So here I am—month four into my self-employed business endeavor workin’ hard but makin’ no money. The door that slammed shut on me shortly after the beginning of February is locked down and sealed tight with no hint of opening at any time in the near future. My kids know my cash in-flow is nearly nonexistent but they see me sitting staring at my computer screen for hours and lacking the tact or willpower, they ask what I do all day. I’m busy; the days seem to be flying by so I’m working hard but I don’t seem to have anything to show for it — so what AM I doing all day?
I do a lot of thinking. And I give myself numerous internal pep talks. I tell myself I have not inadvertently become a stay at home mother; I just haven’t hit the correct vein yet. My main goal every day is to keep myself from sinking into depression by dwelling on the concept I left a pretty good paying job to do what I love, potentially thrusting my family into poverty. Other than that concern over the all-mighty dollar, I love what I am doing. I have several projects in the air and numerous others floating around my brain so every week I sit down with a weekly calendar printed from Outlook to schedule my time. It usually goes something like this:
Sunday is the only day of the week I allow myself to sleep in really late then I get up and read the Sunday newspaper. I usually try to spend about an hour on my bills and budget sometime on Sunday because my income more closely matches my outgo so I want to ensure I don’t bounce my checks. After that I don’t do much: spend time with the family, clean the house a little, play computer games, go for a walk, etc. As the weather warms I look forward to hiking with my family on Sunday afternoons.
The time I get up in the morning is an area in which I’ve really slipped. I was doing good getting up at 6:30 every morning but since there has been no rush on work needing to get done and I’ve had some stomach issues restricting me from coffee drinking the past several weeks, I’ve allowed myself to sleep in a little. I set my alarm for @7 a.m. and am in front of my computer by 7:30 a.m. First things first so I tend to my Farmtown and Farmville farms. Then I peruse freelance writing job posting boards to find projects for which I may be qualified and send e-mails to apply. This usually takes about an hour. After that my day varies but I try to work an hour, two or more on each of several projects. I identify publishers and agents to pitch my young adult novel, “Melody Madson – May It Please the Court”, and send out a handful of submissions. I work on my in-progress historical young adult fiction novel centered around early 1990s Croatia. I’m also working on a book proposal for a nonfiction organization book for girls and I try to post to my blog every week or every other week.
I have spent a significant portion of time identifying clients. I compiled a list of hundreds of attorneys; local advertising, marketing, printing and publishing companies; magazines; publishers and agents who I hope may benefit from my services or to whom I can pitch ideas. I’ve also compiled a list of companies who likely do not use freelance writers but who do have web-sites with writing which could be improved. I just completed entering this data into a spreadsheet and am drafting letters to introduce my business and offer my services. Where applicable, I am including a sample of how the writing on their web-site could be improved. I am about ready to mail out my first batch of letters then will continue sending batches each week until I exhaust my list. Because the information on my list was obtained via the yellow pages and one of the local chambers of commerce, I can start all over when that is completed with other information sources. My marketing philosophy is akin to hurling hundreds of darts at a dartboard hoping at least some of them will stick.
I submit article ideas or filler material to outlets I’ve identified. Currently I am concentrating on non-paying bits in order to amass some published clips. Freelance writing is like any other job: you need experience to get the job and you need the job to get experience. I submitted an article response piece in Writer’s Digest’s “Reader Mail”; I did get a response asking my permission to print it because they were considering using it in the next issue so I’m crossing my fingers hoping it will be in my next issue. My other “professional” tasks involve browsing magazines at the book stores and library to identify potential markets and generate ideas. I also try to read, free write and attempt to brainstorm or develop other ideas. I sold a couple of items on eBay and submitted a couple of articles and photographs to pay-per-view web-sites to try to generate some cash with no success yet. Oh, and I spend a ton of time chewing my fingernails.
My kids and I go to the library on Wednesdays, I do my grocery shopping Thursday mornings when the stores are less busy (which didn’t hold true today), and since I figure I should contribute something to my household, I do laundry on Fridays and try to empty and refill the dishwasher daily. I go for walks when the weather cooperates and try to swim laps at the YMCA during the adult only noon hour or attend aquatics classes at least once weekly. Then there is making dinner and all those other tedious, every day grown-up duties which need to be done but offer very little personal satisfaction. So I work hard and for many things but money is not one of them…yet!!
