There was an awkward silence on the other end of the line. My client was dumbfounded. “How could a web page cost so much? It’s only three paragraphs!” I hate having this conversation. It’s not that I can’t justify my rates – oh believe me, I can, mostly because I’m far from the most expensive…
Tag Archive: writing
What I Did On My One Day Vacation
As I sit here listening to the clock tick in an otherwise quiet house, I’m marveling at the fact that I took the day off — most of it, anyway — and the world didn’t end. Aside from being on an island beach somewhere, this day was probably as close to ideal as it could…
The 3rd 40: Days 25 and 26
The weather in California has been less than stellar this winter. Yes, I know, boo-hoo; tell that sob story to the east coasters who endured multiple blizzards. And yet, I can’t recall more consistent rain in the 11 years that we’ve lived here. So the weekend weather forecast — mid-70s and sunny — had me…
All or Nothing
Freelance work is inherently cyclical. Colleagues in corporate jobs often ask if the cycles make me crazy. The answer is no, but that answer has come with time and experience. Rather than fight the cycles and worry about when they will start or end, I’ve learned to relax and ride it out. January is a…
A Science Geek In a Liberal Arts World (Or is it the other way around?)
In spite of my natural inclinations toward science, math and all things that public school kids deem to be geeky, I somehow ended up as a professional writer and editor. It was as much of a shock to me as it was to anyone. I went to college thinking that I’d be a math major….
The Pen That I Love
I’ve seen lots of ads for the Uni-Ball 207 pen, all focused on prevention of check fraud. What they never seem to mention is that these pens are really great to write with. The ink flows nicely without smearing, and the specialty colors are vibrant and fun. The orange pen, in particular, is fantastic. It’s…
Another 40: Days 22-32
Yes, I’ve been terrible about following through on the documentation of this 40-day challenge. Since we last spoke, I went on vacation. For anyone who wonders if they should skip the hoopla of the holidays and head for the tropics, my answer is an unequivocal yes. In the course of a week, I read a…
Giving 128%
I crossed the NaNoWriMo finish line with flying colors — 128% of quota — and yet the win has never been less satisfying. I ended with approximately 528 words of quality fiction, but I certainly didn’t end with anything close to what you might call a novel. As I think about it, the 528 words…
Managing Growth
This year, something extraordinary and quite unexpected happened to me, something that all conventional wisdom said was impossible: My 2009 earnings will equal 2008. The recession came with all sorts of dire predictions about failure, how businesses like mine wouldn’t be able to survive this downturn. I’ll admit that even I had my doubts. Four…
Blowing Past the Halfway Point
I have amazing time management skills when I’m crazy busy. Only 20 minutes between the completion of this revision and my next conference call? Fill the gap with NaNoWriMo! Using this method of zero down time, I’ve plowed ahead with random fictional passages, jumping across that mythical halfway point and ending up at 67% by…