#best freelance writing websites

[wise-life]

Top 10 Side Hustle Ideas

In today’s dynamic economy, finding effective ways to supplement your income can be a game-changer. Many people are exploring the best side hustle ideas to not only boost their earnings but also to gain financial freedom. Whether you’re looking to pay off debt or save for a big purchase, diversifying your income through creative side hustles can make a significant impact. At Wise Life University,…

[marketingtools-blog]

The Trending Tapestry of Freelance Gigs: A Creative Chronicle

In the boundless realm of freelancing, where opportunity intertwines with versatility, individuals excellent in their craft are like wandering minstrels, but instead of serenading with songs, they enchant with skills. They never tether their talents to just one mast but let them billow with the changing winds of market trends and digital innovation. In this kaleidoscopic landscape, an array of…

[joongsheartx]

mingi hard thought

pairing: best friend!mingi x photographer!reader

warnings: suggestive | mdni

a/n: these calvin klein pics of mingi have been stuck in my mind all day. also it’s 2 am so my eyes are two seconds away from closing so if there’s typos im sorry.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

with you and mingi being best friends, you both heavily supported each others passion and motivated each other. mingi knew how much you loved photography and how serious you were about becoming a freelance photographer and hopefully building a career off that. so when you asked to take some pictures of him for your website and socials, he was happy to help.

at first you didn’t know the vibe you wanted to go for. so you decided to ask mingi what he’d be interested in and to your surprise he showed you some picture of different calvin klein photos.

“nothing too much though, just the sexy vibe could be fun. only if you’re comfortable of course.” he said to you.

“n-no yeah…” you stutter “i could definitely do something like this.”

when mingi showed up to your mini studio, the nerves really started to kick in. you didn’t know why you were so nervous cause it was just mingi, your best friend. but why was the thought of seeing and portraying him in a sexy light in a photoshoot affecting you so much?

as the shoot went on and the flow of the music from his playlist filled the air, your nerves started to lessen. you took picture after picture but they just weren’t to your liking.

mingi stood before you posing as you look at him in thought.

“maybe unbutton your shirt.” you suggest.

he looks down at his buttoned shirt and back up at you with a smirk. and when his hands started to move it was like time started to slow down. each button coming undone made your heart beat a little faster.

he opened up his shirt, his underwear peaking through his pants making you gulp softly. he moved on his own accord, sitting down on the couch and started posing again.

quickly snapping out of your thoughts you bring your camera to your eye and snap a photo. looking at the monitoring screen you smile.

“much better.”

as the shoot went on you couldn’t help but feel the burning desire start to grow within you.

“could you lay on the couch, arm resting on the back, and face your face towards me… place your other hand on your thigh. perfect.”

mingi followed your instructions perfectly. he loved seeing you in your own world doing what you loved most.

when the shoot was done you sat on the couch beside him. the growing tension between you two the whole time had him feeling on edge.

“min you know you can button up your shirt now.” you giggled.

he didn’t say anything. eyeing you, he smiled. “i feel sexy like this. i wanna live in it just a little longer.”

“you’re always sexy min.” you laugh not thinking too much about the words coming out of your mouth.

“you’re always sexy too.”

his words made you sober up a little. “you’re just saying that.”

he shook his head and looked into your eyes then down to your lips. “i’ve always thought you were sexy. even right now.”

“min-“

“you’re beautiful.”

you don’t know what to say. his hands reach out to pull your body on top of him. your body flush against his as you straddle him. there are no words shared between you two.

your finger drags down his exposed skin, stopping just above where his underwear is peaking out of his jeans.

his hips buck into you causing both of you to lets out gasps.

“i’ve wanted you for so long.” he whispers softly.

“then take me,” your lips brush against his. “right now.”

i give full permission for writers to use my hard thoughts as inspiration to write (with credit ofc)

[rickybaby]

We keep talking about media literacy, but it's actually something very difficult to put into practice in this very overcrowded F1 media ecosystem, especially for new fans. I thought it would be a good idea to put together a list of reliable sources to hopefully make this year's silly season easier to navigate.

Publications

Auto Motor und Sport (more commonly known as AMuS) - the German publication is arguably considered as the most reliable source for F1 news. Most other publications will very often quote AMuS as source.

Speedcafe.com - Australia's foremost motorsport website. Mat Coch, their F1 editor, has access to Daniel's management and was one of the first people to seek clarification from Daniel's team when the rumour that he would be replaced by Miami first cropped up.

Other reliable publications: Autosport, Motorsport, PlanetF1 (caution to be advised with PlanetF1 because very often, it just quotes sources like AMuS or tends to have a lot of clickbait articles), BBC F1.

Journalists

Chris Medland - Chris is a freelance journalist with permanent FIA accreditation. He usually writes for RACER.COM. In my opinion, he is the most reliable from the whole cohort of journalists on twitter. He may not always be the one to break a story, but if he tweets out about a rumour or story, this is pretty much confirmation that the rumour or story is true.

Nate Saunders - Nate writes for ESPN F1 and is generally considered to be the Ricciardo camp mouthpiece. However, this does not necessarily mean he is, at all times, privy to insider information from Daniel's camp. Look out for him quoting 'sources close to ...'

Thomas Maher - Thomas writes for PlanetF1 and while PlanetF1 is not the most reliable of publications, I think Thomas is a good source to follow on twitter as he is pretty good at reaching out to his sources in the paddock when it comes to seeking clarification on a rumour.

Erik Van Haren - the Dutch journalist writes for the Telegraaf. He has the reputation of being close to the Max & Jos Verstappen camp and was the first one to break the Christian Horner SH story. Therefore, anything he writes about Max or Red Bull can be more or less be relied upon.

Albert Fabrega - he is a longstanding reporter with great technical expertise and is considered as the go-to source for the Spanish/ Spanish-speaking drivers, especially Alonso. Though, caution to be exercised after the whole 'I cannot believe what I have just been told' thing he pulled last year.

Lawrence Barretto - Lawrence is a presenter for F1. He is one of my favourites in the paddock and from time to time, he will have some insider information when it comes to Daniel. He was the first one to report on Daniel's best lap at the Silverstone being good enough for the front row.

F1 Pundits

There is a whole host of characters who act as commentators or guests across a variety of international broadcasts over a race weekend (or some of them just hang around the paddock). Think Martin Brundle, Crofty, Karun Chandhok, Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve, David Coulthard, Eddie Jordan, Ralf Schumacher ...

Their opinions are invariably given a lot of weight by virtue of most of them being former drivers or World Champions, but fact remains that many of them have no insight into what's actually happening within a team. However, that being said, a few of them still have close relationships with some of the teams, for e.g., David Coulthard with Red Bull or Mika Hakkinen with McLaren and whatever they say about these teams could potentially be relied upon.

Caution ⚠️

Joe Saward - Joe is rather notoriously known for his Green Notebook column on his blog. The column is supposedly meant to provide titillating insider information about F1, but it more often ends up being a regurgitation of the rumours that have been floating around that week. He has more misses than hits when it comes to rumours and anything he says needs to be taken with a generous dose of skepticism.

Will Buxton - if you see Will tweet something out, please lock your phone and walk away. This is not to say Will doesn't know what's happening in the sport - after all, he was the first one to give any indication of the Lewis to Ferrari story, but he is too committed to playing the game of shit-stirrer for engagement. The unfortunate thing is, we're all too human and we all invariably for his game and we end up going into a downward spiral of 'what does he mean???' when he tweets something out...

