How i converted a fiverr writer to join our community on Steemit

I interviewed a fiverr writer (Silviu Mirica) and i myself was curious to find out what he thought of the service and i wanted to weight it against Steemit. But my real goal was to draw someone with his talent to our community here on Steemit.

me: Silviu what do you think of Steemit?

Silviu: i never hear of it.

me: first tell me about Fiverr and how you discovered it and then i'll tell you about Steemit.

Silviu: okay sure,

I am not a native English speaker even though now I mainly write in English. And

living in the continental Europe, I had to learn this language in school. I loved for

some reason, beyond its practical reasons (getting a good job etc.), so I learned

mainly by myself because our school system fucked up for so many reasons.

Right now I write books, novels, short stories, press releases, academic papers,

school assignments, you name it…and I can do this because I have a broad

knowledge background. I was always a learner and I had this strange curiosity, I

wanted to know it all…and if the devil would come to me right now to grant me a

wish for my soul…I wouldn’t ask for money or women, or whatever else people

might think of…but universal knowledge, I am just fascinated of knowing things.

To come back to Fiverr and my entrepreneurial adventure, I never thought I would

become a writer, there was this crave deep down in my soul, but I never thought it

would come true. I was fearful and sometimes scared by the things I saw around

me, with all the poverty and lack of opportunity here in my country…these things

can be a bit discouraging sometimes.

Anyways, after finishing highs cool, I had to choose a faculty…and while

everyone was choosing technical stuff like architecture, programming and

engineering…I was there alone scratching my head wondering ‘where the hell do I

belong?”

People kept bugging me “You need to make money” “You are a man, you have to

have a family”. I must admit these things were quite annoying and can break your

concentration most of the times, but I kept my focus and chose to go to language

studies and creative writing. I was like “Fuck it, it’s now or never” and I got

mocked up for my choice because most people ended up as teacher from that

faculty…but I wasn’t ‘most people’ and I was quite aware of that.

I put their laughs behind and went on with my plan, I got nothing to lose right?

Well, I actually lost my health in my first year and almost gave up university. I was

lost and fed up with everything and everyone, and the one responsible with my

state of mind, was the pain I was feeling 24/7.

After long nights of reflection I decided to go on with school no matter how hard it

was going to be for me, but something had changed now…I didn’t care anymore!

Don’t get me wrong, I say this in a positive manner because now I would say and

do whatever I wanted and felt with no restraints and no fear, and I did this because

in my mind it couldn’t be worse right?

Somehow this served me well, because I was letting out my wildest and craziest

ideas, something my class mates were afraid to do. That was the moment when I

had thrown my ‘writer’s block’ through the window and didn’t look to see if it had

cracked open upon falling or not. From that moment on I was free, in pain but free

of all the self created fears and doubts about my work and my ideas, and my creed

was…if they don’t like the way I think, well, they can go fuck themselves!!

With all the sickness that had befallen on me, I was happy to a certain extent and I

tried to put behind me all the pain and suffering. One of the reasons I had a smile

on my face was because I was one of the guys in a classroom filled with 40 girls

and we have a lot of beauties down here. The fact that I had a lot of girls ‘around’

me inspired me and this is the place where I realized, I really had to do something

with my potential. During boring classes I was writing poems for them and

sometimes I was even doing ‘homework’ for cash…which was also creative

writing.

Writing love poems for girls was the best part though and I enjoyed seeing the

emotion on their face…I felt special for being able to stir people’s hearts in such a

way, with just a couple of words written on a small mussy piece of paper.

While I was doing this for fun, it was clear that my calling was reaching out to me,

all I had to do was to grab its hand and fly…but things are not always that simple.

I got my bachelor’s degree after 3 years of studying all kinds of writing, but for me

it wasn’t that intriguing to study the writings of others, but rather to do it myself.

Still, after three years I wasn’t sure I knew it all, so I got in a Masters Program

where I thought I would have the opportunity to find out even more interesting

things. I come from a single parent family, and my mom is quite old and sick, and

since I had grown up I needed to find a job and make my own money to support

myself.

She had done enough for me, and I will always love and respect her for it, but now

it was my turn, so I started looking for jobs. As I already said, I have a free spirit

and an iron will, and I will never accept injustice or submissive behavior just for

the sake of a few bucks. I went to quite a lot of interviews, but I never really felt

like I could do that “Yes Boss” thing, you know…to be treated like a slave and do

things that were less than me.

I kept hearing the same, you’re young and inexperienced and you need to take the

minimum wage, and whatever job you can land… but I was like “Bullshit!”. I did

not want to believe that I had to take a shitty job, thus live a shitty live after 17

years of school where I busted my ass to really learn something…I just couldn’t

accept that; so I started looking for my luck in the world.

While others had relatives who ‘helped’ them get a job in a warm place, hired by

the state…you know those folks who have it easier than you just because they

know somebody you don’t…I didn’t know anybody, I had nobody…ohh except

myself and my brain (my potential).

