Experts123 – I’m an Expert!

July 25th, 2010

Part of my philosophy of keyword writing is to always keep looking for new gigs, because you never know when the old ones are going to dry up. I’ve seen too many seemingly stable employers come and go to want to put all my eggs in one basket, thank you.

Anyway, I’ve been writing for Experts123 for a few weeks, picking up an article here and an article there. If I recall, the last one I wrote for them was about buying supplemental insurance. Their work for hire assignments are reasonably priced, and they pay on schedule.

I usually leave the revenue share assignments alone, because you have to have something like half the free world look at your content to earn a couple of bucks. So whatever possessed me to apply to their revenue share program as an “Adult Caregiver Expert”? Beats me, but they decided I had the expertise they were looking for and accepted my application. Every other week or so, I’ll be posting articles about issues of concern to adult caregivers like cognitive dysfunction, changing their loved one’s living arrangements, home care options, dealing with nursing facilities, long distance caregiving, caregiving and legal issues, adaptive devices to help seniors remain independent, safety issues, elder abuse, self care for the caregiver, end of life care, and any other topic I can think of that might be relevant.

This is a true labor of love–I know very well these articles probably won’t earn me a dime. But they will give me a soapbox to talk about one of my favorite topics: the family members and friends who tirelessly provide care to loved ones who need assistance. If one caregiver finds one of my articles and gets some hope or comfort from reading it…well, mission complete.

‘Til next time!

Who Are Adult Caregivers? – Experts123

And for those of you with a passing interest in Tudor history:

Mary Tudor – From Princess of Wales to Bastard Child - Suite101

Family Feud Among the Children of Henry VIII – Mary vs. Edward - Suite101.com

Mary Tudor and her Bloodless Rebellion Topple Jane Grey - Suite101

For those of you who are wondering, yes, I am a little curious about “Bloody Mary” and what made her into the person she was. My next article in the series will deal with how she could think she was pregnant twice…and be wrong both times. Physician error, medical condition, wishful thinking, or flat-out lie? You decide.

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The Keyword Concubine and her Crazy Day Job

July 11th, 2010

Most of you know that I’m only a keyword concubine by night. By day, I’m a hospice social worker. The hospice that I work for is a small not-for-profit agency, and right now we’re experiencing a huge growth spurt. I have a caseload of 27, two more than the national average. I’m not complaining, mind you, because I love my job, but it is keeping me busy. I’ve worked over thirty hours in the last three days, and there’s still plenty more waiting for me to do when I get in tomorrow.

Just what, some of you are probably wondering, does a hospice social worker do? Plenty. I–or my social work partner in crime–go out with the nurses on each new admission and make sure that the legal paperwork is taken care of properly. Then I have to do a three page psychosocial assessment and a two page bereavement risk assessment on each new patient within five days of admission. Not five business days, mind you. Five days. From those assessments, I come up with a plan of care and handle any needs that are immediately apparent on admission, like helping clients find extra caregivers, sign up for home-delivered meals or a personal medical alarm, or select a funeral home. Sometimes, the situation at home is so bad it requires that the client be placed in a skilled nursing facility immediately, but luckily those cases are rare.

After the initial rush of the admission, things settle down a little. As long as the situation is stable, I visit clients in their homes or nursing centers twice a month to provide emotional support and assess the need for any new resources. I’m also available for emergencies during the day–”Mrs. X doesn’t have an air conditioner and it’s 100 degrees outside.” “Mr Y’s caregiver just went to the hospital for chest pains and we have to get Mr. Y to a nursing home where someone can look after him.” “Ms. Z doesn’t have any food in the house.”

After a client dies, I follow families for a year of bereavement counseling, making phone calls and home visits, sending letters and cards to people I’m having a hard time reaching by phone, helping facilitate support groups, and in general just being available when bereaved family members and friends need to talk.

Then, when I get home from my day job I gulp down a meal, watch a half-hour long sitcom, and go to work on my writing. It’s quite the life. But, you know what? I wouldn’t have it any other way! More on my writing projects next time. In the meantime, enjoy my current ramblings:

What is an Indian Penny? on Experts123 (mine is the second answer)

Can HIV Testing Be Required Prior to Medical Treatment? on eHow

History of Disposable Diapers on eHow (come on, admit it, you want to know)

And my personal favorite…

DVD Review – Jesus Christ Superstar 2001 on Suite101.com

‘Til next time, enjoy the summer and stay cool!