[renthony]

Intro & Pinned Post

Hi, I'm Ren Basel! My pronouns are they/them. I'm an independent media researcher, freelance writer, self-published author, and member of the Industrial Workers of the World's Freelance Journalists Union. I also cosplay and make various forms of art.

I love all things speculative fiction, animation, media studies, fandom, queer history, and labor organizing. I post a lot about those topics, and I love discussing them, so feel free to drop a message in my ask box!

If you use other social media and would like to follow me there, I'm on Bluesky and Instagram. I also run a Discord server for artists, creators, and the people who want to support us.

I wrote a queer fantasy story called The Queen of Cups, which is available as both a digital and paperback book. I also write essays about media and pop culture. If you like my work, you can commission me to write about a topic of your choice!

I have a Patreon page, which is the best way to support my work long-term, though I also have a page on my website with tip jar links and my family's Amazon wishlists. My husband and I also run an Etsy shop that sells beeswax candles.

Thanks for checking out my blog, and have a great day! <3

[oliviamaitlandauthor]

Comprehensive List of Tips for Self-Publishing Authors

Cover Design

"Never judge a book by its cover" is a philosophy very rarely followed by most readers, so it's important to make sure your cover is as eye-catching, aesthetically pleasing, and true to your story as possible. The cover should encompass what your story is about and it should give the reader a glimpse into the world you've spent years creating.

For most of us who are not artistically inclined, trying to create a cover design on our own is incredibly challenging. When you find yourself unable to generate an exemplary product, you may need to turn to a freelance designer or a company that specializes in poster/book cover graphics. Here are some options for you to explore:

Fiverr - budget-friendly, ample reviews from previous customers, and examples of work are provided by the designer, but make sure to be aware of AI use so your product is made authentically.

BespokeBookCovers - this company asks that you give a short synopsis of your book, along with some basic details, then you will be contacted to discuss more about what you are looking for. They do require a 50% deposit prior to beginning the design, but you do receive the product within 12 business days. They also ensure you are completely satisfied with the product before the transaction is complete. This company may not be the best for fantasy authors as most of their covers have more of a Colleen Hoover-esque aesthetic.

Miblart - This is a wonderful cover design company for fantasy writers, as evident in the examples provided on their website's home page. They do not require prepayment and offer payment installations in case the total cost at once puts a financial strain on you.

Editing and Formatting

Similarly to traditional publishing, you need to thoroughly self-edit your work before submitting it for professional editing. Suppose you feel as though you are proficient enough in editing that you do not require professional services or you cannot accommodate the cost. In that case, I suggest using workbooks or software to make sure your grammar and syntax are as high quality as possible. Here is a list of editing tools that can help you review your work:

Grammarly - a good resource for spelling, but it often flags intentional word-choice and sentence structure to make it more simple, which may be incompatible with your writing style. Also be aware of incorrect suggestions.

The Copyeditors Handbook - offers a guide to book publishing and addresses common writing errors. Does come with a workbook to help you exercise your skills.

It's also important that you understand the risks of self-editing. Sometimes it's hard to see flaws in your own story/writing because you already know all of the details. The reader does not have this knowledge, so certain plot points, wording, or details may be lost on them. Having a second set of eyes is incredibly beneficial to help you solve this problem. Here are some outside editing tools:

UpWork - allows you to list a job and review applicants. Each applicant is verified to be real, and you can sample some of their work and their credentials by viewing their profile.

Reedsy - employs Big Five editors to find a proper match for your writing

Raab & Co. - a self-publishing company that helps match you to a professional editor

ISBN

An ISBN number can help readers identify and find your book across multiple platforms, given that an ISBN is a unique number. You can buy an ISBN through Bowker or ISBN.org. An ISBN number on this website costs about $150 USD. This is not a necessary step, so no worries if you don't get one. It simply helps your book be more recognizable and appear more professional.

Pricing

The best way to figure out how to price your book is to look at similar publications on the platform you intend to publish on. Amazon is the most common, so look at your options. Generally, you can publish the book for a fixed price, or you can use Kindle Unlimited. Here's a list of pros and cons for Kindle Unlimited:

Pros:

Paid per page read, which is amazing for longer works or series

Saves a lot of time and effort as most of the work is done by Amazon, and it can generate more income than other platforms

Gain popularity because each time someone checks out your book or adds it to their library, it counts as a sale in your sales rank, which can boost your profile

Cons:

Unable to publish more than 10% of your book on any other platform while it is available on Kindle Unlimited, which limits your ability to reach a greater audience

Sometimes the length of the book affects income more so than the quality of the writing itself, so your book may be incredible well-written but have a lower sales rank.

[emeryleewho]

My post about the mess that is trad pub editorial is going around again, and a lot of people are asking "so should I go indie or go trad?" and the answer is *it depends on what you're looking for*.

[I'm referring to "indie" here meaning self-pub and "trad" meaning a publisher, though most small publishers will lean closer to self-pub in terms of distribution and whatnot]

This has always been the answer, but the reasons behind it have changed a lot. People used to say "go indie if you want full control, go trad if you want someone else to handle everything else for you". This is only partially true. Even if you go trad, unless you are part of a handful of heavily supported titles, you will be doing *a lot* yourself. From editorial (I know people who were advised to hire freelance editors or sensitivity readers on their own because the publisher wouldn't do enough) to cover art (I know people who had to walk their publisher through getting them a decent cover) to cover copy (*I* had to rewrite the jacket copy for both of my books because the first attempt was inaccurate) to marketing, odds are, even in trad, you will be doing A LOT of the work yourself, but with more barriers because you don't *own* the print rights and can't stop the publisher from doing things you highly disagree with.

So what's the benefit of trad? DISTRIBUTION. If you are trying to put out the best possible book, I stand by the fact that indie authors have the ability to make *a way better product* than trad can because they can set their own timelines, make sure things are accurate to the book because things aren't being subdivided into so many overworked departments that haven't even read it, and cater to what works best rather than what seems the most profitable. The only limit for an indie author is the time and money they're able to invest into it, but once those things are present [and you can decide how much of each are needed for your book], they have significantly more potential than the average Big 5.

But indies lack *distribution*. There is still a lot of stigma against indie books that prevent readers from picking them up or lead to readers deprioritizing them when reading or writing harsher reviews. Many libraries, bookstores, etc. can't or won't stock indie books, and a lot of professional events bar indie authors from attending. This means that even if an indie book is flawless, they will inherently be gatekept out of places like Barnes & Noble, won't be present on cataloguing websites the industry relies on like edelweiss, etc. etc. This doesn't mean that indie books have *no* distribution, but there are massive financial barriers to entry when doing it alone, and even when you are doing the same marketing/promotion/networking/etc., that work goes significantly further when booksellers/librarians/etc. will go out and stock your book vs. when most will have to turn you down for one reason or another.

So to make this simpler, I think going indie is better for *the book*. It gives you the ability to put more time and effort into it, to ensure it meets your vision, to sink your love into it without having to boil out its uniqueness in favor of mass market profits. It also gives you the room to make sure the quality is up to your standards from editorial to formatting to cover design to quality of the print run. You don't have to cross your fingers and hope your publisher doesn't fuck it all up with AI or by working your team to death. You also get more knowledge about what is happening with your book (big pubs often withhold important information or straight up lie), which means you can coordinate more effective marketing campaigns than you would if say, your publisher decided they no longer cared to market your book (which happens for most books). Finally, publishing likes to do a two-month book lifespan, meaning most books stop getting any sort of in-house support two-months after release or earlier. If you want your book to stand a chance of finding an audience slow and steady (as in, the organic way books spread), you won't get that with trad pub.

