be offered 20% of the advertising that I signed. That's right, I would not only have to provide content, but I would have to go make advertising sales as well. C'mon... Do people fall into that trap? Seriously? Because those people deserve to not get paid. the creative and sales departments should never intertwine; that's where conflict of interest comes from.

I also got an offer to be an editor for an erotic publisher...so, I'm probably not going to take that job. If Grandma Golightly can't look at it, then I'm not going to do it. I'm not desperate enough to throw away my scruples (scruples is a word I have decided to work into conversatin more often). I'm not on a moral high horse here, I just think that if there's a chance that I could be shamed into not promoting my work that I probably shouldn't be doing it.

I rewrote some content for Amazing Mutts, added more reviews to Get Exclusiv!, sold an article to Social Skyline, mixed an intro for a podcast hosted by Situations the Game, edited someone's ebook, and edited what I've written so far of my own novel.

The novel, by the way, is called "Prodigal Son" and used to be featured at Revenance before the site went belly-up. Some may remember the three part adventure that was hosted there starring my urban fantasy, paranormal investigator Felix North. I sliced out some scenes, extended others, and rewrote the prologue to work better as a full length novel instead of an episodic series (which it was originally intended to be). Where will this novel be published? Well, I'm not saying yet, because I'm still talking with the editor about how to best promote the book. The deadline is January 1st, 2012.

Probably not going to get any writing done this weekend, as we're hitting two community fairs. Autumn Leaf Festival in Clarion (where my wife went to college) and the Franklin Apple Festival (where...someone did something at some point). These fairs aren't really my thing, but I want to spend time with my wife and visit friends.

Go click yourself

So, I just signed a contract that puts a litte cash in my pocket from writing. I would ask that people go start clicking the following link:

http://www.getexclusiv.com/

It's a TV and movie review site that just got started. I'll be posting reviews of TV shows I watch regularly (20 reviews a month), so please go check out the site and leave some comments. If you watch the shows I'm reviewing, then you definitely should leave some comments and we'll begin some discussions!

My pay is not based on the number of clicks my articles get; I have a contract with an alotted budget. I just want to drive traffic to the site.

WWiR

It's been a productive week here in the OK Corral. Got another thousand words added to the sequel Wendell Null story, "Stranded with a Killer," in which our starship constable has crash landed with his worst rival and a recently convicted felon. But when the death that caused the crash seems to be murder, is the felon really the prime suspect?

I would have gotten more writing on that story done, but the paying gigs took over for a bit there. I did some reaserch for SupermomWFH, a stay at home fitness site. I provided more web content to Arcade Grab. I signed a deal with the guy who runs Get Exclusiv! and will be providing articles on a regular basis there (so you should go and comment on them so he sees how valued an employee I can be).

I also wrote up a quick story called "Chance Encounters," which I discussed in my last post. Just a quick commission piece that I have yet to find out where it will land on the great, wide, wonderful internet. The instructions he gave me were thus, "Write a sexy sci-fi story." Sexy? Well, I gave it my best shot without being too graphic. I don't do gratuitousness in stories. I believe things like that are better left to the imagination of the reader.

Right now I'm righting some ad copy for a new product that is basically a sports-themed puppy tent. If I had a dog I would consider buying one, but since I have a cat I doubt that he would enjoy it. Still, an interesting product that will soon be available and when you read about it just think about me.