A few days ago, I posted about gas prices and freelance writers. Of course, while rising gas prices do affect many of us, they don't as much as, say, someone who commutes an hour in each direction every day. Even if rising fuel prices impact us in other areas, we are lucky to be able to do our work from home.

Michael and I have often talked about whether fuel prices will lead to telecommuting as a standard for office-type jobs. Judging by this story on NPR, it seems the answer is yes — many companies are already trending toward telecommuting, or at least toward a condensed workweek. For these companies, breaking with tradition is preferable to losing valuable, experienced employees because they can no longer afford their commute.

The other thing that is happening is that people are looking for work closer to home. This is something Michael and I have talked about too — how we're either going to have to develop a better public transit system in this country, or go back to a structure where people live in small, self-sustaining communities and have everything they need within walking (or biking) distance. The latter is really a return to the way things were 100 or more years ago, which I find interesting. Our gas-guzzling way of life just wasn't sustainable over the long term.

Labels: freelancing

Today was an awesomely productive day!

Do you ever have those days where everything just clicks — you work so quickly that you feel like your fingers are on fire? Today was one of those days for me. Even with the long break I took to treat my dad to a late Father's Day brunch, and even with a walk up to the post office to mail my quarterly estimated tax payment, I still got a ton of stuff done.

It probably sounds a little corny, but I knew when I got up this morning that something was different. Michael woke me up around 7:20 to walk the dogs with him — a habit from last summer that we're trying to get back into. Rather than feeling exceptionally tired, I actually felt well-rested and energetic. After we got back from our walk, I pounded out several client blog posts before going out to brunch with my dad.

When we got back from brunch, I felt a little tired, but resisting the urge to take a nap I took a hot bath instead. Rather than making me feel more sleepy, it revived me, and I went back to work for the rest of the afternoon, taking a break only to walk up to the post office and back (an errand that only took 30 minutes).

It was a day when everything went right — and technically I'm not done yet, since I plan to work on a few more projects this evening. This sudden productivity is a huge change for me, as for the last few months I've really been dragging. But this week, for the first time in ages, I'm starting off the week ahead instead of behind!

Labels: freelancing

One common theme I see on freelance writers' blogs and discussion boards is the problem of being distracted by email. Many writers cite checking email too frequently as being one of their main vices.

And yes, before you ask, I have an email problem, too. I have my Outlook set up to download email every five minutes, which can make for a lot of interruptions.

I think a lot of us consider this a freelance problem, but it seems that it's not: Some major tech firms are discussing ways to discourage email and increase productivity in their employees.

I don't agree with trying to eliminate email entirely one day of the week (one of Intel's experiments), but Google's Email Addict sounds like a nice way to remind yourself to get back to work.

Do you have a problem with obsessively checking email, and what techniques do you use to keep yourself on task?

Labels: freelancing

I just recently read and reviewed Entrepreneur Press and George Sheldon's Start Your Own Freelance Writing Business and More. I found the book's hardline approach against pay-on-publication markets quite interesting. The author writes:

These publications can hold your work for years. You may never be paid... Pay on publication is a scheme in which publishers are stealing from you. They are keeping you from eating or paying your bills. You cannot sell the piece elsewhere while they are holding it, especially if they bought First North American Serial Rights.

Interestingly, I have seen markets recently that are even worse than pay-on-publication: They state that they pay within 4-6 months of publication. Can you imagine seeing your piece in print, and then waiting another half a year to get paid for it? With a 6-18 month lead time that most publishers fall into, this could mean that you could be getting paid fully two years after doing the work!

That rant aside, I actually don't advise that writers avoid these markets entirely. Most magazines pay on publication, so eliminating these markets means that you are giving up one of the most common goals for a writer: to get published in a magazine. Personally, I think a mix is the best — about 75 percent of my work is paid on acceptance, and the other 25 percent is for publications that pay on publication.

Finally, there is something you can do to avoid being at the mercy of your editors. Angela Hoy of WritersWeekly.com recommends adding a clause to writers contracts, so that you get paid on publication OR by a specific date, whichever comes first. This ensures that even if the publication decides at the last minute to ditch your piece, you'll still get paid for your work!

Labels: freelancing

When I worked at my technical writing job, I worked with some really great writers. We were all pretty close when we worked for that employer, and after we all left we stayed in touch for a while. In the last couple of years, however, I've lost touch with them somewhat.

The other day, though, I realized — from a group email the editor of one of the magazines I write for — that one of my old co-workers was writing for the same magazine! I sent her an email to catch up.

My old colleague had left the technical writing firm back in 2005 when she found another job at a local daily newspaper, which was more along the lines of what she wanted to do. (Not to mention our boss was terrible. I still need to blog about that sometime.) She left the newspaper earlier this year to freelance full-time. (I started freelancing full-time when I left the technical writing firm in October of 2005.) It was good to catch up with her and to find out that she is now a fellow freelancer!

Labels: freelancing

Friday was the perfect end to another crazy week.

I'd already had several commitments — a doctor's appointment for me in the morning, a vet appointment for my horse in the afternoon, and babysitting in the afternoon and evening. To make matters worse, I discovered late Thursday that an article I had just been assigned several days before would be due Friday evening.

