Billiard Blogger Needed

[JAM]

Imagine my surprise when I'm reading this ad on my industry forum. As soon as I saw the word "billiard," my eyes opened up wide. :grin-square:

Looks like a fun opportunity for those who enjoy writing blogs.

I'm not in the writing industry, but this looks like a cool way to earn a little extra jingle in your pocket. Writing comes easy for some.

Freelance Billiard Blogger w/Pooltable.ca
http://jobs.problogger.net/view/4644

We recently launched another website, www.pooltables.ca, and are looking for a blogger who can write 2 blog posts per week (Monday/Thursday). The blogs would contain information relating to the billiard and game room industry; whether it be about tricks, common questions (what people should look for when buying a table, what is the room size, what table size for residential use), decorative items (lighting, wall decor) how to complete a game room, etc. Information that is related to the products we sell, but not referring directly to them.

We do prefer someone who has some knowledge about billiards, as we want realistic blogs that will keep our users interested and the information must be relevant.

This is a freelance position. The blog topics are of your choosing, as long as they are related to the industry and are submitted on Sundays and Wednesdays. They can be however long you like, minimum of 300 words.

Each blog submitted will receive $30 compensation. Payment available through Paypal.

If you are interested, please contact me by email at monica@pooltables.ca.

Thank you,

Monica
How to apply
Email: monica@pooltables.ca with links to previous blogs

 

[The Hamster]

I'm not in the writing industry, but this looks like a cool way to earn a little extra jingle in your pocket. Writing comes easy for some.

The compensation is pretty minimal... back when I used to write tech stuff for PC Magazine and Byte, I got around $1,200USD an article - usually 1,000 words plus. Lessee... 300 words... $400?

But good luck to them finding an enthusiast who'll do it for the love of the game and $30.

Where's Fred Agnir when you need him?

 

[JAM]

The compensation is pretty minimal... back when I used to write tech stuff for PC Magazine and Byte, I got around $1,200USD an article - usually 1,000 words plus. Lessee... 300 words... $400?

But good luck to them finding an enthusiast who'll do it for the love of the game and $30.

Where's Fred Agnir when you need him?

It may be that the criteria to be a blogger is quite different than a professional writer for a magazine such as PC or Byte.

I've read some articles written by so-called "professional writers" on other forums that are riddled with spelling and punctuation errors. I realize mags have copy-editors and the like, but usually, if you're going to label yourself as a "writer," you should know the difference between its/it's, they're/their/there, affect/effect, principal/principle, loose/lose, et cetera. :wink:

Bloggers aren't as picky when it comes to spelling/punctuation issues, I think.

And then there's that strange punctuation and spellings they have in Canada that really seems odd to my American eyeballs.

 

[justnum]

Sounds like a great job for a upcoming pool player that can type, or a retired pro that wants to put some spin on the current industry.

 

[lfigueroa]

The compensation is pretty minimal... back when I used to write tech stuff for PC Magazine and Byte, I got around $1,200USD an article - usually 1,000 words plus. Lessee... 300 words... $400?

But good luck to them finding an enthusiast who'll do it for the love of the game and $30.

Where's Fred Agnir when you need him?

It always amazes me when people hire you for a writing job and expect you to just crank out endless words for peanuts and a little sugar.

Lou Figueroa

 

[lfigueroa]

It may be that the criteria to be a blogger is quite different than a professional writer for a magazine such as PC or Byte.

I've read some articles written by so-called "professional writers" on other forums that are riddled with spelling and punctuation errors. I realize mags have copy-editors and the like, but usually, if you're going to label yourself as a "writer," you should know the difference between its/it's, they're/their/there, affect/effect, principal/principle, loose/lose, et cetera. :wink:

Bloggers aren't as picky when it comes to spelling/punctuation issues, I think.

And then there's that strange punctuation and spellings they have in Canada that really seems odd to my American eyeballs.

I don't have time to look for it right now but there was a great article, about a month ago, in either the NYT or WashPost (think it was the Post) concerning the muti-million $ sale of the HuffPost and the compensatory implications, given that that and similar sites rely heavily on bloggers.

