THE REALITY OF FIVERR LIFE

Morning! This is funny. I get a shout-out in the above video at about 5.40 (with a very old photo of me).

One of the strange - and mostly lovely - consequences of working on Fiverr is the sheer diversity of people I get to work with and the projects I'm working on.

One minute it's a comedy screenplay, the next a video game, the next an ad for some new VR streaming service, or - as I had last week - talking on Zoom with an Irish soldier in full uniform, who's stationed in South Lebanon. I love that aspect of it.

Most of the time I'm ghostwriting, but occasionally they ask to have my name attached. The project discussed above is one of those - and it's a kind of comedy-drama thing in which a Buddhist priest called Enko Sakai is going to be playing himself...!

It weird for me when my name is attached like it's some big thing (which I guess it is for them), because most of the stuff I do through Fiverr - including this - are fairly quick jobs, and not paid anywhere near the rate I'd get in TV. I kind of do them and move on to the next one out of necessity.

I have to say though, they've been absolutely lovely to work with (as you'd hope), and it has been very painless.

Which I need, because maaaaaaan.... the last couple of weeks I've had some nightmares on Fiverr. Some really difficult jobs with tricky clients.

It's proving stressful, because anything less than a five-star review can really damage your placing on Fiverr's system. It feels like I'm trying to do my best work possible while walking on eggshells.

THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT

I worked with one client - went above and beyond for her, as I always try to do - and she left me a four star review, listing areas I could improve, including my politeness! I was baffled, because in the written part of the review she said I was very easy to talk to, and complimentary of the notes and advice I gave. So I dunno.

I should've seen the warning signs when she kept her camera off and asked me to leave mine on...! Weird.

Another client in the past week kept asking for revision after revision. Again, I over-delivered - but he kept sort of then drip-feeding notes to me, in a slightly unhelpful, monosyllabic, sporadic, way.

I don't get paid enough per job on there to really do that, and in the end I had to take the risk of a bad review, and say I couldn't keep making changes. I offered to cancel the gig - which though damaging is less damaging than a bad review - so that he could get a refund, but he just quietly marked it as complete without leaving any feedback. It was a bit odd.

I also wrote a 30-minute sci-fi script for someone's YouTube channel - and loved the script I'd written - then stupidly woke up at 2am last night and saw he wasn't happy with it. My mistake. When I delivered it, I was braced. I'd already had a few alarm bells ringing from talking to him.

I usually get a vibe when a client might be tricky, and this was one of those - but he runs an enormously successful YouTube channel, and so I took the risk. I generally don't mind doing a second pass at things - it's in the gig offer - but it's meant to be a revision, not a complete rewrite.

I wish I had the luxury of getting better at listening to my internal klaxon, but I honestly can't afford to turn down much. I mean, I do, if it's completely not for me, but I'm adaptable enough to be able to work on most things.

BIG ISSUE 

The biggest issue with offering writing like this is that writing is not a job that is necessarily right or wrong, like transcription or something. It's highly subjective, and often I'm dealing with people who don't have experience of working in my industry, so they don't understand that a first draft is just a first draft.

They can also tend to tell you what's they think is wrong without pointing out what's they feel you got right. Being told what they like is as important as being told what they don't like, because it can help steer a script in the right direction.

Or they are unable to convey what's in their heads to me, because they don't have that skill - sometimes they might not even know fully themselves what it is they want, just what they don't want. It means that every job is a punt.

It can be like that in TV too, of course. Most producers are fine, but occasionally you'll get one who constantly moves the goalposts and keeps asking for new drafts. The last big BBC job I had was like that, and it was such a grind. But at least I was getting paid well, which took the sting out of it.

Conversely, I've also had some really nice Fiverr experiences recently.

I've managed to land an ongoing role writing scripts for another YouTube channel that does videos on the science behind sci-fi movies and TV shows. That has been an absolute pleasure. I've written eight for him so far, and if he ever gives me a link to his channel I'll share them with you.

There's a guy who asked me to write a script for a sort of metaphysical stage play - again, a complete joy. Most people are just so appreciative that I've been able to bring their ideas to life, but the handful of bad experiences can be a massive downer and overshadow everything.

AUGUST AND EVERYTHING AFTER

it doesn't help that I'm exhausted.

August was very quiet on Fiverr - I was stressed the whole month - so I've taken on extra this month to make up for it, and I'm just beyond knackered. I've been desperate to get back to Digi all week, but keep getting sucked back into Fiverr.

It used to be, when I was working regularly in TV, that it paid enough that I could take my time with each script - which generally left more time for other things - but now I don't have the luxury of being able to afford to.

Obviously, we still have the ongoing situation with my mum, which is an additional drain on energy and motivation. Her dementia has left us all in what's basically, a long, drawn-out, grieving process, which can mean - and if you've ever been through it you'll know this - you never know whether you're going to feel up or down on a given day. One small thing - like a shitty Fiverr experience or being broke - can knock me off my stride.

Broadly, though, I really enjoy Fiver, and it has been a life saver. I am grateful that it has worked out after the TV industry ground to a halt (not just for me - everyone seems to be in the same boat).

It's just proving to be a real time-sink these past few weeks, and a drain on my energy.

However... we're aiming to film the next Digi video tomorrow, so it should be with you soon. This will be the slightly less involved one, as we still need a bit of time to work on the big epic we're planning.

I'm also potentially doing an interview for another YouTube channel called Fade2Grey. The guy behind it, John, had his first video blow up when he posted about his struggles finding work as someone in his 50s. It really resonated with me, and I've been I've been following his ups and downs.

He recently started interviewing others who have had bad experiences in that area in recent years, and asked for people to put themselves forwards, so I dropped him a line. I'll keep you posted on that.

POSSIBLE NEW CHANNEL?

Something I'm considering, and have been talking to Sanja about, is doing a new channel that is completely unconnected from anything Digi-esque.

I always really enjoyed doing our Writer's Club podcasts and videos, and so I've been thinking about doing a channel about writing and creativity. It'd have to wait until we're done with Digi Level 2 and I'm a little less frenetic, but from doing video consultations through Fiverr it has shown me I have experience and knowledge I can share. Just simple videos of me talking to camera, giving tips and advice.

Anyhow. Right.

Best get on.

Need to finish a Digi script. More soon!

Paul