As my family prepared to move in our first home, like most people — we had lots to do in the house. To do it all would mean taking shortcuts and buying low-priced items. The result would be less than flattering. The job called for prioritizing to ensure we bought decent quality items. First up: windows. We needed blinds, lots of blinds or else I would go blind with the too many windows we had. (Seriously, the eyes are sensitive to sunlight.)

Image from sxc.hu user ColinBroug

Next, bedroom furniture. Previously, we lived in military housing and chose to focus on the downstairs rooms rather than upstairs including our bedroom. The rest we added when we could or when we saw something that worked.

Good thing we didn’t do it all. It turned out those first few items we bought were my least favorites. The toddler-abused blinds need replacing. The bedroom furniture … I love its function, but not its color. I thought the wood would be a white wash wood. Instead, it was painted a bothersome faint white. We could paint it, but the colors wouldn’t work well in the dark-colored bedroom. Natural wood color works best.

This situation can happen when work slows down and it’s time to bring in new business. It’s tempting to take on every opportunity that comes along. It’s like a reverse of firing bad clients except you’re proactive. Instead of finding yourself working with a less than ideal client, feeling miserable and having to figure out how to get out of it — you skip all that.

I happened to be working on finding another client to serve when several opportunities came in. For one of them, warning signs alerted me to do serious due diligence. In the other, the prospect asked if I could write articles on X, Y, Z topics. I turned it down because I know those topics would require a lot of energy and most of it not good. I’d rather spend the energy looking for a client I can better serve doing work I enjoy.

Turning Down Opportunities

These signs give you the clues you need that a potential assignment or client may not work for you. Be careful when it comes to an assignment that scares you because you’re afraid to fail, not because something is iffy about the client. It may be an opportunity to grow.

• Boring. Think about your least favorite industry. Do you want to spend hours living and breathing that industry? When you work on things you despise, it takes longer and drains more out of you.
• Suspicious. You find little information about the company or person contacting you. The person may use a common email address, provides terse responses to your questions and reveal little else.
• Budgeted. I saved time for a prospect whose message implied she was focused on price. I gently responded if she was looking for a low-priced writer that I was not a fit for her.  I don’t turn down all budgeted assignments. For example, I liked an owner and his business, so I came up with a way to quote a lower price that worked for both of us.

Digging Deeper

Sometimes the first or second contact isn’t enough to decide yea or nay. This is the time to dig deeper. Someone contacted me about writing a bunch of blog posts. First warning sign. The email address came from a yahoo.com address. Second warning sign. The “From” address only had a first name, but she signed her last name in the first message. Half a warning sign.

I searched her name, email address and company name (I had to ask for the company name as she didn’t mention it in the first email — another sign) and found nothing. At this point, I decided this wouldn’t work out. Rather than turning it down, I replied with more questions. Never heard back. Hmm …

When you’re not sure about an assignment, these actions help:

• Research. Look up the client, company, email address and whatever info you have. Don’t stop with the client’s website. Go to social networks like Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere.
• Ask. It feels awkward to ask some of the questions you need to ask, but how will you feel if you take the job and hate it? Request links to related sites. For example, I received an assignment to write for sites on generic topics. Ask for links to those sites.
• Probe. Make sure you get a full picture of the assignment. At first glance, one assignment sounds like writing X articles. Read between the lines, and it could easily be more than double the work because of other tasks involved.
• Check. Your network may know about the person or company. If you find out who has hired your prospect, contact them.
• Follow up. Don’t feel pressured to stop asking questions after the first contact. Ask more questions especially if the answers reveal little new info. (This could be a warning sign, or simply someone who is rushed and wants to reply quickly.)

What types of assignments or clients have you turned down? What do you watch for when a prospect contacts you?

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Meryl Evans

One thing about working for myself — no worries about April Fool’s pranks. But I do have kids and one in particular likes to pull stuff. Full alert! Here are some great April Fool’s office pranks [Link: Marc Harty] — fun ‘n safe. #37 cracked me up. What’s your favorite April Fool’s prank?

Legoland Discovery Center rocked. It blew away this adult who has seen many incredible creations. See a taste of MINILAND in the below Dallas skyline picture. That’s only part of it. It also had famous buildings from Fort Worth, my hometown.

