Ah yes, you know how I love these lists that tell you how to approach freelancing in the best way. Here is another list ... a fine one. They just all tell me similar things, but despite my heeding them, I still have time issues and "work too much" issues.

I guess I just have to be tougher on myself!

There is a great post on Publishing Careers about the path to becoming a freelancer.

Julie Cancio Harper talks about how she got to her current position in freelance. Very interesting, and I love her advice at the end. She wraps up by saying "I would urge you to work in-house and start your freelancing business part-time after hours," and this is exactly my advice as well. To jump into freelance without building a client base and gaining experience in how it is done is only for those who have another source of income and have the time to invest without the stress of earning a living right away.

In case my last post seemed as if I am set on being depressed for the next 11 years, you can be reassured that I will not be. So there. I'm not even depressed now. It's just depressing to hear that a study shows that I am near the bottom of the U.

In opposition to those findings, I am very happy this week. I received a raise from an excellent client, I received a good offer to work with a new client, and I resolved a number of work-related issues easily and successfully. Huzzah!

So there U-shaped curve!

Great! Only 11 more years of being down!!!

Middle-age is truly depressing, study finds
By Michael Kahn

Middle age is truly miserable, according to a study using data from 80 countries showing that depression is most common among men and women in their forties. The British and U.S. researchers found that happiness for people ranging from Albania to Zimbabwe follows a U-shaped curve where life begins cheerful before turning tough during middle age and then returning to the joys of youth in the golden years.

“It happens to men and women, to single and married people, to rich and poor, and to those with and without children," Oswald said. "Nobody knows why we see this consistency."

One possibility may be that people realize they won't achieve many of their aspirations at middle age, the researchers said. Another reason could be that after seeing their fellow middle-aged peers begin to die, people begin to value their own remaining years and embrace life once more.

But the good news is that if people make it to aged 70 and are still physically fit, they are on average as happy and mentally healthy as a 20-year old. "For the average persons in the modern world, the dip in mental health and happiness comes on slowly, not suddenly in a single year," Oswald said. "Only in their fifties do people emerge from this low period."

Just read the latest post at dougalfish about taking time off, and I read the article that she linked to: The Dark Ages by Kate Muir. Oh how true, that housework has fallen by the wayside. Just today I had to run around like a crazy person, cleaning before my parents came for dinner. Every time I clean like this, shoving things in the back office just so I can bring them back out the next day to clutter the living room, I vow to get out a big, black garbage bag and throw out everything I own. We've got a book problem, CD problem, periodical problem, clothes problem, still-piled-up wedding gifts problem, and miscellaneous kitchen items problem. If we could just organize those things, we'd be great!

As far as taking off time, I've been sticking to my rule that I won't go out during the workday unless I prescheduled it and planned my work around it successfully. For longer time away, I'll plan it ahead, do whatever it takes to get my work done before that time, and then go away. I make sure I can check my email at least once or twice from wherever I am and then start more work when I get back, but I haven't found the need to work every day of the year. This works for me, but then again, I go far away infrequently and I can usually adjust my projects accordingly. I feel bad for people who can't.

Time for a smile:

Area Eccentric Reads Entire Book

Here's a new study from Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, an author and researcher I've edited before. I am SURE I have the Worry Gene!!

Last night we sat down to watch The Host, a 2006 Cannes entry from Korea. This was reviewed in Rue Morgue magazine (on a cover, actually), which is one of R's favorite reads, so he had been eager to see it, and 2 weeks ago when R's friend A said he had the CD from Netflix, I knew we'd be sitting down to watch it soon.

Basically a monster movie, The Host managed to pack together some funny moments (some I bet were not really intended to be funny but came out that way thanks to the nature of translation), some pretty scary moments, and some cool scenes. It also had its political commentary regarding US involvement and cover-ups, but that aspect did not make as much of an impact for us as they may have wanted it to, I would bet, because we didn't have the background coming in to understand what Americans had done in earlier incidents to upset Koreans and we were confused about why certain things were going on. I won't address them and spoil anything, but in general, I think (again) the translation made things more clunky than it may have been otherwise. (Also, once we watched the deleted scenes, we understood quite a bit more; a lot of clarifiying information seemed to wind up on the cutting-room floor.)

