katakatica

So... I'll start with saying that I'm still in my late twenties... but the 5 years-ish that I spent abroad really messed with my body (and honestly, head, but that is for another topic! I didn't really realise at the time because I was basically in survival mode working a job that was wrecking me. (think - when I lost weight wasn't because I wanted to but because I had little to eat.) Now, fastforward to now, me living a very comfy lifestyle, sort of... starting the 'clean-up'. There's actual health issues I need to get looked into (and again this summer, I was basically sick on and off which is not fun..) but also just starting to try and be kinder to myself. Not necessarily because I'm getting old but because I got 'old' while I was chasing dreams that weren't meant for me. I started splurging on cute clothes, getting my hair done every once in a while and things like that, not for my partner necessarily (though he appreciates it :P) but to feel good - and it really works. I think what I'm hoping to do now is to sort of... prevent myself from growing old too quickly! I'm trying to eat healthier (which is, to be fair, somewhat hard but doable). Just kickstarted the debate over having homemade lunch over microwaved food (especially when going outside to the offices I work from.) I'm thinking simple stuff like spring rolls, wraps, etc. yesterday made a rice bowl with an egg and some leftover veg. Simple but fresh, which can't be said about microwave meals, though they hit the spot on days it's too hot outside. Anyway, the point of my rambling is that while I can't reverse the damage I did to myself before, there's plenty of time to at least stop anything else from happening. (by the way, I love this post for some reason - really made me reflect a bit, even if I'm not quite the target audience of it!)

Ah, I guess I managed to make my point (because yes, there is a point, though you also mentioned it somewhat) basically, written gigs (so things that don't contain any images/sound/etc. do seem to be regarded to different standards. I'm not sure why myself, but I wouldn't be surprised if CS agents were to say a review would be fine. (I was once asked to write something scandalous but not erotica, just based on something very riské. The order was made before I knew what it was so I didn't want to cancel, CS said it was perfectly fine as long as I was okay with it.) Again, could be different from a review but it really is sort of hard to tell I guess.) I do think that the TOS is changing constantly, I remember it being somewhat different before but I guess that makes sense with all the new rules and stuff. I suppose we'll see where things take us. (I don't particularly feel at risk for myself, just thought of sharing what little I know about this as it WAS very recently that I chatted with CS about it, so...!)

While I'd have to agree in this case (as it's a review) CS did say (twice) that having an erotica writing gig up is perfectly fine. (not that anything I write would be inappropriate as it's barely bolder than regular romance, but...) I do find the standard somewhat odd for this reason, but since anyone can purchase anything on here, it does make sense I suppose? If you REALLY needed something like this, I would likely ask CS for their current stand on it, but I do think that it would probably be considered too much (however, you never really know.) It's great that you're considerate of sellers, though!

You should think about whether you really are the best or you just think you are because you know little about your competition.

If you've asked for a revision on the order page, you're good. They might need more time (or might have just gotten busy. Some people take strange days off, including myself!) If they don't reply within another day or so, might be work contacting CS but as long as the order is in revision they won't get paid. (Now if you accepted the delivery and asked for an extra revision in the inbox... That's a bit different though I feel like most sellers worry enough about their private / public reviews to at least get back to you.

Well, one thing could be the fact that BR is getting a makeover, so I wouldn't be surprised if that had a part in it, though the issue seems common. See, as level 1 seller, you're not quite at the top yet, right? I'm not sure if that's still a thing, but I know that there used to be a thing in BR where only a certain number of people could send a request per job PER level (so, x new seller, x level 1, x level 2 and so on.) You might just not be fast enough. I will be honest, NEVER once did I get an order from social media. I did get maybe... 10-20 (perhaps 25 but definitely not a lot) from BR. While they can be handy tools, I think that in the end, you sort of have to make it on the sight (unless you have a huge following AND know how to advertise yourself on fb, etc. super well.) Being online also does nothing - many of my orders are from when I'm asleep. Level One is a great accomplishment but Fiverr doesn't really owe you access to BR (or just more orders.) Gotta know how to sell yourself for that!

I think it depends a lot of things. It might be slightly more difficult than before but talented people will always find a way to sell their work. Fiverr has changed a lot in the past few years but I don't think it's gotten 'harder' to work on here. Sellers (especially new sellers) need to learn how to navigate it but it's not... impossible as long as you're good at what you do - and know how to sell it.

I've had a few odd ones lately as well, all from brand new accounts, which makes me wonder if there's new rumours going around? (for example 'if you get an order within 20 hours of making your account you win the lottery?' That being said... NONE of these people have gigs. I... I'm very tempted to write a post on the importance of being fluent in English but we all know how that's going to end... This morning I woke up to someone being all 'I want to work with u?' ... Sigh.