Somehow I got through it, working on the article in between commitments. After dropping Michael off at work in the morning, I hung out at Starbucks and worked for an hour before heading to the doctor's office; then I worked a little more at home between my doctor's appointment and Panama's vet visit. After the vet visit, I rushed home and squeezed in another 40 minutes of work before going to babysit; once the kids were in bed, I was able to finally finish the article and email it to my editor from there.

Not the kind of day I want to repeat any time soon.

Labels: freelancing

The weather is getting warmer now — and staying warmer. No more freak snowstorms between warm spells! But along with this warm weather comes a very tempting set of distractions.

I've always had my heaviest workload during the summer, so not having a chance to enjoy the warm weather has pretty much been the norm for me. This year promises to be different, since I now have horsey responsibilities to make sure I get outside regularly. Unfortunately, this also means that I have the unique challenge of trying to balance horse time with work time.

Yesterday is a good example of why this will be such a challenge: I had a horseback riding lesson at 12:30, which turned into an entire afternoon at the barn. As a result, I didn't get as much work done as I'd hoped. It's like the clock stops for me when I'm at the barn, even though it goes on ticking everywhere else. I can spend hours there and be perfectly content.

As a reminder for me and a tip for you, I am going to write my next blog post on how to find a proper balance between work time and play time.

Labels: freelancing

In college, one of my favorite English professors used to advise us around term paper time not to follow William Faulkner's example — that is, writing while under the influence of alcohol.

I don't drink much, and when I was in college I never did so with the intention of doing homework afterward. So it wasn't until I met Michael, who is something of a wine connoisseur, that I discovered that alcohol and writing doesn't really work.

Whenever I'm planning on working more in the evening (which is more often than I'd like to admit), I opt not to join Michael in a glass of wine. At the very least it makes me sleepy, and more often it makes me just tipsy enough to make working difficult. (Yes, I'm a lightweight.)

I'm actually writing this while a little tipsy, and there's no way I could have written anything more involved than a blog post. I mean, it took me several minutes to think of the word involved...

And yes, I had my glass and a half of wine because I didn't plan on working anymore tonight.

As it turns out, though, my English professor may have been misinformed: According to several sources online, it seems that writing while under the influence didn't work for Faulkner, either. Too bad — it would make a better story (at least from the college student's perspective) if it did.

Labels: freelancing

I can't believe I forgot to blog on Earth Day! I remembered when I saw this great reminder in Kovels Komments, a great free antiques and collectibles newsletter I subscribe to:

Collectors are living the "green" life every time they buy an antique. Using an old chair saves trees and energy, and avoids the toxic fumes that come from new furniture. For Earth Day, find a damaged cup, old shoe, wheelbarrow or chipped vase. Fill it with dirt and plants and put it in the garden.

Freelance writers have plenty of opportunities to be green, too. Here are a couple of quickie suggestions:

1) Reuse paper. Some writers like to proofread from a hard copy. If this is you, be sure to save old manuscripts and print on the blank side next time you need to proofread something.

2) Unplug everything when you shut down for the day. Modern electronics draw power even when they're turned off. Unplug them when you're done working, or plug everything into a power strip that you can simply shut off to stop the flow of power.

3) Use a PDF writer instead of printing online receipts out on paper. If you're a good little writer, you religiously maintain a file for expense receipts. Instead of printing out receipts for stuff you buy online, use a free PDF writer to make an electronic copy. Just be sure to back it up!

4) Plan errands in advance to minimize driving time and gas consumption. Since freelance writers work from home, we don't contribute to air pollution with a daily commute. However, we still have errands and other things to do. If we plan these in advance, we can get several days' or a week's worth in one trip, limiting the damage to the environment... and our wallets.

If you have any other easy tips for freelance writers who want to go green, please feel free to post them in the comments!

Labels: freelancing

As some of you already know (or may have guessed), I've spent a lot of time this week on my blogs. I've started a couple of new blogs, and have updated others with templates and fresh posts.

Something I've noticed is the way I can lose myself in my work when I'm working on my own stuff. It's been a while since that has happened on a regular basis with my clients' projects. While I tend to get distracted from doing billable work, I get distracted with my own projects.

It's made me realize something: I don't take enough work that I can get excited about. In general, I have more work to choose from than I used to, so I think I need to start choosing projects not only based on pay, but also on whether I will enjoy doing them.

Labels: freelancing

When I was in 7th grade, my science teacher would hand out three Smarties to each student right before a test. He claimed that eating Smarties had been shown to make you temporarily smarter, so if we got stuck on a question we could eat a few for help. We were all pretty sure he was joking, but we ate those Smarties just in case!

I'm (pretty) sure now that it was just a cute gimmick, but I still find that snacking on something while I work helps me concentrate. My biggest weakness is Jelly Belly jelly beans, so that's what I snacked on today while working on my website updates. Other days, it might be pieces of apple or pear, crackers and cheese, or cookies. (I have a major sweet tooth, if you can't tell.)

Do you like to snack on anything while you work? If so, what are your favorite snacks?

