Joe Osborne

Wahnt halp editting you’re cahpy? Writer's tip: change the font in the document you're reviewing and enlarge the font size - your brain will view/review the copy as new and any mistakes will be more obvious. 

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Want to use AI in a safe, secure, dependable, and robust way? You should craft a “building code” for gen AI with your internal Acceptable Use Policy. Here’s how.

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Since X seems to be prioritizing engagement only those who pay for verified accounts and is an otherwise hellhole of right-wing bigotry, and since Meta is de-prioritizing political content, I'm trying something new tonight by writing in a live chat on my Substack newsletter, American Doom. We have a small but, I think, loyal following, so it will be interesting to see who shows up. You can subscribe to Doom below and join in.

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We all write content. This may include books, articles, marketing material, emails, memos, contracts, policies, and other documents. Plain language is valuable in all writing. Get your copy of the ISO #PlainLanguage Standard today. bit.ly/42PqTdA

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PSA for all freelancers looking to land high-paying clients: Most of the people you pitch won’t reply. Or they’ll say no. Or they’ll take weeks to get back to you. Pitching is not a one-day game. Your chances of landing regular, high-paying work increase significantly the more you put out there. Learn from every no. Improve your marketing materials, especially your LOI. Work on understanding (and improving) your win rate. (On average, most writers will see a 5-10% win rate from cold LOIs.) You only need 4-7 clients on contract to make an excellent living as a freelance writer. Calculate how many LOIs you need to send in order to land them. Then get them out as quickly as you can. 

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Any tips for naming an LLC for a freelance writing business? I’ve heard either go with your name or go with something creative that captures the services offered. 🤔

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Fellow Marketeers! I’m curious how you feel about the resume style where a person’s experience is presented as a list of tasks/services in incomplete sentences, like this: Led development of the project scope. Planned and conducted subsurface investigations in steep terrain. Oversaw a group of over 20 field staff and subcontractors. Also authored the technical report. Versus a longer one that uses names/pronouns and complete sentences, like this: PERSON led development of the project scope. THEY planned and conducted subsurface investigations in steep terrain. THEY oversaw a group of over 20 field staff and subcontractors. PERSON also authored the technical report. One on hand, I get the urge from a space and efficiency perspective to write it like a bulleted list. On the other hand, my Editor brain balks hard at a string of incomplete sentences with no subject. The construction also doesn’t lend itself to adding more info or nuance about the project. Do you have strong feelings one way or another about this style? Does it depend on the person? The audience? The purpose? The page limit? All or none of the above? I’d love to hear what you think and what constructions/styles you’re using for resumes. Thanks! SMPS Seattle #resumes #amediting

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Okay… I guess I need to do another #publicserviceannouncement, though those that need to see it have been blocked, and their comments deleted. While I haven’t been doing my daily posts about a current ongoing global issue (at least here), there are all my posts that are still around prior to my six-week suspension that happened at the end of February. So people may have gotten a notification that someone had commented on one of those posts…you may have even clicked on the notification…went to the post, but didn’t see anything new—that is because I blocked the individual and deleted his comment. While I’m all for civil discussions and debates—I will NOT tolerate someone ‘claiming’ that they know my thoughts or opinions better than I do—on ANY topic. Nor will I tolerate any rude, hateful, or discriminating types of comments. Everyone is allowed their own thoughts and opinions on things. You’re even allowed to share them…and the rest of us are allowed to block and delete them. So…before one thinks to ‘explain’ things to me—here’s another reminder: I have no problems diving into various ‘research’ holes and I will come back at you with facts, stats, and references—that’s if I deem your comment to be worthy of my time…for the most part I’ll just delete and block. #selfawareness #personalgrowth #professionalgrowth #iknowmymind #iknowmyopinions #keepyouropinionstoyourself 

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4 tips for editing: 1. Google the gobbledygook Got a proper noun or a word you're unfamiliar with? Look it up. 2. Question the commas Is it a clause thing or a pause thing or just comma confetti? 3. Hexamine the hyphens Shush, it's alliterative, just go with it. And look these up too. 4. Double-check the double-entendres Your mind should be in the gutter at all times.

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❗️Voice actors on Voice123, especially newer ones, please read the GVAA Rate Guide before setting your direct booking rates! And set yourself a comfortable "floor" price, basically a "turn on the mic" fee that you are comfortable with as your baseline for doing a job. ❓It can be hard to figure these out, since they are written on Voice123 as "per-word" rates but do not include the genre (corporate? eLearning? commercial?). Your booking page attempts to make booking you easy for clients, and it does just that! But don't let it be at the expense of your earnings. Quoting for a booking is actually more complex than the form on Voice123 makes it out to be. 😩 I found this out the hard way, when I set my booking rates and had someone direct book me for a job that I got paid $33.87 for based on my stated rates. Voice123 lets you put in a rate for 5 words, 50 words, etc. My thought at the time was, "Five words? I can't charge much for that!" I even did the math and made a graduated pay scale as the word count increased. I thought I was being smart. In the end, when I received a direct booking for such a low total amount, I decided that it was essentially my fault for advertising myself that way, so I'd just do the job and adjust my business plan and rates afterward. I didn't attempt to negotiate with them, and honestly, it wasn't the client's fault at all. They were doing exactly what I was inviting them to do. 🌐 GVAA Rate Guide: https://lnkd.in/eCcY_4Wr The spot came out beautifully, by the way. And it's for a great organization with friendly folks! Take a look! #voiceactor #businesstips #knowyourworth ------------------------------- 🎙 If you need a friendly, warm, and smooth voice for your next voiceover project, feel free to give me a holler at www.gmhakim.com