Putting those questions aside, I was impressed with a number of things about this movie. The special effects were pretty good, and I very much liked the monster -- the way it flipped about with its tail, the way its mouth was layered and bloomed like an evil flower, its chameleon shape. Actress Ko A-sung was just great; she made the movie for me. I am always impressed with the Asian cinematography with children, the way they focus on their faces and eyes ... really engaging. All of the sewer scenes were very good.

In another scene, the Park family comes together to rest and eat before going back out to save Hyun-seo, and suddenly the girl appears at the table, where they all feed her. I was really taken by this; it is one of the strongest moments for the characters. One of the themes raised earlier, a lack of nourishment, comes full circle in a spiritual way here, as they psychically feed her in their eating.

At times, I felt like I was watching two movies spliced together: a good monster movie and a not-so-good political commentary. Even the soundtrack made us laugh at times. They used a crazy number of differing pieces. One scene has a chase backed by a French-style carnival song, and thought Punch and Judy would pop up and smack the crap out of each other.

All in all, this was an entertaining picture, and were it not for certain weaker plot lines, I would have really enjoyed it. As it stands, it wasn't too bad.

Schizo directed me to this post at Zen Habits on working from home. I've heard lots of tips like "Wear work clothes. Put on your shoes. Take breaks. Separate your office from the rest of your house." Here are some tips of my own (nothing novel I'm afraid):

1. Segment: When a project comes in, immediately review it and break it up. Know exactly how it will fit in, when you need to start it, the minimum amount of work you must do on which days to get it done early or on time.
2. Keep a calendar: Write down on each day what you need to do and keep the calendar right in front of you at your desk. Make due dates clear.
3. Keep a list: I keep a list separate from the calendar. I write down the stats of each project, the contact name, the due date, the size of the job. I update the status of each and then cross each off when I am done. Where the calendar lets me see across time, this list helps me understand the amount I have pending so I don't get overwhelmed.
4. Get up early: When I don't get started early in the morning, I suffer from a loss of drive by the time lunch rolls around. If I can get a good start, my afternoon is more productive because I feel better about myself and my accomplishment for the day.
5. Develop a system: I won't say the typical "Stay organized!" because that rubs me like a "Have a nice day!" but I do think everyone needs his or her own system. I have folders for each client's style sheets/guidelines and a folder for each journal so I can grab the right folder when the project comes in. I have an invoice folder and I track what is out, what was paid, how much I make. I keep my electronic folders organized by client, project, due date so they are easy to find. When I am done, I move files to "Completed" folders to keep everything separate. Whatever works for you.
6. Resist temptation to get off task: I browse as soon as I turn on my system; I read the pages I normally read and get that out of the way right at the start. Then I (usually) check my browser only to see if email came in on my business account. I don't keep the TV on for company, and I put on the headphones if I really need to get focused. Do whatever helps you fight distraction.
7. Make shortcuts: In Word, I made a toolbar full of any button I might need for editing. I have two typed sheets of words from the MW dictionary that I always need to check, eliminating my need to repeatedly look them up. I created macros that insert queries I always need to ask. Saving time on basic tasks gives me more time to focus on making the projects perfect.
8. Be realistic: I know that unless I have a real rush job, I have had it by 8 p.m. I know I need to leave time for the gym, for an afternoon lunch with friends, for errands. Keep a schedule loose to accommodate for what you know you need. This also applies to starting and running a freelance business: Be realistic. Will you be able to focus, drive yourself to get things done, multitask without a boss hanging over you? I have many friends who tell me "I could never do what you do" and I believe them!

I've read various articles and postings by journal article authors that complain about the process of copyediting and how it seems so unnecessary ... why, the CE only adds and deletes minor punctuation and asks for page numbers in references that no one has time to check and switches words around that make no difference anyway. I agree that some CEs have a heavy hand and may change things for the sake of changing things, but I know that most of my colleagues apply style in an exacting manner, adjust grammar errors correctly, and give a light touch to make a better article.

What scares me is how many things are probably wrong in an article that the CE cannot possibly catch unless he or she were to look up every little thing, which is impossible given schedules and wages. For example, today I am editing an article to appear a psychology journal. In cross-checking citations and references, I saw that a name in a citation was not spelled the same way as the name listed in the corresponding reference (a journal article), so I looked up this article on the Internet, finding the article listed in the TOC of its online journal, to find out the correct spelling of the author name. I discover that the author I am looking for did not write this article. In fact, there are eight names attributed to the article, and that misspelled author is not one of them.