Honestly, no. I'm Eastern European (and Fiverr is well aware of it, even if my location changes often, though it's been a while since I've left Italy.) I do charge more than what Hungarians would (as I don't live there) but I think what really matters more is the fact that my work is, you know, good. Where I'm from has little to do with it. That being said, making it on here is hard.

Sometimes I will budge. But usually, that's because it's a project I'm SUPER interested in. I have decently high prices (well, at least, I've doubled my prices since 2021 so that's something) and sometimes feel like the project will give ME more than the few bucks I'm losing (think, a new genre of games I've been wanting to write, etc.) THAT being said - if it's something I'm not super interested in, I stand by my prices firmly. If I lose the client, then so be it, I have enough work as is, so it's not a tragedy. I want people to appreciate my work and I feel like 'can you do this for ultra cheap, I'll give you loads of work' doesn't really cover that.

If your order completion rate is lower than 90% you can still bring it back up (potentially), if you have a few orders in queue. However, you might only get the badge next month. It's hard to say without actually seeing your stats. I mean absolutely no harm with this but I would thrive to improve my communication if I were you. Just based on the way you type here, it might be a base for more cancellations in the future. English is hard (though far from the hardest language to pick up) but being fluent-enough is vital on Fiverr.

My profile picture used to be the awesome illustration that I still have as my picture right now, but then... the Fire Nation attacked I mean, we had to switch off our pictures to, eh, real-life ones. The good thing is - I have blue hair now, which definitely helps emphasize the 'quirky writer' look. The picture could definitely be a bit better but I'm okay with it for now (I'm getting a new hairdo next week though AND it's still nice weather outside most days so I might switch it up soon!) I've been debating what to do for my banner thingie on the business profile though (thought of getting some pixel art done, or just something else) but then... we got a typewriter. It doesn't work but it looks cool so now I want to use it (and maybe my setup) for something! Definitely interesting topic though. I actually used to be told (when I had cartoony pics) that I was chosen for the job because I look 'cool' - now that has changed I guess, but yeah. A good looking(ish) profile is quite important! (That being said, to this day I see several 'k-pop/international idols' that I recognize. Using fake pictures is so strange. Like, who'd believe that you're, idk, Madonna or something?)

I WOULD, however, walk into a shabby restaurant (as they are sometimes really good, at least in some places.) Jokes aside I really hope people start thinking this way, however I think it might take a while for that to happen still. (I have a theory that there's a fair share of people who think that TRS/experienced sellers are gatekeeping and secretly staying up all night staring at the screen, but I think I might just watch too much drama, haha.) Thing is, there's actually plenty of new sellers on the forum right now who are selling something that I need (well, I will need soon.) I actually check out their posts just to see if we could 'vibe' but no one has passed the 'check' so far, which is honestly a little sad. Out of the 600 orders I've completed over the years, perhaps 15 had come from BR (and no, not the first 15) AND the majority of them are from people overseas (compared to me) so when they message me for the first time, I'm snoring away. New sellers should focus on setting up great gigs and actually selling something that they are good at. It worked for me and hundreds of others, at least.

We've actually been thinking of going to a Georgian restuarant not too far from us for a while now - I think we were recommended the khachapuri! I love discovering new cuisines and trying out different recipes, often with such similar ingredients! To be honest while I cook a lot, I also eat out... quite a bit, this week especially for example. We ended up having ramen (at a restaurant) for lunch today as well 😄

I'm kind of glad that I usually only make dinner, so no heating up the kitchen at noon! Most of the time (not always though) our kitchen is 'bearable' by dinner time but I can totally understand choosing to make quick stuff/order in during the heatwave! (worst it's been here was like... 32 degrees, maybe 34? Which for me is just normal summer, though it did hit me worse than I thought it would!) Interestinly enough I never got into slowcooker recipes! I've been thinking of getting an instapot (the multi-functional one) though, mostly because sometimes it'd be nice to have pulled pork (or even chicken that's super tender.) Never made meat pies but I actually like making quiches, though more during the winter I think. Haven't made one here yet though (but I've had the microwaveable ones from a supermarket. I like experimenting with recipes the most I think but sometimes I'm too lazy to do so! Managed to recreate a dish I had in China today though, it was absolutely amazing (I think the closest I've ever found to it would be the beef plate thing from the chain called Pepper Lunch? Not sure if it's the same, though!) It didn't take too long either which was great!

