I came across an advert on Elance from someone who is looking for a writer with classical music knowledge. Here it is unedited:
Writing Blurbs for Beethoven Sonatas
I need someone to write concise, pithy blurbs, one for each of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas. Each blurb should distinguish its sonata from all the rest. Two or three sentences, in impeccable English. These must be ORIGINAL. No plagiarizing: I will check, and I’m good at it. The copyright on these blurbs will belong to me, and while I do not mind if you credit yourself, I cannot guarantee that you will be credited wherever they are used. The blurbs will appear on the back of books as well as in website product descriptions, so SEO skills are valued—but the blurbs must not sound keyword-stuffed. Fixed price of $125 for the job, to be completed in not more than three days. I would prefer you had some musical background and knew something about Beethoven’s life and his piano sonatas, but if you’re very good at research, that’s okay too. Please apply with a quick note about why you’re qualified for this particular job. Samples of relevant previous work are appreciated. Desired Skills: Content Writing, Copywriting, English, Knowledge of Classical Music.
At $3.91 per sonata that is quite a generous offer for only 3 days work don’t you think? I especially like the caveat that “The copyright on these blurbs will belong to me [the advertiser]”
But he can’t be all bad. He does say that he would “prefer you had some musical background and knew something about Beethoven’s life and his piano sonatas…” After all, it’s not everyone who can summarize the [amazon_link id=”B000RP4LDU” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Hammerklavier[/amazon_link] in two whole sentences.
