Cairo, the capital of Egypt is the largest city in the Arab world and regularly attracts a large number of expatriates. This eleventh largest urban area in the world has one of the busiest metros in the world. It is thus a land of exciting opportunities for the qualified professionals from various fields looking for jobs in Cairo. It is said to represent the modern Middle East with large population of foreigners from Europe, North America and other countries working in the city. It offers a comfortable and welcoming environment to the foreign nationals to make their stay favorable. Also, for hours away from work, Cairo extends many lifestyle activities for those who want to pursue their interests unlike in other Arabic countries. Egyptian economy is highly dependent on Cairo, also known as ‘The City of a Thousand Minarets’. Therefore, jobs in Cairo are much more in number than in other cities of the country.

The demand for expatriates is mainly for jobs in Teaching, jobs in Web Designing, jobs in consultancy, jobs in journalism, jobs in editing, etc. People with proficiency in written and spoken Arabic get an added advantage in the job market. There is a need for large number of English language experts to teach English to the natives of Cairo. The jobs are primarily divided into two categories: one of those who are paid in Egyptian pounds and the other of those paid in foreign currencies. The jobs paid in US Dollars have to be arranged before reaching the city as they are not available on an ad hoc basis. Networking is the key to find a job in Cairo. The job industry works on word of mouth and reference is the best way of getting selected for jobs in Cairo. The knowledge of their language, Arabic comes handy for the purpose of networking as it helps in socializing with the natives. Most of the people, both Egyptians and expatriates have their business cards in both English and Arabic languages to enable higher reach ability.

One can get a job faster by spreading out the business cards to those ready for help at social gatherings or other networking events. Other events that may help in expanding the network and in making contacts by meeting people are at local churches, cultural organizations, clubs and sometimes, even relief camps. Education, Social Service and Publishing industries are among the biggest job providers in Cairo. Education industry offers a number of teaching Jobs in Egypt the city for experienced teachers. Foreign workforce is also hired to teach various subjects in the schools as well as to teach English in private schools across the city. Moreover, one can also register as a tutor in these schools. Expatriates can even get good job opportunities in the social sector.

Many NGOs based in Cairo are involved in relief work for expatriates and thus offer jobs in various departments. These jobs can be both contract based as well as project based in nature. The Writing and Publishing sector is also huge and has ample space to help one pursue writing interests. There are jobs for full timers, part-timers and freelancers in writing as well as copy editing divisions. One can also opt for jobs in Public relations, marketing or advertising. Cairo has jobs in healthcare or wellness industry and in other sectors like IT, Banking, Finance, etc.

These vacancies are advertised through job portals and consultants but networking remains the most preferred option due to the higher degree of reliability. Working in Cairo helps in getting information on the Arabic lifestyle, the richness of their culture and history of Egypt. Since Cairo is a modern city with open culture, one can enjoy living in the city.

Image taken on 2003-06-18 00:11:13. Image Source. (Used with permission)

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The good thing about making money online is that almost anyone can do it. You can also do it in the comforts of your own home. You can make free easy money online through a number of safe and proven techniques. Here are some of the most popular ways that have helped others earn money on the internet.

Stock Photos

This is the perfect opportunity for anyone who likes to take photos to make free easy money online. If you have a collection of photos and you want to put them to good use, submit your collection to online photo sites like Shutterstock, Dreamstime, iStockphoto and Fotolia. These sites offer free registration and allow you to sell your photos. Members are compensated per download of their photos.

EBay and Auction sites

EBay and other auction sites are the perfect places to sell stuff you no longer need or stuff you made. From jam preserves to vintage toys, a lot of enterprising businessmen and women have created thriving businesses on eBay.

Paid Blogging

Paid blogging is a reliable way to make money by blogging. Pay Per Post is one of the top paid blogging sites that pay writers to write about products, people and services. Other paid blogging sites include ReviewMe, SponsoredReview, and Blogvertise. Depending on the projects you get you can get paid anywhere from $10 to $500 for each post you make. Other sites also pay according to the popularity of the blog. Most of the payments are made through Paypal.

