Come visit me at AfterGraduation.net. P.S., isn't that a great picture of me? My sister took it (she did her own developing). Maybe a career in photography freelancing in the future?

Sadly, all good things must eventually come to an end. I was recently informed that Bizzia would be closing it’s Internet doors, and although all of the posts on this site (include those in other categories), will be available to view on Every Joe, b5media (the cool people who own this site) would no longer be maintaining a freelance writing section, or other business sections for that matter.

This doesn’t have to be good, my friends. I have enjoyed every comment here at Bizzia, even if they were critical of my ideas or opinions. While Bizzia’s freelance category will no longer be around, I’m not disappearing. I’m just moving.

You can now visit me at AfterGraduation.net, a brand new site for brand new freelancers. If you attempted to go to that site, you probably got an error message. Don’t worry – I’m coming. Bizzia’s closing was a sad surprise to me, which didn’t give me much time to set up my new blog. However – and this is important – if you don’t want to bookmark the site’s URL, you can leave a comment below using your real email address OR email me directly at allison@abcontentonline.com and I’ll let you know as soon as AG is up and running, as a little reminder.

As the name implies, this site is specifically geared toward new graduates who want to get into freelancing. Aren’t a “graduate”? That’s ok. If you’re a new freelancer in general, you’ll find this site helpful. Even if you’re NOT new to the industry, I encourage you to visit to help share your knowledge of the freelancing world, and maybe even learn something new. Hell, I learn new things every day, even though I’m not new to the industry. Along with freelancing info, you’ll also find general life tips for those just starting out, like how to find an apartment and how to create a budget.

AG can’t be successful without you there to support it. Thank you thank you thank youthankyouthankyou for supporting me here at Bizzia, and I hope to see you all again soon.

Post from: Bizzia

When someone asks me what I do, I usually spend more than a few minutes explaining my job. I noticed recently that I always end the explanation by saying how much I love my job. I think, though, that when I explain my job, I idealize it.

Happiness is a strange beast. I have a friend who claims that he’s never truly been happy. I have another friend who deals with being bi-polar, so goes through bouts of extremely happiness (and extreme unhappiness). I’m of the opinion that you have to take the good with the bad. I’m not always happy, but I try to be happy as often as possible.

Being happy with your career plays a large part in whether or not you are happy with your life. After all, most people spend about half of their waking hours working. That brings me back to my original point – when I tell people about my job as a freelance writer, I talk about how happy I am doing it.

That’s not always true. There are many days where I’m extremely unhappy as a freelancer. Clients have made me cry with nasty comments. Online services have made me frustrated with unreliability. Hard-to-research topics have made me want to throw my computer across the room. I’ve been stressed, I’ve been bored, and I’ve been upset. Being a writer isn’t always as glamorous as it sounds.

I’m ok with that because, for me, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. I have questioned my happiness as a freelancer, though, and I hope you do too. Don’t be “happy” as a freelancer just because you’re supposed to be. Yes, it is a great job, but it isn’t a great job for everyone, and there’s nothing wrong with admitting defeat. It really isn’t even a defeat – it is simply admitting that you’re better suited for a different job.

Sometimes, it helps to just step away from writing a little. About nine months ago, that’s exactly what I did. I was burned out and constantly in a bad mood about having to do writing work. The economy also sucked, and many of my old clients weren’t ordering work, so I was financially stressed like I haven’t been since I started freelancing. I was losing sleep over it, forgetting to eat, and feeling upset all the time. After a few months, I realized that I wasn’t happy as a freelancer. And that’s ok.

Image: sxc.hu

I made the choice to get a part-time job. I still continued to write part-time as well, but I began working at a day care 15 to 20 hours per week. It allowed me to be more picky about the writing work I took, and meet people in the community.

As of two weeks ago, my time at the day care is over for the most part. I’m still going to be a part of their emergency staff (people to come in when multiple teachers call off sick or otherwise can’t come in), but over the last few months, I’ve really missed writing, subconsciously. I started loading up my writing schedule beyond what was possible if I only wanted to work part time. It just happened; it wasn’t something I planned.