I found this error by chance. There could be ten or more references in each journal article I edit that are incorrect in some major way, but unless I stumble upon them, I would not know.

In their article "Accuracy of References in Five Biomedical Informatics Journals," Dominik Aronsky, Joel Ransom, and Kevin Robinson looked at five journal issues, which contained 37 articles. "Among the 656 eligible references, 225 (34.3%) included at least one error. Among the 225 references, 311 errors were identified. One or more errors were found in the bibliography of 31 (84%) of the 37 articles. The reference error rates by journal ranged from 22.1% to 40.7%. Most errors (39.0%) occurred in the author element, followed by the journal (31.2%), title (17.7%), page (7.4%), year (3.5%), and volume (1.3%) information." In discussing these errors, they went on to say, "The names of authors are not only critical for retrieving articles but are also relevant when author citations are used to measure research productivity. ... Misspellings and variations in an author's name may prevent the program from retrieving all relevant citations and influence bibliometric measures and information retrieval approaches."

There are other studies of this as well, and I am sure they all come to similar conclusions. I would think that if the authors who complain about CEs asking for reference and citation corrections reflect on how their own piece may one day be attributed to their colleagues in error, the authors will feel better about answering those queries.

One of the coolest and most underrated bands, in my opinion, is Jethro Tull. I've always loved them, but I should listen to their catalog more often! Such great lyrics.

Listening right now to: Broadsword

I see a dark sail on the horizon
Set under a black cloud that hides the sun.
Bring me my broadsword and clear understanding.
Bring me my cross of gold as a talisman.
Get up to the roundhouse on the cliff-top standing.
Take women and children and bed them down.

Bring me my broadsword and clear understanding.
Bring me my cross of gold as a talisman.
Bless with a hard heart those who surround me.
Bless the women and children who firm our hands.
Put our backs to the north wind. Hold fast by the river.
Sweet memories to drive us on for the motherland.

Found this article through the BookDaddy site.

Top Shelves
Sean Dodson's ratings of the 10 "fairest" bookshops in the world

*and why didn't I know about Posada when I was in Brussels!!*

When it is late at night and I am not quite ready to go to bed but I don't want to get involved in work or reading a novel, I troll the net for all things freelance and editing related. But I am disappointed by the lack of blogs and cool sites devoted specifically to freelance copy editors. I have listed some good sites in my links lists on the right side of this blog. Almost every other site I find talks of freelance writing or freelance Web design or freelance graphics ... things that don't relate to what I want to focus on here, topics that don't hold my interest most of the time.

I suppose I could add freelance writing to my business plan, but I don't write in that sense. I much prefer working with text that is already written. I wonder if freelance writing is just "where it's at," where most people find they make the most money, or if it's more common because it can become a first freelance business without the same "style manual" application experience.

I'm fine with what I do and what I make right now. At least, I think I am. Let's see what happens with this first tax return. *crosses fingers that quarterly payments were enough*

... and that's what grinds my gears. Tom?

Part of the copyeditor's job (if one is doing a good job, anyway) is to check proper names that are used in the publication. I like to search for these names on the net and take the final say off the company's own Web site and/or the INTA. Today I came across a restaurant that I have never heard of (turns out their only location in my state is more than 1 hr away from me). I searched the name using Yahoo! search, checked the correct spelling, and corrected the spelling in my publication (thus proving why it is always important to look these things up).

The reason I am writing about this is not to talk about checking authors' spelling but to relate what I think is a humorous and curious descriptor in the Yahoo! search result. When I put in Buca di Beppo in Yahoo!, their company site comes up first, with the description beneath:

Buca di Beppo Italian Restaurant
Italian dinner and sanitary bathrooms.

Now, the "Italian dinner" part is obvious but understandable. The "sanitary bathrooms" part is the curious bit. Is it because with a name like "Joe's Basement Italian Restaurant" you want to put the patrons' minds at ease that it's not set up like a moldy, unfinished rec room? I wish they weren't so far away because now I'm really interested in heading in, if only for a rest stop.

