As we near the end of summer

Summer is one of the slow times in my work. My primary work revolves around the academic year, so I have a lull in the summer and in December/January.

Image source: punsayaporn / freedigitalphotos.net

This year I had mixed feelings about getting to the lull. My workload in spring was quite heavy, and I needed the break once it finally came. At the same time, the void left by a lack of work was a bit frightening, knowing that my work is what our family relies on for survival.

Work picked up a little bit this month, and I know that the levels will return to normal soon. And eventually, I'll be looking forward to the break I get at the end of the year.

Despite the lull in work, I've tried to stay productive. I'm working on a few things that have to stay in the background for now, and this has been a good time to do some administrative work, get some elements lined up, and prepare for the fall season of work.

Each week and month that passes, I'm taking steps to move my career in the direction I want it to go. I'm closer to the career person I want to be, and I'm excited about what's coming.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying my summer lull, the extra time with the kids, and the chance to let myself rest a bit before the chaos of autumn begins.

How's your summer going?

Making a shift, making a career

Source

Some time ago, I started taking steps toward a shift in my career. While I was excited about the possibilities and knew it would be beneficial, I was not able to move forward with it at that time.

Fortunately, things have changed, and now I can!

Over the next month or two, I'll be working on getting back into doing marketing content writing again. While I'll still be doing a lot of white papers, one-sheets, and other marketing assets, I will be restructuring the work I do in order to include bigger diversity in content marketing as well as moving into a niche.

I'm not going to get into details quite yet, since there's still a lot to do in order to finalize the plan and launch the business. (Yes, it will be an actual factual business, y'all!) But as we get closer to the launch, I'll definitely be sharing it here, and might do a little (not much) plugging, especially at the beginning.

One of the reasons I'm making this change is because I've been thinking about the longevity of my career. I like what I do right now. The content I write is fun and interesting, and serves me well. But if I stick with what I currently have, I'll be stuck where I currently am. In order to continue advancing my career, I have to take this next (kind of scary) step.

So I'm giving myself a promotion.

Essentially, moving in this direction is a way of branching out, making my work more relevant to the industry, and ensuring that I can continue doing what I love.

I don't know how it's going to go, but it's happening either way. 2016 is going to be an adventurous year.

The 2015 business plan

I've been working on my 2015 business plan lately.

I'm going to be making significant changes beginning next year* (probably late spring or early summer), and the plan I'm developing is a major part of it.

In fact, I'm (sort of) developing two business plans for the year since the first portion of the year will be continuing what I'm doing now, and the second portion of the year will be a major shift.

I've never had a "real" business plan, though I've always had objectives and plans to achieve them. But with the shift in my work in 2015 (and what that change will mean from behind the scenes), it's important to have something significantly more formalized.

So I'm working on tweaking my mission statement and value proposition, doing market research, and thinking about all I'm going to need to make this change happen successfully.

I was hopeful that I'd be able to launch the change at the beginning of 2015, but because of all that's involved, later in the year works much better. I'll be able to unveil everything by the end of July.

In the meantime, there's a lot of administrative work going on in between projects for clients, and I'll have my business plan in my files by the end of next month.

Is it time for Thanksgiving break yet?






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*I'm not ready to talk about the change that's coming. Yet. But I will give you a hint: it's going back to doing some of what I loved about the office job I had before I moved back to Florida.

I once said I didn't want to be a health writer...

When I started freelance writing way back in 2008, I got a client writing health-related blog posts and newsletter articles.  It was a really good starter gig, but when I took it, I told myself I wasn't going to let myself get locked in to writing on health-related topics for my career. It wasn't something I had a passion for. It was just a starting place.

Now, as I'm looking ahead to changes in my career, my target market will be small to mid-size holistic health and wellness organizations.

I know, right?

Here's the thing. Health-related writing gave me a start. And as I started focusing more on my own health--from a holistic perspective--I developed a passion for the field. And now it's my career path.

Freelancers are told to find a niche. It helps narrow the field of potential clients, and allows writers to use their expertise to create the best quality writing they can.