One morning I thought I should look for something online, since I was studying for

my MA, I thought I should give it a try even if this was quite a ‘wild terrain’ for

me. I didn’t know much about it, but I have heard about the scams that lurked

beyond every corner, still this didn’t prevent me from trying my luck online. I had

a few failures at first with surveys websites and other stuff that paid me like $20 a

month…even a dog would starve with that.

I didn’t give up hope, no way!! I always had thins believe that God had his hand on

me and the fact that I succeeded where most people didn’t, made me think this was

for real…I don’t know exactly who or what pushed me forward every time it

looked like there was no point in it; maybe it was my stubbornness or ambition, the

thing is I did it every time one way or another.

Fiverr came into my life in the middle of my first year of my MA, and after so

many failed attempts I didn’t take it too seriously and I didn’t put too much hope in

it. When I asked my friend George about what’s new… he told me about Fiverr,

and how he had heard about it from a friend who wasn’t really making that much

money…

I closed my eyes and typed the address in my browser, looking curiously to see

what all was about. At first Fiverr looked like a monster who was just waiting to

scare me and…it worked for a little bit of time. With the help of my friend I

managed to create an account where I placed a nickname my friends used to call

me…’silvinyo’, and this because I didn’t take it too seriously.

Fiverr was at the beginning back then, I mean it was bit simpler than it is now and

there weren’t so many people aware of its existence. The concept was great for me

because they were going to charge you only if you made money and only a small

percent. There were so many options to choose from and this was a bit confusing

because I knew a bit of Photoshop and also to speak French and English as non

native languages and many other things.

As I didn’t know what start with, I tried with pictures but this didn’t work for me

as I didn’t really enjoy it that much. I worked out my profile pictures and some

other little things, but writing was in my blood, and I knew it…but again, that fear

had come back to haunt me “What if I’m not good enough?”

This question kept bugging me until one day when I decided to create my first

writing gig…and it took me a whole freaking day!! Imagine that I wanted it to be

perfect and looked over other people’s profiles to ‘learn’ about their success and

how they did it…I didn’t copy anything since with writing, to plagiarize is

basically a crime…but I learned a thing or two and tried to apply it to my cause.

I didn’t have any expertise…I mean ‘professional expertise’ and I couldn’t prove to

anyone that I was certified at what I was doing, but I didn’t give up my hope. They

say the hardest thing in this world is to work with people directly and I kinda agree

with it, especially as a newbie. People have their own expectations and sometimes

they don’t know exactly how to put it, and here your expertise come in to untie

their tongues…and at first I didn’t really have any…

As with any market, newbies are looked at with suspicion by the buyers, and this is

something natural because people are more comfortable with things and people

they already know…or with people whit a certain expertise/ name. waiting for my

first messages was like waiting for rain in the Sahara…I cannot really describe the

excitement and fear at the same time with the proper words; it’s something only a

man’s heart can feel you know.

I was starting my own business and I didn’t even realize it was happening, and then

when I managed to land the first job it was like heaven on earth for me. It wasn’t

something huge, just $15, but this didn’t really matter for me. The fact that

someone trusted me with their story; a complete stranger…was something purely

amazing for me!!

Where I live…well it’s a rural area and people don’t really understand the concept

of ‘working from home’ and the level of education is simply down the basement

somewhere. So, with the first couple of months a bit tight, I started working hard

and applying for jobs myself, I updated my gigs every time something new

appeared and I learned new stuff meantime to increase my rates of success.

One after another I managed in less than one year to become a top rated seller,

something that I am very proud of. Now I was independent and managed to take

care of my school by myself, plus I was helping my mother at the same time…it

was like a dream come true for me. I enjoyed earning my own money, but what I

enjoyed the most was the freedom this kind of job gave and the opportunity to

wake up every single morning without having to curse everything for having to

work for someone else…maybe someone I despised.

With my old poor background in contrast with my current success, people started

gossiping I was counterfeiting money, or that I was part of the mafia…which really

amuses me. Seeing the ignorance of people reminds me of my hard work and the

years of constant hoping that one day the sun was going to shine on my street too.

Fiverr came like a blessing for me and I am thankful every day for thins

opportunity. The thing is you don’t find too many people who enjoy their work,

you know people who don’t really feel the work itself or don’t see it as work. The

fact that I can do what I like and earn a decent living at the same time, means the

world to me, and I wouldn’t have it other way. As a matter of the fact that I got to

work in this manner made me yearn to become a better person, a better writer if

you will.

I heard people saying that ‘you got it the easiest’, but I do not agree even if the

benefits are clear as the light of day. There are great responsibilities when being

both your boss and your employee at the same time. You have to find your own

motivation, set your targets and find the best way to convey your efforts into a

product that people find it worth paying for.

It’s been two years since I joined Fiverr community and I can say it has changed

my life in ways I can’t describe; it simply fulfilled my dream of becoming a writer

and even if I am not published yet and I just write for other, I know deep down that

one day, people will hear my voice and know it’s coming from me, I just feel it!

Even now, the thought that I can help people with my ideas and my effort means

the world to me and it pushes me to aspire for even more. Right now I am in love

with Fiverr and with what I do.

Regards, Silviu Mirica

me: Silviu, now let me tell you about Steemit.com and how I believe the community from there would appreciate someone with your talent and your writing.