Tyler Nals's Blog: Tyler Nals - Posts Tagged "writing"
Cautionary Tale
After recently being laid off from a good job, my spirits were down. I went to a popular freelance writing site (Elance) and posted my information. I was contacted a few days later and I began working for $15 article. After writing 48 articles in six days, the guy who was supposed to pay me cut off all communications and disappeared. This was devastating.
I can’t do anything to get my money back, but I can at least spread the word to use caution in these situations. I did ask for payment after two days, but he said “they” only paid after seven days. But I eventually decided to take the gamble. After being laid off, I was the perfect target. My big error: I didn’t take the proper Elance steps to protect myself.
Whatever freelance writing site you choose to use, don’t do any work for anyone until you have a company name, phone number, and address. And in most cases, you should consider asking for half of the money upfront. If I saved even one person from working for free, then this was worth writing.
I can’t do anything to get my money back, but I can at least spread the word to use caution in these situations. I did ask for payment after two days, but he said “they” only paid after seven days. But I eventually decided to take the gamble. After being laid off, I was the perfect target. My big error: I didn’t take the proper Elance steps to protect myself.
Whatever freelance writing site you choose to use, don’t do any work for anyone until you have a company name, phone number, and address. And in most cases, you should consider asking for half of the money upfront. If I saved even one person from working for free, then this was worth writing.
Relentless Dreamer
I’m a dreamer. My dream is that one day enough people will buy my books that I can focus solely on writing books. While readers seem to enjoy my books, I read some authors and I’m blown away. So, I know I’m not at their level. However, something still tells me to keep writing. Considering my work history, I don’t really have much of a choice. That work history includes:
• Shoveling horse manure (lasted one summer)
• Delivering food from casual dining restaurants to homes (lasted three months until I drove into a flood and literally had to escape through the driver-side window and swim to the sidewalk)
• Selling “Fine China, crystal, flatware; and seven-ply, surgical, stainless cookware.” (I had no idea what I was talking about, and I made $3,000 in one year)
• Taught soccer for two months (no soccer experience)
• Attempted to sell copy machines (sold zero)
• Delivered bottled water (one day)
• Delivered frozen food (one day)
• Ran Madden tournaments in a bowling alley (lost money)
• Worked in a Wall St. boiler room (one day – felt guilty)
• Sold sports picks for crooks who admitted they had no idea what they were doing (one day – felt guilty)
• Worked for telemarketing company selling fertilizer to farmers (one day – a farmer threatened to shoot me with his rifle)
• Walked around neighborhood passing out flyers for pet-sitting service when 100 degrees (one day)
• Owned a movie-themed website (sold it for just $1,700 after one year)
• Finally had a great job writing finance articles, but got greedy and moved to higher-paying company, which soon after gave me a promotion, then laid me off.
• Now, here I am … still dreaming.
• Shoveling horse manure (lasted one summer)
• Delivering food from casual dining restaurants to homes (lasted three months until I drove into a flood and literally had to escape through the driver-side window and swim to the sidewalk)
• Selling “Fine China, crystal, flatware; and seven-ply, surgical, stainless cookware.” (I had no idea what I was talking about, and I made $3,000 in one year)
• Taught soccer for two months (no soccer experience)
• Attempted to sell copy machines (sold zero)
• Delivered bottled water (one day)
• Delivered frozen food (one day)
• Ran Madden tournaments in a bowling alley (lost money)
• Worked in a Wall St. boiler room (one day – felt guilty)
• Sold sports picks for crooks who admitted they had no idea what they were doing (one day – felt guilty)
• Worked for telemarketing company selling fertilizer to farmers (one day – a farmer threatened to shoot me with his rifle)
• Walked around neighborhood passing out flyers for pet-sitting service when 100 degrees (one day)
• Owned a movie-themed website (sold it for just $1,700 after one year)
• Finally had a great job writing finance articles, but got greedy and moved to higher-paying company, which soon after gave me a promotion, then laid me off.
• Now, here I am … still dreaming.