Lou Figueroa

 

[JAM]

It always amazes me when people hire you for a writing job and expect you to just crank out endless words for peanuts and a little sugar.

Lou Figueroa

Why is that? Pool players do it all the time; that is, for peanuts and sans the sugar. :thumbup:

I think billiard mags, as an average, pay about $200 to $300 per one-page article, FWIW!

What is the difference between a blogger and a writer, or are they the same?

 

[JAM]

I don't have time to look for it right now but there was a great article, about a month ago, in either the NYT or WashPost (think it was the Post) concerning the muti-million $ sale of the HuffPost and the compensatory implications, given that that and similar sites rely heavily on bloggers.

Lou Figueroa

I actually did read that article. That was a good one for sure.

The Blogosphere is big here in D.C. when it comes to expressing political opinions. :wink:

ETA: On Thursday, the Newspaper Guild made a public plea to all unpaid writers for the Huffington Post to withdraw their services as a part of a strike against using unpaid labor in the wake of HuffPo's $315 million sale to AOL. "Just as we would ask writers to stand fast and not cross a physical picket line, we ask that they honor this electronic picket line," said the Guild in an announcement. Today, HuffPo spokesperson Mario Ruiz responded that most of the companies are "not professional writers" anyway, so they probably don't even want money. More on the battle of the press releases inside a Friday evening edition of Press Clips, our daily media round-up. Plus: the Observer's new tech site has a hit already, while the company that owns The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, AdWeek, MediaWeek and Brandweek may have put them all up for sale. Or maybe not!

Source: http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/03/huffington_post_write_for_free.php

 

[sfleinen]

It may be that the criteria to be a blogger is quite different than a professional writer for a magazine such as PC or Byte.

I've read some articles written by so-called "professional writers" on other forums that are riddled with spelling and punctuation errors. I realize mags have copy-editors and the like, but usually, if you're going to label yourself as a "writer," you should know the difference between its/it's, they're/their/there, affect/effect, principal/principle, loose/lose, et cetera. :wink:

Bloggers aren't as picky when it comes to spelling/punctuation issues, I think.

And then there's that strange punctuation and spellings they have in Canada that really seems odd to my American eyeballs.

Jen:

I agree with The Hamster. I myself am a published writer in the IT industry, and the terms that The Hamster mentions were the terms that Sams.net and Prima Publishing (the two publishing houses I used to write for) compensated me with.

The problem is that blogging is beginning to be (or has been for some time?) positioned as "professional writing," but with the loophole that it doesn't pay like formal magazine columns or articles. It's like the "3M Post-It Notes" version of a formal article -- replete with the "expected formality" of an article, but with the WD40-esque "Au contraire! You forgot this is a blog -- it's colloquial/casual by nature, therefore you're not supposed to be paid full professional article compensation!" escapism.

Businesses have gotten smart by using the personal/casual guise of blogging to serve the same purpose as professional articles. So instead of hiring professional writers to write columns, they put the bait out for bloggers to do the same -- and, in their eyes, "save" a lot of money in the process.

You and I and Lou and The Hamster know that the quality they will get won't nearly approach that of a professional writer uniquely experienced in the topic. (Side laugh: "We do prefer someone who has 'some' knowledge about billiards" -- Prefer? "Some"? Really? As if depth of knowledge is not an absolute requirement? How can you write about a topic unless you have in-depth knowledge and experience about/with it? I'd love to see someone attempt to write about pool tables, cues, accessories, and the game themselves without having ever played, or just occasionally plays. That might be worth the comedy value alone.)

IMHO, it's a shame that businesses that "lemming onto" this practice -- of hiring bloggers for peanuts -- think they're getting "the same or commensurate" value for their dollar. <tisk, tisk>

Thoughts?
-Sean

 

[The Hamster]

And then there's that strange punctuation and spellings they have in Canada that really seems odd to my American eyeballs.

Lol... those are the correct English spellings - we like to include you (U) in our words such as neighbour and colour.

And, if I may remind u, the English DID originate the language.

 

[JAM]

Jen:

I agree with The Hamster. I myself am a published writer in the IT industry, and the terms that The Hamster mentions were the terms that Sams.net and Prima Publishing (the two publishing houses I used to write for) compensated me with.