A lot of GREAT stuff this week… so go explore.

Brain food…

• On writing: authors reveal the secrets of their craft:  Love Ian Rankin’s response to writer routines. “I have days when I do*bleep* all. I sit down at a computer, nothing’s coming, I’m having to tear each word out, it’s like digging for coal, and I’ll go: ‘No, this isn’t working,’ and I’ll just walk away.”  [Link: Kristin Bair O'Keeffe]
• The last freelance resource article that you will EVER have to read: Nice round up of apps and programs ranging from invoicing and legal to client management and project management.
• Champing at the bit: That’s not a typo. It’s champing, not chomping. [Link: Amber Naslund]
• Work Life Balance in the Home Office: I wear the same thing daily, so the clue to my kids that I’m at work is sitting in my office. It works so well that on a Saturday, my son asked, “Why are you working?” [Link: Alan K'necht]
• Freelance writing jobs: Top 10 places to find quality work: So many awful sites out there — good list to have as starting point.
• The secret to freelance work/life balance isn’t so secret: I’ve created a schedule and that makes a big difference to sticking with things. Need to grow “cheer team” to include writers.

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• The Last Supper: 17 of the Best Parody Illustrations: Love the iPod / iPhone picture.
• 10 Real Cars Inspired by Cartoons: Donald Duck car = thinking of my dad. (He talked Donald Duckish to kids and his family spoiled him with a ton of Donald Duck stuff.)
• Cover Tune Grab Bag – “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”: This Beatles song is one of the few I can follow. This simple yet powerful video made me smile all over. [Link: Mark Hurst]
• Noma Bar’s Negative Space Illustrations: You’ve probably seen the young woman / vase picture. Here’s more. Neat, but my eyes have readjusting to do. [Link: Fred Schlegel]
• 3eanuts, Cinema Nutrition and WikiBomb: Three of the websites featured in 7 Sites You Should Be Wasting Time on Right Now. Who knew Peanuts could fall deeper into despair? Just cut the last panel in 3eanuts and it does. You’ll never look at movies the same way again after studying up on your cinema nutrition. Wikibomb captures Wikipedia pages before they’re taken down. In other words, Wikipedia vandalism vandalism.
• The Writing Process: Graph depicting the process of writing a feature. Just needs a ::headbang:: in there somewhere. What? You haven’t noticed a lot of writers walk around with dents on their foreheads? At least, I do [Link: Mridu Khullar]

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Meryl Evans

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day last Monday (we won’t debate the merits of whether it’s a valid holiday or not), I want to thank you for reading and commenting. Because of you, I keep on trekking and sharing what I learn along the way.

Artwork by Marko Schmitt

Brain food…

• How Kindle’s new Public Notes could change the way we read ebooks: This will be an interesting feature. I hate writing in books because I like them clean, bright and wrinkle-free. So far, I haven’t made notes in the three books I’ve read on the Kindle — but all were fiction.
• Confessions of an Ex-mill Writer: Tempted to join a content mill to get writing experience and build up your portfolio? Stop. Do not pass go. Read this first. If you still want to do it, more power to you.
• How to Avoid the Most Common and Dangerous Passwords: I hope you’re not using the same password at all the sites. What if one site is hacked?
• 110 Ideas to Get More Freelance Work and Generate New Client Leads: Nice list organized in several categories.

For fun because we’re allowed…

• Think Snow: Sick of winter, ice storms school cancellations? Me, too… and so are the subjects in these hilarious photos.
• 7 Sites You Should be Wasting Time on Right Now: Nintendo does Great Gatsby. Ha!
• 13 Funny School Names: There’s always more to the story… based on my experience in seeing “General Hooker entrance” in Boston. General Hooker was riding on a horse at that entrance.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Meryl Evans

I’m grateful to live in a time and a place where we treat people for who they are inside not what’s visible.

