Freelance Blogger

  I get update announcements from a write job blog that keeps me appraised to what is being asked for in the writing market.  Most of them don’t apply to me, so I usually skim the list:  Freelance Celebrity/Fashion writers wanted; Freelance Editorial Contributors for local visitor guides, such as San Francisco; Fashion Blogger, Beauty Blogger, Web Copy Writer for veterinary website, and the list goes on.  For me, it’s just subterfuge antic for marketing that has very little to do with the creative process of writing.  Oh sure, one can convince oneself that with the right perspective creating copy to sell soap, butter, and feminine protection requires an artistic effort, as well as convincing oneself that doing it also serves the public and provides for the wants and needs of a family.  I’ve also visited convicts at Draper Prison in Alabama and every one of them I spoke with had prevailing, logical, and compelling reasons why they had no choice but do the crime; right up until they got caught.  So yes, I could deceive myself into thinking that writing copy for marketing efforts is in any way related to creative writing.  And Satan doesn’t lie; he just renders an alternate perspective.

One must have standards.

  The other day I saw an ad for a position as Assistant Nutritionist at a local school.  The job was actually a Cafeteria Cook.  What’s with the relabeling?  A Salesman is now an Account Executive. I don’t know why deception has become so popular?

 But the ones that really get me are the teasers.  “Firm seeks writer to pen 100-200 word blog entries and post them in two locations. (I can do that!) Up to five blog entries per month (oh the pure joy of no assembly line production pressure).  Post based on content from various web sites, independent research by blogger, or provided by the firm. (I’m a little suspicious now because what is provided by the firm often is a non-negotiable MUST, and no I don’t want to write about the mating habits of turtles or the fictional benefits of using a personal grooming product.) But the clincher is then revealed; Applicants must live in Denver area. Oh big-fat-hairy-non-starter!!

Well, back to herding turkeys.