Labels: freelancing

Some of my old clients — and the ones I have kept on the "old rates" out of generosity and respect for their loyalty — have become a pain in my behind. It's just not worth the money anymore, and I'm thinking of looking for replacements.

Here are some of the things that make me want to drop a client:

1. Emailing their writer at the last minute for a press release they need ASAP &mdash every single time. I mean, come on. How difficult is it to ask me to write the press release while they're still in the process of adding the new product or service to their website? That way, everything can be released at the same time. Why is this such a difficult concept for some clients to grasp?

2. Hiring a writer and then rewriting everything themselves. I don't have a problem with newspaper and magazine editors making changes, but I do have a problem with clients — who have hired me as the expert — doing it. Particularly when the changes suck.

3. Being vague about what they want, and then complaining about what they get. If you don't tell me specifically what you want, how do you expect my vision of the project to coincide with yours? I haven't had to deal with this in a while, but I did once dump a client over an extreme case of it.

4. Ordering a rush project, and then going MIA. This isn't a current issue for me, but a conversation with another writer reminded me that it is one of my biggest pet peeves. "Rush project" does not mean that clients can take their time and let the writer make up for it by working more quickly!

5. Blaming the writer when your marketing efforts don't work. There are many reasons why great marketing copy doesn't generate a response. The client might not have done their market research, or they might just have a crappy product. The last time I ran into this problem, I decided I'll no longer write for products or companies I don't believe it.

What are your biggest issues with clients?

Labels: freelancing

After getting up early for Monday's phone interview, I've been on an earlier schedule almost all week.

Monday morning, I had to be on the phone by 7:45, so I was up by about 7:20. Tuesday morning, I was up at about the same time to take Michael to work so that I could keep the car (my car isn't running right now). Although I ended up feeling pretty energized all day on Monday, on Tuesday the earlier schedule didn't go over as well, and I ended up succumbing to the urge to take a nap.

Yesterday I didn't have to get up early for any particular reason, but I made myself anyway, getting out of bed by 9:30. Today it was 9:20.

Anyone who has followed my blog or known me for a while realizes what a big deal it is for me to get out of bed by 9:30. I should also add that I've been in bed by 11:00 or 11:30 every night this week, which is also quite a feat — I'm a night owl, and am accustomed to working late at night and sleeping late in the morning.

That started changing last summer, when I started getting up with Michael to take morning walks before he went to work. I got into the habit of not working late at night, and as a result, even when the morning walks ended and I stopped getting up early every morning, I still wasn't working late as often.

In other words, getting up early this week has been a really good thing, because it has given me more time to work, and as a result I've had a pretty productive week (all except for Tuesday, when I took that nap). Hopefully I'll be able to maintain the earlier schedule for a while!

Labels: freelancing

I recently ran into someone I haven't seen in 15 years. While we were catching up, she asked whether I was working.

"I'm self-employed," I answered. "I'm a writer."

"Oh, and what do you write?" she asked.

"Mostly I do copywriting for the Internet. You know, websites and stuff." Obviously I write much more than this, but it's the simplest way to answer this question on the fly. Most people's eyes glaze over if I try to explain in detail, so I stick with the easiest — if not the most eloquent — answer.

"Oh. And you can make a living doing that?"

I'm sure virtually every freelance writer has heard that question at least once during the course of his or her career, and probably actually many times. I suppose I am asked that about 50 percent of the time. The other common response is something along the lines of, "That's so cool!" or, "I always wanted to be a writer, too!"

There are some exceptions, of course, but it seems most people fall into one of two categories: Either they think writing isn't a viable career, or they think it's all fun and games.

I remember house-hunting with my husband, back in January and February of 2006. We didn't sign on with a realtor, so every time we toured a house we had to deal with the same barrage of "What do you do for a living?" questions. One realtor, when I told him I was a freelance writer, immediately turned to my husband and said, "And what do you do?" You could almost hear him thinking, Well, she's no good. Hopefully he has a real job.

What are the most memorable (whether annoying or humorous) responses you've received?

Labels: freelancing

This morning I conducted my first-ever phone interview. I've interviewed people in person before, and I'm always a fan of emailing interview questions for easy pieces such as press releases, but I hadn't ever interviewed anyone over the phone.

I was definitely more nervous than I usually am before an interview. I had some physical symptoms of anxiety last night — primarily a racing heart — and it took me longer than usual to fall asleep. I blame this on the fact that I hate phones, except when the person on the other end is one of a select few, such as Michael or my sister. Especially when I am interviewing someone, I find the disembodied voice difficult to deal with, whereas the addition of visual cues usually serves to help me relax much more quickly.

Anyway, this particularly phone interview was at 7:45 am, which means I was up really early this morning. The interview itself lasted about 45 minutes and went pretty smoothly. Another hour and a half was spent this morning taking notes and pulling quotes from the recording. Overall, I was pretty pleased with the way it went, although I can think of plenty of things I should have said differently (or not at all!).

To celebrate my first successful phone interview, I am going to blog about tips for other writers over the next couple of days. One thing is the gadget combo that made today's interview so successful: a voice recorder and an adapter for recording phone calls (land line or cell). I'll also write a post with general tips on conducting a good interview.

Stay tuned!