Freelance Work

There are a lot of freelance work sites that connect companies to freelancers from all over the world. What makes this kind of work great is that you get to work with companies from all over the world because work details are exchanged through emails, instant messaging and by phone. Popular freelance jobs include copywriting, copy editing, transcription, ghostwriting, virtual assistance, and call center jobs. Craigslist is one of the biggest marketplaces for freelance work online and payments are usually made through Xoom, Paypal and/or by bank.

Pitfalls to Avoid

There are a lot of pitfalls when it comes to making money online, from choosing the wrong home online business to not doing the right amount of research about the company you work with when signing up for freelance work. Another major pitfall is using black hat practices such as cloaking when driving traffic to your site.

Yet another pitfall that you need to avoid is falling for online work at home scams. Do not be lured by countless sales letters about software that claim to earn millions in a matter of weeks while you sleep or software that claim to drive a large amount of traffic to your site. Some of these software do not work, and at the least they may use black hat tactics to push your site rankings up. Search engines usually frown on unusual website activity, and this is something you want to avoid.

Earning money online requires a little bit of hard work. But as long as you enjoy what you are doing, you can make free easy money online with these tips.

Image taken on 2008-12-13 15:19:55. Image Source. (Used with permission)

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Working freelance from home does not come cheap. Basically, you would have to pay for everything that you require to work freelance from home. Just some of the things that you would need is atleast spartan office furniture, a computer, a file cabinet, a telephone or even a fax machine and several other objects that come quite down the list.  Considering all these costs and then thinking about the insane cost of software, you would think that you are starting up a small business – which is true – but that does not mean that you have to pay through your nose for software for your computer. Here are some of the best resources that you could use for work from home.

Free Internet Browsers:

Firefox: A browser that had grown consistently and rampantly since the past few years. The browser is known to be one of the first pieces of software that came from the then ambiguous ‘Open Source’ clan and was widely appreciated and accepted by mainstream people. Would you not like to become friends with this champion of the underdog, Firefox? If you do, it is quite simple, and free! Just download a copy from the Net and you are on for the ride.

Opera: Opera is another browser that yin and yangs between being the best browser and being the pits. However, it silences all its critics with the next release, every time, and that next release launch timeframe is quite short. Definitely a check worthy software if you are one who ‘doesn’t want what everyone has’. There are several more Internet browsers that are available and free. You could always check the various types and find out which browser looks good for you. I personally use Firefox and Opera.

Free Word Processing Software:

Open Office: The war between Microsoft and Open Source has been epic, and Microsoft has been losing all the battles, though it still came out trumps in the great war with Windows 7. Anyway, one battle that Microsoft is slowly losing is the Word Processing domain, that Microsoft basically owned with MS Office. However, some five years ago there cam options for all Microsoft products, and so did one come for Word Processing – Open Office. When Open Office was launched, it was quite like MS Word, and was actually a good software if you could learn how to operate it with the ease that you could operate a Microsoft product. It took some time for it to offer .doc support, but all that is a thing of the past today,with Open Office slowly creeping up against its old time rival. Open Office was definitely a work in progress when I first saw it, some three years ago, but I am sure that it has come a long way from that. It has to, because of the next entry in this tab.

Google Docs: Think about Google and you wonder what aspect of the Internet and computers is it enhancing next, and if you are thinking whether it has come to changing the way we handle our online documentation, the answer is yes. Google Docs can be considered to be a word processing software along with some social sharing aspects, but I am not a tech geek, and I do not know whether I used to right term there. But Google Docs allows you to share your document, online, and then share with any person who has a gmail account, and both of you can work and edit the document in real time. Isn’t that sweet? – Yes, it is.

Free Online Billing Software:

Curdbee: Curdbee is a cute and nifty little free online billing tool that makes your invoices to your clients seem more snazzy than the typical Excel or Word document. Play with the software a bit and you will understand that it is the best thing to happen since sliced bread, not the software, but the idea of free online billing software.

Billing Boss: Another free online billing software, the working of this and Curdbee is almost the same, with the user creating an account and then adding their clients to their account.  This software basically snazzies up your invoice.

Invoicera: Invoicera is another software that basically makes your online billing software free. All you have to do is to create a profile on the site, add your clients, determine the type of payments that you would like to go with and you can send your clients a request for your payment right from within the site.