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Home Improvement + Lots of Writing

June 21st, 2010

Whew! What a whirlwind month or so it’s been since I’ve last posted. Let’s see…I got my new computer. The first one I bought froze up every time I looked at it, so I had to exchange it. The whole process was a pain in the neck, but the newest computer, an HP, works great. It’s so much faster than my poor old clunker.

Of course, when I got my new computer, I realized how shabby my old computer desk looked, so I had to buy a new one. And then the office chair I’d been using for the last century or so broke, so I needed to get another one of those, too. And to make room for all the new stuff, I had to do a thorough apartment cleaning. I ended up calling 1-800-GOT-JUNK. Their service was amazing, and they hauled away about half a truck load of furniture and other items I no longer needed. Then I donated another three boxes of books, DVDs, and CDs to the thrift store that helps fund the not-for-profit hospice where I’m employed as a social worker.

So, I’ve spent the weekends working like crazy on my apartment, but my efforts are finally starting to pay off. It looks less like a landfill now and more like a living space. The only unhappy campers are my cats, who enjoyed playing among all my junk. I figure they’ll deal with it.

The best part is that through all of this chaos, I’ve been writing steadily. I’ve done several assignments for Textbroker at decent rates, and Experts123 has also been a steady source of income. I also have a confidential client for whom I write blog posts. Finally, I’ve gotten to indulge some of my interests on Suite101.com. Lately I’ve been interested in lobotomies, after watching the 1982 movie Frances, a biopic about the actress Frances Farmer. I’ve listed my two lobotomy articles below in case anyone else is as morbid as I am. But here’s the ultimate irony. Contrary to what is portrayed in the movie, Frances Farmer never actually had a lobotomy! That was a myth started by one of her biographers. Oh, well, at least I got some writing mileage out of it.

‘Til next time!

Recent Articles

The History of the Frontal Lobotomy in the United States

Famous Lobotomies – Celebrities Who Underwent Psychosurgery

And for those of you who have absolutely no interest in lobotomies…

Cat Fight: When Two Cats in the Same Household Can’t Get Along (Not to brag, but this one includes a couple of adorable photos of two of my cats. At least I think they’re adorable, anyway.)

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Time for a Computer Update

May 2nd, 2010

I have a very special new addition to my family that will be coming home on Tuesday. No, it isn’t a baby. (You know me better than that, right?) It isn’t even a new kitten, although that would be a better guess. Actually, it’s a new computer. My old computer is about six years old–in this day and age, that’s geriatric. So I went to Best Buy last night and picked out a whole new system: computer, monitor, and printer.

I’m supposed to bring my old computer in on Tuesday evening to get the files transferred, and then my sweet little tax write-off will be able to come home with me and assume her duties as primary computer of the household. Hurray!

Since I’m not the most technically competent person on earth, I’m assuming I’ll be without Internet access for a day or two while I struggle to get everything up and running, so I’m rushing to finish some assignments that are due next week. I’ve got one outstanding for Textbroker, four for Demand Studios (who are paying for my new computer), and one for Suite101.com.

I’ve also found a new employer, a kind of reincarnation of Life123 called Experts123. I’m giving them a chance, since Life123 did pay me what they owed me in the end. Like most start ups, they’re a little disorganized right now, but their rates are good, at least for a content mill. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Wish me luck!

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Writing Blogposts

April 21st, 2010

Hi, faithful readers!

I’ve spent the last few weeks getting adjusted to not being pampered the way I was on my cruise. I’ve tried to train my cats to serve me dinner, but they seem to think things should work the other way around. It always amazes me that science says I have the higher IQ, yet I’m the one waiting on them hand and foot. Ah, well, they’re worth it.

Most of my recent writing projects have involved paid blog posts, which are kind of fun. I’ve gotten to write about some really interesting subjects (solar energy, Malaysia, computer games) and some subjects that were not so interesting (condos in Vancouver, used pool tables). Even if some of the topics weren’t my favorites, though, I figure the research I did might come in handy some day.

I’ve also written quite a few articles for Demand Studios. One of their clients has a new format that I really enjoy. It’s called the “Decision” format. You get to present the pros and cons of a topic and then advise readers as to what most of the experts consider to be the bottom line of the issue.

Tonight I’m surfing the web looking for new job leads and finishing up a couple of articles for Textbroker. Then I want to type up the notes I took while I was traveling. I always try to keep a travel journal, because I find if I don’t get things written down, the memories just fade too fast.