Labels: freelancing

Last Sunday, I mentioned the inordinate amount of work I had to do in the next week. I'm very sorry to say that I didn't get it all done, which leaves me working at 2:00 a.m. on a Sunday night.

I actually was pretty productive most of the week. I divvied up all my tasks at the beginning of the week, and although I didn't meet every goal for every day, I still successfully carried a much heavier workload than usual (and without losing too much sleep, either).

Unfortunately, on Friday I completely lost my groove: After my riding lesson, I spent the afternoon with my mom, and then watched TV with Michael in the evening. Saturday and Sunday saw very little work, as well.

I have a couple of things I'd like to finish tonight, but I'm quickly losing steam. Even if I only finish the one assignment, I'll still be up for another couple of hours for sure. Ideally I'd like to stay up all night, finish both projects, and crash for a few hours in the morning, but I just don't know if I'll make it that long tonight. We'll see if the tea I'm guzzling right now helps at all...

Labels: freelancing

I have a lot of work to do in the coming week — and I mean a lot. I didn't get as much done as I should have last week, and with my fourth estimated tax payment and Panama's board coming up (the 15th and the 20th, respectively), I can't afford to slack off at all right now.

This essentially means that I'm working today. Although it's not unusual for me to work a couple of hours each day on the weekend, I've already surpassed that — and still have more to do.

With four or so hours' worth of work for this evening, there's no way I'll be able to enjoy my evening in the normal way: by watching a movie with Michael. My consolation prize is a fruit tart from Devil's Food, our favorite brunch restaurant in Denver.



I'm saving the fruit tart for later this evening, when I'm an hour or two into my workload (and after we've had dinner). While it's small consolation for having to begin and end my Sunday with work, it'll definitely help make the burden easier to bear!

Labels: freelancing

Today, for the first time in my life, I fell off a horse.

I'm not a terribly experienced rider; a family friend taught me to ride about 15 years ago, but I never took professional lessons, and it turns out there are some things — rather important things — our friend didn't teach me.

In any case, Panama freaked out and bolted today when I was riding him. My first response was to grab onto the pommel, which my trainer said tends to make them only run faster. Then I tried a one-rein stop, but a little too late — I was already starting to fall, and when Panama broke free of that and started running back to the barn (we were in the pasture behind it) I fell off.

Luckily we still have a lot of snow on the ground, so I had a relatively soft landing. Even so, falling off a horse wasn't as bad as I had expected. I'm actually relieved that I fell off today, because now I won't dread it anymore.

Of course, I made sure I rode Panama again before the end of the training session. For one thing, I didn't want him to think he could get away with bolting on me, and for another, I didn't want to allow myself to develop a fear of it.

Writing about falling off a horse, and getting back up on again, made me think of my current situation with work. I've worked through most of the holidays, but with a relatively light load — in other words, only doing what I had to do, whether for deadlines or income. However, today is back to business as usual: Michael is back at work, and won't be allowed to take any time off in January. Meanwhile, I need to get back up to speed if I want to be able to make my fourth estimated tax payment on January 15th.

Getting back to work after the holidays is always difficult, but I think it's also important to do so. Just like falling off a real horse, if you don't get back on again quickly, you start dreading it and putting it off. And since self-motivation and self-regulation are vital qualities for freelancers, we simply can't afford not to get back up on that horse again.

Labels: freelancing, my horse Panama

We're getting more snow here tomorrow: another 4 to 8 inches in Denver (though if they are as far off as they were on the last storm, we may be in for a downright blizzard). Michael is planning on taking public transit to work, and I'll forego my visit to the stables in order to stay home and work, all warm and cozy.

Which brings me to another reason tomorrow is important: It's technically my first day back to work after Christmas, assuming Michael goes to work. (If it's bad enough, his company will close, though that's a rare occurence.) I have work lined up already, of course, so I won't be able to stretch my vacation any longer — though I do have a light enough load to allow me to take it easy until after New Year's.

Labels: freelancing, holidays, Michael, news

On Monday, Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware posted on a disturbing trend that has been growing recently: The tendency of vanity presses to prey on child authors. Her post got me thinking, for two reasons:

1) Because I also started writing novels as a teenager,

and

2) Because I have had firsthand experiences with one of the child authors she mentioned in her post, Adora Svitak.

In regards to #1, I agree with Victoria Strauss completely when she says that some youngsters may be able to write beautifully, but most don't have the maturity to deal with the publishing industry. We're talking about an industry that can be pretty cutthroat — there is a lot of competition and a lot of rejection, whereas most children and teens are still at the point where social rejection is the end of the world. Plus, they lack both the experience needed to know the publishing industry's standards, as well as the maturity to learn and apply those standards.

Of course, as with any rule there are exceptions, but I am pretty certain I wasn't one. I wrote my first novel at age 14, and I know looking back at it that it was not and will never be publishable. My second novel was better, but it is my third novel — written when I was 15 — that I think has the most potential. However, even that one needs work — revisions and corrections that I don't think I would have seen the need for earlier in my career.