However, trad pub is better for *the audience*. If you're writing for kids or teens especially, it will be VERY difficult to reach them going indie because indie thrives mostly on ebook sales and eretailers, which minors have less access to. Getting an indie book into schools and libraries is hard if not borderline impossible, and that is how most books reach kids and teens. On top of that, you likely won't reach most indie bookstores, most libraries, and won't be allowed at many conventions and events (even if you pitch yourself), which will limit who you can reach to people who readily shop online and use social media. There are many access points in getting your book discovered that, even if you *had* a large sum of money, would be denied to you by virtue of being indie. This makes discovery harder (even beyond marketing) and means that even people who *actively want your book* may not be able to get it if it's not distributed to their country, a store they can access, their library, etc. If you're writing to reach a wide audience, something that you think is educational, or that really serves an under-served demographic, trad makes it much more likely you will actually reach those people.

Now, obviously this is just my two cents. You can choose to go trad or indie for literally any reason, even just because you like the idea of getting published by a Penguin. I don't care. People's experiences also vary, and you could be that super lucky 1% who gets doted on and everything is handled for you. This is just a big picture summation of what I tend to see for the average, midlist or quiet title. But trad is notoriously opaque and a lot of people don't realize the advances indie has made in the past 5 years and also don't realize how any of this stuff works behind the scenes, so here's some info from your local hybrid (I do both) author. And if you found this helpful, consider checking out my next book, which is now funding on Kickstarter until Oct 12th.

[mariacallous]

Several of the most prominent alt-weekly newspapers in the United States are running search-engine-optimized listicles about porn performers, which appear to be AI-generated, alongside their editorial content.

If you pull up the homepage for the Village Voice on your phone, for example, you’ll see reporting from freelancers—longtime columnist Michael Musto still files occasionally—as well as archival work from big-name former writers such as Greg Tate, the Pulitzer Prize–winning music critic. You’ll also see a tab on its drop-down menu labeled “OnlyFans.” Clicking on it pulls up a catalog of listicles ranking different types of pornographic performers by demographic, from “Turkish” to “incest” to “granny.” These blog posts link out to hundreds of different OnlyFans accounts and are presented as editorial work, without labels indicating they are advertisements or sponsored.

Similar content appears on the websites of LA Weekly, which is owned by Street Media, the same parent company as the Village Voice, as well as the St. Louis–based alt-weekly the Riverfront Times. Although there is a chance some of these posts could be written by human freelancers, the writing bears markers of AI slop.

According to AI detection startup Reality Defender, which scanned a sampling of these posts, the content in the articles registers as having a “high probability” of containing AI-generated text. One scanned example, a Riverfront Times story titled “19 Best Free Asian OnlyFans Featuring OnlyFans Asian Free in 2024,” concludes with the following sentence, exemplary in its generic horny platitudes: “You explore, savor, and discover your next favorite addiction, and we’ll be back with more insane talent in the future!”

“We’re seeing an ever-increasing part of old media be reborn as AI-generated new media,” says Reality Defender cofounder and CTO Ali Shahriyari. “Unfortunately, this means way less informational and newsworthy content and more SEO-focused ‘slop’ that really just wastes people’s time and attention. Tracking these kinds of publications isn’t even part of our day to day, yet we’re seeing them pop up more and more.”

LA Weekly laid off or offered buyouts to the majority of its staff in March 2024, while the Riverfront Times laid off its entire staff in May 2024 after it was sold by parent company Big Lou Media to an unnamed buyer.

The Village Voice’s sole remaining editorial staffer, R.C. Baker, says he is not involved with the OnlyFans posts, although it appears on the site as editorial content. “I handle only news and cultural reporting out of New York City. I have nothing to do with OnlyFans. That content is handled by a separate team that is based, I believe, in LA,” he told WIRED.

Likewise, former LA Weekly editor in chief Darrick Rainey says he, too, had nothing to do with the OnlyFans listicles when he worked there. Neither did his colleagues in editorial. “We weren’t happy about it at all, and we were absolutely not involved in putting it up,” he says.

Former employees are disturbed to see their archival work comingling with SEO porn slop. “It’s wrenching in so many ways,” says former Riverfront Times writer Danny Wicentowski. “Like watching a loved home get devoured by vines, or left to rot.”

This is a new twist in the grim growing world of AI slop. WIRED has reported on a variety of defunct news and media outlets that have been resurrected by new owners and stuffed with AI-generated clickbait, from a small-town Iowa newspaper to the beloved feminist blog the Hairpin. In the case of the alt-weeklies and OnlyFans listicles, the clickbait is appearing alongside actual editorial content, both archival and new.

It is unclear how this effort has been coordinated between the sites, or whether there are several parallel efforts ongoing to produce OnlyFans-centric listicles. LA Weekly and the Village Voice are both owned by the same parent company, Street Media, and some of their OnlyFans content is identical. Meanwhile, the Riverfront Times publishes its OnlyFans blogs under the byline “RFT staff.”

Street Media owner Brian Calle did not respond to WIRED’s requests for comment. Chris Keating, the Riverfront Times’ former owner, says he is bound by a confidentiality agreement and cannot name the new buyer, but that he “does not believe” Calle is part of the purchasing company controlling the new Riverfront Times.

Daniela LaFave, an Austin-based SEO expert who is bylined on the majority of the Village Voice OnlyFans blog posts as well as some of the LA Weekly posts, confirmed to WIRED that she is the same person named as the author. She declined to answer whether she used AI tools to create the posts.

Another frequent byline on the Village Voice and LA Weekly posts, “Jasmine Ramer,” has published 910 articles primarily for these two outlets in the past year, according to the public relations platform Muck Rack. (Sample headlines: “Top OnlyFans Sluts 2024” and “Top 10 Finnish OnlyFans & Hottest Finnish OnlyFans 2023.”) There is a profile on LinkedIn listed as a senior staff writer at LA Weekly for an Austria-based woman named Jasmine Ramer, but there is little other digital footprint for the writer. When Reality Defender analyzed the profile photo on Ramer’s LinkedIn account, it found it was likely AI-generated. There is also at least one other account using the same photo claiming to be a digital marketing executive in the UK. (WIRED did not receive a response when it asked Ramer for comment via LinkedIn.)

OnlyFans is an online porn behemoth, one which has spawned numerous cottage industries, like professional proxy chatters who impersonate the platform’s stars. There are marketing agencies devoted to promoting OnlyFans creators, and many social platforms from Reddit to X are swarmed with bots trying to entice potential customers. These efforts are known as “OnlyFans funnels.”

Risqué sex ads have played a major role in the rise and fall of some alt-weeklies. The founders of Village Voice Media, which once owned the Village Voice, LA Weekly, and the Riverfront Times as well as other US-based alt-weeklies, created the classified website Backpage.com in 2004 to compete with Craigslist. It created a lucrative revenue stream, buoying many titles for years, but ginned up major controversy for hosting sex ads.

Vice President Kamala Harris, serving as California attorney general at the time, dubbed the company “the world’s top online brothel” in 2016 and arrested its founders and CEO for facilitating prostitution. With this recent history in mind, the decision to lean into sexual advertorial is especially brash.

It may be that these alt-weeklies are creating these blog posts in an effort to drum up web traffic to their sites, which could in turn help boost digital ad sales. They may also be accepting money from the accounts or from representatives of the accounts promoted, which would mean the posts were unlabeled advertorial. “Online ads, print ads, they all dried up,” Rainey says. “But this OnlyFans stuff is there.”

“OnlyFans has no financial arrangement with these outlets,” an OnlyFans spokesperson who identified herself only as “Brixie” told WIRED via email.