Now that I have had some time to reflect on my decision, I think I made good choices. It was good to admit that I wasn’t happy and pull away from freelancing a little. I also think it is a good decision, at this point, to go back to freelancing full time. I’m ready for it, like a recharged battery.

I’ll be watching my happiness meter, though – and I hope you all do too. We can’t love our jobs every single day, but if you’re at a point where writing is causing you mental and physical health problems, it is time to reevaluate your job. Remember, walking away doesn’t mean that you don’t still love writing. Sometimes, we just need a break.

Post from: Bizzia

Just because it isn’t perfect for every writer to keep traditional business hours doesn’t mean, however, that you shouldn’t keep business hours at all. Let me tell you a short story:

A few years ago, I was dating someone with a schedule that was against every fiber of my being. As an accountant, he had to be at the office by 9:00 AM (most days) and got home between 4:00 Pm and 5:00 PM (most days). In my efforts to spend more time with him, I attempted to switch to his schedule, and although I usually remained in bed a bit after he left and went to be an hour or two later than him, it worked out fairly well. It didn’t come naturally to me, and I usually had to force myself to wake up and go to sleep, but I was willing to do that to have as much time together as possible. Sticking more to his schedule meant that we could meet up for lunch some days, for example.

Image: sxc.hu

Then tax season hit. For those of you who don’t know, tax season is hell for an accountant. As many do, he went from working until around 4:00 PM to working until 9:00 PM or later every night, in addition to working most Saturdays. He came home, took a shower, fell asleep, and did it again the next day. There wasn’t time to spend together regardless of our schedules. So, my schedule didn’t matter anymore.

The problem was, he would still wake me up in the morning when he got up (not on purpose, it would just happen), so I would get up with him some mornings to have a cup of coffee together. Other mornings, I would stay in bed. Sometimes, I would crawl under the covers when he did, even though it was only 10:00 PM or so; other nights, I’d stay up doing work until 4:00 AM. I napped often during the day. I didn’t have a set schedule for work, because I didn’t need one.

At least, I didn’t think I needed one. My work suffered greatly during this time period. I was so erratic with my schedule that I never got words flowing well most days. Social networking was sporadic. Clients didn’t know what to expect. In short, it was a mess.

What I’ve learned is that while you don’t have to work typical, normal business hours, you do need to keep YOUR business hours. Currently, my schedule is to wake around noon, answer emails and do other admin work (troll for jobs, update my records, read my feeds, etc) until around 3:00 PM. I do writing work from around 10:00 PM to 4:00 AM, and head to bed around soon after. Depending on my schedule, I sometimes work extra hours during the afternoon or evening. I usually work Saturdays, but take off Sundays and Mondays.

There’s still a ton of flexibility. For example, I’m traveling this weekend, so I’ll probably compact my work time as much as possible and fit it in as I can. In general, though, I stay pretty even with my schedule. My long term clients know when they can expect to see me online, I hit the job boards at a convenient time during the day, and I avoid distractions as much as possible. It has also helped me to get enough sleep, sometime that I’ve had problems doing in the past.

The moral of the story here is that you need to find a sleep/wake schedule that works for your lifestyle and then work in a play/work schedule for your waking hours. Don’t be sporadic, working an hour here and there depending on the day. You’ll get a lot more work done (and faster too) if you keep YOUR business hours.

Post from: Bizzia

Could some people take flexibility too far, though?

If you have a family (especially one with children), chances are that you stick to a somewhat normal working schedule. In other words, you write when they’re at school or perhaps in the evenings, but you generally sleep during the night and are awake to see your husband off to work in the morning. Take the kids out of the equation, and your schedule can bend over backward. For example, I’m writing this post at about 2:00 AM and setting it to go live in the morning. “Normal” people don’t work at 2:00 AM.

Image: sxc.hu

I’ve heard a number of compelling arguments about keeping typical business hours – essentially, getting the majority of your work done between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM. It makes sense because…

• It’s easier to contact clients, who typically don’t have the flexibility of schedule you have.
• Internet service providers rarely schedule downtime during the day.
• You can more easily keep in touch with friends and family members because you keep a similar schedule.
• There’s more activity on job boards during normal waking hours.

I’m sure you can name a number of other reasons why freelancers should work during normal business hours.