What is interesting to me is that most accounts I've seen so far that got flagged this way seemed to have had hundreds of orders (or more.) I guess Fiverr is setting a standard for everyone? I did see a post today that someone (or their friend, idunno) was rejected when trying to apply so... this could very well be the start of a new era. I'll almost miss all the spammers. No one else ever calls me bro... 😞

It's a staple at our place 😄 I like making it with bacon (or just no meat) and a good amount of chili oil on top. Been wanting to make kimchi fried rice as well but by the time I get there (kimchi needs to sour up a bit I think) I run out of kimchi 😄 We alternate between Italian/Swedish and Asian-inspired (often as authentic as possible) recipes but I've yet to cook any Hungarian food. Mostly because compared to 'toss everything in the wok, hope for the best' is easier than making stuff like goulash or at least to me haha. Okay that's ridiculously funny - I've been looking for this sauce for a while now. We had sechuan chicken at a restaurant (without the sechuan peppers) and while I wasn't the hugest fan, my boyfriend loved it - I haven't seen any recipe with the peppercorns yet though. Anything 'mala' is amazing by my standards, so this sauce will be an awesome compromise. Also thinking of having more tofu as protein because cold tofu with cold sauce over rice is literally the best thing one can eat in the summer 😄

That does sound great! I've been thinking of making hotteok once it gets a bit colder outside - not huge on baking because I'm terrified of our gas oven but I'd be nice to get started somewhere! So here's the deal - I've had japchae on the to-do list for months but somehow never actually make it! We had really good glass noodles at a restaurant that's closed for the summer and I've been craving them (not sure if they were a different dish though) so I might try a recipe sometime soon. I've only recently started branching out from super quick stir-fries but to be honest there's still a lot I need to learn!

I love eating 'Good', too 😄 Do you have a recipe to share?

Favouriting gigs is just bookmarking them (it doesn't really do anything.) I know some people might say it works, but it's just... an easy bookmark system. If you're a marketer (of any kind) you probably know how to find your target audience and sell your gig. Just apply the knowledge you'll use to help clients to your profile/gigs. If you can't sell yourself, how will you sell other people('s work)?

Weren't experienced sellers new one day, too? Fiverr DOES try to give new sellers a boost, but some niches will be overcrowded... Work is work, even if it's online - you can't just expect orders to fall into your lap. Maybe there's things you could improve on your profile/etc. to stand out. Maybe you could offer more unique services...

When I started focusing on writing full-time, I had a period of time when I had catered food (due to where I was living.) It was great, but part of me missed being able to choose what to eat/when to eat/etc. So when I moved out a few months back I actually started cooking way more often from scratch. It's honestly quite daunting sometimes because I had close to 0 knowledge before... However, as time passes, it's getting easier and easier to get meals together and actually make them make sense. Also - (if my friends saw this post, they'd be happy) raising my prices helped me with having more time for myself (and more money as well.) In a way, cooking has became a hobby (though I still eat out quite a bit, mostly lunches though.) Anyway, rambles aside, here's a thread to brag about your cooking knowledge (OR the amazing take-out you're planning to get because it's Thursday and you deserve it!) Pictures would be a bonus for a foodie like me! We're having pancakes (not the one cooking today) because it's a Swedish thing apparently - though it's served with pea soup that we are NOT having (sorry, not a huge fan!) Yesterday I made ramen from scratch for the third time - and it was... amazing! But I'm kind of happy to switch it up with something a bit sweeter today! (totally unrelated but if anyone has an actually good chasu recipe that works, even if it takes forever... please share.)

I'm not sure I'd want to buy anything PPT/etc.-related from someone that starts their bio with 'yo'. It just doesn't sound professional to me and if I'm looking for something like that, I'd need professionalism, right? Being friendly is great but being overly friendly can come off as 'wrong' to some people. (but yes, if this was in the right category, you'd probably get more answers.)

If a service is working for thousands of other people perfectly fine... the issue might now lay in the service. Try to look at your problem from another side. Is there something wrong with your gig? Maybe your profile needs some work? You actually seem to have fairly unique-looking gigs, so... there has to be a way to sell them, right?

Something I've noticed that people who don't write seem to be able to visualize things better in pages (though I still charge by wordcount.) So, say, if they ask for something short-ish, I'll say it'll be 1000 words, around two pages or so. Despite the fact that it's common sense to me (because of the way I format my scripts), this has saved me many times. And, to add to that, I actually prefer to break orders up - mostly because it's way easier to touch base with clients every, say, 5k words (I mostly write for games so it's a bit different but still!) As long as they pay for the first order and so on, the worst that can happen is that they decide, say, at order 3 that it's expensive for them and move to someone else. I still got to be part of a fun project, and yeah, still got paid. I'd honestly just charge them for the outline first and then go maybe, say, every 10k words or something if I were you. Just take it slow and easy.