With the start of a new year we usually hear about more relationship breakups than in the months before. Waiting for the holidays to end and all ...

Recently I've heard of Pam Anderson leaving Rick Salomon, the Penns getting divorced, Brendan Fraser and his wife splitting up, but the biggest media uproar seems to be over the Spider-Man and MJ dissolution.

Here's a poll on what would happen if the relationship were to "disappear"!! I wonder if the stats will prove true ...

My girlfriend just posted this entry on her blog about a personals clipping that ended up on her desk. Wow. I watched a friend slip into paranoid schizophrenia, but I don't think I've ever seen a personal ad like this.

See ... this is what I miss about working in an office. No one is around here to leave stuff on my desk except the cat, and I don't want what he would leave.

Sitting home today with some sort of annoying cold that came on overnight. Ugh. I'm quarantining myself from a nice party today and instead finishing up some work. I'm proofing a well-written book, but I find it weighing heavily on me. Usually I can proofread without "feeling" it, but this book is one tough scene after another ... fighting, tension, uncertainty. I find myself wishing that there were more happy scenes to balance. It's a very good book, but I feel beaten down now that I'm coming to the end. Perhaps this lead to my weakened immune system!!

Spent yesterday returning things from the holidays that did not fit/work, getting things that do fit/work. I've said this before, but there are too many people in the world. Well, in this world around here, anyway.

I talked with R about my novel writing while eating at a new dim-sum place last night. Over cold sesame noodles, I expressed how I feel I've "lost" the characters, as I haven't been writing or thinking about them in quite some time now. I am sure once I get back to it, it will all flow again. But I have a hard time getting motivated to start again right now. I talked about setting one hour to write each day. I just don't think I can get up really early to do it ... and at night I'm trying to exercise/clean/cook. I could try it in the afternoon I guess. Got a nice encouraging message from my novelist friend last night, which helps keep my spirit up.

Back to the hot tea and tissues ...

Much new year's joy. The Big Bang Theory on CBS will be renewed and come back after the strike. Hooray! Finally a show I like that others like too!

The first day of 2008, and so far it hasn't been exactly what I anticipated. I got up at noon (unheard of for me!) after staying up until 3:30 a.m. engaged in a long trivia game battle. I've done a little editing and some net surfing, I've been tailoring my eating to fit my "healthy, fewer calories" model for the new year, and I've been trying to ignore the TV, as my husband flips between The Honeymooners and Twilight Zone marathons in the other room.

In about an hour, I am taking over the chef duties by preparing a black bean soup for dinner. I still want to finish at least one freelance project (due Friday) and do some personal writing; if that all gets done, I'll feel good (and especially so if the soup turns out well).


I don't really do resolutions, but here are some goals for the new year:

1. Stick to a set work time. This will mean I start work at the same time each day and try to stop around the same time. R and I both know that I will have large projects that flow over at times, but the goal is to keep my work within 9 hours a day.

2. Increase my productivity. I am great for surfing the net, blogging, reading, etc., when I should be working. No more of that. I'll probably take my lunch earlier, so that may help me keep the flow through the afternoon. I also got a great pair of wireless headphones for the holidays, so I'll use those to stay focused. Also, limited lunches out, day trip activities, long phone calls ...

3. Clean every day. Even if only for 20 minutes, I will clean or organize or throw out something in here. It's become essential for happy living.

4. Cook during the week. R really deserves a break, so I'll take up at least some of the cooking. [This may be the hardest to keep up.]

5. Read more for pleasure, and read books others have given me. I've started this already, and it feels good. I'm reading one novel a friend gave me last year, and I'll try to read throughout the week before bed. I even took another book to the DMV and read a third while waiting in R's car with him for inspection! Way to use my time!!

6. Spend more time outside.* R and I used to walk in a certain park all the time, and I know this helped me think creatively and feel more spiritual, more connected, so I want to get out more.

7. Keep in closer contact with friends. More letters, email, cards, and meetings. Not much is more important to me than the relationships in my life.

8. Expand my knowledge. Take classes, read books, do whatever to gain experience, ideas, information, skills.

8. Continue to work on the old goals: Eat right; exercise; be compassionate, patient, and charitable; express thoughts of appreciation and compliments

*Borrowed from Schizo's list last year and modified.


This list may be expanded later, but for now this covers it!