When I started writing, I didn't want health-related writing to be my niche. But I used it as a foundation, and the more I wrote about it, the more passionate I became about the topics. I found myself drawn to health-related topics, even narrowing that to holistic health and wellness-related topics. Now I can't imagine writing about anything else.

I'm excited about what is coming next year as I focus on my target market in my niche. 2015 is going to be a good year, and my own health journey is going to get to be a major part of it.

On the ethicacy of ghostwriting

Image source

As a freelance writer, I do a lot of ghostwriting. I enjoy it--I don't feel the need to have a byline on the freelance work I do, and I like helping individuals and businesses give voice to their ideas and messages.

Overall, the clients I work with hire me as a ghostwriter because work is being done for them as companies, not as individuals. I see no problem with ghostwriting in that context. Much of what is seen online, after all, doesn't have a byline indicating who wrote what. That's how online writing usually works, and it is accepted as ethical in ghostwriting.

However, I know there are also sites that offer writing that is purchased by students to pass off as their own work. I know that these services have gone beyond writers creating generic "sample papers" that can be purchased and tweaked to fit assignment requirements (though those still exist, as well). There are services from which a student can order a customized, plagiarism-free essay or paper that perfectly fits the assignment requirements.

And they do.

And writers write them.

From the student side of this situation, it is totally unethical. These students are cheating when they buy these papers. They are knowingly turning in work they did not complete themselves.

However, I think from the writers' perspective, it can get a little murkier. Yes, it probably is unethical for writers to contribute to this academic cheating. That being said, I know writers who do this kind of writing because it pays their bills and there is a (high) demand for it. They do it because they're writers, and this is the kind of work they can do. And besides, no one is forcing these students to buy their assignments.

I know this is a contentious issue.

There are those who say that if the services didn't exist, the students wouldn't buy the papers. Perhaps they wouldn't buy their papers from services, but I can't tell you how many of my fellow students offered me money to write their papers for them while I was in college. If they don't want to do the work, they will find a way out of it.

And while teachers and professors use services like Turnitin to check for plagiarism, customized papers like these pass easily. But they can still be detected by professors who pay attention. For example, if you have a student in class who rarely (if ever) participates and doesn't seem to really know what's going on and then turns in a highly-researched and cohesive paper on a complex topic with vocabulary beyond the student, it's a red flag. But in schools where participation is minimal anyway, class sizes are large, and professors do not do all of their grading.... You get the idea.

So what are your thoughts? Where does the fault lie in these kinds of situations? Yes, the students are at fault for purchasing the work, but are the writers at fault, too? And should it be taken further? For example, as an atheist, should it be considered unethical for me to do ghostwriting that centers around Christian themes or topics? Is this a black and white issue?






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*And much better than group work.

It's not all long lunches and trips to the park

Photo source

One of the reasons I love working from home* is the flexibility that comes with it. Not only do I get to plan my schedule around the kids' schedule, but I have the ability to work lots of extra hours when the munchkins are with Monty. I like that I can take breaks from work for walks in the afternoons or take a morning off to make robot costumes.**

But it's hard, too. Lately, work has been a bit intense (in a good way), and with Puck out of school for the summer, it seems that there's not enough time in the day to get through my task list each day. As it is, I take two days off a month (the first and fifteenth of each month, as long as I don't have any deadlines those days), and the rest of my time off is stolen here and there throughout the days.

One of the challenges I'm facing lately is balancing work with having Puck at home in the afternoons. When he was in pre-K, I had a couple of hours each afternoon to work. Tink was home, but she napped or played independently, giving me largely uninterrupted time to work. Now that Puck is home all day every day, things are a little different. Playing independently is punctuated with toys snatched from each other, pulled hair, and "I'm gonna tell Mama!" screamed from the play room. The blocks of time I have to work are much more fragmented when the munchkins are awake, so I've had to adjust my schedule.

