New Book?

Very cool news today! I sent in a proposal for a book and got a response today asking if I wanted a contract!!! :)

Now I am waiting to see if the contract comes and if so, I will be working on a new book. Details to follow...

Rocky Point, Mexico

After a year and a half of being landlocked in Arizona, we finally ventured out to water thanks to friend's of ours. They own a condo in Rocky Point, Mexico (Puerta Penasco) on the Sea of Cortez and invited us to go with them.

From Phoenix, Arizona, the time it takes to drive to the Sea of Cortez is three and a half hours. The drive is fairly boring but the landscape is nice. It reminds us of driving on the Garden State Parkway down to Wildwood, minus the huge mountains we passed in Arizona.

The sea was clean, clear and just the right temperature. The beach and sand were also very nice. For anyone who has been to the beaches in Tel Aviv, Israel, if you look toward the left while standing on the beach in Rocky Point, it may remind you of Jaffa. Or at least that was our opinion.

Rocky Point is being built to be the next resort town in Mexico and it def. can be. It is gorgeous, relaxing and only a short drive away. :)

What an Interesting World We Live In

While taking my morning walk with my friend, we usually see lots of jack rabbits hopping around the desert landscape. I try and take my dog Marley with us as but as it gets harder for me to get up at 5am and go walking, the harder it is for me to have the energy to walk Marley. I do try and take her 3-4x a week with us but some mornings I feel I just need "ME" time.

Anyway, while my friend and I were walking this morning, she spotted a coyote. The first thing she said was, "Of course now that we don't have Marley with us to protect us, we finally see real wildlife!"

If you are familiar with the Valley of the Sun, we have trails called greenways which are located around the canals. They are off the street, in between housing and shopping complexes. The canals were built as a place for the water to go from the downpours of the monsoons. The length of the trails go for miles but we usually walk four to five miles each morning.

It is very peaceful waking up before sunrise to spend two hours in the outdoors; especially early in the summer time due to the 100 degree desert heat. As the weather cools down, we may be able to wake up a little later but having the chance to see the world before the hustle of the day is very enjoyable.

So maybe next week we'll start hiking again and begin to see more wildlife but its hard enough getting up and walking ;)

Time for Change

As I battle back and forth every week about life, included in this battle is how to grow my business. When I began my full time freelance journey two years ago, I never imagined that freelancing would develop into having my own marketing and writing service.

I figured after three years, I would be able to sub-contract out some of the extra work I received but not within six months of starting at this full time! So this was my first accomplishment that took me by surprise. After business began growing, I needed to develop a new plan which included a business name, branding and a plan of action. PearlyWrites, LLC was born on Jan. 3, 2006 but Lisa Weinberger, the freelancer, started in the late 90's. (Oy vey, I'm so old.)

Full time freelancing from June of 2005, I just celebrated my two year accomplishment of still pushing forward and growing. Two years ago, I would have never thought that I would have provided copy or instructional design to PBS or NAF but I have! I never thought that a large amount of Web copy would be ghostwritten over the Internet, but it's out there. AND I never thought I would become a "blogger" sharing my thoughts over the Internet for anyone in the world to read.

Online marketing and SEO has been a blessing in disguise. Although I use the basic techniques like keyword research, meta tags, press release distribution, article submissions and changing Web copy, it has opened many doors for me as a business owner as well as many of the writers I collaborate with on projects.

So what is the time for change? Well every year I try to redesign my Website for a fresh new look. One client I provide copy to has been working on my new PearlyWrites site and hoping in the next month it should be ready to go live. (Bartering is awesome!) It is a very professional looking site with still my "creative" edge and I think many of you will be impressed with the Web designers work.

Once the new site is up and running, the plan is to push forward with a strong marketing campaign to see what results I will get. To keep consistent work throughout the year, marketing and sending out bids on projects and making long term client connections is VERY important in the freelance business.

What do you think

This morning I check my e-mail to find an e-mail from someone I have never met. At first I thought it was spam and then after reviewing it several times, I decided to respond. I have copied and pasted below the entire e-mail conversation as I would LOVE to get other's opinion about what this mystery person said/wrote to me. Was she right or just being rude?

claudia marks wrote:
I was interested in hiring you and read your web site. I was appalled when I came to the following paragraph in the Dishonesty section. How a writer who professes such credentials could allow something this sloppy is beyond me.

I will be taking legal action against this client. What have I learned? No matter how long you have been in business, their are always dishonest people who are always trying to screw you over and get something for free.

Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2007 08:29:05 -0700
From: Lisa@PearlyWrites.com
To: claudiamarks921@hotmail.com
Subject: Re: your web site

Where is this written on my Website? Please show me as I have checked and this is not on my site.


Thank you,
Lisa

claudia marks wrote: It's on the side bar entitled Dishonesty, where you go into detail about being ripped off by a company ...

---

Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2007 08:58:23 -0700
From: Lisa@PearlyWrites.com
To: claudiamarks921@hotmail.com
Subject: Re: your web site

I found it! It was under a blog of mine. OK I fixed the word. Thank you for pointing the mistake out. When I wrote this entry, I was very angry and should have gone back to review it once I cooled off to check my spelling.

I just returned from the east coast where I had to attend my grandmother's funeral and sit Shiva. Receiving your email this morning, after being away was not the most pleasant thing. I am sorry that this incident has made you decide not to hire PW for your project.

Good luck,
Lisa Weinberger
PearlyWrites, LLC
602-288-8992


Well, I'm very sorry about your grandmother's death, but you just displayed further your lack of professionalism saying how angry you were in one instance, then having to whine about getting my email and the reasons. Obviously, there is more at issue than a mistake you didn't catch. Don't write me again.

---

So with the above e-mail, was I wrong and unprofessional? This Claudia Marks woman who claims I was unprofessional, not once did she address me by my name or left a signature. She misspelled the words Website and e-mail and was just plain nasty. To me a misspelling of "there" and 'their" on a WORDPRESS blog is nothing when an e-mail is written and sent this way.

What do you think?

A Strange Week...

Having not visited NJ (home) in over a year and a half, I had to book a quick flight last week due to the passing of my grandmother Pearl. My grandmother was my sisters and I only grandparent and my parents named my middle name after her. I always felt a connection with my grandmother and after looking back at old pictures, now I know why.

Besides my middle name, Grandma was the 6th person in our family of five. She was not wealthy but was the most supportive of any decision we made in our lives. When we moved to Arizona, all she would say is, "I wish you didn't move so far away but I am jealous that you finally did it; I should have done it years ago."

In the Jewish religion, there is a seven day mourning period and burial within 48 hours. some say its dragging out the death but honestly, it was helpful to be around friends and family during this time. There were mixed emotions from not seeing everyone for over a year to everyone who paid their respects knew my Grandma Pearl. As I said, Grandma knew everyone and everyone knew Grandma.

My mother was quite shocked with the amount of friends that came over which made her feel good since she didn't want to observe the Shiva time. As any time a close family member passes, the time it takes to get through the missing piece of the puzzle will take its toll and time to heal. The day of the funeral, after we went to my Uncle's in Queens and it felt odd not having Grandma there. Looking around and not seeing her smiling face made it a reality which I wasn't ready for.

Everyone mourns in their own way. Some get angry, have anxiety, cry or just seem like they are in a daze. I think I have experienced all four of these emotions as well as some others and know it is just part of the healing process. For anyone who has lost a close relative, I never understood the pain they felt. Now I understand the pain, the emotions and the missing piece...