‘Til next time!

Links to some of my recent articles:

Book Review – Plain Jane: A Novel of Jane Seymour on Suite 101

How Long Can a Person Live with Parkinson’s? on Answerbag

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Hawaii and Other Adventures

April 9th, 2010

Hi, faithful readers (all three of you!).

I haven’t posted in awhile because I’ve been out of the office, so to speak. I threw my hands up, said to heck with everything, and took a two-week cruise to Hawaii. To say I had a wonderful time would be the worst understatement of the century.

Of course, I loved touring different sites on the islands. I went to the obligatory luau on Kaua’i, where I ate a pig and ate like a pig. I visited the Kilauea volcano on the big island of Hawaii. When we docked at Honolulu in Oahu, I went to the Sea Life Park and had great fun watching a feisty sea lion who absolutely refused to perform her tricks no matter how many fish her trainer fed her. In Maui, I went whale watching in the morning and spent the rest of the day shopping for souvenirs for my friends back home.

So all that was tremendous fun, but what I enjoyed most were the days at sea when I could curl up on the deck with a good book and read myself into oblivion. I’m a fast reader, and I got through nearly five books on my trip. My favorite was a novel about the life of Jane Seymour called Plain Jane by Laurien Gardner–I’ll be writing a review about that one for Suite101. I also read an old Jonathan Kellerman mystery–always a good read–and a couple of books of short stories, and I started Pat Conroy’s newest book, South of Broad.

And then…sigh…my vacation was over and it was back to the real world. And wouldn’t you just know it, I got sick the day after I got back, so I’ve been trying to make up a backlog of work while I’m sniffling, sneezing, coughing, and simultaneously sweating and shivering.

The good news is that through all that, I’ve somehow managed to make my writing deadlines and rake in a little extra spending money. I need it, too. Because I’ve decided that this year I’m going to write enough to pay for a Mediterranean cruise I’ve been wanting to take forever. Athens, here I come!

Oh, I almost forgot. For my last Suite101 article, I interviewed a co-worker about her experiences as the owner of an Amazon parrot. Here is her story.

As always, thanks for reading and I’ll try to write more faithfully now that I’m back in town.

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Eva Peron, wiseGeek, and Other Ramblings

February 18th, 2010

I was disappointed yesterday to learn that I was not accepted to write for wiseGeek. Apparently my writing style and the writing style they were looking for were just too divergent. Okay, I’m a big girl. A few minor temper tantrums aside, I can accept that.

In the end, it may even be a positive. They wanted writers who could produce five articles per week at the very least, and I have enough other commitments that that volume of work would have been a challenge. So, goodbye and good luck wiseGeek.

Onto my newest challenge. To console myself, I listened to the soundtrack from the musical Evita, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Tim Rice. It chronicles the life of Argentine first lady Eva Peron who died of cancer at the age of 33. The last line of the soundtrack caught my attention: “Money was raised to build a tomb, a monument to Evita. Only the pedestal was completed, and Evita’s body disappeared for seventeen years.”

Where the heck would a body go for seventeen years? I put on my investigative hat, hit the Internet, and quickly learned that Eva Peron’s adventures in death were at least as interesting as her adventures in life. So of course, I wrote an article about it:

What Happened to Eva Peron’s Body? on Suite101.com

As far as other projects go, I’ve been working on some blog posts for a client and writing articles for Text Broker, nothing earthshaking, but enough to bring in a tidy little extra income. ‘Til next time…

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The Death of Life123.com

February 4th, 2010

Ah, the life of a keyword concubine. When I went to log in to my Life123 account on Monday, I was greeted with a rather curt message informing me that “we are closing the program at this time and are no longer accepting new submissions.”

They also stated that the final payments would be issued in February. I’m not holding my breath. At least they only owed me ten dollars. I know several writers to whom they owed substantially more.

What really irks me is that they haven’t taken the articles down yet, so my articles continue to be viewed and generate revenue for them, but I don’t get paid.

I’m feeling a little like a used Kleenex right now. I know…I can hear all of you saying, “Lie down with dogs, get up with fleas.” And you’re right, but content mills are something like the little girl in the classic children’s story: “When they are good, they are very, very good; but when they are bad, they are horrid.” This one got bad real quick.

On the other hand, my work at Text Broker, Suite101, and Demand Studios seems to be holding steady, and this week I’m “auditioning” to write for wiseGeek as well. Wish me luck!

