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Zaarin
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13 Aug 2017, 8:15 pm

So, this is probably a pretty familiar story. I went into college not exactly knowing what I wanted to do. As I approached having to choose my major, I was leaning towards professional and technical writing--but then I tried it and hated it. So I majored in English literature. I originally intended to become either a professor, but as I drew near graduation I began to have doubts: I watched how hard my professors were pressured to get tenure, and I wasn't sure I was up for that. So, since my dream was always to become a published author, I took a year off to write. That "year" has turned into five years. In that time I did finish a book and shop it around to agents, but I never got anything more than a form rejection. I'm still writing, but I'm also beginning to feel that it's time to move on with my life. Unfortunately, over the years my anxiety has increased; I had two panic attacks in college and I'm a lot worse than I was then. I don't think I could handle a job where I had to leave home and be around people every day.

I have looked into the possibility of working online, but a lot of options seem more set up to frustrate a person on the spectrum than in-person jobs. I started by looking into teaching online, but not only does it require periodic meetings in a city two hours away (complicated by the fact that I don't drive) but also lots of talking on the phone. Even talking to friends on the phone makes me catatonic. I've also looked into editing, copyediting, and proofreading, but most jobs require in-house experience and/or advanced degrees (not to say I couldn't get one, but I'd like to know I'm going to get something out of it before I go in debt). And I also looked into freelancing, but turns out that, while I'm perfectly confident I have the skills to be an excellent editor, I don't really have the skills to convince someone else of that. I've also considered blogging, but my efforts always seem to read like a research paper, which probably isn't going to draw readership.

So does anyone have any advice for finding work online? Perhaps some avenue in which I could use my English degree that I haven't thought of (preferably something that doesn't involve marketing...)? I don't mind communicating by e-mail, but I'd rather avoid as much phone interaction as possible.


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Campin_Cat
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14 Aug 2017, 12:43 pm

This topic has come-up MANY times (online work)----I suggest doing a "Search", of WP.....













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Zaarin
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14 Aug 2017, 4:53 pm

Thanks, I'll do that.


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Campin_Cat
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14 Aug 2017, 7:45 pm

You're quite welcome!!













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Jenine
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25 Aug 2017, 5:59 am

As far as publishing books go, have you tried Kindle? I'm currently on KDP (Kindle direct publishing) and it's where a lot of indie authors go. You won't get a flat out rejection, but it does take about 24 hours for the site to review your work. When it comes to book promotion, you do have to get the word out there on your own. However, there are plenty of sites where you can promote your Kindle book without having to go through Amazon and it'll cost a lot less than promoting it through the company. That means no author signing at the library nor an author reading of your book if you have no desire to do those things. Besides, paperback and hard cover books don't sell like they used to since eBooks took off. So, don't take it to heart if a publishing company declines your work 'cause pretty soon they'll probably be struggling to keep their heads above water the way things are going.



BirdInFlight
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25 Aug 2017, 6:07 am

Jenine, may I ask a technical question about what formats you need to work in, in order to upload and publish Kindle or Amazon? Like, literally what program to use to actually write the book and do you have to write your own page that says year of publication, copyright statement, etc? Are things like page numbers and other formatting issues handled by your program or by Kindle's system?

I have been curious about how people go about the technical side of e-publishing for a while, but wouldn't know where to begin, and anything I've written has been on a RichText Wordpad, lol!



Jenine wrote:
As far as publishing books go, have you tried Kindle? I'm currently on KDP (Kindle direct publishing) and it's where a lot of indie authors go. You won't get a flat out rejection, but it does take about 24 hours for the site to review your work. When it comes to book promotion, you do have to get the word out there on your own. However, there are plenty of sites where you can promote your Kindle book without having to go through Amazon and it'll cost a lot less than promoting it through the company. That means no author signing at the library nor an author reading of your book if you have no desire to do those things. Besides, paperback and hard cover books don't sell like they used to since eBooks took off. So, don't take it to heart if a publishing company declines your work 'cause pretty soon they'll probably be struggling to keep their heads above water the way things are going.



Zaarin
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14 Sep 2017, 2:21 pm

Jenine wrote:
As far as publishing books go, have you tried Kindle? I'm currently on KDP (Kindle direct publishing) and it's where a lot of indie authors go. You won't get a flat out rejection, but it does take about 24 hours for the site to review your work. When it comes to book promotion, you do have to get the word out there on your own. However, there are plenty of sites where you can promote your Kindle book without having to go through Amazon and it'll cost a lot less than promoting it through the company. That means no author signing at the library nor an author reading of your book if you have no desire to do those things. Besides, paperback and hard cover books don't sell like they used to since eBooks took off. So, don't take it to heart if a publishing company declines your work 'cause pretty soon they'll probably be struggling to keep their heads above water the way things are going.