Yet, here I am, doing my work well after midnight – and this isn’t unusual for me. It’s typical for me to work between the hours of 10:00 PM and 4:00 AM. Why would I do that, given the strong argument above?

• My body naturally likes this schedule better, meaning that I’m more productive when I do work rather than when I try to wake up early. No, it isn’t a matter of getting used to a schedule – after years of having to wake up in the morning and go to bed before midnight during high school and college, I was NEVER used to it.
• A number of my clients are actually based in Australia and other parts of the world, so no matter when I sleep or work, there will always be some clients on a different schedule than I am.
• My significant other works nights, and I like being on a schedule that is similar to his.
• After many of my friends go to bed, there are less distractions with AIM conversations and social networking. Yes, I could just avoid chatting or using Facebook…but I’m weak. There’s also nothing on TV to distract me.
• Working at night leaves my days open. No, I’m not going to get up at 9:00 AM to go grocery shopping, but I have found that if I run errands in the early afternoon, it’s less crowded everywhere, from on the roads to in line at the post office.

So, while I understand why some people feel differently (or have to operate differently because of family obligations), my opinion is that determining the hours you work is a personal choice, and one set of hours isn’t necessarily better than all others for every writer.

Post from: Bizzia

“Dumbing down” your article, however, doesn’t mean that you have to dumb down the content. You can still create an informative, even technical, article, even if you’re writing for a junior high reading level, rather than for a group of college professors. Here are some tips for making revisions that take your text to an easier reading level without losing the integrity of the actual article:

How can you write about a topic for this crowd without insulting their intelligence? Image: sxc.hu

• Limit the article to 3 technical terms, at most. If you’re explaining something to someone not educated in the field, changes are that they won’t understand some of the terms most commonly used. Explain what those terms mean when you first use them, but don’t fill the paper with jargon. Limit yourself to three new terms per 500-1000 words.

• Use metaphors. If you can explain something using a metaphor or simile, you’ll instantly be able to connect to your audience. Many people learn through seeing and doing, so when you’re writing an article, a metaphor or simile is the next best thing, because the person can relate to something they’ve seen or done in the past.

• Use examples. Like similes and metaphors, examples can help explain a topic to someone who may not otherwise understand what you mean.

Remember, along with content, format is key. Even if you don’t change a word of your technical article, breaking it down into smaller paragraphs, using bullet points or numbered lists, and bold-facing important terms or sentences can make a difficult article much easier to read without compromising the content.

Post from: Bizzia

• I went to the gym to ride a stationary bike.
  

  Remain stationary when you write on your stationery. Image: sxc.hu

• My grandmother gave me a custom stationery set for graduation.

When something is stationary, it is still. When you want to write a letter, you need stationery. This is a fairly easy set of words because there aren’t weird exceptions to the rule.

Most people, myself included, remember the difference by associating the word paper with the word stationery. Pap-er. Station-ery. Get it? That’s easy enough for most people to remember. Another trick: A ray of light is stationary – associate the -ary with ray. There’s no such thing as a rey (-ery) of light.

Have another way to remember which word to use? Leave a comment below!

Post from: Bizzia

It’s time for this week’s edition of prizes for writers. There are some great contests to enter this week, so check them out.

If you entered all of the contests last week, the old listings are marked with an asterisk so you can avoid entering them again.

Just to be clear, you can’t enter any of these contests here (unless otherwise specified). You have to visit the blog sponsoring the contest or giveaway and follow their directions. I’ve screened out anything that is a sweepstakes with millions of entries or looks like a scam, but if you come across something that just doesn’t look right, let me know!

Got a contest of your own? Email me, and I’ll post it here if it relates to freelancers (I’ll be the final judge of that!).