And if you’d like to follow what I’m doing, here are a few samplings of my most current writings:

Outside the Hospital Do Not Resuscitate Order on Suite 101

Alzheimer’s Disease and Inappropriate Behavior on Suite 101

What are the Causes of Hoarding? Answerbag.com

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Confessions of a Keyword Concubine

January 27th, 2010

When I started writing this blog again, I considered titling it “Confessions of a Keyword Slut.” After some thought, however, I decided that “slut” was too harsh and vulgar a word. Besides, it didn’t alliterate. So instead of “slut,” I decided to call myself a “keyword concubine.”

According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, a concubine is “a woman contracted to a man as a secondary wife, often having few legal rights and low social status.”

Anyone who has ever written for the content mills will recognize this to be a true description. Most, if not all, of the mills require all rights to the writer’s work. Most are low paying. Some do not even give the author credit for the project, which can be a blessing or a curse depending on how the article turns out. (Hey, you try to squeeze the words “folding chairs” 15 times into a 300-word article and see if you come off sounding like Shakespeare.)

So, I guess the next logical question is, why do I do it? Why not hold out for the higher paying markets and the prestige of seeing my name on a quality product? There are several reasons. First, I write where I can find work. If I can sell an article to a print magazine or a well-paying online site, you’d better believe I’ll do it. But if those sources aren’t nibbling, and I get offered five bucks or pay-per-click from another source, I’ll take it. As my father so eloquently puts it, “It’s better than a kick in the head.”

I also write for SEO and content mills because it can be an intellectual challenge. It’s fun researching a topic I don’t know anything about, and adding to my knowledge base so I can cover that topic again in the future. It’s also fun to figure out how to word my sentences so a keyword fits in naturally.

And while some content mills give assignments based on keywords, others allow writers to submit articles about almost any topic. I enjoy being a “free range” writer at times, and while the articles I write usually don’t add up to a huge paycheck, they earn enough to keep me in ink cartridges and “to do” weekly planners.

Also, I like the flexibility the content mills offer. I can produce as little or as much as I want. If I have the flu for two weeks, I don’t have to frantically negotiate a new deadline with an editor. I simply drop out of sight and come back when I’m feeling better. On the other hand, if I’m feeling productive, I can turn in several articles a day. It’s all up to me.

Are content mills and SEO the way to go for every writer? Certainly not. But at this point in my career, they work for me. And that is why I acknowledge being a Keyword Concubine.

Recent Work

“Taming Your Pet Hamster” on Life123

“What Not to Say at a Funeral” on Life123

“Questions to Get to Know You” on Life123

“Book Review: Another Life by Andrew Vachss” on Suite101

“Overcoming Dental Phobia” on Suite101

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The Only Thing That Matters

May 16th, 2008

I don’t know about anyone else, but my writing assignments seem to come in spurts. Either I have no assignments and I’m frantically looking for work and/or bored silly, or I have way too much to do and sleep becomes a distant, pleasant memory.

Now, I’m a born worrier, so when I have too much to do, I not only work compulsively, I worry compulsively as well. Some people feel that anxiety improves their performance. It doesn’t improve mine. In fact, the more anxious I am, the more I notice that my writing jumps all over the place because I can’t keep my mind on what I’m doing. Other thoughts keep intruding. (“How am I going to get all this done?!” “I’ve got to hurry, I still have three articles due tonight.” “Why, oh why, did I waste an hour watching House when I could have been writing?” And so on.)

I was on the verge of driving myself crazy (a pause while the obligatory wise ass in the audience asks, “What do you mean verge?”) when I remembered an old trick I learned when I became a social worker.

My first real social work job was in the emergency room of a major trauma center. Talk about distraction! Ambulances coming in, doctors shouting orders, patients demanding attention, family members wanting information…I spent most nights juggling at least a dozen different cases at once. The only way to manage it was to learn to focus. Before I went into a room or cubicle to talk to a patient or family, I would close my eyes and think, “Right now, this person is the only thing that matters.” Whether I spent a minute or an hour with them, they had my full attention. As soon as my work with them was completed, I would go on to the next case and do the same thing. It worked beautifully.

Now I just have to learn to do the same thing with my writing: connect and commit to the page I’m working on so that it becomes the only thing that matters. Finish that and go on to the next project. And so forth.

I’ll get the hang of it. One of these days.

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