One Second After
WIN THIS BOOK


A book we should all read.  Here, you can buy it:

I gave this to one of my great Dad's, Bill, for Christmas.  He was hooked.  So, I have decided to give one of these books away.  Here is how easy it is:

Follow my blog, subscribe to it.  Leave one comment before February 24th.  On February 25, 2012 one of you will randomly be picked to receive a copy of this book, purchased by me and delivered to you.

Below is the product description:

New York Times best selling author William R. Forstchen now brings us a story which can be all too terrifyingly real...a story in which one man struggles to save his family and his small North Carolina town after America loses a war, in one second, a war that will send America back to the Dark Ages...A war based upon a weapon, an Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP).  A weapon that may already be in the hands of our enemies.

Months before publication, One Second After has already been cited on the floor of Congress as a book all Americans should read, a book already being discussed in the corridors of the Pentagon as a truly realistic look at a weapon and its awesome power to destroy the entire United States, literally within one second. It is a weapon that the Wall Street Journal warns could shatter America. In the tradition of On the Beach, Fail Safe andTestament, this book, set in a typical American town, is a dire warning of what might be our future...and our end.

I will be covering the main ideas of this book in future posts, but wanted this to be out there for you guys to order.  If I have ever given you a book recommendation, you know I would not steer you wrong.  This is a must read.  

Review of MediaPiston, a Work-At-Home Opportunity

My Review Of MediaPiston

As some of you know, I am a freelance writer.  At this time, I feel that I am quite the novice and so I am mostly working for content "mills" for income and experience.  After going through countless forums at www.wahm.com, which is, by the way, the best site out there for great information about opportunities available for work-at-home moms, I have found a few eggs that allow me to make some extra money without leaving the home.  One of these is MediaPiston.

MediaPiston is a company that connects writers with clients.  Most assignments found there are focused on SEO (Search Engine Optimization).  If you are familiar with this type of writing, read on.  If not, I will be posting links or definitions of what these basic terms are.at a later date.  The topics range from technical writing to cosmetics and having brows lifted with a plastic surgeon.  Obviously, there are things that I write about that I have to research, but with Google, this is an easy task and takes very little of my time.

Generally, once you accept an assignment, there is an 8-24 hour period of time that is allowed for you to complete the project.  Once completed, the work is passed on to graders for the proofreading and editing to begin on your work.  YOU can be a grader for MediaPiston.  The site allows their writers to grade each other's work before passing the draft on to an editor.  The graders get paid very little, between about $.17 and $.50 an assignment.  Why would anyone want to do that?  Because this gives us writers a preview of the work being submitted by others trying to scratch up money writing.  (See?  Sneaky, sneaky business...)  I'd do it for free really, just to see how I compare to the other writers.

*Update!:  MediaPiston no longer uses writers to grade the work of others.  However, based on performance editing jobs may become available.  This is from my understanding, Joe would have to clarify, but from the forums, this is my understanding.  I am kind of disappointed in this, but the work here has literally doubled in the past week or so, and the rates paid to writers has INCREASED.  Im stoked.*

Also, I am pretty sure that they are hiring writers right now, so go apply!

Once graded, the article goes to an editor.  The editors that work here are terrific, and have helped me learn to write better for a broader audience.  They are friendly, professional and are quick to get back with you about revision requests.  If you do get a revision request, there is a window of a few days to rewrite the article or make simple changes to the content.  Once this is done, your article is released by the editor to the client.

The client has four days (from my understanding) to accept and pay for the assignment or ask the writer for a revision.  I have had to revise two of my articles so far (out of over 25.)  The problem with clients is that sometimes they don't provide the clearest of instructions.  But so far, I have pleased both clients (at least enough to pay me) with my revisions.  I DON'T LIKE REVISIONS.  It bruises my ego and it is hard to get my momentum back regarding the acceptance of more articles.  But this is just a normal thing that comes along with freelance writing.

Remember that old saying "You cant please everyone all the time?"  ITS TRUE.  Pick yourself up, brush yourself off, and start again.  There will always be clients that cannot be pleased.  Fortunately, MediaPiston will try their best to help writers work out any issues that they have with the client.  This feels good to know that the company is behind you as long as you are performing well.  Once all revisions are complete, the client will accept the article and then have the opportunity to rate you as a writer.  They can also choose to make you one of their favorite writers. When you are chosen as a favorite, you are notified of when the client has new assignments, and have a window of opportunity to accept them before other writers see the work available.

Once established, your earnings go up because you can take advantage of being a favorite, and have access to more work than the general population of writers.  A $.75 bonus is given to you every time a client makes you a favorite.  The pay for me has never been less than $.01 per word.  I worked about eight hours this week for MediaPiston and have averaged $10.00 an hour.  They pay weekly on Fridays through PayPal.

Overall my experience with MediaPiston has been a good one.  I have made some extra cash with few headaches involved.  And I work in my pajamas (that's the best part.)

What YOU will find here...

My name is Leslie Porter.  I am a married woman who lives in Crawfordville, Florida.  I have one WONDERFUL child, Shelby, who is 12.  Jeff is my handsome husband, and we have been married for almost 3 years now.  

When I met Jeff, I was a single mother who depended primarily on my family and small jobs that did not require an education to support Shelby and I.  Stretching pennies was a full time job, a lesson learned early in life by one of my great Dad's, Herb.

When I married Jeff, he changed the way I viewed the world, more specifically the way I view politics.  And while my political views will not be discussed (much) here, they are the main reason that I want to begin my journey in writing with my friends, family and the people who share my passions.   Could you be one of those people?  Subscribe here and I will do the same for you.

Things that I am interested in:

*Gardening

*Preserving - Oh, the art of canning is coming to a tragic end with busy lifestyles...how sad.  Lets discuss this at legnth and figure out ways to implement this into our busy lifestyles.

*Cooking - Recipes here will not be typical, but geared to what we can cook if and when s*&t hits the fan.  And no, I am not being conspiratorial (much), but there are always disasters that could leave us without power, clean water or access to grocery stores.

*Working at Home -  And why this is so important to some of us.

*Stockpiling -  Primarily geared towards women shopping for their families. Things rarely mentioned by other (mostly authored by men) sites that talk about stockpiling.  Tampons, shampoo (how long could YOU go without shampoo?), toothbrushes, and for God's sake, deodorant.  These are just a few things on my mind this morning.

These are only a few things that I want to discuss in detail on this medium.  I would love to hear the ideas of others and am open to discussions and debates.

You can see my family in pictures that I will be regularly posting on here, as well as projects, videos and interesting links that I think are important.

Stay tuned, more to come - I PROMISE.