Image taken on 2007-06-04 14:11:18. Image Source. (Used with permission)

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One of the best jobs to work from home is having a freelance writing job. With its wide diversity of jobs it has proven to be a very lucrative career. Freelance writing jobs are not restricted to the common article and blog writing jobs many people are familiar with.

– Web content writing consists of article writing for various companies like Examiner, Demand Studios, Suite 101, Love To Know, Textbroker and more. They offer a huge selection of topics for you to write from. Some of the companies do focus on articles that are keyword rich for search engine optimization purposes. Although some offer low pay, you are also compensated on page views. Be sure to check each company’s payment structure.

– Ghostwriting is writing for someone else where they will take full ownership of the written content. It doesn’t require a lot of experience and very often the person will provide you with topics and keywords.

– Web copy may include writing content for websites. You may be writing frequently asked questions, terms of service, privacy policy, disclosure statements, help pages, online newsletter or e-zines and other website content.

– Press releases are important to companies. They are newsworthy articles announcing a company’s updates, events, awards of recognition and so forth.

– A fun and creative job to get into is writing greeting cards.

– Copywriters should be creative and they are responsible for creating promotional advertisements for the web, brochures, magazines, sales letters, slogans and other online media. They should have good researching skills for the products they will be writing about.

– Freelance resume writers can produce resumes that will stand out from the crowd and get the employer’s attention because having a good resume is one of the most important factors in finding a work at home job.

– Writing a novel or e-book can be a huge undertaking. Depending on the person, you may also be required to edit and proofread.

– Academic writers produce essays, reports, presentations, theses and research papers. You must have strong writing skills, excellent grammar and composition skills and write with a stylistic approach.

– There are law offices who hire freelancers to help them in writing legal topics, briefs, attorney profiles, draft motions and memorandums and much more. A law degree is a good advantage.

There are many more types of freelance writing jobs you can consider and all require some extent of experience. This is not just a job, but a business you can grow. Start by building an online presence, keep writing and take the time to learn the craft as there are many free online resources readily available..

Image taken on 2006-02-09 08:34:04. Image Source. (Used with permission)

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Nearly everyone involved in publishing would agree that having a standard editorial process in place can help ensure quality in publications. But what does “standard” mean? Does quality control differ by industry or shop? Or do commonalities—identical steps or close variations on a standard process—exist across publishing worlds? The Eye asked four professionals from three different industries what process they use to increase the odds that content will be meaningful and mistakes will be avoided:

Alison Knopf, editor of Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly, a weekly newsletter published by John Wiley & Sons. Alexis Nesbitt, a freelance designer for advertising agencies in the Knoxville, TN, area. Stephen Wagley, executive editor for reference books at Oxford University Press. Margaret Walker, a freelance editor, also for advertising agencies in the Knoxville, TN, area.

Despite the wide differences in the publications they handle—newsletters, books, and marketing materials—all four experts described a similar editorial process. Here is the basic sequence of steps they take.

1. Decide what should be written

It sounds obvious, but the first step in any publishing process is to determine the type and scope of the content. At a newsletter like ADAW, with a small staff, the editor herself may decide what goes in each issue—and may also report and write the stories.

For a reference book like the ones from Oxford, the content decisions are made by the book’s editor-in-chief (“Usually a major academic,” Wagley says) with help from an editorial board and an Oxford developmental editor.

At an ad agency, even more hands may stir the pot. Nesbitt says, “After we learn from a client that they need a new campaign, we’ll have a brainstorming session with the creative director, a designer, and a writer—sometimes with all our designers and writers—to decide on the concept that will drive the campaign. We also might come up with actual pieces of the copy—headlines, slogans, or taglines, for example.” Once an account executive gets client approval for the concept, the writer can get started.

A newsletter reporter might write copy over the course of five or six hours; a book contributor might take five or six months. In any case, writers must hit their deadlines. A late submission means that the rest of the production processes will have to be compressed—hurrying the quality assurance process or skipping some steps of it altogether.

“It’s important not to fall into the trap of reporting up until the last minute, so you don’t have time to write,” Knopf says. “Sometimes you might need to be a little less ambitious about the story you’re doing so you can make the deadline.”