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Agreed. And "fast-paced environment" to me is code for "we don't want older applicants" and/or "we're completely disorganized and it's chaos here." Likely both. What "red flags" or code words do you see in job/freelance ads today? Inquiring minds want to know! #writing #freelancewriting #contentwriting

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As journalists cover the news of the day, they frequently find themselves iced out of communication with key sources, who simply refuse to respond to questions. This happens with elected officials, public servants and even people running for office. While this is a definite barrier to informing the public, it's not new and it's not insurmountable. In fact, although the practice of refusing to talk to the press is on the rise, journalists have faced this challenge for time and eternity. In order to do their jobs, reporters have to develop both relationships and expertise. They have to independently be able to determine what's new that public needs to know, what public figures and doing and saying, how their positions are evolving, even when they are trying to keep it from the public. That means tapping into secondary sources, interviews from other publications and broadcasts, recorded meetings, and even anonymous sources. When well-sourced reporters have the details nailed down, they just have to explain to their audience how they know what they know. They also put more pressure on central figures to answer questions and be accountable. My colleagues Fernanda Camarena and Mel Grau have produced this wonderful report that tics off many of the best practices for getting the story when the door gets slammed in your face. It's worth a read. If you're a reporter or a producer, it's a reminder that source development is the most important part of the job. If you're an editor or a boss, it's a reminder that source development takes time, and it should be encouraged and rewarded. Here's the report: https://lnkd.in/eJTQh2wd

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I'll just come right out and say it... Not enough of you are reading Alex Mathers. Alex came in for a guest masterclass with Taylin John Simmonds' Digital Identity cohort last Fall and dropped a lot of knowledge and wisdom. Back in June, Alex wrote a newsletter about 𝗧𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, and I knew I wanted to write about it Real Soon Now. I'll summarize his newsletter and link to the larger piece in the Comments.  1. I always have the next project waiting before I finish the one. Momentum is more important than writing to the rules.       2. This pleases my little ADHD heart. Just write for the fun of it.       3. This is the second time today I’ve read this advice.* (𝘏𝘢𝘵-𝘵𝘪𝘱 𝘵𝘰 Harry Phokou 🔜 gamescom)       4. Write loose. Write fast. Write free. Write with savagery. Write for the love of writing.       5. Sometimes you can be a little too professional. Loosen up.       6. I used to mock outlines until they helped me bust a particularly bad case of Writer’s Block. I have since changed my tune.       7. (I don’t do this but bless you who can read your own handwriting.)       8. One of my favorite productivity hacks is to go out to the backyard with the dog and get lost in a good book for a spell.       9. My writing space is like a writer’s shrine along one entire wall of the Dining Room.      10. I love my various writing groups. Each one gives me something powerful and unique. If you could pick just one little thing to revive your excitement for writing, what would it be? 90/100 (245) #100DayRally 𝘐 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺?

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It used to be that scammers focused on the biggest, best-known brands. Now, even the smallest businesses are falling victim to copycats that steal their videos, logos and social media postings. Here's my look at how advances in technology have made frauds more difficult to detect and how three small businesses battling these challenges. #small business #entrepreneurs #copycats #counterfeiting #Amazon #Facebook #Instagram https://lnkd.in/etN6xr68

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This thread is for my publishing professional friends! (Freelance editors, illustrators, ghostwriters, marketers, print and web designers, and translators.) Reedsy is asking (and paying, full disclosure!) its professionals to post about what it’s like to work on the platform. But I don’t have to be paid to talk about Reedsy—you’ve seen it here before! For those who don’t know, Reedsy is a highly vetted version of Fiver/Upwork specifically for publishing professionals. Joining Reedsy many years ago is what allowed me to focus solely on editing creative projects, which has made my work so fulfilling and fun. Reedsy is amazing at marketing and drives a high volume of editing requests to my inbox—so much so that I frequently have to close to new requests because I’m booked months ahead of time. I also love how Reedsy collects reviews from my clients and shows them all on my profile. I’m normally pretty shy about asking for this myself, so it’s nice that it’s automatic. There are of course some cons to working on Reedsy. Because clients can request quotes from several editors at a time, I don’t “win” every job and it takes a good amount of time to reply to each request (and I don’t get paid for that time). Such is the life of a freelancer. I’m happy to share about the system I’ve made to streamline this process (involving easily customizable response templates!). And Reedsy takes a percentage from both the service provider and client. They clearly invest a lot of this back into marketing and this has absolutely paid off for my career. If you are interested in signing up, here’s my referral link: https://lnkd.in/eenQs-yM. It does sometimes take time to get Reedsy to accept your profile—I am happy to look over a draft of it for you and give you feedback. I went back and forth with the Reedsy team quite a bit and had to wait for some of the projects I had worked on to have preorder links before I was accepted onto their site. This makes it hard to get on the platform, which is good for people looking to hire freelancers, because they know they have been vetted! Happy to answer any questions about working with Reedsy; let me know!

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