Taking Time Out

I’m taking time out, in order to follow through some personal goals. I’ll be back!

Write Away Rejections

 When a writer receives a rejection notification, in the form of a letter or an email, it can hit hard. Understandably, the person may feel disappointed, angry, and even fear that their standard of writing is not good enough to warrant any form of success.

At this stage, the writer may show some disinterest, but if left for a couple days perhaps, then one may see  errors from a totally different  perspective.  If the writer needs extra assistance in grammar, punctuation and spelling, then indeed one should make it a priority. Often it’s a case of back to basics in order to move forward. Spend a little time each day on exercises. Owl Online Writing Lab, part of the Purdue University Online Writing Lab offers handouts, workshops and Power Point Presentations on grammar and business and professional writing.  

Regardless of whether or not mistakes were highlighted,  by the Editor concerned, the writer should not wallow in a bed of self-pity, but continue to write, write and more write, to keep the creative flow constantly in motion.

Too Slow for Rewrites

As much as I write a decent amount of words a day, I’m not used to writing re-writes, well let me re-phrase that; I am not at this present time able to re-write a 500 word article in 15 minutes. I’m down to half an hour for one article, because I do at least two re-reads. Although my writing speed has increased these last few months, I’m not quite Speedy Gonzales yet!

I saw an ad listed on GetaFreelancer.com for 500 word articles, with a minimum of 10-20 per day at $1.00 Having said that, I understand that $1 goes a very long way for some people and of course this is a global site with Freelance workers in India, UK, Ukraine, Romania, USA and Russia. I have actually seen a US site offering $4 for a 500 page re-write. WritersMarket lists the lowest hourly rate for re-writes as $25 and the highest as $150. So maybe I’ll aim to do 2 rewrites a minute.  Well they do say practice makes perfect:-))

Does a Freelance Writer Need a Contract?

There seems to be mixed reviews about whether contracts are necessary for freelance writers. I personally feel  they are necessary, whilst not per se, an email outlining and confirming the project could serve as a contract. There are some writers who feel that when you are only buying say, one article, there is no need to exchange contracts, but when it comes to bulk articles, then yes you would need to. Assuming the other party is not a member of your family, how can you trust someone to say that the article is original? You only have their word. (Having said that, you may still need a contract for a family member! ).  If someone is selling one article for $150 and another is selling a pack of 150 articles for $150, then does one need to exchange contracts for both or either jobs? Maybe I’m being a bit picky, but It’s not meant to be a trick question.

Anyway, there are enough sample writer contracts available, that it is not always necessary to hire an attorney to do the job, it all depends on what information needs to be included on the contract.

Creative Lee has a sample freelance writing contract between writer and client. You can find a sample author and publisher contract at Cosmos Books.  The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Inc. (SFWA) have a sample contract for use between author and literary agent. Contract Edge charges $39 or less for single contracts or $149 for a pack of 20 various contracts and all created by attorneys.

Contracts can obviously adapted to suit your needs.