“I think the creators are paying,” says Luka Sek, SEO manager for an OnlyFans promotion company called SocialRise. “An agency that handles multiple models, or someone doing the marketing for such agencies.”

Whatever the reason, it marks a grim new pit stop for declining media publications, one in which blatant SEO bait sits side by side with culturally valuable archival journalistic work and, in the case of the Village Voice, ongoing contemporary reportage.

Tricia Romano, a former Village Voice writer who recently published an oral history of the newspaper, The Freaks Came Out to Write, sees the arrival of AI slop as keeping with the recent deterioration of alt-weeklies. “This is the logical dystopian conclusion,” she says. “But who’s reading it?”

[gloryundimmed]

Get to know the mun ! repost, don’t reblog .

——— BASICS.

NICK NAME : Gray/Grayson

PRONOUNS : He/him

ZODIAC SIGN : Aquarius— fits me, right?

TAKEN OR SINGLE : Single, but a flirt and I'm sorry

ANYTHING ELSE ? : Nah I'm just chillin'

——— THREE SERIOUS FACTS.

I currently make money off of freelancing in web design and graphic design. I've worked for four literary journals now in some capacity, and I usually take the roll of web editor/graphic designer plus a reader. I'm also the web editor for my school's newspaper. My hands are always full, but that's the way I like it. I like commotion and stimulation.

I tend to keep people at an arms length even if I don't mean to, so if I ever feel distant, I apologize. I can just get weird when I'm too attached to someone, and I hate that feeling. Though it comes back to bite me in the ass because sometimes I feel like I have a ton of friends and I'm very social and love people, but I've got no "best friends."

I've got ADHD, which in my case means that I say yes to anything new and shiny despite how busy I may be. Sometimes I can be bad at gauging how much I can do at once, which leads to things slipping off my plate. Plus, the executive dysfunction is real af and I sometimes need a kick in the ass to get things done. Sorryyyy but you love me, right?

——— THREE RANDOM FACTS.

I have a dog named Romeo and I love him soooooo much

Death and knowing I'll die one day doesn't really scare me. Not that I want to die or anything, but letting people down scares me much, much more. It's my worst fear yet I feel like it happens all the time.

I love attending concerts, and music is a big inspiration for my writing. I'm always listening to something!

——— EXPERIENCE.

I've been into creative writing since I was at least 12, and at that age I began rp on a website called wetpaint.com with an elf OC because I was so into LOTR back then. Shortly after, I made an OC named Jake who I wrote with a lot. Wetpaint was like wordpress, a service where you could create little privately owned websites that could be made for any purpose with a forum/comment-like setup on most pages, and I would write with my in-person friends. I took a bit of a break from rp in my first three years of high school, but still wrote short stories. During my senior year, I got back into the rp scene, but that time here on tumblr. I've been writing here on and off ever since, with the creation of Kai in July 2014. Currently, I'm getting my bachelors in creative writing, so I guess that might count as experience, too. Sometimes I even write fanfiction lmao.

——— MUSE PREFERENCE.

Gosh, idk. I tend to go for a lot of different types of muses as long as they are written well and don't feel empty. I do lean toward more action/fantasy/romance than regular slice of life or platonic stuff, though. The muses I find most interesting have a lot of depth. I tend to find people with 20+ muses on their blog a little intimidating because I can't imagine having so many and it's hard to choose between them all. Also, it may not be true, but sometimes I can't help but think if they have so many, they can't possibly be at the depth that I'm looking for, but I'm probably just wrong on that. I barely have my 6 guys and write Kai the most of all, so it's hard for me to understand.

——— FLUFF / ANGST / SMUT.

FLUFF : I think I like cute stuff as much as the next guy. Sometimes I can find it a little boring, though. LMAO

ANGST : I LOVE angst. I love two characters who don't get along or have some sort of friction between them. It's my lifeblood, and that's probably obvious to see since I have a muse like Kai as my main. Conflict, heartbreak, violence, despair— I love it all.

SMUT : Can you guess? Again, with a muse like Kai, I think its clear that writing sex and sexuality is a big part of my journey as a writer. It's not a must-have for me in any rp, but it certainly spices things up and goes hand in hand with angst. Anything you catch me writing solo is bound to have smut in it somewhere, and I'm not afraid to admit it. Sex is such a huge part of life for a lot of people, and I think the Puritan guilt of society has caused many to shy away from it. I strive to be a sex-positive writer. If it's not your bag, though, I can certainly understand that as well.

——— PLOT / MEMES : They don't call me the idea guy for nothing! I love plotting, even if it doesn't always come to fruition or never comes to fruition. Plotting sustains me. It has the thrill of imagining scenes without having to go through the slog of writing them. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy writing, but I don't always have the energy to roll up my sleeves and get to it. I also love memes! Any meme someone sends feels like a love letter to me and my muses. They're great because they can start things off with no plotting required. I send them in as often as I can, but sometimes I'm not around and don't see them.

TAGGED BY : @shishitoren-vc tyvm!! love u

TAGGING: @lured-into-wonderland @incandescentia @eraba-reta-unmei and anyone else who wants to. I chose some people I don't know as well but would like to!

[scifimagpie]

Writeblr intro

Last Updated: Mar 2024 So, I realised I hadn't actually written one of these, and I had to fix it!

Name: Magpie, or Shelle, or Michelle.

Pronouns: she/her or xe/xer/xis.

Who: both a writer and an editor!

The Writing: I’ve been publishing since 2011, and I have a bunch of free and paid anthologies I’ve organized, but these are my most important/favourite works.

Except for The Meaning Wars series, all of my books are set in Canada!  

The Meaning Wars (complete; And The Stars Will Sing, The Stolen: Two Short Stories, The Meaning Wars, Poe’s Outlaws, A Jade’s Trick, The Meaning Wars Complete Omnibus)

Similar to: Becky Chambers’ A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and Ruthanna Emrys’ A Half-Built Garden

Vibes: Space opera! Found family! Mature (30s) protagonists! Best friends! Sapphic and queer m/f romance elements! Friendly space raptors! Space pirates! A beach episode! Antifascism! Colonization (and inequality issues)! Fighting stuff with democracy and direct action!  

The Underlighters (Book 1 of The Nightmare Cycle; Book 2, Monsters and Fools, is complete and in edits. Book 3, The Foundling City, is a current WIP!)

Similar to: Jean DuPrau’s The City of Ember, Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, the Fallout series

Vibes: Coming of age/new adult themes. Spooky monsters. Post-apocalyptic. The importance and warmth of community. Friendship. Struggling with teen problems. Polyamory. Nightmares. Mental health issues. Trauma. Hope. Recycling.

After The Garden (Book 1 of the Memory Bearers Saga; Book 2, Within the Tempest, is also one of my WIPs)

Similar to: Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake, The Wachowski sisters’ Sense-8, the Fallout series

Vibes: Found family. Gentle romance. Polyamory (m/f/m). Superpowers without superheroes. Sinister cults and religious extremism. Reincarnation. An alternate future. Adorable giant spiders. Silk-weaving and fiber arts. Post-collapse societal reorganization and politics.

The Loved, The Lost, The Dreaming: A Horror Anthology includes an alternate-ending version of The Underlighters, the novella A Shot of Vodka, and a dozen or so genre-crossing short stories. All of them have spooky elements.

Similar to: Neil Gaiman’s Smoke and Mirrors, Roald Dahl’s Skin and Other Stories (this is not an endorsement of antisemite Roald Dahl; I am antifascist)

Vibes: Underground living. Spooky dolls. Abandoned houses. Queerness. Sinister fey. Nightmares. Lovecraftian eeriness. Here be monsters.