2. Substantively review content

Someone “in charge” must review the content and do one of three things: approve it, approve it with revisions, or reject it. For a book publisher, a developmental editor or a subject matter expert who sits on the book’s editorial board does this review; for ADAW, the executive editor does it. At an ad agency, both an account executive and creative director do a review. The AE checks to see that copy follows the general guidelines set out for that client; the creative director makes sure the piece is on point with the overall message and creative direction of the campaign.

“The creative director might take it upon himself to snazz up the language,” says Nesbitt, “or tell the author ‘This sounds cheesy, rewrite it,’ or ‘This is too much; you’re overselling.’ He’s essentially providing quality control in terms of the writing.”

3. Copyedit content before layout

Once content has been approved, but before it goes into layout, nearly all publishers (well, all sensible ones) have the material copyedited. The copyeditor generally works in Microsoft Word using the Track Changes function, with a specific three-part mission: to correct errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation; ensure consistency with a given editorial style; and enhance readability by revising or querying awkward or confusing language.

In some cases, the copyeditor may also be responsible for fact-checking. At Oxford, Wagley says, “One thing we have learned over the years is that you cannot depend on authors to get things right—even their own book titles, even if they’re an expert in the field. So we check dates, we check names, we check bibliographies. Our copyeditors are so important in this regard, because they may be the person acting for Oxford University Press who gives an article the most attention it’s going to receive.”

Despite the importance of the copyediting step, Walker says that she often has to fight to get enough time to perform a copyedit: “Everyone wants the copy to be perfect, but they don’t want to spend the time to get it that way.” Particularly at an ad agency, she says, any time spent on editing may be seen as stealing precious, budgeted hours away from designers.

4. Get final copy approval and/or approval of changes

After substantive editing and copyediting, a piece goes back to the writer for approval of the changes and perhaps for resolving queries. Wagley says, “In the case of our reference books, we’re publishing scholarship. So we need to make sure that we haven’t inadvertently changed something and made it wrong.”

Ad agency clients need to review the final copy because this is usually the first time in the process that they will have seen it. If the client has already approved the overall creative direction for the piece, Nesbitt says, “They’ll often approve the copy immediately.” Or “the client may feel that the direction—even if initially approved—is now wrong for them. Or they may have neglected to give clear direction and the content is compromised. At that point, it’s bounced back for a rewrite.”

Many but not all newsletter and magazine editors show reporters a PDF of their articles in layout for final fact-checking; the tight turnaround of a weekly like Knopf’s may not have time for more than a final layout readthrough by the editor-in-chief, or someone else who hasn’t seen all the copy iterations.

Once the copy is approved—either immediately or after further revisions—the text should require minimal changes as it moves forward into a finished design.

5. Proofread copy in layout

After a designer has formatted the copy—whether by placing it in a simple two-column format or turning it into an elaborate brochure with display text treatments, pull quotes, and graphics—the material must be proofread. That means checking the formatting against specifications and correcting any errors or style discrepancies overlooked by the copyeditor (or introduced in design).

In some cases, proofreading consists of a “cold read,” with no comparison against the source. “Oxford used to do [comparison proofing] 10 or 15 years ago,” says Wagley, “back when compositors actually composed. But they no longer do that; they no longer typeset or even keyboard the manuscript. So our proofreading is essentially another copyedit—correcting any typos still in the manuscript and checking for correct fonts in headings and other elements.”

In other shops, comparison proofing is still the order of the day. Walker says she always checks, at minimum, the beginning and ending of each paragraph to make sure that no text was dropped during layout. She often does a complete word-for-word proofing of the source material against the layout, or more: “On a problem piece, I’ll even go back and double-check that every single change was done correctly—even look at the original creative brief to make sure that any elements listed there have been included.”

Knopf says, “The most important thing is never to proofread on screen. You have to print out [the layout]. Because something happens visually when you see things on the screen repeatedly—you start to miss stuff. You see things in a new way [on paper], especially if you’re proofing something you wrote yourself.”

Moreover, it goes without saying that every change sent to the designer must be proofread; that is, after a change is made, someone other than the person who made it must go back and check that it was accurately done—and that no other errors were introduced.

Walker describes a project that went south because the designer decided at the last minute to increase the font size on a section of brochure copy. Problem was, he didn’t have a proofreader check behind him. “When he increased the font,” Walker says, “it bumped the last five words of the copy off the page. The mistake wasn’t caught until after the brochure had been printed.”

