Not Quite There!

3/27/20

Last time I explained how I got some government assistance, so that I could at least have the bare essentials, and the predicament I was in that made me need to try working from home. What I did next was what many people do in a situation similar to mine, I turned to the internet for answers. I wasted some time looking at various online money-making methods, Internet storefronts that you drop ship orders to customers from a warehouse located elsewhere, virtual assistant, and even tried my hand at transcription for a bit, but nothing was actually making me a living wage, and some of the things were just really not my style. I didn’t want to sell things to people from someone else’s stock. I never really wanted to do secretarial work, either on or offline, and my typing speed just isn’t up to snuff for transcription work, although, I still try my hand at it every now and then when I need a few extra dollars, and am desperate enough to work for eight hours for $30 (the frustration of trying to hear mumbled words, many times spoken with a thick accent, while trying to type as fast as possible, AND knowing someone will rate you on grammar, spelling, and how well you heard what was said, is generally not worth the time I spend, but I do it when I really do have a dry spell with no work at all, and no prospects looming).

What I DID eventually find was ghostwriting. I answered an ad that said they were looking for writers, no experience necessary, and they could guarantee work. All that turned out to be technically true, but the pay wasn’t the greatest. In fact, I have since found out that the books I was writing for $350, would normally pay a freelance ghostwriter closer to $1000. This was disheartening, but I kept at it, even when I needed to switch publishers because the first was more of a writing “mill” I guess you could call it. They have a pool of X amount of writers, and a list of ebooks to be ghostwritten. Then the writers request a book, give a second and third choice, and hope they get a book to write from that list. This worked ok for a while, but I noticed that I never got the book I really wanted, and rarely got a book on a popular subject. There were just too many other writers vying for each and every title. The publisher I was working at eventually started to make “mistakes” in their payouts. They even went so far as to tell me to send my draft a week later (apparently they were not only having trouble with their payroll staff, but got themselves backed up with so many writers demanding to be paid, they said they couldn’t even look at my work for 5-7 days.), then tried to deduct a late fee from my final pay.

I knew it was time to make a move, so I started looking for other companies. I actually got lucky, and found a private publisher (just one guy I needed to talk to, yay!) who liked my writing samples, and asked me if I would be interested in writing some projects for him. I agreed, we signed the contract, and I got my first book (a guide on puppy training) within a couple of days. After that, I did another book from him, and by this time Christmas had passed and we were on to January of 2020! Well, my wonderful publisher told me that his ebooks were on hold because of some Amazon mumbo-jumbo, yadda yadda, he wouldn’t have any books for me until March at the earliest. I waited for about a week and started looking into other ways I could write from home and make money, checked into some free internet courses to improve my skills in proofreading and such, and finally sent him an email at the beginning of March.

Much to my chagrin, he responded by telling me he had found someone to write for him in half the time and for half the price I was charging, and “would I be interested in matching their offer?” I answered back that since I was actually trying to GROW my freelancing business, and actually EAT every once in a while (ok, so I didn’t say that last part, but SERIOUSLY!!), I would be unable to provide him with the quality content that he was asking for. In other words, no, butthead, I WON’T write a 30,000 word book for you for $150 in two weeks! Sheesh!

So here I am, my friends, at the end of March, and once again, unemployed, (or not employed), whatever it’s called when you own your own “business” and don’t have any work, lol. I remain hopeful, though, because as you should all know about me by now, I’m not one to just say “I give up” and cry into my coffee cup (well, I may cry once in a while, but never into my coffee, gross!).

Next post, I’ll tell you why I’m not despairing (yet), and what I’m doing now!

#notes #typing #meeting