In spite of the fact that I once complained about my parents not encouraging and helping me to pursue publication, I think now that I wouldn't have it any other way. Maybe I haven't published a novel yet, but I'd rather get there on my own two feet than to have my work sell because I was some kind of child prodigy, an oddity and a fascination.

Which brings me to #2: My experiences with Adora and Joyce Svitak. I got involved almost exactly two years ago, when Adora's book, Flying Fingers, was first published. Joyce advertised looking for reviewers, and being a little naive about how the industry worked, I agreed to work with them. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I got burned.

Victoria's post about Aultbea and their child authors made me start thinking about the situation with the Svitaks for the first time in many months. It occurs to me that Adora was not the only one whose work was being exploited — by looking for writers to work for free and betraying our initial agreement regarding my review, Joyce was also taking advantage of other writers. This makes me wonder: Is it only the vanity publishers who are guilty of exploiting children's talents? Or are some of the parents equally as guilty?

Labels: becoming a writer, clients, freelancing, other writers, publishing, writers beware

There have been a few discussion in the online writing community about whether Wikipedia is a valid source. Most people say no, but I disagree: While I don't think it is always reliable or high quality, I do think Wikipedia offers a good source for general or background information, and an excellent jumping-off point for more in-depth research.

But I am getting away from my point: I edited a Wikipedia article just now, and it felt good.

I often find grammatical mistakes and other minor problems in Wikipedia articles, but I've never tried to change them. Tonight I finally did. Someone had written that so-and-so "shot dead" a bunch of people. That bothered me to no end — what is this, a Western? — so I changed it to "shot and killed."

I was pleasantly surprised to see that my change showed up instantly — no review or anything. While that is obviously why there are so many errors in Wikipedia — and why pages never stay the same for very long — I have to admit, it was rather satisfying.

Even for a published writer, who should be above getting her kicks by making changes to lowly Wikipedia articles!

Labels: freelancing, miscellaneous

I knew today was supposed to be cold and snowy, so I made sure to take care of Panama's needs yesterday so that I wouldn't have to go out today.

Sure enough, when I woke up the three or so inches of snow on the ground had doubled. It's not a ton of snow, granted, but it's still nice not to have to go anywhere. It's on days like today that I really appreciate being a freelancer.

I have a lot of work to do today, but here's how I'll be doing it: Sitting on the couch, where I have a view of the pretty snow scene outside our living room window, and listening to my favorite Christmas album, Christmas Eve by David Lanz.

Labels: freelancing, home sweet home, miscellaneous

Deb Ng posted today about her goals for 2008. In her post, she mentioned that she met her goal of increasing her income by $10,000 in 2007.

Unfortunately, I haven't been as successful in my goals for 2007. Here they were:

1. To revise my NaNoWriMo novel and get it ready for submitting

2. To submit my NaNoWriMo novel to at least one publisher during 2007

3. To start work on my next novel

4. To double my freelance income in 2007

The only one of these goals that I have achieved is number 3, starting work on my next novel — if you consider a detailed outline to be "starting work."

Although I didn't double my income in 2007, by the end of the year I estimate I will have succeeded in increasing it by 50 percent. I am disappointed that I can't say "I did it!" — but I guess it's not a bad achievement, particularly for my second year of full-time freelancing.

However, I also somewhat achieved this goal in another way. In my post, I commented that part of the reason for this goal was so that I could afford to stable my horse in town. While I didn't manage to double my income, I did still manage to bring Panama out here!

I haven't yet decided on all of my goals for 2008, so those will come in a later post.

Labels: editing, freelancing, goals, holidays, my horse Panama, NaNoWriMo 2006, novel writing, plain ol' fun, publishing

I've decided that I need to start telling clients that I only work part-time hours: I put in an average of four billable hours every day, with another couple of hours spent managing client email, blogging, and networking.

This is actually a fairly new phenomenon for me. I used to put in about six billable hours a day (more if I was slammed), but at least two or three more hours were spent on email, job boards, and other forms of marketing.

All of that changed when we moved Panama out here. I head out to the stables in the morning, and generally stay there for anywhere from one to three hours, depending on how much I have to do that day. Most of the time now I don't get to work until at least noonish.

Sometimes it's frustrating to get home, only to realize that I only have a few hours to work before Michael comes home. Often I end up working in the evening to make up some time. But I don't mind it at all — rather, I am grateful to have a job where I have the flexibility to change my schedule as needed.

However, many of my clients — particularly my newer clients — don't understand why I'm not available in the morning. I'm not sure why I haven't had to deal with this problem before, since until earlier this year I was rarely up before 11:00 am — the difference being that I usually worked until 3:00 or 4:00 am.

Needy client syndrome indicates that I will need to be a little more clear about my hours. The dilemma I am facing is that I don't want to label myself a part-time writer, for fear that it will make me sound less serious about my work: The term "part-time" intimates that writing is a hobby, rather than a career.

I think my solution will probably just be to let clients know that I am typically only available in the afternoons and evenings. What do you think?

Labels: freelancing, my horse Panama

Michael is visiting with an old friend this evening, so it's one of those rare evenings where I'm on my own. I'm celebrating by having my favorite kind of pizza (Papa John's thin crust with bacon and onion toppings) delivered. I haven't had a Papa John's pizza since before Michael introduced me to organic more than two years ago, so this is a big occasion for me.

