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Here’s a writing niche I hope takes off: Spoofs.

A spoof is an article or webpage you write as a satire, mimicking some otherwise serious subject. I didn’t even know there was a demand for this until someone asked if I could write ‘humor’. Turns out I can.

My first effort, …

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It’s a simple question, do you answer your phone, or do you let it ring through to voicemail?  For that matter, do you leave voicemails or just send emails or texts?

When you’re running the oDesk client you usually don’t want to be interrupted.  It can be annoying to suspend and restart the client half a dozen times an hour because you keep getting interrupted.  Since six-year-olds don’t always leave Daddy alone even when they know they’re supposed to be asking their sister for anything they want, the temptation to ignore the phone when it rings is just that much stronger.
You might want to think twice before you do that, or at least check the caller ID.

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I was reading a writer’s forum the other day, and came across a post by someone who had been receiving files in .docx format and wasn’t quite sure how to handle them.  At it’s a helpful forum, various other people chimed in and explained that it was the new format …

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So here you are, spending some time searching out work on oDesk and you keep seeing references to “Affiliates.”

That leads to two questions:  What’s an affiliate?  And, is it good for me?

The principle behind oDesk affiliates is simple:  more people can do more work than one person.  That’s why some people on oDesk band together to work on jobs that are too big for one person to handle alone.  Another advantage to affiliation is that you can have someone with a good reputation find work and manage quality control while you’re finding your feet.

I’m not a member of any affiliate companies on oDesk and right now I don’t intend to join or start one.

I’ve seen a number of people succeed that way on oDesk, so it’s not a decision I’ve taken lightly.

Read on to see why I am not doing it, and why it may be the right idea for you.

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The constant drone of the air-conditioner reminds me that summer’s here again.
As I write this the kids are in the pool out back, and half a dozen friends have joined them.  The fridge is full and tonight we’re having a barbecue.

It’s a common picture, and seeing as today’s Father’s Day I wouldn’t be surprised to see the scene repeated all over North America.  The only problem with this scene is the one astute readers have probably already noticed: the kids may be out in the back yard, but I’m here at my desk pounding away at my keyboard.

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Here’s how my average day goes: I wake up anywhere from 5pm to 8pm. Then, I roll out of bed and check my E-Mail and IMs for anything that has popped up. Take a shower. Eat “breakfast.” Check oDesk for any jobs I might like and apply for them. Answer E-Mails. Call Tokyo/Berlin/wherever my international clients are if it’s the right time. Do a few hours of work. Read the news online. Work on another project. Watch a movie. Go to sleep. Rinse, repeat.

Here’s another average day: I wake up at 7am. Do the same things for timezones close to me. Enjoy free time with friends in the daylight hours.

Another thing I have to consider is the amount of money for a job. The buyer wants to find the cheapest (good) deal they can find, and I want them to take out a second mortgage to pay for my skills. Some buyers will offer a fair price for the work they want. That will garner them the most qualified applicants. Others are holding out for that one provider who is desperate enough to do a massive project for a pittance. So, you have to meet somewhere in the middle.

That’s what freelancing is all about. Freedom. A dichotomy exists which that freedom, however. As a freelancer, you’re able to work when you want, but you also have to work with international timezones. Sometimes, it’s necessary to communicate on their terms, so you have to adjust your schedule to fit with their timezone. There have been weeks where I have gone completely nocturnal. You also have to work inside their budget, or you won’t get the job at all.

By balancing my local clients, international clients, and my lifestyle, I’ve learned a few tips which can help you freelance more effectively. These are they:

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I was reading the oDesk community forum when I came across post I didn’t agree with. According the post author, the biggest problem on oDesk is that there are too many providers. You can read his argument here, where he explains there are “too many fish in the pond.”

I disagree.
It doesn’t matter how many of the wrong fish there are in the pond.
Not everyone on oDesk is going to do well at every job. Programmers, designers, and writers are all going to be looking for different jobs. That takes out the majority of the “competition” (other providers) right there. All it leaves are members of your own category: In my case other writers.

I’m not in competition with all of them either.

Some of them are going to be looking for completely different jobs than I am.  They’re looking for things that I wouldn’t want to do, so there’s no competition there.

But what about the people directly competing for the jobs I want?

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Very simply, your mental state is directly tied to the success of your career. If you are experiencing some problems in your personal life, then it is likely to drag your career as a freelancer down. Sometimes, I don’t feel like working because I’m stressed out, and when I try to force myself to work, it goes very slowly. It can turn a fun, great job into something you wake up and dread doing.

So, if you’re down in the dumps, what can you do to drag yourself out? Well, that’s easier said than done. However, I have some tips to keep you on track.

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Unless you’re crazy-happy to have any sort of work at all, you’ve probably done a job that you absolutely hate. I’ve had a couple here and there. The work goes slow, and it makes it very hard to get motivated. Once you’re finally done with said project, you don’t really feel a sense of accomplishment–you just feel like you’ve wasted time.

If you’re a freelancer, chances are that you want the job to improve your quality of life financially as well as through freedom, but if you’re doing work you despise, it’s self-defeating. Also, doing jobs you hate can hurt your career more than improve it. How? Either by making it a chore to log on and start work on that blasted project again or by reducing your quality of work and earning a poor rating.

What’s a way to avoid harming your career? Keep reading.

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So there I was: middle of the jungle with a Pringles can, a laptop, three pieces of chewing gum, and roll of duct tape. I had already tried bartering with the natives, but they only accept USD cash. I’m not sure what they would do with it since the closest …

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