I do not think that word means what you think it means...

I love The Princess Bride for so many reasons, but the title of this post is probably my favorite quote among many quotable lines. I always think of the line when I'm surfing CraigsList looking for gigs because I often find lines like this:

We need someone to write the story and share the profit 50/50 with the author. 

I'm a ghostwriter by trade and have absolutely no problem being the writer behind the name, but it does seem a little delusional when the person hiring the ghostwriter is unclear on the concept of what's actually happening.

Sigh.

Stylish chef's apron on sale!

In between writing gigs, I work with my friend Alex's catering company (Word of Mouth Catering). I have a couple of chef's aprons I've collected from various sources--including one awesome "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" apron that I picked up at San Diego Comic Con a few years ago. But I've been looking for something that would be nice and professional for both of us and I have run across this (thanks to Craig'sList).

The aprons(which are unisex) are on sale right now, so if you're interested, you can check them out here.

When someone really needs help...

I make about half my living editing other people's prose. I enjoy editing and feel a sense of accomplishment when a project's done. Most of my clients are referrals but I pick up clients through Craig's List as well. (One of the books I edited, Debt, by Rachel Carey was recently published and that made me feel terrific. The book is funny and smart and I urge everyone to read it. )
Sometimes, though, you see an ad and you know, you just know that no matter how strong your edit-fu is, you are not going to be able to help the person who's looking for help.  You know that when you see an ad that includes a phrase like this:

MUST BE FLUID WITH THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

I'm not posting this to mock the ad writer but I am bemused that  the ad went on to demand that whoever applied have at least a Master's degree and 10 years of experience. I've worked for clients like that--asking for qualifications way way over the need of the project. I would like to think that they were  compensating for their own shortcomings by looking for the very best in assistance. I'd like to think that but sometimes they were just jerks.

Looking for Jobs on CL

I saw this "Looking for a freelance writer" ad on CraigsList today. I don't know about you, but I think they're setting the bar too high:  Looking for a writer who can perform simple writing tasks. Must be able to read/write in English, have a keyboard and an internet connection.