Bad Things That Happen To Girls (Book 1 of the Memory Bearers Saga; Book 2, Within the Tempest, is also one of my WIPs) Possibly my most underrated work, this New Adultish story is a standalone novella about trauma and what happens when life breaks down.

Similar to: Emily Danforth’sThe Miseducation of Cameron Post and Miriam Toews’ A Complicated Kindness

Vibes: Broken family. Abusive mother. Being queer in a small city. Religious trauma. Forbidden cross-cultural love. Teen heartbreak. Coming-of-age. Sisters.

The Hell series (Unpublished WIPs; Dark as Hell, Uncharted Hell, Hope in Hell)

Similar to: Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, Andrej Sapkowski’s The Witcher series

Vibes: Grumpy/sunshine romance! Mature protagonists! Queer f/m romance! Thriller elements! Immortal pirate! Marxist/anti-billionaire politics—with a billionaire protag! Lovecraftian ocean horror! Historical fantasy elements! Lots and lots of boat stuff!

Prairie Weather Trilogy (Unpublished but complete, in submission; Chinook Phase, Tornado Warning, Brushfire)

Similar to: Douglas Couplands’ Jpod,Nick Sagan’s Idlewild trilogy (without the sci fi stuff), Love Actually, Heartstoppers

Vibes: Aggressively Canadian! Found family! Cozy academia! University! Set in the early 2010s! Queer romance! Ensemble cast! Aggressively queer, diverse, and inclusive! Coming-of-Age/New Adult issues! Friendship! Drama! Sex work-positivity!             

The Editing: I've been a professional freelance editor since 2013, with Top-Rated status on Upwork (a freelancing website) and several hundred books under my belt. (I don't know how many things I've worked on at this point. I've lost count!) Primarily into sci fi, fantasy, horror, and literature (and associated subgenres); enthusiastic about #ownvoices and all kinds of diversity/marginalised representation in fiction.

You don’t have to go through Upwork unless you want to; DM me if you’re looking for an editor who’s knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and gentle. I’m also budget-friendly!

Age: in my 30s.

Queer?: yes. Also poly! Happily married to two people; also have a girlfriend. Not looking for more partners.

Disabled?: yes.

Languages: English mostly, but some conversational Spanish (rusty), scraps of French, tiny bits of German and Irish. All my writing is in English, though.

Location: Southern Alberta, Canada. (Texas + Kansas + Colorado = Alberta, more or less.)

Other hobbies: Knitting, making jewelry, playing Dungeons and Dragons (and other tabletop games), singing, reading (obviously), learning stuff; playing cello, clarinet, and violin

Interests: Jewelry, gems, metalworking, fiber arts, queer issues and social justice, environmentalism, drinking quite a lot of tea (usually black; I like an assam, Ceylon, or breakfast blends, though Golden Snail absolutely slaps when I’m in the mood for it, and I love Earl Grey Cream as well)

Other internet profiles: *Website * Mailing list * Magpie Editing * Amazon * Tumblr * Mastodon *Facebook * Medium * Twitter  * OG Blog* Instagram * Paypal.me * Ko-fi

[strangechildproductions]

HEADS UP

I looked into this website that supposedly helped you start being a freelance writer.

I'll be honest I don't know much about this website. It seemed legit as far as I can tell, and to be honest, I have no proof that it is not.

But I did look into it as best as I could. First off it asks for roughly 50 USD to gain access to all it's features. These features supposedly include training and resources to help you reach clients. This was described as a one time payment cool right?

now there was a timer that said " This deal expires in: ( Insert countdown timer here) " after that it was roughly 100 USD. Still not bad if it had all the features it claimed.

BUT it did not allow for Paypal payment. Only debit/Credit cards. So still wanting to give this a try I took a gamble held off for a week. I got a second checking account so I would have a second card with the 100 USD on it so that way if this website wasn't safe it wouldn't be able to drain my entire bank account.

When I went back, wouldn't you know it? The timer for the 50 USD deal had reset? ( Kinda expected it to, that's a common sales tactic) Then I put in my second debit card that only had 125 USD on it.

It declined my card.

It declined my card twice. And the only option past that point was a blue button that read " Use another card".

SO please keep in mind I am not a great scam detector so take this with a grain of salt but given that there was more than enough money on the card I used. ( that was a perfectly functioning card I might add) Roughly 2.5 times the amount the website was asking for and it still declined my card? I dunno... seems shady. and I'm not messing with it further.

I linked it here so you can be aware of it and either:

Avoid it

Try it yourself ( SAFELY)

Correct me ( Not a scam detector. So I could be wrong but usually if something is too good to be true that's because it is)

It is a bummer I was hoping to start shifting into working from home, I have a backup plan so I can still try to do that, but this would have been awesome. All well....

That being said Eight Parents AU will just proceed uninterrupted ( this would have interrupted it if it worked out.)

Edit: I got a fraud alert email just a little bit ago, gonna go to the bank Monday morning and look into it, will update you guys if it turns out I'm mistaken and it's silly card issues

[theambitiouswoman]

Hi

How do you start a blog on a website of its own?

What to write in the about and what to publish as the first article?

1. First you pick a niche for your blog.

2. Choose a blogging platform. I recommend Wordpress.org / Wordpress.com. You can also use Blogger.

3. Choose a domain name for your blog and web hosting provider.

4. Download a blog template and design your layout. You can use Envato market place (I use this one but there are loads)

5. You want to start off with about 5 posts. Here are some things you can do to figure out what to write about:

a. Look at your audience. What are their pain points, concerns, and obsessions when it comes to your products?

b. Use sites like Quora where there are millions of people asking questions to get the best answers.

c. Use blog directories to search by topic.

d. Research competing blogs. Other blogs’ ideas for content in your niche can be a valuable source of inspiration.

e. Use Semrush’s Topic Research tool. With the Topic Research tool, you can enter any blog topic to get a list of related topics and questions that people are searching for.

f. Ask your readers. You can get feedback from your readers on what they want to read about by asking them directly or through surveys.

6. You can use your existing platforms, as well as Pinterest, or other social media platforms to promote your blog and drive traffic to it. It can be under your name or you can make an anonymous account.

7. There are several ways you can monetize your blog:

a. Sell a product or service. You can sell your own products or services on your blog, such as ebooks, courses, or coaching services.

b. Create gated content. You can create premium content that is only available to subscribers or members who pay a fee.

c. Promote external brands. You can promote other brands’ products or services on your blog and earn a commission for each sale made through your affiliate link.

d. Offer sponsored content opportunities to other brands. You can offer sponsored content opportunities to other brands that are relevant to your niche.

e. Provide coaching services. You can offer coaching services related to your niche.

f. Market your freelance writing skills. You can market your freelance writing skills and offer writing services to other blogs or websites.

g. Participate in affiliate marketing. You can participate in affiliate marketing programs and earn a commission for each sale made through your affiliate link.

8. You can use a free image website like: unsplash, pixabay, pexels or canva to create content.

hope this helps!

<3

[teensidehustles]

The Ultimate Guide to Starting Your Own Side Hustle as a Teen

In today’s digital age, starting a side hustle as a teen is more achievable than ever. Whether you’re looking to make extra money, save for a goal, or develop new skills, a side hustle can set you up for future success while giving you a taste of entrepreneurship. Here’s everything you need to know about starting your own side hustle as a teen, including ideas, tips, and how to get started.

1. Why Start a Side Hustle?

Financial Independence: Earn money to cover personal expenses, save for college, or fund hobbies.

Skill Development: Learn time management, communication, and business skills that will benefit you in the long term.