Lately I find I'm much more productive in the morning and at night. I get some work done before the kids get up, while they're eating breakfast, and when they begin to play in the mornings. They're still waking up and excited about the day. Then, when they go to bed, I can work until my body tells me to stop and I go to bed.

I'm glad to be able to adjust my schedule like this, but it can be hard to maintain the balance, too. There are days when it seems my time is consumed by revisions and clients, and other days when it seems I've barely spent any time at my desk at all.

I tell myself it balances out, not only during the days when the munchkins are with me, but because I can play catch up when they're with Monty. And that self-proclaimed balance is what keeps me going.

I know in my heart that I can't imagine doing anything else. I love my job, and I adore the clients I work with, especially right now. It's been hard lately, making time for everything, but at the end of the day (even if that comes at one in the morning), I look forward to getting up and doing it all over again.

My life is not all long lunches and trips to the park, but some days are. And that makes it worth it.






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*I know some parents work outside the home and love it. Some parents work outside the home and feel guilty. Some parents work inside the home and hate it. This post is in no way making judgments of other parenting situations. When it comes to our kids, we do what we have to do. I am lucky enough to be in a situation I love and that works for my family. That's all. No judgment here.

**We did make robot costumes this week, actually. It was fun.

A Life in Literature

I have a literary career. I went to school to become a writer, and I'm working as a writer.

In addition to writing the collection, I have a day job as a freelance writer. The clients I have vary (sometimes wildly), but the majority of my current work is in the educational/academic field.

The work I do in academic and educational writings keeps me securely in the literary world. I spend a lot of time reading up on literary theory, cracking open my old college textbooks (I've gotten so much use out of my Norton Anthologies....), and studying the relationship between reader and author. At times I feel like I'm still taking college classes, and at other times I feel like I should be teaching classes.

Still, I love my literary life. I love having books around and having a career focused on the things I loved so much in college. I love exploring books I read and loved with a new perspective that adds depth to re-readings.

I love my job.

I'm finding that being surrounded by such quality writing for work has made me a bit pickier in other areas of my life. For example, I've been watching vastly less TV than I used to (not having a TV helps with that, of course). When I do watch something, I find myself turning to shows that have depth to them. I can't watch mindless shows anymore.* I want to be as entertained in watching TV as I am when I read for work. And you just can't follow Pride and Prejudice with The Bachelor. It just doesn't work. When I need something I don't have to think about, I watch shows and movies I've seen many times so I don't really have to pay attention to them. And I'd much rather be reading.

A life in literature changes you for the better.






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*There are a few exceptions.

Sometimes there's always more work to be done.

Not my calendar, but eerily similar.

I've been working (on and off--mostly on) as a freelance writer since 2008. Since July 2013, I've gone back to freelancing full-time, which I really and truly love.

But freelancing can be hard. My career is only limited by the amount of time I put into the work. The more I work, the more income I bring in. The more clients I can get, the stronger my portfolio.

But being self-employed, it's not just about writing and invoicing. Essentially, I treat my freelancing as a business in which I do everything for the business myself. Anything that needs to be done for my career, from invoicing and taxes to blog posts and networking, is all done by me.

My work is never done. Even when I've finished for the day, there are a list of things on my list to do tomorrow, or that have to be done by the end of the week, or are in the works for later on this month. There's always something I can be doing for work. That's good because there's always something I can do when it's time to work. But it's bad because when it's time to close the office for the day, there are still things I could be doing.

It's sometimes hard to walk away from the office.

I'll be working from out of town next week, and I'm taking the opportunity to relax a little, as well. Some of it will be forced (travel days). I think it will be good to step away from the office just a little and catch my breath before jumping back in when I get home.

And I will jump back in because sometimes there's always more work to be done.

Work flexibility is not always a good thing. Mostly, but not always.

This morning I was talking to a fellow freelance writer I know who told me that she took Columbus Day off. She closed her office on Monday and didn't work. She said she just needed some time away from the screen.

One of the great things about being a freelancer is the ability to work whenever, wherever you want (or need) to. You can work on the road, in the middle of the night, early in the morning, weekends, whatever you need to do to make it happen.

