Well, it’s been nearly three months since my last post and I’ve not much more to report.
The possible turnaround that I reported in the last post turned out to be a dud. The job for my husband never materialized–instead, he was offered a six-month contract through a temp agency at an hourly rate, which he turned down. He was told, however, that at the end of the six months, if the job turns into a full-time salaried position with benefits, he would be at the top of the list for hiring. A woman who got her law degree the same time as my husband ended up taking the temp position. I’m thinking that if she is working out, the company may just offer the full-time position to her. After all, she is the one handling the current cases. She has the familiarity with these files. It would only make sense to keep her on, especially if she is willing to take less pay than my husband.
So, the bright spot is not so bright after all, but there’s a glimmer of hope.
For me, well, not much has changed. In fact, things have gone south. The database entries stopped coming two weeks ago (I will follow up this coming week if I don’t hear from them soon), I’m getting just one small assignment a month from the local company that used to be the moneymaker for me, and after a couple months of not getting work from the other local publisher, I have been getting assignments, but they’re low-paying and time-consuming. The story of my life this year.
A couple weeks ago I did receive an e-mail from a small publisher in Texas, to whom I had applied in early November. The editor who contacted me said she would like to talk over the phone regarding qualifications and availability. I didn’t hear from her in a week, so I shot her a follow-up e-mail. She got back to me, but said she was heading out of town and would call me when she returned. She should be back in the office this coming week. I hope I get good news and not more work that is low-paying, low-volume, and sporadic. I would love to hook up with a publisher who could use me exclusively (kind of like my project editor friend here, who is now basically no longer in the business–I used to be her first contact for jobs, but she’s pulled way away from working and I’m no longer getting much of anything). We’ll find out more this week.
In the meantime I’ve got one small ($90) assignment from Michigan (I love this type of editing, but the jobs are few and far between) and I’m finishing up working on the recreational listings for a local magazine publisher–a job I swore off last year, but took again this year because of my desperation to make any money.
Honestly though, I’m just nickel and diming this year. I hope things improve.