Experience for Future Jobs: Building a portfolio or gaining hands-on experience can make you stand out when applying for jobs or internships.

2. Best Side Hustle Ideas for Teens

Not all side hustles require significant experience or upfront costs. Here are some beginner-friendly ideas you can start today:

A. Freelancing (Graphic Design, Writing, or Social Media)

If you have skills in areas like graphic design, writing, video editing, or managing social media, you can offer your services as a freelancer. Start small by working with local businesses or individuals, and gradually expand to online platforms like Upwork, Freelancer, or Instagram.

Example: Create logos for small businesses, manage someone’s Instagram page, or write blog posts for websites.

Tools to start: Canva (design), Photopea (graphic design), CapCut (video editing).

B. Sell Your Creations (Art, Clothing, Jewelry)

If you’re creative, selling handmade goods or custom products online can be a fun way to make money. You can sell art, hand-painted clothing, jewelry, or custom crafts through platforms like Etsy or Instagram.

Example: Start a custom T-shirt printing business, design jewelry, or sell artwork.

Tools to start: Instagram (to promote), Etsy (to sell), Printify (for T-shirt designs).

C. Offer Tutoring or Homework Help

Are you strong in subjects like math, English, or science? You can offer tutoring services to peers or younger students. Parents are often willing to pay for quality tutoring, and you can do this in person or online through video calls.

Example: Offer math tutoring sessions for middle school students, or help with essay writing.

Tools to start: Zoom or Google Meet for virtual tutoring sessions, Canva for making promotional materials.

D. Start a YouTube or TikTok Channel

Teens today are taking over platforms like YouTube and TikTok, creating content that’s entertaining, informative, or creative. You can make videos on topics you’re passionate about—gaming, tech reviews, beauty, fitness, or vlogging your daily life.

Example: Review new gadgets, share makeup tutorials, or create workout challenges.

Tools to start: CapCut or InShot for editing videos, TikTok, or YouTube for content.

E. Offer Social Media Management Services

Small businesses often struggle to keep up with their social media presence, so offering to manage their accounts can be a lucrative option. You can create content, respond to followers, and grow their online presence.

Example: Manage Instagram pages for local coffee shops or online stores.

Tools to start: Canva for content creation, Hootsuite for scheduling posts, Instagram and Facebook for social media management.

3. Steps to Start Your Side Hustle

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to kickstart your side hustle:

Step 1: Identify Your Skills and Interests

Choose a side hustle that aligns with your passions or talents. Ask yourself: What do I enjoy doing in my free time? What skills do I already have?

Step 2: Do Some Research

Before starting, research the market to see if there’s demand for your service or product. Check out your competitors, study their pricing, and read reviews to understand what customers are looking for.

Step 3: Set Up Your Online Presence

Even if you’re working locally, having an online presence is crucial to grow your side hustle. Create an Instagram or Facebook page, or build a simple website using platforms like Wix or WordPress to showcase your services or products.

Step 4: Create a Portfolio

For freelancing or creative side hustles, having a portfolio helps potential clients see the quality of your work. You can use Instagram, Medium, or Behance to show off your designs, writings, or past projects.

Step 5: Start Small and Test

Begin with small projects to test the waters. This will help you refine your service, understand client needs, and grow your confidence before taking on bigger jobs.

Step 6: Promote Your Hustle

Use social media to promote your side hustle. Ask friends and family to share your posts. Offering referral discounts or freebies can also help you grow your client base.

4. Challenges You May Face

Starting a side hustle isn’t always easy, especially as a teen. Here are some common challenges and how to overcome them:

Time Management: Juggling school, activities, and your side hustle can be tough. Create a schedule and set aside specific hours for your business to avoid burnout.

Legal Restrictions: Depending on your country or state, there may be age-related restrictions on earning money. Make sure to follow any legal guidelines for minors.

Gaining Trust: As a young entrepreneur, some clients may underestimate you. Building a strong portfolio and maintaining professionalism will help you earn credibility.

5. Final Tips for Success

Stay Consistent: Whether you’re building an audience or trying to grow a client base, consistency is key. Don’t give up too quickly if things start slow.

Keep Learning: Invest time in learning new skills through YouTube tutorials, online courses, or Skillshare to enhance your abilities.

Have Fun: A side hustle should be something you enjoy, not something that adds stress to your life. Focus on growing it while keeping balance with school and your personal life.

Conclusion

Starting a side hustle as a teen is not only possible, but it’s also a great way to gain real-world experience, develop new skills, and achieve financial independence. With the right idea, a bit of effort, and some consistency, you can turn your passions into profit. So pick an idea, get started, and watch your side hustle grow!

[themelookscompany]

Transform Your Hosting or Tech Business with Meghgen Hosting Provider WordPress Theme 🌐🚀

Would you like to set up your hosting, tech, or IT business? Meghgen is the ultimate WordPress theme for web hosting providers, cloud services, and tech companies. Whether you're managing clients or showcasing your latest tech products, Meghgen has got you covered. Let's dive into why it's the perfect fit for your website!

🚀 Why Choose Meghgen for Your Hosting Website?

1. Seamless WHMCS Integration Managing clients, billing, and support just got easier. Meghgen comes with built-in WHMCS integration, perfect for hosting businesses. Automate everything from billing to customer support and free up time for what matters most—growing your business! 🙌

2. SEO-Optimized for Better Rankings Want more traffic? Who doesn’t! With SEO-friendly design, Meghgen helps boost your search engine rankings and attracts organic traffic. More visibility = more customers. 😎

3. Fully Responsive In today’s mobile-first world, you need a site that looks great on any device. Meghgen’s responsive design ensures your website will look stunning on desktops, tablets, and phones. 📱💻

4. Tons of Customization Options Get creative with unlimited color versions, Google Fonts, and an easy-to-use theme options panel. Customizing your site to match your brand identity has never been easier! 🎨✨

5. Speed & Performance No one likes a slow website. Meghgen is built for fast loading speeds and optimized performance. Say goodbye to high bounce rates and hello to happier visitors! 🏃‍♂️⚡

6. Lifetime Updates & Premium Support We’ve got your back! With lifetime updates and free support, your site will always stay up-to-date with the latest WordPress versions. 👨‍💻💡

💻 Perfect for Tech and IT Businesses

Tech companies need a website that matches their innovative solutions. Meghgen helps you create a professional, modern design with features like pixel-perfect design and advanced customization options. Whether you're showing off products or writing blog posts, Meghgen makes your content shine. ✨

🛠 Why Hosting Providers Love Meghgen

Client Management: Integrating WHMCS means automating billing, client management, and support all in one place. Simplify your processes and focus on what you do best.

Professional Appearance: Meghgen helps you create a sleek, modern website that looks amazing and works flawlessly.

Fast & SEO-Friendly: Optimized for speed and search engines, Meghgen ensures your site loads fast and ranks high on Google.

🌍 Who Should Use Meghgen?

Web Hosting Providers: If you offer domain hosting or cloud services, Meghgen is your go-to theme for a streamlined website.

Tech Companies: Showcase your IT services, software, or digital products with a design that speaks to innovation.

Freelancers & Agencies: Build amazing websites for clients in the hosting or tech industry without breaking a sweat.

Cloud Hosting Providers: Make your cloud hosting services stand out with a professional and responsive design.