Brain food…

• Authors: How to write a press release for your book: While press releases aren’t the best route for marketing a book, you can make sure that the PR you do is the best possible with these tips. [Link: Jane Friedman]
• How to Write Copy that Connects using a Tried and True Formula: One thing I work to do… avoid “we” or “company name” and make it about “you.”
• Social Media Measurement 2011: Five Things to Forget and Five Things to Learn: I love this article. It’s not your usual social media metrics article. For one, it says forget about following numbers. Agreed. People ask me, “How did you get so many followers?” That’s not the point. The point is whether they’re the right folks. Of course, if you’re looking for a social media expert and see a self-proclaimed expert with 20 followers — pass.
• My Favorite Question: Makes you think about a company’s strengths. “If brand dies tomorrow, and you had to deliver its eulogy, what would you say missed the most? What would make you genuinely sad?” This helps writers who work on content for companies.
• 5 Tips for Freelance Mentor Relationships: Some of you may have  gotten emails from newer writers asking for advice. At first, it may frustrate you because you’re thinking, “I worked hard by myself to get where I am. Why don’t you Google that?” True. But put a positive spin on it. The person contacting you sees you as a success and that you have the answers.

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• Should I Work for Free? Debated whether this was brain food or fun. It’s both. [Link: Karen Swim]
• Pac-Man Ghosts: Another mashup. Inky, Blinky, Clyde and Sue replaced by Waldo, Stormtrooper, Superman and Megaman.
• Apple’s Rise to Number 1 Infographic: How Apple went from Homebrew Computer Club to number one.
• 15 Funny Exam Answers: Makes me wonder how my teachers would’ve responded if I had given smart aleck answers. Probably just mark ‘em wrong.
• 10 Most Curious Birth Stories: I would’ve love to have a kid born in 09/09/99, 03/03/03 or 05/04/03 (missed by one week), but it wasn’t to be. Fascinating stories.

Despite the $$$ of going to the State Fair, I’m glad my family went to the State Fair. (Minus our daughter who had a high school class. Ironically, she went to the fair that night.) Some of you may know about Texas Star, the giant ferris wheel. Well, it cost $24 for four of us to ride it! And that was the average cost for most rides. The cheapest — a fun house — cost $4 per person.

We couldn’t ask for better weather. It turns out this year’s fair made it into the record books with $37 million spent on food and rides. Well, yeah, price probably goes up every year. The previous record was $29 million. Attendance went up thanks to the perfect weather and the tribute to legendary Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Laundry exhibit. Paul and I wanted to go check out the exhibit, but the line was long and it was right before we left the fair with tired boys. (It turns out we picked the right time to leave. By the time I got off public transportation to walk to our car, my legs turned into lead.

Quick review of what we did: Watched diving show, rode rides (I did the Texas Star and a small, jerky roller coaster with my older son), checked out the cars in the auto show (The Dallas Auto Show is better) and walked for miles. Of course, we got a pic with Big Tex.

Oh, fried food? The only fried food we bought were French fries for the boys’ lunch. This year’s lineup just didn’t appeal. They also had the more appealing ones from previous years, but I opted to save the cash and my arteries. We also saw fried beds. OK, this was one company’s poke at fried food with its ad.

Brain food…

• Let’s try that again: It’s OK to fail. Better to attempt something and fail, than to never do it at all. [Link: Debbie Ohi]
• Getting Paid: 6 Standards to Set for Your Freelance Business: I’m against writing on spec.
• 1 Simple Way to Boost Productivity by 50%: This doesn’t surprise me. Revisit all the meetings you attend and see if they still have value.
• Stop asking for advice: Oh, no, no… you can still get help. Change the perspective…
• Do You Keep Your Work Computer on After You Leave? How to Put Your PC to Good Use While You’re Sleeping.
• Manifesto for a Freelancer with Family:  I believe in and apply a lot of this. I need to work on some things, too.

For fun because we’re allowed…

• House of paper still standing after 90 years and The Ultimate Papercraft Project: Now you know what to do with all those newspapers…
• 50 Sandwiches to Eat before You Die: Types of sandwiches, not specific places. So it’s doable. I’ve been interested in the bahn mi since I first caught The Great Food Truck Race. The Nom Nom truck — the banh mi pros — dominated every single episode except the most important one.
• Timeline: Fabulous clock. It knows your time zone.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010 Meryl Evans

Wanted: Missing Gingerbread Pal (click for story)

Ah… kids get out early today as we begin winter break. We don’t have anything planned except a couple of trips to Grandma’s in Fort Worth for the younger set. Maybe play some board games. 5th grader has to work on his science project. I imagine there will be movies and board games happening during the break. What about you?

