I'm deciding on services as I change my focus from a general assistant to an Author's Assistant. In my research I came across this surprising article from a 1904 edition of the New York Times:
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive...DE405B848CF1D3

Sounds like a great job to me!

Leanne

I work with a lot of author's, mainly through formatting their books into eBook but I have just signed up a new author to help him with social media. So far it's proving quite tough, for a start he's in the US and I'm in France so time differences are a problem and then there's the not being that great with the Internet in general.

I guess if you can get the right clients it will be a great job!

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Jo Harrison | Virtual Assistant
Writer's Block Admin Services

Wow Leanne, who would have thought it?

I work with authors and journalists doing mostly research (sometimes interviews), and audio transcription and I have to say it's really enjoyable, but like the 1904 Author's Assistants say, sometimes it's weeks of work at other times just a day and often the schedules are quite tight. But, it is great fun and very interesting.

Sarah

Sarah, I would love to do research. I'm not sure how to find clients that need research and can afford to pay an assistant to do it. So far I've been proofreading and editing. I've done a bit of formatting, too. I have lucked into some interview and writing assignments that are truly my favorite.

Leanne

Jo,

I read your very nice blog post about time zones and it really sounds like you see more pros than cons in working at different hours than your clients. I communicate more through email than phone, but for some things a phone conversation is far superior, so I understand your frustration on that front.

"Then there's the not being that great with the Internet in general." Though I use the internet a lot, I'm finding that my client's and I are learning together as new needs arise. When a problem comes up, I research new software or solutions in the cloud (I don't charge my client for this) and we learn to use it together. So far that has worked for me, but of course, that requires a client that is willing to experiment.

I hope we all get a nice cohort of such clients.

Leanne