6. Check printers’ proofs with care

This is the last chance to look at the piece in its entirety and catch any anomalies before it is printed.

In the final stages of publishing a book, Wagley says, “We may only have a day or two to check page proofs. So we’re not looking at the words anymore. We’re asking, are the running heads correct? Are the folios correct? Do the pages align? Is the art in the right place? Does it have the right caption?”

In the same vein, Nesbitt explains that when she checks printers’ proofs, “as a designer, I’m looking for any weird visual anomalies. Is there a photograph that looked fine on the screen but now looks blurry? Is there a place where a color has translated weirdly or is way too dark?”

Nesbitt cautions that reviewers may want to pay some attention to words. She describes a situation in which she accidentally sent the previous version of a newsletter to a printer—the spring instead of the summer issue. “When the production manager got the proofs, she just glanced at the colors and bleeds and OK’d the file without putting it through the proofreader because we were on a tight deadline. So the newsletter had the wrong month on it, the wrong season, but it wasn’t caught. We printed 5,000 copies, all of which were thrown away at our expense.”

The bottom line

Not every publication follows an identical production process. But the guiding force behind every process must be full attention to quality control by all those involved, from start to finish. This theme was repeated again and again by these pros. As Nesbitt says, “You have to be thinking about quality all the time. It sounds like a cliché, but everyone has to take ownership of it, not just the proofreader—including the boring stuff, like checking corrections. It’s not the romantic part of putting out a publication, but it has to be done.”

Wagley concurs that producing high-quality publications “takes a lot of attention. You can always forget something, miss something. We have very good people here and, still, anything can go wrong. Getting it right takes a lot of attention.”

In the end, Knopf says, you can have all the production checklists and editorial processes you want, but if you’re publishing material that your readers don’t care about, it’s not going to matter. “[Quality] is not just about writing and copyediting and layout,” she says. “It’s about great content that comes from great sources.” That may be the hardest standard of all to meet.

But if we provide our readers with great information, they’ll forgive occasional errors—especially if we acknowledge serious mistakes of fact or analysis that could confuse people or cause trouble. The Eye is often asked how many mistakes it’s okay to make in a document. That’s unanswerable, of course. How many cars is it okay to manufacture with faulty airbags? How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? Our advice: Aim for perfection and settle for consistently very clean copy.

Image taken on 2006-11-03 20:19:42. Image Source. (Used with permission)

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Hundreds of useful tools and applications are available on windows for freelancers and web workers. Windows being one the major operating systems offers a huge list of utility applications which come for Free.

1.Ditto – It is a clipboard manager that lets you save, manage, and retrieve all of the countless clipboards instantly and effectively. It offers some great features such as easy- to-use interface, search and paste previous copy entries, data is encrypted when sent over the network etc.

2.Defraggler –It is a defragmentation tool for Windows that helps in defragmenting individual files or a specific portion of a drive. It also helps in scheduling defragmentation while working or doing important stuff and can be run daily, weekly or monthly.

3.Recuva- Another application for freelancers which helps in recovering files from Windows computer, Recycle Bin, digital camera card, or MP3 player. Alos claims to recover corrupted and damaged files and brings them to the PC. It also lets its users retrieve emails as it supports Microsoft Outlook Express, Mozilla Thunderbird, or Windows Live Mail.

4.Picasa- This photo editing application by Google that allows it users in gathering and organizing the photos and share them with connections. Editing, resizing and retouching your photos, sharing them online with friends and connections.

5.VLC Media Player- It is a highly portable multimedia player and multimedia framework capable of reading most audio and video formats (MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, DivX, MPEG-1, mp3, ogg, aac ) as well as DVDs, Audio CDs VCDs, and various streaming protocols.

6.7stacks- This easy-to-use, free application that allows Windows 7 (and Vista and XP) users have “stacks” of icons in their Taskbar (in 7) or QuickLaunch Toolbar (in Vista and XP). This helps in reducing icon clutter, and combining a group of related icons into a single icon.