Please vote for your top 25 books on writing.

Brain food…

• How to Track Freelance Job Leads Via Spreadsheet: Excellent and simple set up.
• Top 100 PR Websites and Resources Part 1: News websites, business, PR & marketing and social media [Link: Sarah Evans]
• Top 100 PR Websites and Resources Part 2: PR corporate sites, PR newsletters, news distribution, PR software and communication misc.
• 36 Twitter Tips for Book Publishers: “Tweet your way to successful title and author promotions.”
• Flashlight Worthy: “Handpicked books on hundreds of topics.” I could spend hours on this site.
• Reflections on, Takeaways from #eBookSummit: Guy LeCharles Gonazlez has done a lot of reporting from conferences and we stay-at-homers appreciate it.

And for fun because we’re allowed… FailBlog edition (most links from the I Can Has a Cheezeburger crew)

• Very Demotivational: When you need to get off your high horse.
• This is Photobomb: Where photojackers of the world unite.
• Autocomplete Me: “Feeling luck just got weirder.”
• Poorly Dressed: Note to self, stick with sweats and tees. Can’t go wrong… can you?
• 10 Real Houses Inspired by Cartoons: Simpsons, Flinstones, Hobbit…

Welcome to meryl’s notes blog (this here place you’re lookin’ at) in Plano, Texas (OK, the blog doesn’t live on a server in my house — but that’s where you’ll find me… in Plano, not in the server). We’re happy to be a stop in Sara Morgan’s WOW! Women On Writing Blog tour. Here’s a bit about fellow work from anywhere’r Sara… (Stay tuned in this long post if ya wanna win this book!)

About Sara Morgan

Sara Morgan knows just what it is like to have a good job that is just not the “right” job. As a software developer, she has worked for large and small companies spanning multiple industries. None of these jobs ever provided Sara with the fulfilling life she was searching for and in 2005 she made the jump to self-employment with the start-up of her own consulting company, Custom Solutions, LLC. Sara Morgan is the author of No Limits: How I escaped the clutches of Corporate America to live the Self-employed life of my dreams. For more information about Sara and her book, check out www.nolimitsthebook.com.

Having Multiple Streams of Income Is Key for the Self-employed Individual by Sara Morgan

Four years ago, I quit my high-paying corporate job as a web developer and started my own software consulting business. I was one of the lucky ones, because I had a high-paying and high-in-demand skill set that allowed me to make a good income, despite the inevitable challenges of self-employment.

I realize though that most people seeking self-employment will not be this fortunate. For these people, I strongly suggest having multiple streams of income. By doing so, you can ensure that you are always able to pay the bills, even when one thing you are doing fails to generate the income you need. It is just the simple concept of not putting all your eggs in one basket. This is very old, yet still appropriate advice that applies aptly to the self-employed individual.

For myself, since I am promoting my latest book No Limits full time and have not been doing any software work for over six months, money has just been going out and not coming in. I was lucky enough to have built a small nest egg, which has allowed me to get away with this for a while. However, that can only last so long, so I recently started a third business as an independent garden consultant for The Happy Gardener.

The Happy Gardener is a great company that I only found out about when I interviewed the owner, Annette Pelliccio for my latest book. The company makes and distributes earth-friendly lawn and garden products that are chemical free and actually good for the environment. Unless you have been living under a rock, you know how important it is for all of us to be environmentally conscious, so I am really excited about being able to get behind a company like this.

If you are considering making a jump to self-employment, I would suggest that you have at least three alternative sources of income. This will help you to weather the inevitable “life” storms that affect us all. Other than that, always remember to Work, Live and Have fun!

Your Turn

Leave a 50+ word comment in this post by 11:59pm on October 21. That’s all ya gotta do to be entered to win this book. Tell us about your dream career or whatever strikes ya. The unbiased and robotic Random.org will pick the winner.

(moment of silence) Thank you, soldiers.