And now, on to this week’s prizes:

Books:

Image: sxc.hu

Ending Today (Monday):

• Simply Irresistible by Jennifer Banash at Mrs. Magoo Reads
• Georgia on her Mind by Rachel Hauck at Camy’s Loft

Ending Tuesday 10/20:

• *Ice by Sarah Beth Durst at Butterfly Book Reviews
• *The Van Allen lagacy by Melissa De La Cruz at Butterfly Book Reviews
• The Tudor Rose: A Novel of Elizabeth of York by Margaret Campbell Barnes at Savvy Verse and Wit
• The Gift of an Ordinary Day by Katrina Kenison at Texas House Wife
• The Blue Enchantress by Marylu Tyndall at Continuous Delights
• The Burying place by Brian Freeman at Lori’s Reading Corner

Ending Wednesday 10/21:

• *The Sound of Sleigh Bells by Cindy Woodsmall at Books and Needlepoint
• *The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova at The Tome Traveller
• Once in a Blue Moon by Eileen Goudge at Nicole’s Nickels
• A Highlander’s Temptation by Sue-Ellen Welfonder at Book Soulmates
• Stand By Her – A Breast Cancer Guide for Men at Island Life
• Day by Day Armageddon by JL Bourne at Debbie’s World of Books

Ending Thursday 10/22:

• *Run for Your Life by james Patterson and Michael Ledwidge at Books and Needlepoint
• The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold at Sweeps 4 Bloggers
• Supreme Courtship by Christopher Buckley at Sweep 4 Bloggers
• The Masonic Myth by Jay Kinney at Readaholic
• Permission Slips by Sherri Shepherd at Readaholic
• Julie Lessman Book of Choice at Continuous Delights

Ending Friday 10/23:

• Run for Your Life by James Patterson at Readaholic
• The Last Will of Moira Leahy by Therese Walsh at Readaholic
• The Laughing Gorilla by Robert Graysmith at Readaholic
• Depraved Indifference by Joseph Teller at Lori’s Reading Corner
• Prime Time, Face Time, and Air Time by Hank Phillippi Ryan at Free Book Friday
• Duplikate by Cherry Cheva at Free Book Friday
• Spoon by Robert Greer at Jenn’s Bookshelves

Ending Saturday 10/24:

• Lenore Noogies by Roman Dirges at Fantasy Dreamers Ramblings

Ending Sunday 10/25:

• According to Jane by Marilyn Brant at Number One Novel
• Riyria Revelations Trilogy by Michael J. Sullivan at Fantasy Book Critic
• The Ghost King by R.A. Salvatore at SciFi Guy
• Cirque du Freak Prize Pack at Review a Book 123
• Hold Still at Alea Pop Culture
• Sex, Drugs & Gefilte Fish by Shana Liebman at Carol’s Notebook

Ending Next Week and Beyond:

• The Sound of Sleigh Bells by Cindy Woodsmall at Luxury Reading (ends 10/26)
• How to Hug a Porupine: Negotiating the Prickly Points of the Tween Years by Julie A. Ross at Naddez’s Goody Corner (ends 10/27)
• Hex in High Heels by Linda Wisdom at Drey’s Library (ends 10/27)
• Friends Like These by Danny Wallace at Luxury Reading (ends 10/27)
• Spice Up Your Life by Bindu Grandhi at Emily Island (ends 10/27)
• It Gets Easier by Claudine Wolk at The Dirty Shirt (ends 10/28)
• Feelin’ the Vibe by Candice Dow at Just Another New Blog (ends 10/28)
• The heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent at The Tome Traveller (ends 10/28)
• Life After Genius by M. Ann Jacoby at The Tome Traveller (ends 10/28)
• Branded by Fire by Nalini Singh at Cherry Mischievous (ends 10/29)
• Hummingbirds by Joshua Gaylord at Bookin’ with Bingo (ends 10/29)
• Show No Fear by Marliss Melton at Kaye’s Penguin Posts (ends 10/30)
• *The Rogue’s Dynasty: A Marquis to Marry by Amelia Grey at TBF Reviews (ends 10/31)
• *The Night Watchman by Mark Mynheir at J. Kaye Book Blog (ends 10/31)
• *Rooftops of Tehran by Mahbod Seraji at J. Kaye Book Blog (ends 10/31)
• *Ravens by George Dawes Green at J. Kaye Book Blog (ends 10/31)
• *Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick at The Book Resort (ends 10/31)
• Espresso Shot by Cleo Coyle at The Book Resort (ends 10/31)
• I Judge You When You Use Poor Grammer by Sharon Eliza at J. Kaye Book Blog (ends 10/31)
• Little black Lies by Tish Cohen at Butterfly Book Reviews (ends 11/1)
• The Sound of Sleigh Bells by Cindy Woodsmall at En Route to Life (ends 11/2)
• The Midnight Guardian by Sarah Jane Stratford at Patricia’s Vampire Notes (ends 11/4)
• The Good Mood Diet by Susan Kleiner with Prize Pack at SeeingGood.com (ends 11/6)
• My Son John by Kathi Macias at A Book Blogger’s Diary (ends 11/14)
• Choice of Four Books at Faye Flame Reviews (ends 11/15)