7.Notepad ++- Another useful tool that helps in editing text and source code easily. It provides tabbed editing, to easily work with multiple open files. It features include Syntax Highlighting and Syntax Folding (C, C++, HTML, ASP, java, pascal, css and more), auto-completion, multi-document, full drag ‘n’ drop supported, multi-language environment supported etc

8.Windows Live Essentials- This application includes Windows Photo Gallery, Movie Maker and Live Messenger are worth downloading. Windows Live Essentials gives instant messaging, e-mail, blogging, photos, and more.

9.7-Zip- This tool is a host of compression formats, 7-Zip lets uncompress almost any compressed data, and with the unique 7z format, files can be compressed up to 40% smaller than Zip formats.

10.Ares- It is a free open source file sharing program that enables users to share any digital file including images, audio, video, software, documents, etc. It also helps in publishing files through the Ares peer to peer network.

Hope these tools will help all the freelancers in using their Windows more effectively. Please share feedback and suggestion on the same.

Image taken on 2008-02-13 01:30:20. Image Source. (Used with permission)

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When do you call someone a freelancer? Who is considered a freelancer?

A person who works or pursues a career without a long term contract with any particular employer is a freelancer. He offers services to get paid without permanent affiliation with his clients. A freelancer may perform tasks for several employers, clients or customers at any given time frame. Some freelancers work with written contracts but more often are not necessary. Others would settle for verbal agreements with their clients.

If you are a freelancer you may work part time or full time. You cannot consider yourself to be an employee because you work for an employer without benefits, health insurance, paid holidays, bonuses and other benefits that a regular employee is entitled to. There is no limit to working hours which always extend beyond the regular schedules.

Some freelancers work for the same client for an extended period likely because their works are good enough for the clients’ interests. They are called “permalancers”; with full time work as a regular employee but without the benefits of one.

Payments vary according to the settled terms of agreement between the client and the freelancer. It is possible for a client to pay per hour, per day, or per project. For example, a writer can charge a fee per page of what he writes. You can demand for a deposit from customers and sometimes provide customers with job estimates.

Areas of work: There are countless of fields and areas which can showcase a freelancer’s skill and talent. Here are some:

•    Journalism
•    Book publishing
•    Writing
•    Editing
•    Copyediting
•    Proofreading
•    Indexing
•    Copywriting
•    Computer Programming
•    Graphic design
•    Business consulting
•    Translating
•    Language teaching and translation
•    Secretarial

The common areas for freelancers are software development, website design and development, advertising and Information technology. A substantial career is waiting for designers, bloggers and social media experts. Areas that have skills shortages prefer outsourcing freelancers’ services and they benefit from their input. Freelancers often occupy media roles.

Freelancing is basically an optimistic work even in an economic downturn. Most people come to web work because they have no other choices. Somebody may have been transferred to a remote working area at his present job or an existing contract is about to finish and finding another full time job isn’t easy. One must be able to define his capabilities and weaknesses before diving into this kind of business.  

As you go along you can choose the projects and revolve around the area of your expertise. As the prefix says ‘free’ you manage your own time, type and place of work which makes freelancing a very appealing field of work.

Here are some helpful websites for both freelancers and clients:

•    Freelancers.net contains details on people looking for work, as well as freelancing job opportunities.
•    Smarterwork.com will help you check if your skills are marketable and pinpoint freelance opportunities.
•    CWjobs.co.uk for contract IT opportunities.
•    Rentacoder.com
•    Odesk.com

Image taken on 2009-03-30 17:36:15. Image Source. (Used with permission)

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When you surf the internet looking for advice and information about hiring a freelance editor or writer, you’ll find many myths floating about. Too often, I’ve been called in to help out a would-be writer after he has plopped down several thousand dollars for editorial or ghostwriting services, only to find himself no closer to a publishable manuscript. I get frustrated when I hear such stories of editing gone bad! That’s why Ij’d like to bust some myths about editors and agents I’ve come across on the web to help you avoid hiring the wrong freelance book editor.

MYTH: An excellent editor can help you with any type of book you’d like to publish.

REALITY: Editors specialize. They can’t be an expert on everything, and an editor with integrity will tell you flat out that she isn’t the right person to help you with your book. She may be able to recommend a trusted colleague, but not always, because she may not know editors who work in your genre. Ask a lot of questions and do your homework before you commit to hire a freelance book editor.