📈 Final Thoughts

Meghgen Hosting Provider WordPress Theme is the ultimate choice for anyone in the hosting or tech industry. With its seamless WHMCS integration, SEO-friendly features, and fully responsive design, it’s the perfect tool to create a high-performance website. Whether you’re a hosting provider, a tech startup, or a cloud services company, Meghgen helps you build a site that’s professional, fast, and optimized for success. 💻🌟

Ready to get started? Try Meghgen today and see how easy it is to transform your online presence! 🙌💥

[renthony]

Hi! Could you talk about what it’s like being an independent media researcher and how you became one? Did you go to school for communications or media studies? How do you make money?

I’m about to graduate college and I really want to go into the media studies field but I haven’t really figured out what the best way for me to do that is. I have a lot of similar research interests as you (animation, censorship, media analysis, queer media) and I’m disabled so I’ve been worried about not having the energy for a traditional 9 to 5 sort of job, so I’d love to hear more about how you’re able to do the research you’re passionate about!

Honestly, I got here by accident, and I'm still figuring things out as I go. I don't make much money and right now I feel like my work is in a period of transition. I have plans, but some days it feels like I'm barely making baby steps.

I started writing when I was pretty young, and I read every single "how to write" guide I could get my hands on via the library or bookstore. I wrote constantly. Short stories, various false starts at baby's first novel, even newsletters for school activities and community clubs. I was most focused on fiction at first, but I learned a lot about nonfiction as well.

I got involved in online writing communities back when forums were still a big deal, and I joined Twitter back in 2009 when it was still new and there was a massive author and freelancer community. (Anyone else remember before retweets were a thing? We had to copy, paste, and manually type out "RT @[user]" like barbarians.) I learned an absolute fuckton about the craft and the industry by talking directly with other writers, literary agents, editors, and various other people in the field. From the time I was like 14, I was interacting with professional writers, sharing my work for feedback, and racking up rejection letters from magazines and literary agents (which was a badge of honor in the communities I was hanging out in, because it meant you were working hard and refusing to quit). When I was 17, my best friend even scraped together money from their shitty fast food job to pay for us to attend a major writing conference in Denver, where we participated in all kinds of classes and panels with industry professionals.

My mother was also writing at the time, and I got a lot of support from her. She had a blog that got a decent amount of interaction, because this was right around the rise of the Mommy Blogger and my mom wrote from the perspective of a socially-isolated tattooed punk mom who never planned to have kids (which was unusual in a landscape of perfect housewives with perfect photogenic babies with weirdly-spelled Mormon names they chose when they were kids). Eventually my mom started writing for a website owned by Yahoo, to supplement the household income while staying home to care for my little siblings. When I decided I wanted to take a whack at freelancing, she gave me a lot of advice on how to get started. I also had a writing class at school taught by a teacher who made it a class project to submit to magazines, so I basically got a head-start on freelance life. I wrote a lot of random articles for a website that's since gone defunct, and I submitted a lot of short stories to contests and magazines. Didn't really make a lot of money, but I learned a ton and got a lot of experience.

When I made it to college, I studied anthropology and French. I'd planned to study history, but switched my track after a single semester because anthropology suited me better. I took a lot of AP classes in high school and did well on all the standardized testing, so I managed to get a full academic scholarship and skip right past a few of my gen eds. Unfortunately for me, I had a lot of difficult life experiences during that time period, and I started to struggle in pretty much everything that wasn't directly related to my degree. I failed Latin so bad I didn't bother to go to the final exam, because even a perfect grade wouldn't have saved me. I fucked up my algebra grade beyond salvation. Those two classes alone tanked my GPA enough that I lost my academic scholarship, and I wound up dropping out entirely. Grades in my required courses were solid, but the scholarship requirements meant I had to do well across the board or lose my funding.

My mother still has debt from getting loans to pursue a master's degree, and I knew damn well I didn't want that kind of student debt piling up on me, so I opted for dropping out. Sometimes I regret it a little, but I honestly think it was the best option. I was having so much emotional upheaval on top of the academic stress that I needed time away to figure myself out. I graduated high school early, so I was like two years younger than everyone around me, and I didn't have many friends. I lived at home and came to campus just long enough to go to class, so I had nothing in common with my classmates who lived in dorms and participated in campus activities. I missed orientation because I registered late, the administration sent me to the transfer student registration day instead of the new student registration day, and I didn't get any "here's how you navigate university life" support. I didn't know I was supposed to have a one-on-one academic advisor for a year and a half, and when I finally met him, his only comment on the matter was, "wow, I wondered why you hadn't come to see me yet!" without any sort of inquiry into how a fuckup on that scale was allowed to happen in the first place. I wasn't set up for success by university administration, and I burnt out hard. I dropped out.

My wife encouraged me to do what was going to be best for me mentally instead of letting finances dictate my next step. She had a steady job, and even though we were still pretty broke, her support let me drop out of college and focus on recovery. A lot of people gave me shit because their perception was that I was dropping out of college to become "just a housewife," and they couldn't fathom why. From my perspective, I'd been given a lifeline.

I took care of our shitty little one-bedroom apartment. I read a lot of books and played a lot of Minecraft. When I felt up to it, I did some more freelancing. My wife was working unholy hours in a factory and we didn't get to spend much time together. I started doing tarot reading as a side hustle, and we started making vague plans to move somewhere better for us, but saving up was hard.

Things felt stagnant for a long time. I didn't write very much, I wasn't really doing anything related to my studies. I wrote when I had energy, and I kept scraping together extra cash doing tarot readings while my wife started working a new job in a lumber yard. Her support is the only reason I was able to recover and figure myself out, so big shout-out to my beloved working woman wifey. God, I love her.

Eventually we packed up and moved to a different state so we could be closer to my family. I got a job baking for a coffee shop. I wrote whenever I could. When I got laid off from the coffee shop, I realized there was no way in hell I could keep working a regular job without sacrificing my health, so I went back to writing full-time. (The Queen of Cups was written during this period.)

At some point I started getting back into anthropology and history research, just for fun. I didn't have money to finish my degree, but I had enough academic experience to know how to track down and evaluate good sources. I wasn't really trying to do anything for career purposes, I was just incredibly bored and wanted to study something again, so I got really, really into studying local history. Once I read everything I could about that, I jumped to another topic I was interested in, and then another. Media studies became my biggest focus as a natural outgrowth of my interests in speculative fiction, animation, and the history of the entertainment industry. I studied anthropology in school because I loved learning how and why humans do the things we do, and media studies always felt like an obvious facet of that. It's part of why I was always obsessed with cave paintings and paleolithic sculptures--people make art! It's what we do! It's what we've always done!

Anyway, I now live in a university town that has resources available to the public, and I have friends who work in various university libraries or as professors. I started making use of whatever I could get access to. I read a lot of nonfiction books from independent researchers pursuing their own passion projects, I got really into video essays on YouTube, and I had the epiphany that you don't actually have to finish college to study and write about things as long as you put in the quality research and source all your information. At some point I started calling it my "DIY academia," which my university-employed friends found utterly delightful.

Honestly, I credit my formal-academia friends with a lot. They've all been an incredible source of support and reassurance, and have helped me track down quite a few sources I was having trouble getting my hands on. Everyone do yourself a favor and make friends with someone who works in a university library.

I started a Patreon several years ago (in like 2017 I think?), primarily for my fiction writing, but there's plenty of other things that have shown up there over the years (art, cosplay, essays, etc.). As I started getting more into my DIY academia, folks started expressing interest in seeing me write about it. My tumblr posts about media generated a decent amount of attention, I'd managed to build up a platform, and it wasn't hard to say, "okay, screw it: I have freelance experience and I know how to write a paper, does anyone want to pay me for it?"

I haven't been submitting to existing publications like I used to, mostly because I don't have a decent portfolio assembled. My old freelance work in high school and college was for a platform that closed down a decade ago, and no matter how popular they get I can't bring myself to include tumblr posts alongside professional credits. My current plan is to build a portfolio on my website showing off the commissions I've been taking, and then start submitting to magazines and newspapers again between my other work. I'd love to eventually write for something like Polygon or IGN.

It's hard. I love research, I love writing, and I love sharing information with people, but having to DIY everything is really, really hard. I often feel like I'm just throwing nonsense into the void in the hope someone will like it and leave a tip in my Ko-Fi. I don't have formal academic credentials beyond "I was planning my senior thesis about the ethics of investigating ancient burial sites, but then I dropped out." I just have a neurodivergent brain, a handful of special interests, a wife who works the graveyard shift in a lab to pay our bills, and the ability to hyperfixate on research for absurd lengths of time.

The most common advice I used to get about freelancing is that you just have to keep throwing things at the wall to see what sticks. It's been years since then, but I think the advice still applies. Read a lot, learn a lot, and write about the things you're most interested in. Search around and look for magazines and newspapers and websites that accept unsolicited freelance submissions. Read the other articles they publish to see how your work stacks up. Submit, submit, submit. Rake in rejection letters and keep them as a reminder of how hard you're working. If you're up for it, start a Patreon to post the things you don't submit elsewhere. The worst thing that can happen is that people don't give you money, but maintaining it still helps you lay the groundwork for a portfolio and a reader base.

I deal with a lot of hellacious impostor syndrome. I worry a lot that I'm just a hack who doesn't actually know what they're talking about. Like I said, I got here totally by accident, but whatever I'm doing seems to be working for me. I'm broke, but my work is being read, and opportunities for more work show up when I least expect them. I'm not sure what's next for me, but I'm excited to figure it out. Money's tight, but I keep enduring despite the chaos. I throw things at the wall, I see what sticks, I clean up whatever flops and then try it again later. Wash, rinse, repeat.

It's hard, but so is everything else. I like it better than a lot of other things I could be doing.

[digitaldetoxworld]

Your Guide to Choosing the Right AI Tools for Small Business Growth

 In state-of-the-art speedy-paced international, synthetic intelligence (AI) has come to be a game-changer for businesses of all sizes, mainly small corporations that need to stay aggressive. AI tools are now not constrained to big establishments; less costly and available answers now empower small groups to improve efficiency, decorate patron experience, and boost revenue.

Best AI tools for improving small business customer experience

Here’s a detailed review of the top 10 AI tools that are ideal for small organizations:

1. ChatGPT by using OpenAI

Category: Customer Support & Content Creation

Why It’s Useful:

ChatGPT is an AI-powered conversational assistant designed to help with customer service, content creation, and more. Small companies can use it to generate product descriptions, blog posts, or respond to purchaser inquiries correctly.

Key Features:

24/7 customer service via AI chatbots.

Easy integration into web sites and apps.

Cost-powerful answers for growing enticing content material.

Use Case: A small e-trade commercial enterprise makes use of ChatGPT to handle FAQs and automate patron queries, decreasing the workload on human personnel.

2. Jasper AI

Category: Content Marketing

Why It’s Useful:

Jasper AI specializes in generating first rate marketing content. It’s ideal for creating blogs, social media posts, advert reproduction, and extra, tailored to your emblem’s voice.

Key Features:

AI-powered writing assistance with customizable tones.

Templates for emails, advertisements, and blogs.

Plagiarism detection and search engine optimization optimization.

Use Case: A small enterprise owner uses Jasper AI to create search engine optimization-pleasant blog content material, enhancing their website's visibility and traffic.

Three. HubSpot CRM

Category: Customer Relationship Management

Why It’s Useful:

HubSpot CRM makes use of AI to streamline purchaser relationship control, making it less difficult to music leads, control income pipelines, and improve consumer retention.

Key Features:

Automated lead scoring and observe-ups.

AI insights for customized purchaser interactions.

Seamless integration with advertising gear.

Use Case: A startup leverages HubSpot CRM to automate email follow-ups, increasing conversion costs without hiring extra staff.

Four. Hootsuite Insights Powered by means of Brandwatch

Category: Social Media Management

Why It’s Useful:

Hootsuite integrates AI-powered social media insights to help small businesses tune tendencies, manipulate engagement, and optimize their social media method.

Key Features:

Real-time social listening and analytics.

AI suggestions for content timing and hashtags.

Competitor evaluation for a competitive aspect.

Use Case: A nearby café uses Hootsuite to agenda posts, tune customer feedback on social media, and analyze trending content material ideas.

Five. QuickBooks Online with AI Integration

Category: Accounting & Finance

Why It’s Useful:

QuickBooks Online automates bookkeeping responsibilities, rate monitoring, and economic reporting using AI, saving small agencies time and reducing mistakes.

Key Features:

Automated categorization of costs.

AI-driven economic insights and forecasting.

Invoice generation and price reminders.

Use Case: A freelance photo designer uses QuickBooks to simplify tax practise and hold tune of assignment-primarily based earnings.

6. Canva Magic Studio

Category: Graphic Design

Why It’s Useful:

Canva Magic Studio is an AI-more advantageous design tool that empowers non-designers to create stunning visuals for marketing, social media, and presentations.

Key Features:

AI-assisted layout guidelines.

One-click background elimination and resizing.

Access to templates, inventory pictures, and videos.

Use Case: A small bakery makes use of Canva Magic Studio to create pleasing Instagram posts and promotional flyers.

7. Grammarly Business

Category: Writing Assistance

Why It’s Useful:

Grammarly Business guarantees that each one written communications, from emails to reviews, are expert and blunders-unfastened. Its AI improves clarity, tone, and engagement.

Key Features:

AI-powered grammar, spelling, and style corrections.

Customizable tone adjustments for branding.

Team collaboration gear.

Use Case: A advertising company makes use of Grammarly Business to make sure consumer proposals and content material are polished and compelling.

Eight. Zapier with AI Automation

Category: Workflow Automation

Why It’s Useful:

Zapier connects apps and automates workflows without coding. It makes use of AI to signify smart integrations, saving time on repetitive tasks.

Key Features:

Automates responsibilities throughout 5,000+ apps.

AI-pushed recommendations for green workflows.

No coding required for setup.

Use Case: A small IT consulting corporation makes use of Zapier to routinely create tasks in their assignment management device every time a brand new lead is captured.

9. Surfer SEO

Category: Search Engine Optimization

Why It’s Useful:

Surfer SEO uses AI to assist small businesses improve their internet site’s seek engine scores thru content material optimization and keyword strategies.

Key Features:

AI-pushed content audit and optimization.

Keyword studies and clustering.

Competitive evaluation equipment.

Use Case: An on-line store uses Surfer search engine marketing to optimize product descriptions and blog posts, increasing organic site visitors.

10. Loom

Category: Video Communication

Why It’s Useful:

Loom lets in small groups to create video messages quick, which are beneficial for group collaboration, client updates, and customer service.

Key Features:

Screen recording with AI-powered editing.

Analytics for viewer engagement.

Cloud garage and smooth sharing hyperlinks.

Use Case: A digital advertising consultant makes use of Loom to offer video tutorials for customers, improving expertise and lowering in-man or woman conferences.

Why Small Businesses Should Embrace AI Tools

Cost Savings: AI automates repetitive duties, reducing the need for extra group of workers.

Efficiency: These equipment streamline operations, saving time and increasing productiveness.

Scalability: AI permits small organizations to manipulate boom with out full-size infrastructure changes.

Improved Customer Experience: From personalized tips to 24/7 help, AI gear help small groups deliver superior customer service.