The problem is that blogging is beginning to be (or has been for some time?) positioned as "professional writing," but with the loophole that it doesn't pay like formal magazine columns or articles. It's like the "3M Post-It Notes" version of a formal article -- replete with the "expected formality" of an article, but with the WD40-esque "Au contraire! You forgot this is a blog -- it's colloquial/casual by nature, therefore you're not supposed to be paid full professional article compensation!" escapism.

Businesses have gotten smart by using the personal/casual guise of blogging to serve the same purpose as professional articles. So instead of hiring professional writers to write columns, they put the bait out for bloggers to do the same -- and, in their eyes, "save" a lot of money in the process.

You and I and Lou and The Hamster know that the quality they will get won't nearly approach that of a professional writer uniquely experienced in the topic. (Side laugh: "We do prefer someone who has 'some' knowledge about billiards" -- Prefer? "Some"? Really? As if depth of knowledge is not an absolute requirement? How can you write about a topic unless you have in-depth knowledge and experience about/with it? I'd love to see someone attempt to write about pool tables, cues, accessories, and the game themselves without having ever played, or just occasionally plays. That might be worth the comedy value alone.)

IMHO, it's a shame that businesses that "lemming onto" this practice -- of hiring bloggers for peanuts -- think they're getting "the same or commensurate" value for their dollar. <tisk, tisk>

Thoughts?
-Sean

Bloggers and professional writers are engaged in a war of words [pun intended]. The pool parallel would be the pool purists who enjoy mum pool played by tournament soldier robots and the action junkies who want to experience the good, the bad, and the, oh, so ugly side of pool. Each blame the other for the demise or growth limitation of its industry.

I think I'd compare the bloggers to TMZ-style reporting to professional writers and CNN-type reporting.

I recently did a job about Brian Lamb, the founder of C-SPAN. C-SPAN has been around for 32 years now, but when they came to the fore, there were only about 7 channels on TV. They refused government funding and took off on their own fuel sources. One never knows how far blogging will go in today's world of immediate gratification news. Wikipedia is a form of blogging, in a way, though its editors won't let anything stay unless it has a reference source.

I like Wikipedia. I like C-SPAN. The jury for me is still out as far as bloggers. I guess I'd have to consider the source if I'm reading anything of importance.

 

[Scaramouche]

IMHO, it's a shame that businesses that "lemming onto" this practice -- of hiring bloggers for peanuts -- think they're getting "the same or commensurate" value for their dollar. <tisk, tisk>
Thoughts?
-Sean

A huge number of blogs exist out there in the ether.
So if you can write about something that interests you and get paid, even a pittance - it is better than doing it for free.
Paticularly if it gets you a bigger readership.
More readers rewards the ham in the writer.
Blogs aren't about money; they are about ego, ranting, showing off.
But a bit of money helps motivate regular posting.
And regular posting generates return traffic - see bigger readership above.
The Hamster has good writing, but his site has had no updates since 2008

Look at this site. Lots of free writing. Lots of readers.
Why do you post here for no financial reward?

You are just an unpaid intern in the scribbling business.

 

[The Hamster]

The Hamster has good writing, but his site has had no updates since 2008

Well, thanks, good buddy...

I have no excuse except that I'm lazy and shiftless (plus I work on a computer 8 hours a day already). I used to write short stories on my lunch hour, but now that I'm working from my home, I have to make my own lunch.

One of the guys in my wife's CPA league keeps nagging me about writing a Hamster Tales part II. I tell him it's not going to happen until after I retire - assuming I make it.

 

[sfleinen]

A huge number of blogs exist out there in the ether.
So if you can write about something that interests you and get paid, even a pittance - it is better than doing it for free.
Paticularly if it gets you a bigger readership.
More readers rewards the ham in the writer.
Blogs aren't about money; they are about ego, ranting, showing off.
But a bit of money helps motivate regular posting.
And regular posting generates return traffic - see bigger readership above.
The Hamster has good writing, but his site has had no updates since 2008

Look at this site. Lots of free writing. Lots of readers.
Why do you post here for no financial reward?

You are just an unpaid intern in the scribbling business.

Scaramouche:

Thanks for the reply. My "gripe" (if you want to call it that) is not against the bloggers themselves. Heck, you're right -- why are we writing here? Because we like to. The reward is merely the open doorway (and the opportunity) to express one's own opinion. AZBilliards is one such open doorway. Some do it for ego; some to rant; yes, some do it to show-off; others -- like me -- do it for the satisfaction of knowing he/she helped someone out there. Whatever the motivation, the doorway itself provides the reward.

Rather, my "gripe" is against the businesses that want to market their products, and use "professional industry writing" as a way of marketing their products. The first person to successfully do this (and create the template that everyone else now follows) was Sun Microsystem's Jonathan Schwartz -- at one time Sun's CEO and president, and a prolific blogger by even today's standards. (He left Sun in February of last year as Oracle was swallowing up Sun in its acquisition.) But make no mistake, Jonathan was a top-tier professional writer and out-of-the-box thinker; his blogs pretty much set the standard for how it should be done. As mentioned, it created the "template" for doing business on the Internet -- not only do you have to have a website, but your website has to have all the marketing tools -- including a blog by a well-known industry pundit that covers ranges of topics that all tie in with the products. What these businesses are forgetting is that the blog be authored by someone with comprehensive knowledge of the subject and impeccable writing skills. It has to look, read, and "feel" professional. Anything less, is, well, like those "Bazooka Joe" fold-up comics you find in those slabs of Bazooka bubble gum. It's merely a "check-the-box" fulfillment item. "Blog on website? Check!" The reader may or may not "read the comic" while chewing on that bubblegum, instead of the blog being an integral / very important tool of the site.

"You get what you pay for" is a motto everyone recognizes. Unfortunately, many businesses forget that.

-Sean

 

[Scott Lee]

JAM...Nope! I know, for a fact, that BD pays $100 to their writers (Willie Jopling told me this, and that's regardless of whether it's one page or 3-4! Chump change, to be sure...and this is from the alleged "leader" in the pool magazine group.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

I think billiard mags, as an average, pay about $200 to $300 per one-page article, FWIW!

 

[mlalum]

Scaramouche:

Thanks for the reply. My "gripe" (if you want to call it that) is not against the bloggers themselves. Heck, you're right -- why are we writing here? Because we like to. The reward is merely the open doorway (and the opportunity) to express one's own opinion. AZBilliards is one such open doorway. Some do it for ego; some to rant; yes, some do it to show-off; others -- like me -- do it for the satisfaction of knowing he/she helped someone out there. Whatever the motivation, the doorway itself provides the reward.

Rather, my "gripe" is against the businesses that want to market their products, and use "professional industry writing" as a way of marketing their products. The first person to successfully do this (and create the template that everyone else now follows) was Sun Microsystem's Jonathan Schwartz -- at one time Sun's CEO and president, and a prolific blogger by even today's standards. (He left Sun in February of last year as Oracle was swallowing up Sun in its acquisition.) But make no mistake, Jonathan was a top-tier professional writer and out-of-the-box thinker; his blogs pretty much set the standard for how it should be done. As mentioned, it created the "template" for doing business on the Internet -- not only do you have to have a website, but your website has to have all the marketing tools -- including a blog by a well-known industry pundit that covers ranges of topics that all tie in with the products. What these businesses are forgetting is that the blog be authored by someone with comprehensive knowledge of the subject and impeccable writing skills. It has to look, read, and "feel" professional. Anything less, is, well, like those "Bazooka Joe" fold-up comics you find in those slabs of Bazooka bubble gum. It's merely a "check-the-box" fulfillment item. "Blog on website? Check!" The reader may or may not "read the comic" while chewing on that bubblegum, instead of the blog being an integral / very important tool of the site.

"You get what you pay for" is a motto everyone recognizes. Unfortunately, many businesses forget that.