• The Role of Get Rich Quick Merchants: Complete with fab New Yorker cartoon.
• Best Entrepreneur Books That You Never Expected
• Useful Tools: Straight out reviews of web apps and tools without the editorial or anything else.
• How Freelancers Might Save Publishing
• Why People Don’t Follow Back on Twitter: Are you breaking these Twitter Commandments? [Disclosure: I wrote it]

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• Awkward Family Photos: No ‘splanation needed.
• Wireless Keyboard Wall Graphics: Ah, geek art.
• Best Visual Illusion of the Year Contest: Ah, dizzy art.
• Research Paper Glossary
• Top 10 Movie Misquotes
• Incredible photo of the sun… not just the sun…

Well, my dear, they come from many places. If you go to the library known as Freelance Folder, you’ll see people sharing how they find their clients.

When a freelancer and a client meet, they check out each other to ensure they are a fit. It may take some bio and web site reading to get familiar with each other. After making it pass the test phase, they come together and a product or service is born. No storks involved.

But how do freelancers and clients meet in the first place? Believe it or not, Mommy never relies on cold calling. Isn’t she lucky? Imagine how many bad phone calls I’ve had trying to contact strangers through the relay service. Blind dates just don’t work well here.

All of the following ways work because Mommy met at least one client each way.

• Referrals: Mom has clients from everywhere. Only one client has an office in Dallas. Yet, Mom found him through a colleague based out of Seattle. I helped teach a thesis related course for a few years plus created the bibliography guidelines for the school. Professors refer students to me for editing help. I love thesis editing because I learn new things like the impact of gentrification on cities.
• Social network profile: Just last week, someone who found me on LinkedIn sent me a query to do web content for his business.
• Existing clients: It’s important to keep current clients happy. It’s easier and cheaper to keep clients than to find new ones. A current client emailed me a project for another client.
• Plain ol’ reply to ads: A lot of people think this doesn’t work anymore, sweetie. With many people out of jobs, we all think every opening receives hundreds of applications. I replied to a call for writers and landed the gig.
• Twitter: I don’t think Mom has gotten any gigs directly from twitter. But it keeps her name out there as she tries to help others solve problems and link them to valuable and fun resources.
• Networking: Another client got to know me through his site’s forums and a couple of email exchanges. Networking involves many places including twitter, blogs, Facebook.
• Web site: A web site with all of its contents add to a person’s credibility. Well, if it’s done right. Too many business sites have no About page, photos, bios or anything to put a friendly face behind the company. Add a newsletter along with an email subscription box and you start building relationships.
• Existing work: A client liked several articles your mom wrote and contacted her. Another client and I worked for the same web site.
• Interviewees, editors and resources: I can think of at least three people I interviewed for an article or book chapter who eventually hired me.
• Volunteer work: I encourage new freelancers to build their portfolio through volunteer work. Besides that, you do something good. People will notice your work and refer you or hire you.
• Former students: I suppose this could count as existing work. I assisted many professors in NYU’s online graduate program. The students got to know me through online classes.

I’ve bought ads for directories with local non-profit organizations. I knew it was more for helping out the organization than advertising. As you know, I have only one local client and he found me through an online search.

So there you have it, darling. That’s where Mommy’s clients come from. And in not one instance did I rely on protection in the form of advertising or blind dates from cold calling.

• Wordle: Create word clouds.
• 10 Harsh Truths about Corporate Web Sites [Link: Laura Carlson]
• Can’t Get Your Writing Project Started? Just Start Anyway!
• 7 Important Lessons Freelance Writers Can Learn from Working in Fast Food
• Salted Spring Fever and Hot Wax Zombies: Where Twitter and Old Posts Meet
• Get Your Money: Best Invoicing Practices for Freelancers: Only had two clients who were difficult about payment, but they were also unresponsive when the project team sent them work to review.
• Social Media Case Studies SUPERLIST- 20 Extensive Lists of Organizations Using Social Media
• The End of Marketing and PR?

And for fun and love because we’re allowed…

• Beautiful love story by Karen Swim, my friend.
• What I Learned from Love entries from Robert Hruzek’s Middle Musings.
• About Haiku Day on Twitter and the #LittleLove results.