As for the night's entertainment... Well, I'm afraid I'll be spending the evening at my computer, catching up on the day's work. It's the first business day of the month, bills are due, and several payments aren't coming in when I expected them to, which means I can't afford a day of slacking just now.

The dogs are sleeping, the house is quiet, and my pizza is on the way. It feels like a perfect night for great productivity.

Labels: freelancing, Michael, miscellaneous

Today is my blog's birthday: I started this blog two years ago, on December 3, 2005.

It seems like so long ago; I feel like I've been blogging forever. I actually said in my first post that part of my blog's purpose was to bring additional traffic to my website. I can't believe I even knew that was a benefit of blogging back then.

Since I started this blog, my entire website has seen many changes and improvements, including:

* An updated website template and logo
* An integrated blog (i.e. the blog looking the same as the website)
* An expanded portfolio
* A services page
* A contact form (which has significantly reduced the spam I get)

These are just the cosmetic improvements. Much more important are the many readers I've gained — not to mention the satisfaction of being a part of the online writing community!

Labels: blogging, freelancing

Friday's Writerfind.com newletter contained the following blurb:

Is this just me -- or are people just paying less for freelance writing these days?

An increasing number of people are trying to post poorly paid jobs through Writerfind. Those jobs are now being rejected. When we surveyed Writerfind subscribers, most said they would not be willing to work for under 10 cents per word.

The site is intended to be a site for professionals - people who need to make a living from writing and editing. So, from now on, please note that we will only be accepting work which pays 10 cents or more per word. Nor will we be posting "revenue sharing opportunities", as these too, going by the feedback, tend to lead nowhere pay-wise.

Good for Writerfind.com for taking a stand! I hope some of the other freelance writing job boards will follow suit.

Labels: freelancing, job search

People take things for granted -- it's just human nature. That's why I'm okay with Thanksgiving as a holiday, no matter how politically incorrect it is. I know that there was never any happy little Thanksgiving feast where the pilgrims and the Indians sat down together, held hands, and sang "Kumbaya." For one thing, the much-lauded pilgrims were actually self-righteous, priggish jerkoffs who were responsible for massacring the local natives. By another account, the first Thanksgiving in actuality marked the failure of William Bradford's attempts at a communist community. (I wonder if Joseph McCarthy knew that his "one nation, under God" had its roots in communism?)

But wait, I'm getting sidetracked. I'm not okay with the myth of Thanksgiving, but I am okay with the holiday itself. I think it is good to remind people to appreciate what they have in their lives.

So without further ado, this is what I am thankful for this year:

* A wonderful husband... whom I married in a beautiful 1920s-themed wedding earlier this year

* The career I've always wanted... for which I don't have to dress up, drive in rush hour, or deal with office politics

* A happy, healthy horse... who is learning more every day

* A beautiful home... that we own

* ...And pretty much everything else in our lives. We have wonderful families, pets, and lives. What more can I say?

Labels: family, freelancing, holidays, home sweet home, Michael, miscellaneous, my horse Panama

Friday morning's events also contributed to me not getting my work done.

I went to the stables Friday morning with every intention of only being there a short while before returning home to work. I cleaned Panama's stall, brushed him, and turned him out to run a bit.

Then another of the owners showed up, and we chatted a bit. She only recently brought her horse to the stables, and we share some concerns about the way the place is run.

I've probably mentioned that I clean Panama's stall every day because I don't think the owner cleans it frequently enough. I don't mind cleaning it, really; I would be there anyway, regardless, and it gives Panama time to graze. Also, there is something satisfying and comforting about doing it myself.

However, there is a point where the infrequent cleanings become rather disturbing. On Friday, one of the horses was walking around in nearly six inches of manure, spread across the floor of his stall. Another horse, who likes to poop in the same place every time, had a veritable mountain of manure in his stall.

The real concern came when the other owner and I both decided to give our horses a flake of hay as a treat before we left. We cracked into a bale that had not yet had any hay taken off of it, and found that the inside of quite damp. (The owner stores some of his hay outside under tarps, which you are not supposed to do.) Sure enough, there was mold in the hay, too. Panama found it, but thankfully tossed it aside and didn't eat it; however, I worry that he would have gone back later and eaten it when he got hungry again between meals, had I not noticed.

Later that afternoon, yet another one of the owners sent me a text message stating that she had found mold, too.

When my main issue with the stables was the infrequent stall cleaning, I wasn't worried about it so much; the price is cheap enough to make cleaning his stall myself worthwhile. However, I won't keep Panama where his safety and health is a concern, no matter how cheap the price. I'll see how the winter goes, but if the problems continue I will find Panama a new home in the spring.

Unfortunately, I have not yet gotten good at working when I have something troubling on my mind. When I am upset, I just can't focus on work, so I didn't get much done on Friday, either.

Labels: freelancing, my horse Panama

As promised, here is Thursday's stable story.

Thursday morning, Panama and I had an appointment with his trainer. It was our only session for the week, because I'd been too busy earlier in the week. Unfortunately, I had not worked with Panama all week, either; because it was always dark when I visited, poor Panama hadn't even been turned out to run since Sunday. (Usually, I turn him out into the arena every day and chase him around, so that he gets enough exercise and gets rid of any extra energy.)