-Sean

Well I'd like to disagree on a few points. Schwartz was hardly the first to employ writing in this way. "Advertorial'' writing started the first time a news flyer was sold on the street. Maybe earlier. Blogs are just another platform for people to try and persuade others of their point of view for some potential benefit. I use the term advertorial just because i remember that as the big bad word in newspapers when i started in that industry in the 70s. The advertising department wanted us to write stories that benefited their customers. This has gone on since the start of publishing. Lines have been crossed by many. So it's hardly a new trend.

I'm not sure the people in this thread are qualified to determine who is a "professional" writer and who isn't even if they know their high school punctuation. It may also annoy you to know that people that are in the publishing business don't really consider the freelancer who writes a few stories a year to be a "professional." Having been an editor in charge of hiring freelancers I can tell you that there are a few factors you aren't considering. Actually more than a few.

If you are truly a very good writer and want to be a professional you can do that. Because editors need talent. Real talent is rare. There are however millions of people who think they are really good writers because compared to the people around them that is true. If you haven't got past the stage of freelancing you're not as good as you think or competitive with the real talent in the writing business.

I'll give you the best example i know. Bill Simmons. A number of years ago he was writing a sports blog in the basement of his parent's home in Boston. It was a sports blog about Boston sports team. He now writes for ESPN and I consider him a genius as a writer. He's the rare person who had so much talent he went from his basement to the top columnist for ESPN without almost any stops along the way. They will find you if you have the talent.

And as an editor/writer for more than 20 years i know good grammar skills have nothing to do with being a great writer. Absolutely nothing. Real talent is something very far apart from the physical act of putting one word after another.

 

[James Dean_Yo]

Application Sent

My name's John Falk and my application is sent. :thumbup: enjoy

 

[JAM]

JAM...Nope! I know, for a fact, that BD pays $100 to their writers (Willie Jopling told me this, and that's regardless of whether it's one page or 3-4! Chump change, to be sure...and this is from the alleged "leader" in the pool magazine group.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

I guess it depends on who you know. I know for a fact one writer received $250 per article. :wink:

 

[JAM]

Scaramouche:

Thanks for the reply. My "gripe" (if you want to call it that) is not against the bloggers themselves. Heck, you're right -- why are we writing here? Because we like to. The reward is merely the open doorway (and the opportunity) to express one's own opinion. AZBilliards is one such open doorway. Some do it for ego; some to rant; yes, some do it to show-off; others -- like me -- do it for the satisfaction of knowing he/she helped someone out there. Whatever the motivation, the doorway itself provides the reward.

Rather, my "gripe" is against the businesses that want to market their products, and use "professional industry writing" as a way of marketing their products. The first person to successfully do this (and create the template that everyone else now follows) was Sun Microsystem's Jonathan Schwartz -- at one time Sun's CEO and president, and a prolific blogger by even today's standards. (He left Sun in February of last year as Oracle was swallowing up Sun in its acquisition.) But make no mistake, Jonathan was a top-tier professional writer and out-of-the-box thinker; his blogs pretty much set the standard for how it should be done. As mentioned, it created the "template" for doing business on the Internet -- not only do you have to have a website, but your website has to have all the marketing tools -- including a blog by a well-known industry pundit that covers ranges of topics that all tie in with the products. What these businesses are forgetting is that the blog be authored by someone with comprehensive knowledge of the subject and impeccable writing skills. It has to look, read, and "feel" professional. Anything less, is, well, like those "Bazooka Joe" fold-up comics you find in those slabs of Bazooka bubble gum. It's merely a "check-the-box" fulfillment item. "Blog on website? Check!" The reader may or may not "read the comic" while chewing on that bubblegum, instead of the blog being an integral / very important tool of the site.

"You get what you pay for" is a motto everyone recognizes. Unfortunately, many businesses forget that.

-Sean

I enjoyed reading your posts on this thread, and I even appreciate Lou's thoughts on this topic. I can recognize talent when I read it. If you ever get a chance to read Hamster's Tales, they're both fun and witty.

 

[Jack Justis]

It always amazes me when people hire you for a writing job and expect you to just crank out endless words for peanuts and a little sugar.

Lou Figueroa

Sounds like the perfect gig for the world famous blogger John Collins Barton. He loves to type and has plenty of time since being banned here.