Tracy Morris

Hello.

Before I became a self-employed freelance writer in 1997, I spent 15 years helping families meet their needs in one of America's biggest cities. I held their hands, helped them wade through bureaucracy, translated what their doctors said, and attended their children's funerals -- all of which makes writing for a living seem like a ramekin of crème brûlée.

Of all the things I do, photography will get me out of bed earliest and fastest. I manage to pull it off with equipment that comes my way: my son's hand-me-down Olympus C720UZ, my Sony MHS-PM1 (a beloved gift), a charmingly pink Nokia 1234 camera-phone, a roommate's Canon Rebel. Newly in love with cooking, I can make edible dishes out of nearly any pantry items. I'm well-versed in making do with what life presents, and happily so.

My strengths:

thinking out of & around boxes 

writing like I speak

writing like my clients speak

a strong, balanced work ethic

mindfully creative

sense of responsibility to commitments

rich in experience, personally and professionally

I'm a single mama with an interesting story and a need to write. I have a captivating kid, a freelance writing career that leaves me thin and adept at balancing on life's wires, and a wide-open mind. 

I haven't been bored in 30 years. 

Gigging. Dress Rehearsal Before The Part Is Yours? Part 4.

Along the same lines as "Don't Let the Trolls Get Ya" and as I mentioned in "You Work For Who?!" -- Are experienced attorney applicants asked by the hiring firm to "take a case to trial first, and show us what ya got"?

I'm not saying that law firms wouldn't want to give that a shot, but are there starving attorneys with full resumes who'd go to the trouble of trial to sell their services?

Or how about other professions -- "Dear Sculptor: We can see your artwork all over the place, but OUR gig is extra super special. We're not sure, based on what we see of your portfolio, if you're cut out for OUR project. So please create an original piece of work to our specifications and send it to us (you have a weekend to get it done), and we'll judge it against the other several hundred applicants' submissions to decide who gets the job. We won't use the work without your permission, of course. We promise. Why would we lie?"

True story: I see similar requests for writers every.single.day. Here's a recent one. This is from an unidentified (of course!) employer looking for a "talented" ghost writer for a "positive inspirational" e-commerce site:

"We do not have time to review past published articles, so if you are interested you must agree to do one sample article of our choosing as your job application for this timely position. This is sacrosanct. For your response tell us a little about your life philosophy This is the rarest of opportunities for the right person."

How's THAT for positive inspiration?

And the pay for that rare right person is, naturally, abyssmal. But it's a "wonderful opportunity"!

Sometimes, these hopeful-yet-out-of-touch-with-reality employers will sweeten the pot by offering to pay for your newly created, original work -- if they accept it for publication. Pretty big of 'em. 

So, I'm just curious. Does this ever happen in, say, the medical field? "Yes, we see your CV demonstrating 15 years of hard work to render satisifed patients. We've considered your plentiful references from past employers. You've got high marks elsewhere. But still, we're not sure, so just for us, this one time -- Please demonstrate your healing powers on this patient. And we'll think about it."