Other Prizes:

Ending Tuesday 10/20:

• Earphones from ChicBuds at Look What Mom Found

Ending Wednesday 10/21:

• $15 Amazon Gift Card at Mom Fuse

Ending Thursday 10/22:

• $15 Amazon Gift Card at Fairy Blog Mother Blog
• Carolina Pad Prize Pack at Slice o’ Heaven

Ending Friday 10/23:

• Avery Prize Pack with Labeling Products, Notebooks, and More at As They Grow Up
• System Mechanic Software at Frugal Freebies

Ending Saturday 10/24:

• $50 Visa Gift Card and Anti-Viral Products at Mom Knows It All

Ending Sunday 10/25:

• Paperweight and Bookmark at Drey’s Library

Ending Next Week and Beyond:

• *FreeAgent Go Special Edition 500 GB at Look What Mom Found (ends 10/26)
• Laptop Bag from Cool Computer Bags at Look What Mom Found (ends 10/29)
• Phone at The Speedy Gourmet (ends 10/30)

Post from: Bizzia

• John has fewer apples than Joe.
• My glass has less water than yours.

In general, fewer should always be used if a number cab be associated with the statement. For example, I could say, “There are fewer people living in my house than there are living in your house.” You could very well say, “There are five fewer people…”

You can’t do that with all nouns. In the first example I gave, I said that there was less water in a glass. You can’t count water. If you wanted to use fewer with that sentence, you’d have to make water countable in some way. For example, “My glass has fewer ounces of water than yours.”

So how can you remember the difference?

I actually remember it because of a mistake. You know how in stores you’ll see one register that is just for “10 items or less”? Well, you can count items…so it should be “10 items or fewer” NOT less. So, just remember that supermarkets and other stores everywhere are wrong.

If you want to go through the faster line, fill this cart with 10 items or FEWER. Image: sxc.hu

Do you have a better way to remember the difference? Leave a comment below.

Post from: Bizzia

• Jane was visibly affected by the news that her dog had died.
• There are side effects to most medications.

Scientists studies the causes and effects. They look at how one chemical affects another. Image: sxc.hu

In short, affect is a verb and effect is a noun, in most cases. I remember this by thinking that affect is an action. 99% of the time, this will work to help you place the right word in your sentence.

Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule.

• Affect can be a noun if you’re describing a facial expression. Ex: The doctor gave me my diagnosis with a blank affect. That’s a really rare way to use the word, though.
• Effect can be a verb if it means to cause changes. You can think of it as “putting something into effect.” Ex: The boss effected new rules about checking personal emails while at work. This usage of effect is more common than using affect as a noun, but it is still rare.

In general, using affect as an action (verb) and effect as a noun works most of the time. If you have any other mnemonic devices to help everyone here remember the differences between the two words, leave a comment below.

Post from: Bizzia

• Jane complimented Joe on his new shirt.
  

  This breakfast is complimentary. Not complementary. Image: sxc.hu

• Jane and Joe are best friends. They complement one another well.

Here are two ways to remember the difference:

• Complement, with an E, refers to two things that go together, like a couple. Both words have the -ple in them.
• You can also think of a complement as something that completes something else. Both words start with the same spelling.
• When you compliment, with an I, someone, you are showing interest in them, also with an I.

There’s one other form of the word – complimentary, which refers to something you get for free, like a complimentary breakfast at a hotel. Basically, the word means “with compliments”. You can think of something that is complimentary as a physical compliment. Someone is doing (rather than saying) something nice for you when you get something for free – so you use the I instead of the E.

We all remember things different ways, so if you have another way of remember the difference between compliment and complement, leave a comment to help us all out!

Post from: Bizzia