Emma Jones (u/emma_jones)

Posts

That time a middle schooler corrected my plot hole at a library reading

I was reading a chapter from my fantasy novel at the public library in Cleveland, and this 12 year old raised her hand and said my magic system made no sense because the rules kept changing. She was right, I had three different explanations across five pages, and I had to stand there and admit she caught something my editor missed. Anyone else have a random stranger call out a flaw in your writing that you totally missed?

3 comments

c/first-time-home-buyers•

emma_jones•2d ago

Hit 100 house showings before I finally got an offer accepted

I started looking at houses back in March, just casual open houses at first. By June I had seen 67 places and lost 3 bidding wars. Yesterday I counted my notes and realized I've walked through exactly 103 homes. The one I finally got accepted on was a beat up 3 bed 1 bath in Arlington that needs new plumbing, but at least I don't have to keep scrolling Zillow at 2am anymore. How many showings did it take before one of you guys got a yes?

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c/freelance-life•

emma_jones•5d ago

Appreciation post: the client who pays on time without reminders

Just wrapped a small project for a guy in Portland. Sent the invoice Thursday morning. Money was in my account Friday afternoon. No follow up emails. No "can you send that again?" No waiting 45 days. I almost forgot that was possible. Why is this so rare? Anyone else have clients that actually respect your time like this?

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c/freelance-contracts•

emma_jones•13d ago

Stumbled into a coworking space in Austin that had their contract terms printed on the wall

They listed their late payment penalties in bold red right next to the WiFi password, and it made me realize how much we hide our own terms from clients in fine print. Has anyone else tried putting key contract clauses front and center like that?

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c/commercial-divers•

emma_jones•17d ago

Kirby Morgan vs Ocean Reef for cold water ops - no contest

I spent 3 seasons using an Ocean Reef Neptune in Puget Sound before switching to a Kirby Morgan 37 last winter. The difference in gas consumption was insane. With the Ocean Reef I was burning through 30% more air on a 40 foot dive because the reg just couldn't keep up. The KM 37's regulator is way more balanced and I get an extra 20 minutes per tank easy. Has anyone else swapped brands and noticed a huge change in performance?

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c/chasing-invoices•

emma_jones•17d ago

Had a chat with a bookkeeper that made me nervous about my payment terms

I was talking to this bookkeeper at a networking thing in Phoenix last Thursday, and she told me that a lot of small businesses she works with have clients who deliberately wait for the second or third reminder before paying, just to see if they can stretch it. She said one guy admitted he holds payments for 90 days if the invoice doesn't have a clear late fee listed. Has anyone else noticed if putting a specific late fee amount speeds up payments?

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c/freelance-survival•

emma_jones•1mo ago

Rant: Why are freelancers still doing flat rates for hourly-heavy jobs?

I spent 6 years doing flat rates for editing projects, but last month I tracked my time on a $1,200 job and found I worked 35 hours instead of the 20 I quoted. A buddy in Austin told me he switched to hourly plus a rush fee and his income went up 40% in one quarter. Has anyone else tested a hybrid model that actually held up with picky clients?

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c/atlanta-networking•

emma_jones•1mo ago

Why does every networking event in Atlanta turn into a sales pitch?

I went to a 'casual mixer' last week at that new spot in Buckhead. Paid $25 for entry, and within 10 minutes, three different people tried to sell me their marketing services. I just wanted to talk about shared interests, not get bombarded with pitches. Has anyone else noticed this trend at local meetups?

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c/carpenters•

emma_jones•1mo ago

I wrote off the Festool Domino for 5 years and now I'm hooked

Finally borrowed one from a buddy in Nashville for a kitchen cabinet job and got 16 floating shelves done in 45 minutes. Has anyone else had a tool change their mind after swearing it was overpriced?

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c/digital-art-showcase•

emma_jones•1mo ago

Surprised by how many artists use Procreate for serious commercial work

I was scrolling through the Behance community showcase last night and saw that over 60% of the top illustration projects were made in Procreate. That shocked me because I always thought serious commercial stuff had to be done on a desktop with Photoshop or Illustrator. I even checked a few artist interviews linked in the descriptions and they confirmed they did entire book covers and ad campaigns on an iPad. Is Procreate really that good for professional work or am I missing something about the limitations? Has anyone here switched from a desktop setup to just an iPad for client projects?

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