MYTH: Editors at book publishing houses don’t edit these days.

REALITY: Traditional book publishers who pick and choose which books they’ll publish and pay you for the privilege of publishing your book do include editing as part of their publishing process. If a “book publisher” doesn’t edit your book for free prior to publication, you’re working with a vanity press, not a “book publisher.” A vanity press essentially prints your book for you and offers adjunct services, some for free, others for a fee, and the quality may not be good. Do your research and know whether you are working with a publisher or a vanity press. That said, book publishers are looking for manuscripts that only require light editing, not a major overhaul. You or your agent may decide to hire a freelance editor, book doctor, or writer to get your manuscript into shape for submission to an editor.

MYTH: A freelance editor who helps you prepare your book proposal to sell to a traditional book publisher does not need to know the marketplace.

REALITY: If you’re saying to yourself, “I want a book deal!” you need someone who is knowledgeable about what publishers are looking for and keeps up on the latest trends, even what books are “in the pipeline” (not yet published but under contract). Work with a savvy professional freelance book editor and you’ll maximize your ability to get your book published.

MYTH: All editors do the same type of work.

REALITY: There are several types of editors. Some editors are in-house acquisitions editors at book publishing houses and they may not do the actual line editing or structural editing of your book. Their job may be simply to find book projects they think are viable in the marketplace and, often, to oversee their publication (sometimes this job is handled by others in the house). Freelance editors are often developmental editors who restructure manuscripts, clean up marginal writing to make it less awkward, and add transitions and headers (this is often called heavy line editing or book doctoring). They will also fix grammar, and, sometimes, offer writing advice so that you can do this work yourself. Freelance editors can also be light line editors or copyeditors who do little work with the structure of the book and mostly fix grammar, styling (such as when to hyphenate words) and mechanics (spelling and punctuation). Copyeditors typically fact check and will find inconsistencies in your manuscript. A fantastic copyeditor (or light line editor) doesn’t necessarily do developmental editing. A developmental editor doesn’t necessarily copyedit. When you hire an “editor,” be clear on what type of “editing” you are seeking.

MYTH: A great editor can proofread, copyedit, and do heavy structural and line editing at the same time.

REALITY: It’s a waste of time to bother proofreading or copyediting a book that needs major structural changes and extensive line editing until that work is done. An excellent editor cannot keep her head on the big picture while devoting attention to typos and grammar glitches. The final polish is just that. There’s no point in fussing about typos in a section that may be edited out or totally rewritten.

MYTH: You can always find a terrific writer or editor last minute because there are so many of them out there.

REALITY: Great writers and editors are often booked up months in advance and, like everyone else, they enjoy some time off in the summer or around the holidays. If your dream is to hold in your hands a fabulous book with your name on it, plan ahead and procure a professional editor or writer early.

Image taken on 2006-02-07 16:54:14. Image Source. (Used with permission)

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You have probably heard of people who work from home and make loads of money online. If you wish to be one of the most successful people who work from their homes and make decent incomes then you need to start learning all the legitimate moneymaking ways available on the internet. There are many of these ways to make money, but not all of them can fit your preferences, income brackets of time required that you invest in them.

Many online advertisements will promise you online money for doing very simple tasks, but if you understand how the current society works you will know that nothing comes easy. To earn a decent income online, you will need to invest a lot of time, resources and even some start up fees in your venture.

One common way that people choose to make money online is through selling their ideas through freelancing. Most freelancing websites act as middle people in connecting freelancers with buyers and in turn charge the buyer a certain percentage commission. If you have the skills that buyers need, you will deal with the buyers directly and they will pay you instantly agreed amounts as long as your work meets the requirements. These modes of payment usually include through bank deposits, PayPal, Moneybookers, escrow or other online secure methods.

There are many jobs available that work from home freelancers can do. These range from simple copy and paste data entry jobs to complicated scientific designs and programming jobs. This is why many freelance sites are referred to as all-inclusive and that everyone who desires to work online or offline as a freelancer has a place in the internet, no matter the area of specialization or career. Other most common jobs are marketing, writing, coding, editing, web design, graphic and multimedia jobs among others.

If you have a business running already, or a blog where you enjoy making posts and passing information, your site can also be used to generate income.

