"Maybe we should add pictures of the board members."

OH GOD. Now I'm a bit freaked out. This is an exact quote from my life.

Plus? Routing a blueline through no less than 10 staff members, including the ED only to get chewed out for factual and/or typographic errors that no one saw.

Heaven be praised for spellcheck.

Those blueline chemicals were horrible. Could have been used in chemical warfare.

That wasn't warfare?

My current boss doesn't have time to read the articles anyone (including me) writes for our magazine until we get a proof. At that point she goes through them and re-writes, corrects, has things she wants me to fact-check, etc. And there's never time to give me her articles for copyediting (really - if we're not going with the serial comma, why does she use it EVERY TIME?). Can't tell you how much the printer loves us.

We routinely have to call our printer in a panic 2 days after we've sent them the files for an issue, because an author realize they forgot something, or -- and this happens more often than you might think -- Incompetent!boss will find something on his desk that he forgot about that MUST be changed (and yet he's been employed at my company for 11 years -- I think the fact that Big!Boss doesn't micro-manage has something to do with it).

I think our printer has reached the point where they just wait 2-3 days after receiving our files to even put them into production. Because we seriously do that shit 6 out of 11 issues. No joke.

Incompetent!boss will find something on his desk that he forgot about that MUST be changed (and yet he's been employed at my company for 11 years -- I think the fact that Big!Boss doesn't micro-manage has something to do with it).

sounds like he doesn't manage at all.

X-posted from bitches: A friend has generously offered to shoot and edit a Kickstart video for me if I write the script. It is to finance the graphics book on global warming I am writing that will supplement the academic version about to be published. If anyone feels like posting some links to some kickass Kickstart videos that were successful, especially ones for books, that would be generous (I did see the one Jilli starred in.) Also tips on doing a good Kickstart beyond what one can get from the Kickstart site would be also wonderful. I think others might be interested, but if you prefer my profile addy is good.

My website for "Solving the Climate Crisis" is a work in process. The following is the look and feel I will use for all pages. Any comment on professionalism or lack thereof or any other aspect will be welcome. Buttons don't work and are not going to until look and feel is good. Cover photo is not my choice, and will only be on pages it has to be. [link]

Note will be at a better URL once done - this URL should avoid too much traffic until it is ready to go.

So, I've got a possible job on the table for this period of unemployment. As most of you know, I'm an academic librarian with a background in Classical archaeology. An emerita professor from UGA, where I used to work, is here in Cincinnati on a book-writing fellowship (to use their library). She wants to hire me as some combination of technical support, editing, and psychologist.

I am well aware of the potential liabilities involved on the personal side; she embraced me when we met because we discovered that her parents and my grandparents were good friends, but she's a huge personality and something of an egoist and rather scattered, so anything I teach her on the tech side may or may not be retained. But, you know, she's not actually my mother or anything, so I think I can keep things professional.

Her goals are: teach her to use Zotero well and help her get her existing collection of citations and .pdfs moved into it and organized; help her get up to speed syncing her iPad, iPhone and mac, and figure out what are useful apps, and install them, and get her comfortable purchasing books and music to use on all her devices; help organizing and editing her book in progress, which is about Pindar; possible advice on placing with a publisher, and maybe editing, a book based on about 8 published articles she's written over the years about masculinity.

I said I'd do some checking and write up a proposal for her, with fees. Thoughts? I don't think there's a freelance librarian's organization that suggests fees, and while some of this is editing, some of it is technological, and some simply organizational. Also, am I insane to take this on at all, despite my level-headedness going in about her personality?

If you get a regular job you may end up with dysfunctional boss. This at least is limited time. Make your best estimate of how bad it will be working for her. Assume it will be at least twice as bad as you think. If you still want the job, go for it.

I don't know rates. When you come up with a range, take into consideration she is hard to work with, and quote from the high end of the range.

Gar, first impressions of the website (keeping in mind I am rankest of amateurs):

I like the background and titles. I don't know about the font on those buttons - the two-word ones seem awfully cramped & hard to read, maybe a little simpler of a font would help? Did the font change in the middle content section on purpose? (It's a little distracting, if so). Also, an extra "a" in a sentence near the end of the first paragraph ("Rather than a providing..."), and in the first sentence of the second paragraph, "United States" should get an apostrophe (United States').

Overall, I'm left intrigued by your ideas and interested to know more.

Hope that helps.

You might want to ask bonny about rates -- this seems like a combo of coaching/research assistance/editing.

I'd write up a contract, set fees and set clear parameters. I can send you my resume and writing/editing contracts to use as a template.

I'd suggest at least $40 an hour. You can track time using Toggl.com (free) or you can suggest a project fee for a set number of hours, with extra added if you go over the project hours set.

I don't think you're crazy, but I would set very clear parameters for the job, or else you get stuck with doing a shitton of work for her, and get paid for very little of it.