Sorry for replying so late; I lost track of this thread... :oops: I've considered self-publishing, but I'm rather hesitant for two reasons: A) I'm a lit major and have something of an attachment to traditional publishing (and self-publishing can hurt your chances of traditional publishing), and B) I have no business or marketing sense whatsoever, so I really prefer to have a middleman who knows what they're doing handle those.

To be honest, after a few years I'm detached enough to see what was wrong with the book I submitted for publication and why it didn't get any bites. I just wish I could get my head back into it enough to fix it. I think I've made a decent start on a new draft, so fingers crossed... 8O


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17 Sep 2017, 1:46 pm

You could try transcription work. That's what I do.


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Zaarin
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17 Sep 2017, 3:19 pm

Alita wrote:
You could try transcription work. That's what I do.

That is one avenue I looked into last year but backed away from due to hearing problems which have been since resolved--I'm not sure why I didn't think of looking into it again now that I hear better. Thanks for bringing that to mind again. :)


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Alita
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17 Sep 2017, 8:43 pm

Zaarin wrote:
Alita wrote:
You could try transcription work. That's what I do.

That is one avenue I looked into last year but backed away from due to hearing problems which have been since resolved--I'm not sure why I didn't think of looking into it again now that I hear better. Thanks for bringing that to mind again. :)


No problem. Good luck with it! :D


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29 Sep 2017, 1:35 pm

Online job opportunites have their "down sides" e.g., what happens when online employers don't pay? It seems some type of reliable online rating system is necessary to weed-out the dishonest employers!

ARTICLE: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2017/0 ... questions/



Zaarin
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29 Sep 2017, 8:14 pm

Here wrote:
Online job opportunites have their "down sides" e.g., what happens when online employers don't pay? It seems some type of reliable online rating system is necessary to weed-out the dishonest employers!

ARTICLE: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2017/0 ... questions/

Yeah, I think I just ran into a scam/exploitive site myself: three hours (hard!) labor earned me $1.65. I'm not looking to make a fortune, but I think my time is worth more than $0.55/hr. 8O


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Here
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03 Oct 2017, 3:25 pm

STORY: The Humans Behind Mechanical Turk’s Artificial Intelligence.
LINK: https://www.ft.com/content/17518034-6f7 ... 55824ca907

LINK also includes story on how online workers are classified as contractors.

Any positive experiences with online work?



Zaarin
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04 Oct 2017, 7:14 pm

Here wrote:
Any positive experiences with online work?

Not so far. I keep plugging at transcription jobs to build experience to get in with a better company, but the most I've made so far is about $1/hr. I realize I'm a beginner and will get faster and more accurate as I get experience, but even so that's practically slave labor. And looking around some other companies seem to be even worse than the one I'm currently transcribing for. :(

I don't mind being a contractor--I like having flexible hours and I'm not really looking for full-time employment. But I do feel my time is worth a little more than $1/hr... :|


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shortfatbalduglyman
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04 Oct 2017, 8:21 pm

Alita and Zaarin

could you please tell me where to find a list of companies that offer online transcription jobs?

the transcription work sounds like a job prospect. and, as someone with few or no job skills, and numerous social and emotional weaknesses, there are not many prospects.

needless to say, i ain't got no transcription experience

but whatever. the only experience i have had were unskilled labor. minimum wage. cashier. flipping burgers. things anyone can do. that do not involve training.

thank you very much

short fat bald ugly man

:D



Zaarin
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04 Oct 2017, 8:48 pm

shortfatbalduglyman wrote:
Alita and Zaarin

could you please tell me where to find a list of companies that offer online transcription jobs?

the transcription work sounds like a job prospect. and, as someone with few or no job skills, and numerous social and emotional weaknesses, there are not many prospects.

needless to say, i ain't got no transcription experience

but whatever. the only experience i have had were unskilled labor. minimum wage. cashier. flipping burgers. things anyone can do. that do not involve training.

thank you very much

short fat bald ugly man

:D

Try Googling "work at home transcription jobs" and you'll find blogs with lists of companies that hire novices. I know exactly how you feel--I have skills I could market, but anxiety has pretty much kept me homebound for the last few years.


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But if of ships I now should sing, what ship would come to me,
What ship would bear me ever back across so wide a Sea?

--"Galadriel's Song of Eldamar"