The effects of being cooped up for three days straight was quite clear from the beginning. Panama was restless and downright ornery. When he was first set loose in the arena, Panama cantered and bucked more than I've ever seen him do when I turn him out. And even after running hard for several minutes, he was a royal pain in the butt for the trainer. When she had me work him (she's teaching me, too), he kept getting himself all wrapped up in the lines; once he got himself tangled up so badly that he panicked and reared.

Well, after a morning like that, it's hard to settle down enough to actually work. It also didn't help that I had a lot to do after not being there much for three days. Although I'd been picking out his stall each evening, the light in the barn is dim, and it turned out I wasn't doing a very good job of it. It took much longer on Thursday to clean out his stall than it usually does.

On top of all of that, I also had a few errands to run. As a result, by the time I got home my day was more than half over, and anyway all I wanted to do was talk about my horse.

Lessons learned: Don't try to skimp on visits to the stables when I'm busy. It just creates a need for a longer visit when I return to my regular schedule, compliments of Panama's cabin fever — and my withdrawals.

Labels: freelancing, my horse Panama

When I blogged last week, I was in a frenzy to get all of my work finished before the end of the week so I could take this week off. Unsurprisingly, it didn't quite work out like I planned. In fact, the whole thing fell apart on Thursday and Friday.

I think part of it is that I went to the stables like normal on Thursday and Friday, whereas during the first half of the week I was limiting my visits. Even though I slept in those days, more or less canceling out the extra time, the transition between stables and work is usually pretty difficult for me.

It is particularly difficult when something happens at the stables that gets me all excited, whether good or bad. And unfortunately, something along those lines happened both Thursday and Friday, which kept me so fired up that I got virtually nothing done either day.

I'll write about what actually happened in future posts. For now, suffice it to say that I have tons of work to do still, and I still haven't started my novel.

Labels: freelancing, NaNoWriMo 2007

Amy Derby posted over at her new blog The Freelanceaholic Life about her freelance survival kit: all the stuff she'd need if she were stranded on a desert island with only her work. (Funny how that sounds like fun to us, but would be considered a form of torture by many non-writers.)

My freelance island tends to move around a bit. I'm like a cat: I change my favorite spot periodically. Right now, I'm spending a lot of time working at my desk, but my other favorite places include my rocker, the porch (when the weather is nice), and the kitchen table.









I used to work in bed sometimes, like Amy does, but I haven't done that in a while now.

I'm one of those people who can work wherever, so I'd probably be fine on a desert island. In fact, I often find that I get more done if I work someplace else — although I prefer the library or a coffee shop to a desert island! However, next spring and summer (and maybe this winter, too, as warm as it has been) I want to try taking my computer to the stables and working there while Panama grazes. It's nice and quiet — a perfect creative setting!

Wherever I decide to work, I always take these things with me:

* Laptop - At a little over 3 pounds, my Averatec has assumed security blanket status.

* Pen and scratch paper - Just like Amy, I find that being able to write things down is still a necessity, no matter how pro-computer I am.

* Time sheet - A little over a year ago, I started keeping track of the time I spend on each project. It allows me to determine my hourly rate for each project, and also will make the IRS happy if I ever get audited, as it proves that I really do use my laptop for work 75 percent of the time (well, more actually).

* Timer - I recently started using a kitchen timer to try to motivate me to keep my focus and not get distracted when I'm working. It works — sometimes.

* iPod and speakers/headphones - I go through phases (like right now) where listening to music helps me focus.

Also like Amy, often I have one or more of our fur-children with me. My black cat, Cleo, is my porch buddy. Either one of the cats might hang out in the office window while I work, and Prince (my white cat) likes to steal my seat in the rocker. Periodically, one or both of the dogs hang out with me, too.





So that's it — my freelance island! What does yours look like?

Labels: freelancing

Apparently Elance -- a freelance bidding site that I don't happen to subscribe to -- is changing the way they do things. Kathy Kehrli has written a nice little Screw You! in their honor.

If you are a member of Elance or are considering joining, I highly recommend reading Kathy's comments. Although Elance is claiming the changes will improve the site for everyone, it's quite obvious that only Elance itself will be benefitted.

Basically, the gist of Kathy's analysis is that Elance is effectively charging more and offering less... A lot less.

I'm not crazy about the idea of paying for work opportunities, myself. Some writers find that the work they get through Elance makes the membership fees worthwhile, but from what it sounds like, that may not be the case any longer.

Labels: freelancing, freelancing admin, job search, other writers

Just a week and a half ago, I posted about the slump in my workload (and, more importantly, my income). Now, suddenly, I'm back to feasting again... Which is, incidentally, why I haven't posted very much this week.

Within 24 hours of posting about my little famine, I had two rush projects (which, incidentally, caused me to institute a rush order policy). Then I had a brand-new client contact me completely out of the blue — having found me via my website, which demonstrates the value of a good writer's site and online portfolio. I've gotten several more projects since, one of which was another rush fee (which I quite happily charged an extra 25 percent for).

