Ty B.

Ty B. is another one of my repeat customers. He sends me interesting and cool business articles to write. In other words he says, "I want an article about How many frogs eat out in Italy," and I find out and write the article for him.

He has some really cool articles, and I actually learn a lot. His jobs are probably the most important to me, because I am now considered a small business owner. So things like knowing how many frogs eat out in Italy becomes vastly important.

His articles are so informative, that I frequently want to tell others about them - "Hey, did you know that 7,500 frogs eat out at restaurants in Venice on Thursday nights in May?" but I can't. Instead, I have to think up crazy titles just to tell people about him.

This is because I have a confidentiality agreement with Ty B. (In case you didn't guess by my vague references, I also have a confidentiality agreement with Simple N as well.)

Few customers actually require them, but I honor them when they do. However, even when I do not have an explicit confidentiality agreement with someone, (for example Johnny-5) I still maintain some confidentiality until the project is at least complete and old. This gives my employer a jump on the market should he or she want it.

There was one employer that I got fed up with over her confidentiality agreement and canceled the contract. She was from overseas, so I give her that. However, her confidentiality agreement wanted me to destroy all copies of my work if requested. I did not feel comfortable about this. I do not mind if someone else uses my work and says it is their own, but I do not want to destroy all my records of my work. I did actually sign this contract with her, but then I sent her my contract and she balked.
She wanted my contract to say that I would keep rewriting books until she was satisfied - sorry, been there and not doing it again. My contract stipulates one rewrite for dissatisfaction. Usually, I will have forgotten some key detail or have some minor editing. However, I am willing to actually rewrite something twice if a client is dissatisfied. Giving someone unlimited rewrites is asking for trouble, so I refused.

Simple N

Simple N is another one of my favorite clients. I do a lot of rewriting for him and I have built an entire story (which is fictional I am sure) around his life. It is a postmodern sort of story, which is the kind of writing I can do without someone outlining what they want.

You see, Simple N frequently contacts me, sends me work, and expects it complete in three days. The type of work he sends me does not seem urgent in any way, but it is to him. He is a repeat customer, and I enjoy doing the work, but I often wonder how he makes money? The things I do are not that intensive, but he pays decently. He also pays without question - another thing I am glad of.

With Simple N, I get paid by the word. While most projects from him run from $30 - $50, one was a whopping $120. I was shaking because I thought he would never pay me that much for such simple work - I was wrong.

So what does a guy do for a living, who sends someone simple rewrites with all the necessary information and pays them well for it as long as it is done in three days...I know a good story that would explain it.

Love Story

I love to write real love stories. When I was younger, I would go around asking married couples how they met. I have always been fascinated with what initially attracts people to each other in such a way that they will stay together for the rest of their lives. Or not...

Frequently there are posts asking for an author to write a personal love story of "how we met." Unfortunately, most of these are not really happy romances.

So far, I have written two romantic "how we met" stories. Both of them ended with the man (who was paying me to write the story) leaving. Sad. Shocking. Startling.

So why are they my favorite? I think it is because I am getting the other half of the coin now that I am happily married and have been for fourteen years. Now, instead of finding out what worked, I am finding out what didn't work. A small part of me is giving these people a story written down about themselves that they accomplished. I am hoping that they will find their true love the next time around. I also enjoy getting to know these people and talking with them.

The hardest part is letting go and not knowing where the story actually ends.

An alternative to this type of story is the "write my life story." These are also interesting to write, but a little more difficult and in-depth.