What’s Up, Buttercup?

What’s Up, Buttercup?

 

I’ve been writing more in my copy writing blog than I have here recently. That’s because I unexpectedly found myself with a lot to say professionally.

 

But now there’s news for this blog, so here we go!

 

What’s UP #1

 

The 4th volume of Kelley Phone Tag went live in paperback on Amazon  two days ago. The Kindle edition followed yesterday.  I haven’t put the word out about it in a big way. I just posted it to the Kelley/Trek Facebook pages I belong to. The posts are getting lots of LIKES and a few comments, all of them positive.

 

What’s UP #2

 

I may be substituting (sporadically) for people who have committed to working the fair in Puyallup at The Farm at Silly Ville if any of them call in sick. My niece and grand niece are working there this year. (Casey worked there the first time at the Spring Fair this year.) It pays minimum wage, but I’m not  doing it for the money. There are five-hour shifts and the parking for employees is free. I just through it might be a fun diversion.

 

The Farm at Silly Ville shows young kids where their food comes from. Most fair attendees are city kids who don’t have any idea how their food gets to their tables (other than from grocery stores), so this is a way to educate them in a fun way.

 

What’s UP #3

 

I’m continuing to edit the horror manuscript of a local (Tacoma) first-time author. I’m enjoying the project tremendously because he’s a good storyteller. It sure is keeping me on the edge of my seat. Every chapter ends with something that makes the reader think, “Okay… gotta keep reading!”

 

The author is a Stephen King fan and has read King’s book on writing, so he gets it. My copy writing skills have come in mighty handy as I edit because I can make something he’s written more powerful by making it more succinct and by knowing what’s adding to the suspense in the story and what’s detracting from it or slowing it down. He, his wife, and the friends he has shown the edited version to are very happy with what I’m doing.

 

What’s UP #4

 

I just got a great testimonial from the fellow I wrote a post card for two months ago. I charged him $900 to write and and so far it has returned $25,000 in profit (which means that just ten of the post cards have converted to date, but they’re still out there.) So, he commissioned me to write another, and he expects this one to do as well. I didn’t charge him as much because he wrote 90% of it and I just tweaked it to make it all that much better; he LOVED what I did.

 

I said he could have it for $125  “plus a piece of the action”–whatever bonus he feels I deserve, based on how well it converts. We’ll see how that goes, but it only took me about ten minutes to weak what he wrote, so I’m well-compensated (time-wise) for my efforts, just not VALUE-wise if he makes another $25,000 on the card. (My expectation is to be well-compensated on the VALUE of what I did, not on the time it took me to do it, so I’m waiting to see if I get significant bonuses on these two cards. If not, I’ll raise my price to engage again.)

 

He’s a good guy, so I expect he’ll treat me well.

 

What’s UP #5

 

I’ve made close to $3000 this month just writing and editing (for 20-25 hours of work, total–not counting the time it took to find projects at “Upchuck” and submit bids on them). It comes in mighty handy, since I was sick for half of last month and didn’t make much money then…  I’ll be able to bring my one credit card balance down quite a lot, as a result. (I’m aiming for a zero balance by Christmas.)

 

What else?

 

Hmmm… Guess that’s it for now. I reckon that’s enough, to let you know I’m still alive and kickin’!