You can choose to sell space on your site to advertisers if get enough traffic or signup for other advertisement options like Google’s AdSense. To make money through your website or blog, you may have to employ advanced SEO techniques, proper web design skills and other online marketing tactics. The key to success in this field is attracting more traffic to your website using affiliates or search engine optimization. The challenge most people face in selling ad space in their websites is time. To develop a fully functional website requires a lot of time and research. The designer must be updated in modern web design norms, procedures and tools to ensure that the site stays on top of the competitors’ in website rankings. The site will also need constant updating to make visitors want to come back frequently, it has to be relevant and consistent in terms of content and you must have the visitor in mind when designing the site. This is to make sure that it is friendly and easy to navigate.

Image taken on 2006-02-09 08:34:04. Image Source. (Used with permission)

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Jobs in Cairo attract a lot of expatriates. This huge and vibrant city offers many exciting career opportunities to qualified and trained professionals in various verticals. It can be said that Cairo represents the contemporary Middle East. It is a lively city with resident count anywhere between 16 to 18 million people. There is a huge population of foreign nationals from Europe, North America and other countries who are working in Cairo. The city offers a comfortable and warm environment to foreign workers who take up work here. There are also many lifestyle activities that the city offers to those who want to pursue their interests after work hours.

Expatriates who are doing jobs in gulf or Cairo include teachers, lawyers, web designers, consultants, journalists and editors. Those who know how to write and speak Arabic have an added advantage over others. Also, in Cairo, there is a demand for language experts to teach English to the local population. There are ample jobs for expatriates in Cairo but not many in other cities of Egypt outside Cairo. The economy of Egypt is mainly dependent on Cairo. The jobs are mainly categorized into two categories- those paid in the Egyptian Pound and those paid in foreign currencies. Most of the jobs that are paid in US dollars are not available on an ad-hoc basis. One has to line up and arrange for these jobs before arriving in the city.

The best way to find a job in Cairo is networking. The job market thrives on word of mouth and reference is the key tool to land a job. That is also one of the reasons to learn Arabic as it helps to socialize with other Egyptians. Most expatriates and Egyptians would have their business cards printed in both English and Arabic. Handing out business cards to anyone you meet for business or networking events helps one get a job fast. One can also form a bigger network and make new contacts by meeting people at local churches, cultural organizations, and clubs. Sometimes, expatriates also go for volunteering at relief camps.

The major sectors that offer employment in Cairo include education, development (NGOs), publishing, and for-profit businesses. In the education sector, there are ample teaching jobs for expatriates in Cairo. Teachers with experience are hired for teaching various subjects in Cairo schools. These jobs have to be arranged and applied for before arriving in Cairo. One could also register as a tutor at these schools. Then, there is also requirement for English teachers at private schools in Cairo.

Other than the education sector, the social sector also offers good career opportunities to expatriates. There are many NGOs based in Cairo offering relief work to expatriates. There are contract based as well as project based jobs available in these NGOs. There are jobs in various capacities available in Cairo.

There are good jobs in the writing and publishing industry too in Cairo. There are many English newspapers and magazines being published in Cairo that need full-time English writers. There are many other jobs in the publishing industry too in Cairo. One can work as a part-timer, freelancer or full time staff writer with these publications. To be a full-time worker, one needs to have a lot of experience. Besides writing, there are copy-editing jobs too.

There many jobs in Cairo in the areas of public relations, marketing and advertising. In fact, these are hot employment areas in Cairo. Then, there are many out of the box career options that one can pursue too. There are jobs in the healthcare and wellness industry too. There are jobs advertised on job portals though most jobs can be found through networking, as mentioned earlier. There are other industries such as IT, banking and finance, hospitality etc too that have jobs for expatriates. One can route through job consultants too but it is advisable to check the credentials of the consultant before taking up any job offer as many bogus players also operate in this field that lure the jobseekers with fake offers of lucrative jobs.

While living and working in Cairo, one gets a great opportunity to learn more about the Arabic culture and the richness and history of Egypt. With a little determination and open-mindedness, one can enjoy an experience of a lifetime while working in Cairo.

Image taken on 2009-11-12 23:51:06. Image Source. (Used with permission)

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