I love the flexibility because I have two munchkins at home. The flexibility I have means I can work when they're gone or sleeping, and when they're awake and with me, my time and energy is devoted to them. It's wonderful.

However, there is a flip side. (There always is, isn't there?) When the kids are gone, it can be hard to tear myself away from work for a break. I often eat lunch at my desk, work late into the night, and work through weekends when I don't have the munchkins. It can be very productive, but I know that it's also important to take breaks once in a while, even when I don't have Puck and Tink around.

Everybody needs time away from work. We need to focus our brains on other things and recharge before jumping back into work.

I've been working hard lately. I've had a lot of projects going on (a lot of them with close deadlines), so it's been hard for me to justify taking real time off. Sure, I'm not actually working when I have the kids, but as soon as they go to bed, I'm trying to move projects forward and gets stuff done so that I don't have to when they wake up the next morning. It's been good because I've gotten a lot done. But I know I need to make sure I take time for myself, too. I need to step away from work when I can and do other things. Or, better yet, nothing at all.

I'm planning on taking a little time off at the end of November to go up north and visit family and friends. It will be a much-needed trip, and a good chance for me to take a real break from writing and marketing and projects and paperwork to just spend time with family. I'm really looking forward to it, actually. A vacation.

It will be wonderful.

Closing up shop....

Today is my last official day as a full-time freelance writer. Monday will be my first day at my shiny new job. (Squee!)

It's a strange feeling to know that on Monday I won't be a freelancer anymore. I'll still be freelancing for a little while; I have some projects to finish up before I'm completely done, but those will be on the side, and my primary focus will be on my new position as a Marketing Communications Writer. It's been strange closing out the freelance side of my life. I've been freelancing since 2008, and now I won't be anymore. I have to change my mindset quite a bit. Not only do I not have to allocate part of my time to seeking clients and work, but I'll get my weekends back. I liked having a flexible schedule as a freelance writer, but I'm looking forward to the structure of my new job. I know that when I get home, I can be fully at home and give my full attention to the kids. (And if that isn't enough, I'll have free time to dedicate to the coffee house book!)

I'm not fully sure what to expect yet. I have an idea of my responsibilities, of course. I know what a copy writer in a marketing department does. But this is a new field for me. Starting Monday, I work for a company that creates software for the heavy duty trucking industry. I know a little bit about software and technology, but the trucking industry is new to me.

The good news, though, is that I'm in the marketing department. I can do marketing writing. I've done it before. In fact, my new job description is very similar to the job description I had when I was working at my alma mater. I liked that job quite a lot, and I'm looking forward to flexing some of those writing muscles again.

I still have lots to do before Monday, but I'm ready. It's time to bid farewell to the freelancing adventure and start a new one.

Turning a corner....

HAPPY DANCE!

My career is turning a big corner this month. It's something that's been (sort of) in the works since May, and now it's finally culminated into an amazing opportunity for my career.

While I have not signed my employment contract yet, I have accepted the offer of a full-time marketing writing position with a company in central Illinois. My first day is August 6 (Puck's birthday).

I didn't say too much about the position during the application and interview process. A big part of it is that I didn't want to jinx it. But now that I have the position, I feel like I can say (a little) more.

I found the position accidentally. I was looking online for some freelance work and happened upon this. I was intrigued by the job description, which seemed perfect for my education and experience, so I decided it wouldn't hurt anything to apply.

The more I heard about the position as I went through the interview process, the more excited I got about it. It wasn't at all what I originally thought, but better. I know this may sound cheesy, but this position is what I went to school to do. This is the kind of position I envisioned myself in when I imagined my perfect job. I would be happy retiring from this company in forty years.

There are a lot of benefits to working for this company. It's a full-time salary position with benefits, after my two-week training period I'll only need to be in the office twice a week (usually), and the company is located in a nice community.

I know that no job is perfect. I know there will be difficult days. But I feel so incredibly blessed to be offered this position, and to be able to build a career on my passion for writing. I can't wait for my first day in the office (speaking of which, I'll have my own office--yay!), and to get going with some of these projects that will be on my task list.

This year has been difficult for me so far, and now I finally feel like things have turned a corner. I'm ecstatic about this position. I just can't stop happy-dancing.

Why it's important to stretch yourself....

I love being a writer. Really really. And while I have spent the last four years as a full time freelance writer, I'm exploring an amazing opportunity that would shift my career in a different (and awesome) direction.

It's different from what I've been doing, but it's something I have experience with. It really is a wonderful career opportunity, and it's the kind of thing that I've been working toward for the past four years. So depending on what happens this and next week, I could very well be headed in a new, amazing career direction, and I couldn't be happier.

So all that was a prelude to the point of this post: it's important to stretch yourself.

When I started out in freelancing, I took a wide variety of work. My first client was in the health/nutrition realm, but after that I found myself writing in the education field (which I still actively do). But I've also written how-to articles on DIY, recycling, and home improvement projects. I've written articles about mixed martial arts gear. As I gained experience and confidence, I sort of honed in on areas of clients, which led me to writing about a lot of health/nutrition/fitness (especially holistic health) and education topics. I enjoy them, and am confident enough in those areas to write more quickly than in other areas. But I have still always tried to push myself to write in areas I'm slightly less comfortable to expand my knowledge base and skills. It sort of keeps me on my toes.

I really believe that because I stepped outside of my comfort zone in some of my writing projects, I set myself up perfectly for this possible career opportunity.

When you push yourself as a writer, you show clients you can and want to take on new challenges. If you have a client that likes your writing skills and style, but you have no experience in the field, showing that you continue to stretch and push could be what convinces the client that you can, in fact, do what they need you to do in order to provide the best writing possible.

It's a good thing to have a niche. You need an area in which you're comfortable writing and can showcase your expertise. But neither should you let a niche become a rut. Staying in that niche can become a comfort zone. And if you're not willing to step out of it, you could lose out on some wonderful opportunities and relationships with great clients.

Great things can happen when you step outside your comfort zone and try something new. And it could propel your writing career in a different direction, but that direction could be just what your career needs.

Why I create stories

As a freelance writer, I have worked on some very...interesting projects. I proofread and formatted a self-help e-book, I wrote articles about mixed martial clothing, and I've created lesson plans for novels.

This is the first time I've written a screenplay for a client.

Someone (we'll call him Nathan Lane*) contacted me and asked if I was interested in doing a screenplay. We both gathered a little basic information from each other (Me: What's the project? Him: What are your credentials? Me: Are you just a creeper?), then met for an initial meeting. He told me about the project and the work he does (which ties into the project), and I told him about my freelance experience. We talked legal details, and after the meeting, I was excited about the prospect of working on this project with him.

Setting aside the fact that this project is awesome because it's a screenplay, the specific story that's being told (as well as the broader scope of the subject of the film) is something that's important. This story, and many more like it, need to be told. So part of my excitement about working on the film is the prospect of getting to be a part of telling this story.

Okay. Getting back to the technical writing-y stuff.

I am somewhat familiar with screenplay-type stuff. I took a screenwriting class in college, and still have the texts used for it. ScriptFrenzy's site also has good resources. So I figured it would be best for me to sort of brush up on screenplay formatting in preparation for this project.

So as I leafed through my book, reminding myself of how to structure this story within the framework of putting it on film, I had a sort of mini-revelation. It wasn't an epiphany because it's something I know in my heart, but it was significant enough that it led me to stop leafing and write a blog post about it.

By trade, I am currently a freelance writer.† The vast majority of what I create for work is non-fiction. I do articles, blog posts, press releases, educational materials.... but at the end of the day, my heart is in crafting stories.

That's not to say I don't like freelancing. I really love it, actually. But if I had to choose between freelancing or fiction, I'd choose fiction.

I think this project with N.L. (see how I shortened it?) is going to be good for me. It'll flex my creative muscles a little more, and I'll have the opportunity to work in a more creative circle for a while. Yes, I can do that by working on the coffee house book, but this will be different. Maybe it'll help tighten up some dialogue in my other creative ventures.

Usually I like to sort of conclude my blog posts by trying to bring it full circle, or adding a sweet little conclusion, but since this post arose out of a spontaneous thought, I'm not sure how to wrap it up. So I'll just say..... happy writing.

Good enough.














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*This man is the film's producer, so his code name is Nathan Lane who, of course, was in The Producers. I'm very creative, you know.

† I say "currently" because while I do make my living as a freelance writer, I know that if the write opportunity presented itself in a more traditional job, I would take it.

Keeping track of projects

As a freelance writer, it's important to keep track of projects, especially if you have many "small" clients. I've tried different methods for keeping track of my projects from week to week (even day to day).

For a while, I was using spreadsheets to keep track of what projects were active, what phase of the project I was on, and when it was due. It was fine, but if I forgot to update the spreadsheets, things got jumbled and frustrating. So I abandoned that.

I've found what works for me is task lists and calendars, just as it works in my personal life. As soon as I get a project, I write the deadline on my calendar. Then, when I use my calendar to make my task list each week, I can see what deadlines are coming so I know what I need to work on and when. I have one task list that mixes home and work life, but since I work from home and those two aspects of my life are so interrelated, it makes more sense to me to list it that way. In addition, any meetings or appointments I have get written in the top margin of the task list page. As the week goes on, I add to the task lists, amend them, move things around, and generally make a mess of the pages. But it makes sense to me, and they help me get things done.

In addition to having my task lists, which I keep on my desk, I use my calendar for appointments, meetings, and deadlines. If there's a particularly important task I need to get done (email a sample to a client or call to move an appointment), I write those tasks on my calendar, as well. Once I have my weekly task list, I use my calendar to divide it into daily task lists. My planner has monthly and weekly pages, so I use the daily spaces on the weekly pages for  my daily task lists. It gets just as messy as my weekly task list pages, but having everything in my calendar helps me see what's going on and what's coming.

I've tried using digital calendars and organizers. I have a BlackBerry, and I've tried using a combination of the calendar and task list apps that came with it to keep myself organized, and know that I'd always have it with me. But I'm the type of person that has to write things down or I'll forget them. So as much as I'd like to use spreadsheets or something else to keep track of my projects, I just can't. I've tried, and it doesn't work for me. It's more important for me to find a system that works for me than to use something that's technologically advanced or whatever. So I'll stick to paper and ink, and help contribute to the materials used to make recycled paper products.

How do you keep track of your projects?

Sometimes little fish are good, too.

I've been busy lately, as you can tell from my inconsistent posting. Sorry about that. But things are normalizing a bit, so I'm hoping to post more consistently now. (And I'll be posting quite a bit more in June.)

I do want to talk to you about freelance clients a bit. Freelance writing is how I make my living, and I rely on my ability to land contracts with clients in order to continue to have work. It can be difficult sometimes (there are slow periods), but overall I'm happy with my freelance career.

That said, I think it's important for freelancers to know that you don't have to always focus on "big" clients to be a successful writer. Sure, the big clients are fun, the big projects can be great, but sometimes the big clients are just one big project and then they're done.

I always try to have a few "little" clients in my active list. These are clients whose projects don't take a lot of time. They may not pay as well as big clients, but I can do the work quickly between bigger things, or if I have a spare few minutes will Puck and Tink are eating lunch. I like these clients. Not only are they good for quick writing here and there, but I have had several "little" clients who have turned into ongoing clients. They may not always have work for me, and the work they have may be small, but having repeating clients is a very good thing for freelance writers.

I have one client in particular who has work for me every now and then. His company has a few websites and I've written most of the content for the sites. When he has work for me, it's usually a week or two's worth, and I've gone months without hearing from him, but when he needs content, he always comes to me. He knows I can give him the content he needs when he needs it. If I'd skipped that first project because this client was too small, I'd have missed out on a lot of work over the past year or so.

The biggest thing is to figure out if the project is worth your time in the moment. If a small client wants some work done, can you fit it in between other projects? If you can, and it meets your personal income requirements for time spent on it, there's no reason not to take the client. You never know what will happen with a smaller client later on.

Freelance specialization

One of the many pieces of advice that veterans have for new freelance writers is to specialize what they do.

When you first start out, you may find yourself casting a wide net, willing to write just about anything someone will pay you for. That's how I started out. I was writing for pennies on topics ranging from diets and fitness to Halloween costumes to mixed martial arts gear. It's how you build a portfolio and gain experience in freelance writing.

As you write, though, you may find yourself drawn to a particular area of writing. For example, I found myself writing a lot of health/fitness/natural living articles, as well as a lot of education articles. My background working in education gave me a good foundation for education articles, and with my mother working as a nurse, I knew enough about health/fitness to break into the topic, and built on the initial articles to write more.

Though I still write a lot of different things, depending on what clients need, I tend to stick to health/fitness articles (which includes nutrition, the field of health care, exercise, natural living, etc.) and education articles. These are the two areas I have the most experience in, and can write them pretty quickly with minimal research (depending on the specs, of course).

By specializing, I've been able to strengthen my portfolio. I focus on these two areas, so when a client comes up and asks for samples, I have recent pieces ready to send. I won't say I'm an authority in those areas, but I'm confident enough in them that I can tell clients that there's no problem writing about virtually anything that falls under those umbrella topics. (In fact, I have one client that asked me to do a project that consisted of many topics covering nursing education--it was the best of both worlds!)

Specialization does not limit your writing. Sure, you may find yourself passing on projects because they aren't your niche, but it means that as you grow and strengthen your skills, you can command a higher rate for the work you do. Instead of settling for a lower rate of pay and casting a wider net, you can focus in on the "big fish" in your topic areas. In addition, writing what you know or are comfortable with is more cost-effective. If I have to write about a topic I know nothing about, I'm going to spend more time doing research, which means the article takes longer, and I'm getting paid less per hour. If I stick to the areas I'm comfortable with and know well, I can write faster and be earning more for the same amount of time.

If you haven't specialized, you should consider it. Think about what you like to write, what you're good at writing, what you know a lot about. Think about what you did in your life before writing. This can help you narrow down your writing and strengthen your skills.

Wrapping up the office for 2011

Photo source:
nuttakit / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

If there's anything I love it's paperwork. (end sarcasm)

Unfortunately, paperwork is necessary even in a paperless office. Of course, by paperwork, I mean all those little administrative things that need to be done like invoicing and updating records and organizing (digital) files. And the next few weeks I'll have to spend some extra time going through all that paperwork-y stuff. It's getting to the end of the year, and I have to close out the office for 2011 and get it ready for 2012. There's not too much more I have to do, but since I'm spreading it out to give myself time to, yanno, do freelance writing, it will take the next few weeks to get done.

This year, I'm also taking the time to write a business plan for 2012. In the past I only had small business plans (more like a list of goals) because while I was technically a full time writer, I was only spending about half my work day doing freelance work. The rest of my time was divided between mommyhood and fiction. This year, though, I hope to grow my freelance career, and the best way to make sure I do that the right way is to have a specific, written business plan that I can turn to as the year goes.

Even if you're not incorporated or doing freelance writing once in a while for extra cash, a business plan is a good idea. It will help keep you accountable to yourself and give you a direction for your career. Having a business plan will help remind me that what I do is, in fact, business, and will help keep me on track for my earning goals throughout the year so I can make sure my son has all the "fruit snackehs" he can eat.

Do you have a business plan? Why or why not? How did you develop it?

Do what you love vs. love what you do

In 2008 I had the unique pleasure of declaring myself a full-time freelance writer. And I haven't looked back. I love what I do.

Even so, there are difficult days doing what I love. There are difficult projects, snarky (potential) clients, and long days of figuring things out. Not to mention no paid time off, getting health insurance on my own, and sometimes patching income together to make it all work. And there are days when I take on a project or a client I'm not wild about because it has good potential or provides steady work.

And still, when I'm slogging through a less-than-exciting project, I remind myself that even on the difficult days, I'm doing what I love. That's what it's about, isn't it? Perspective?

Yes, it's wonderful to be able to do what you love, particularly as a career. However, it's just as important to love what you do, wherever you are in your life and career.

There are likely to be jobs you don't like, both in and out of your field of study. And when you're faced with a less-than-pleasant job, you have to make the most of your position. If you don't do what you love, find a way to love what you do. Do what you can to make every moment of the job your own and enjoy it the best you can.

And you may just find that, after a while, you'll love what you do, and if you aren't already, you'll be doing what you love!

Vacation-ready office

[ETA: I'll be leaving tomorrow (Wednesday) morning instead. A family member is in the hospital, so I need to move my vacation up a few days.]

On Saturday morning (very early), Bean, Bunny and I will load up in the car and drive about 20 hours to visit my family in Illinois.

This week, in addition to getting my house ready to be a quasi-bachelor pad for a few weeks (Hubby is staying home) and packing, I'm getting ready to work from the road.

Since my office is paperless, and all my work is online articles/posts right now, it's pretty easy to pack up my office for vacation. In fact, all I'll have to do is put my laptop, calendar, notebook and a couple of books in my bag and it'll be ready.

I have to make sure I won't have any deadlines on my driving days this weekend, but other than that, the work itself is ready.

I will be letting my clients know I'm working from the road, though. I'll still be working while I'm on vacation, but I want them to know I'll technically be out of my office, and unreachable during the days I'll be driving.

I wish I could leave my work behind for the few weeks I'll be gone, but I'm just thankful I get to go at all, so I'll gladly make it a working vacation.

What do you do in the office to get ready for vacation?

What it means to be a WAHM

My bosses

I am a full time freelance writer. I am also a work-at-home mom (WAHM).

In many ways, my life as a writer and my life as a mom blend together seamlessly. In other ways, I find myself wondering if my children are sacrificing for my career, or if my career is sacrificing for my children.

I think sometimes people think WAHMs have it "easy." After all, they get to work from home, they get to play with their kid(s) all day, and they get to do it all in their pajamas with Days of Our Lives playing during nap time. Right?

Well, not so much.

In order for me to be successful as a WAHM (which means success as a writer and as a mom), I've had to approach my day very differently than a SAHM (stay-at-home mom) or a WOHM (work-outside-the-home mom) does. The biggest difference is in my daily schedule.

I have a very detailed daily schedule. In fact, according to my schedule I have very little down time. In practice, there's more down time than it appears, but I've padded the tasks I have to do each day to allow for distractions or side-tracking caused by "my bosses" (see photo above). If I don't have a very structured schedule, it's too easy for me to not get things done because I figure I can do them later. As it is, I can look at my schedule and simply do what it says to do during a certain time slot and know that, by the end of the day, I'll have gotten through the things I needed to do.

I also get up earlier than the rest of my family. My husband gets up around 7:15 every morning to get ready for work during the week. Bean is up between 9:30 and 10:00 every morning. (Bunny kind of does her own thing.) I get up at 5:00 a.m. every morning (including weekends) and get ready for the day, then spend time working until everyone else gets up. Having that extra time is what I need to get my day going on my terms so I can have a good day once the kids are up.

Though this is one thing I'm still working on, being highly organized is also key to being a successful WAHM. Not only do I have to stay organized to stay on top of deadlines and in contact with clients, but I have to stay organized to stay on top of my home responsibilities. I have lists and a calendar and I write everything down so I don't forget anything.

The biggest thing, which I know I've mentioned many times, is balance. When you work from home, you can't work all the time, and you can't let yourself get distracted so that you don't get anything done.

It's not easy, but I have to tell you that making it work is definitely worth it to get to spend so much time with my kids, and to get paid to do what I love so much.