Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Red Alert 10 Signs You Should Avoid That Freelance Writing Client

Red Alert 10 Signs You Should Avoid That Freelance Writing Client When you’re a hungry freelance writer, it can be hard to say no to a prospective client. But not every freelance-writing job is one you should take. Some clients are simply a nightmare. The good news is, you can often tell you’ve got a PITA (Pain In The A*) client before you ever get started. After more than 20 years of freelancing – and 7 years coaching 12,000 writers in my Freelance Writers Den support community online here are my warning signs. 1. The freebie request Based on what I’m hearing, there’s been a resurgence of the ‘free sample’ scam. If you have portfolio samples, there’s no reason to do a custom, unpaid piece as a tryout. These clients rarely hire writers. They just tell you no, and then use all the free-tryout posts and ideas they get. 2. Buy-to-work offers Ever get what sounds like a big-name client who’s dying to put you to work, as soon as you write a check for the computer or supplies they insist you need to do their job? Yeah that’s a popular scam. Even if they send you a check to cover that cost, it bounces. 3. Low pay and promises Many faltering startups have work available now, at terrible pay rates, but they promise it’s only temporary. Don’t believe it. If you start low, you’re likely to stay there. And clients who can’t pay pro rates often go bust. 4. Paid in dreams Some clients have an exciting startup story to tell you, and they’d like you to work for shares of stock in their company (a/k/a equity). Those will be worth a fortune someday, they insist. Only take these gigs if you can afford to never get paid. 5. Paid for the win Some shady companies and nonprofits will ask you to write a grant, Kickstarter campaign, or bid proposal for them, paying you only if they receive the sought-after funds. These are highly unethical. Grants, Kickstarter money, and government-bid funding cannot pay the writer. A similar offer in PR writing is to get paid only if you succeed in securing a story for them in their target magazine. Again, that’s a no-go. You need to get paid for your time, regardless. 6. No-boundaries alert These needy clients are going to ask for your instant-messaging ID. They plan to ding you late at night, on weekends, all the time. And they’re going to birth a calf if you don’t respond right a- -way. If you don’t want to be available to clients 24/7, set your work-hour rules right away. Hint: Set the example 7. Contract phobia Is your new prospect all excited to work with you, but when you ask for a contract, you suddenly hear crickets? Hesitation to sign contracts clearly defines a client unfamiliar with freelancing. That means you’ll spend way too much time training them, or they’re planning to stiff you and don’t want you to be able to sue. Also, don’t agree to, â€Å"We’ll do the contract later.† 8. No deposit, no workee When writing for companies, your request for a 30 to 50 percent up-front deposit will flush out the losers. Experienced, legit companies won’t blink at this requirement. Bogus companies will act like you’re insane. 9. Peer in the Glassdoor Hop on Glassdoor.com and put in their company name. Read the reviews. I know many writers who could have avoided unpleasant clients and ripoffs, if they’d read Glassdoor first. 10. LinkedIn clues Every good company has a LinkedIn company page. Put their name in a LinkedIn search and narrow your search to ‘Companies.’ No page? They DO have a LinkedIn page? Take a look at how many employees link to it. This is your yardstick for whether the firm is big enough to pay decent rates and have ongoing work. If they have 3 employees, it’s a questionable situation. Feel reassured with 20 linked profiles, and 50+ is best. Watch for red flags If you notice one of the problems above, think hard about whether you want the hassle this client will bring. The time you spend working for clients who underpay or don’t appreciate you is better spent seeking great clients who love you, understand your value, and pay appropriately.

Sunday, March 1, 2020

Top 15 Tips for the ACT Exam

Top 15 Tips for the ACT Exam ACT got you down? Scared pantsless about what’s in store for you when you drag yourself into the testing center for this multiple-choice exam? Well, button it up. The following ACT tips are going to get you a better ACT score. So memorize these bad boys, okay? No cheat sheets are allowed. Top 15 ACT Tips Answer Every Question Yes, even the hard ones. You won’t be penalized for guessing like you would if you were taking the old SAT test. For the record, the Redesigned SAT exam, which was first administered in March 2016, doesnt penalize for wrong answers anymore, either. Use POE Before Guessing POE is process of elimination. Each question will have at least one answer that’s way out there. Physically cross off that answer so you won’t be tempted to use it, and you’ll up your odds of guessing correctly. Then go back and see if you can cross off at least one more. Start Easy Answer all of the easy questions first, then move on to the difficult ones. The longer, more difficult questions arent worth any more points than the easier questions. So get all the points you can as fast as you can. Memorize the Directions During the test, you won’t get extra time to read the directions, so if you take five minutes to figure out what to do, that’s five fewer minutes you’ll have to get points. Don’t Doodle On the answer sheet, that is. The ACT is graded by a machine; if your chicken scratch interferes with the reading mechanism, you could miss out on points. Keep the sheet of ovals as clean as is possible. Erase Completely Bring two erasers: one for the heavy-duty erasing you may need to do and another clean eraser to fix up your ovals completely. You don’t want erasure marks mucking up your answers and causing you to lose points. Pace Yourself On some test sections, you’ll have a little less than 30 seconds to answer each question, so keep that in mind. Don’t spend three minutes staring off into space or rereading a longer passage; stay focused. Bring a Watch Archaic, yes, what with your cell phone and all, but since you won’t be able to have your cell phone with you, bring a watch. There’s no guarantee you’ll be testing in a room with a working clock. Reconsider the Obvious If an answer seems too easy, it may just be. Be sure to read every answer choice and select the best possible answer. The obvious choice may be a distracter. Don’t Second-Guess If you marked B for question 18, there was probably a good reason for it, so don’t go back and change it, unless youve found information in a later part of the test to disprove your original theory. Statistics prove that your first guess is usually the best one. Come Back to Toughies If you’re stuck between two answer choices, circle the question and come back to it with fresh eyes after you’ve answered the other questions. Remember, you have to pace yourself. Cross-Check Ovals Every five questions or so, double-check your answer sheet to make sure you haven’t skipped an oval. There’s nothing worse than getting to the end of a test and realizing you missed filling in an oval somewhere and having to erase everything. Bring Your Own Calculator The test center will not provide you with one, so bring an approved calculator for easier math work. (All the questions can be answered without one, but bring one anyway.) Outline Before Writing If you’re taking the essay, be sure to take five out of the 40 minutes and plan before you write. It isn’t a waste of time; the scorers are looking for well-organized essays. The best way to get one is to plan ahead with either an outline or graphic organizer. Practice You’ve heard it before, but it’s really the truth. Buy an ACT prep book, and answer every single question in it. You’ll gain confidence and a lot of extra points by doing so. These 15 tips may just be lifesavers when you’re taking the ACT, so be sure to follow them all.