The timing of this feast is making things rather hectic. I am determined to take Thanksgiving week off completely, so I've been telling clients I'm unable to work next week. Some have been okay with that, but another wasn't — which is where my more recent rush order came from. I've been working most evenings — Tuesday night until 3am! — to make sure I get all this work done this week.

Of course, there are two payoffs to make up for the long hours this week: The income, obviously, but also the sheer relief of having an entire week off. It will be only the second one in my two years of freelancing, as I usually only get a few days in a row at most, and even tend to bring work on my vacations.

Labels: freelancing

Almost exactly one year ago, I had nearly 24,000 words on my NaNo novel.

This year, all I have so far is an outline.

I'm going to blame it on the holidays, on Panama, and on an increased need for income this year. I have lots of work that I'm doing to try to maintain the luxury that Panama is accustomed to (i.e. having a roof over his head, shavings on his stall floor, and a trainer to teach him to be a nice horsey). At the same time, I'm planning to take off the entire week of Thanksgiving, so I'm scrambling to get everything done in time. All that billable work just doesn't leave much time for noveling.

With any luck I'll at least get started on my novel before the month is out...

Labels: freelancing, NaNoWriMo 2007

Do you ever find that no matter how much (or little) work you have to do, it seems to fill the same amount of time?

It always seems that I work the same number of hours whether I have one project, or five. For example, yesterday I worked my butt off to meet an afternoon deadline, and had nearly met my daily income goal by early afternoon. Today, I've been sitting at my desk for two hours and haven't earned one penny.

It's almost like my workload is organic, and grows (or shrinks) to meet the time allotted for it. That's good in some ways, as it's nice to take your time and slack off a bit when you have the opportunity. The downside is that it also means I never get my work done quickly so that I can enjoy the rest of my day.

Do you ever have this problem?

Labels: freelancing

I was beginning to think that I just would never get started on NaNoWriMo. After starting the outline at the local meet-up last week, I hadn't found time to do any more work on it.

After a highly productive day (I worked my butt off to meet an afternoon deadline), I decided to take this evening off from other work and work on my outline some more. To my great surprise and delight, I managed to finish the outline. Not only that, but I feel great about it! I am getting excited about my novel again, and for the first time in about a month I feel impatient to work on it.

Unfortunately, I can't divert any more of my time tonight to novel-writing: I need to clean and condition Panama's new leather bridle, and then go to bed so that I can be up for our 9:30 training session tomorrow.

I have a lot of work the next few days — amusingly, within 24 hours of posting about my freelancing famine, several jobs fell right into my lap — but I am going to try to get going on my novel as soon as possible. I figure if I stick with my initial goal of 3,000 words per day, I may not be able to reach 80,000 words, but I should still be able to reach 50,000 — technically all I need to "win."

Labels: freelancing, NaNoWriMo 2007

Anyone who freelances knows how it can be a "feast or famine" kind of situation. Some months you are booked beyond belief, and the money just keeps rolling in. Other months you feel like it's all you can do just to scratch by.

Unfortunately, I'm going through a famine type of time right now, down from the feasting I did just a couple of months ago. I worked so much over the summer that I got rather burnt out, and I still thinking I'm working a little slower than usual from that. I haven't really gotten around to finishing my website updates or looking for new work, so I've been dependent on my regulars. And that's just not enough.

All the time that I've been spending with Panama is also coming back to bite me in the a$$. It took me a while to figure out how to juggle stable time and work time. Although there are still some days where I don't get much work done, I'm getting better about it. Unfortunately, in the meantime the well has run dry.

Honestly, though, there's nothing like feeling poor to make you work harder. I worked all day today, only spent 45 minutes at the stables, and plan to work a few more hours this evening. The rest of the week will most likely be similar, but hopefully after that I'll be in a comfortable spot again.

Labels: freelancing, my horse Panama

Yesterday, I blogged about what I would write with an extra hour each day — a meme inspired by Daylight Savings Time.

Then clocks rolled back, giving us our extra hour. Mine was not spent on writing. Instead, it was diddled away rescuing Michael, and making not one but two trips to the stables as a result.

Michael went on a bike ride this afternoon, since the weather was so perfect: a slightly breezy day with temperatures in the low 70s. I was planning on celebrating the warm weather my own way: by bathing Panama.

Unfortunately, Michael got two flats while on his bike ride. When he got the first, he happened to be near a sports store, so he had them fix his tire. I ended up having to rescue him after all, though, when he got a second flat shortly after leaving the store.

I was at the stables already when I got the call, so I had to put Panama back in his stall and leave without having done anything with him yet. After rescuing Michael, he came with me back up to the stables. During the second visit, I did my usual routine: turning Panama out into the pasture to graze while I cleaned his stall, grooming him and picking out his feet, and turning him out into the arena to get him to run around a bit.

Although it was getting late at this point, and I had used up my extra hour (and then some!), I decided to go ahead and bathe Panama after all.











Due to my bungled afternoon and some pre-existing evening plans, I didn't get the work done this weekend that I had planned. Tomorrow I will need to do some serious catching up!

Labels: freelancing, Michael, my horse Panama

One of the most unfortunate th