12 1/2p Per Word

Posted on 29/05/2011 by owenbail

Martin Luther King, Jr, Detroit, 1963, delivering his "I have a dream..." speech

Martin Luther King, Jr campaigning for a sensible payment system for writers, and racial equality


Words and their worth
Many writers work on a ‘per-word’ basis – they’ll write a 1,000-word feature for a magazine, say, at a rate of 12½p for each word. I’ve never really come to terms with the paradox at the heart of this arrangement.
Read more…

Posted in Writing | Leave a comment

Ultimate Or Normal Idiocy

Posted on 15/02/2011 by owenbail
The altar of decision-making

Are you an Ultimate or just a Normal consumer?

What’s the difference between Ultimate and Normal Unleaded?
I realised I’d been blithely buying Ultimate Unleaded for my massively unmacho car for approximately five years. For five long unthinking years, I’d been rolling up, seeing the two options – Ultimate and Normal – and I’d gone for Ultimate every time, pumping away in a daze with absolutely zero consciousness of my decision-making process and the consequences of my actions. I was the Tiger Woods of petrol buying.
Read more…

Posted in Everyday Language, Laika Media, Writing | Leave a comment

Google Versus The Content Farms

Posted on 13/02/2011 by owenbail
George Romero and friends

Soulless zombie SEO articles may be a thing of the past

Intensively farmed words could be a thing of the past
Officially good news for writers, and lovers of quality web content everywhere. This post on the Google blog indicates that, slowly but surely, the company is turning its algorithmic death ray on the SEO content farm.
Read more…

Posted in Laika Media, Web, Writing | Tagged | Leave a comment

Laika Lives On

Posted on 15/01/2011 by owenbail

1971 United Arab Emirates stamp commemorating Laika

10 things you need to know about everyone’s favourite canine cosmonaut
Why choose Laika Media as a company name? Is it because freelance writers orbit the rest of the world in a tiny capsule, looking on from afar? Is it because they get agitated at the prospect of their work suddenly ending?
Read more…

Posted in Laika Media | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Furry Fury

Posted on 10/01/2011 by owenbail

A fearsome predator: personify it at your peril

The Bear Family And Me
Recent three-part BBC wildlife extravaganza, The Bear Family And Me, offered a remarkably insightful look not merely into the world of a fearsome land predator, but also into the psyche of a fearless adrenaline junkie. I’m not ashamed to admit that I personally have a ‘thing’ about bears. And when I say a ‘thing’, I mean a terrifying sequence of screaming nightmares that, like an unprovoked bear attack, come on without warning and absolutely will not stop.
Read more…

Posted in TV | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment