Writer required to edit autobiography
May 26, 2008 by Deb
Filed under Writing Gigs
Good morning all! I encouraged Jodee to enjoy the holiday weekend so there won’t be a job list this morning but I may be adding some gigs of interest here and there. The author of this Craiglist ad wrote and asked me to repost this here:
Reply to: job-695244129@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-05-26, 11:46AM BST
You: A talented writer with a BA in English with samples of published work.
Us: Have an autobiography that we want editing before publishing.
- Compensation: Your standard rate
- Telecommuting is ok.
- This is a part-time job.
- This is a contract job.
- OK to highlight this job opening for persons with disabilities
- Principals only. Recruiters, please don’t contact this job poster.
- Please, no phone calls about this job!
- Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.
We’ll also have a guest post or two later today. Enjoy your Memorial Day!
- Deb
Ah yes, the over-descriptive job post…:S
Hi Sarah,
If there’s not enough details for you, feel free to write to the author to learn more. He came to us with this gig, I’m sure he won’t mind answering questions.
Hi Sarah – yes there are not too many details in that ad are there?
I rewrote this comment several times because I don’t want it to come across as snippy. Here’s the thing…
The reason there aren’t enough people posting jobs to this blog exclusively is because they don’t want to be ganged up on by my community.
I’ll respectfully ask once again, please, let’s be respectful of the people who post their jobs here. Otherwise having gigs exclusive to this blog will continue to be few and far between.
I understand discussing the opportunities that are less than legitimate and I encourage that type of discussion, but when someone comes to me with an ad and it’s posted here, please be respectful.
Thanks.
To follow up on what Deb said, often, when someone has just written their first novel or autobiography, they have very little experience in hiring writers or editors and so really are not familiar with what to put in an ad. I always enjoy working with first time writers because they have so much enthusiasm and pride in managing to finish something that many only dream of doing.
Deb – a suggestion – is it possible to point out to an employer that perhaps their ad could use a ‘bit’ of tweaking before posting it to the blog?
I am sure that the employer will receive applications of higher quality as a result (and of course it will also help the applicant as well).
Just my two cents!
The ad seems pretty clear to me. They want someone to edit a book. What more do you want in way of details?
If editing a book intrigues you, inquire. Otherwise, don’t worry about it.
Adam:
To answer your question about details, I wasn’t sure if it was a book or not … rates could vary depending on the length of the project.
Additionally, it would be nice to know what the subject matter is. For instance, is it an autobiography about a politician, school teacher, or stripper?
These subjects appeal to different types of writers.
True – writers can email the employer, but it would save the employer time if these matters were dealt with in the ad directly.
Since I have hired writers in the past personally, I know that employers will be overwhelmed with applicants – consequently, having a more targeted ad saves an employer time as hopefully only the more qualified writers will apply.
Hence, my suggestion …
Take care!
@Scribette – My only requirements for posting a job are that the client pays more than $10, isn’t a term paper mill or payment by revenue or page view type place, and isn’t a scam. After that the client can leave as many or as few details as they like. If a writer wants to learn more, a writer is welcome to request more details.
At FWJ I want to make it easy to post jobs and find jobs. Lots of rules and regulations tend to scare people away. If a client is vague with his first ad, he’ll know better for the next time.
If there’s one thing I learned after three years of blogging it’s that I can’t please everyone. I’m not about to tell someone his ad isn’t wordy enough. I’ve seen “Help Wanted: Inquire Within” signs posted on restaurant or shop windows, this is sort of like the same thing. Feel free to inquire within, otherwise maybe the next ad will be more to your liking.
Thank you for your understanding and patience.
Deb – I just thought that perhaps you could ask the employer a few quick follow up questions to get a few more details.
But it’s your blog … you can do whatever you want …
And it’s a nifty blog at that too!
I thought the post was fine! I’m grateful for any post that seems legitimate, and this one seems great. I applied! Thanks Deb, as always.
Oooh sorry I didn’t mean to stir up any negativity or anything. :S
But I have to agree with Scribette on this one. It doesn’t take much to look at previous guest job posts to notice that they are a little more on the descriptive side. And it certainly helps when it comes to narrowing down the talent.
Deb, please don’t take offence at this, I love your blog and have done for a few years now, but if you’re worried about guest job posters being ‘ganged up on’ by the community here, perhaps they should be advised of that beforehand in some way. Not sure how you get these jobs brought to your attention, but just a suggestion.
Having a short job post like this does make it harder for us writers too who trawl through many sites daily for suitable jobs.
But in the end, as was said above, it’s your blog and I, as others, respect your decisions and will try to curb my sarcasm in future comments.
Apologies once again.
I’ve noticed a few discussions here lately that seem to be nitpicky debates. Maybe others have time to go back and forth on things that don’t directly have to do with the subject and purpose of this site but I have neither the time nor the desire.
@Deb, have you considered having a form on the site for employers to fill out? Then you could request the info you would like to have.
Also…Deb, why can’t I find a way to contact you via email? The about page doesn’t have the info and, in fact, it doesn’t work right because you can’t get to the rest of the page (at least I can’t).
I just wanted to email you to tell you that there is an error in the spelling of one of the categories to the right (Networking.) No, I’m not nitpicking…but if it were my site, I would appreciate it if someone told me.
Cheers!
If no one else will say it I will.
I can’t believe what I’m reading. As freelancers it’s up to us to make a client’s job easier not the other way around. All of this “Don’t take offense” and “I don’t mean to be nitpicky” is a load of b.s. Because you are being nitpicky and you are being offensive.
Deb and Jodee provide a free service. FREE. Jodee is paid for her work but Deb doesn’t get much for providing this service so how much more do we expect her to do for us? Should she apply to our jobs too? If you don’t think someone has enough details send a letter. If that’s too much trouble or you’re too busy look somewhere else.
Sheesh.
I agree Mel. I didn’t see that this job listing was that lacking. Anyway, like you said, contact them to find out more if you’re interested.