Making Progress and Moving Forward

Just to see what kind of time commitment I would be making, I decided to start building a new version of TSW on Wix using a blog template. It seems that it would go smoothly, considering I was able to design the homepage and upload a single post in about fifteen minutes.

The biggest issue I see for doing this is moving all of my old posts onto the new blog. There's something like 1700 right now, and Wix doesn't do any sort of automatic importing from Blogger. Of course I wouldn't want to transfer every post, because a few are paid posts and since I'm not benefiting from them anymore, they don't need to make the move. They just need to stay here in perpetuity.

The other thing I've been exploring this week is publications on Medium. Apparently, that is how writers get so many views and have a better chance of getting those important money-making views. I have applied to join one, but I'm still thinking about what my first article submission would be. I've got some ideas, but nothing written yet. That's what I will be working on the rest of the week.

September's Here

It's September. I'm back! I didn't go anywhere, but I thought I would take a few weeks away from the blog to do a bit of a reset, and to get my plans together for the near future. There are a lot of exciting things on the horizon, and I hope I have the right steps to get there.

Hanging Out on Medium

I've been trying to ramp up my presence on Medium. While so far all of it has been reposts of older works or excerpts of longer projects, I am getting ready to start producing more original content for my account. I'm still in the editing phase for what I've written, so more should be posted in the next couple of weeks.

My only issue with the platform is that I can't access all of the data that I need to. I can get data points such as views, referring websites, reads (and how a ten-line poem only gets a 33% read rate is beyond me...)--but I can't get data that helps me understand who pays for a Medium account. I have yet to make a dime from this site, and if I knew the demographics of who pays for their accounts, I think I would be in a better position to craft articles that target a better defined audience. It seems to me that a lot of articles making money in the space where I write is the writer who writes about writing. It's a bit redundant, but I think I can work with that.

Two Down, Two to Go

It's also the time to check in with my yearly goal of getting four works published by the end of the year. So far, I have If It Was New York, Summer 2009 and "A Picture at Sunset" published in Indiana's Best Emerging Poets 2019. I still have to get two more out there. September is usually when the last round of submissions go out, so hopefully I'll get an acceptance before December 31. If not, two original pieces published on Medium shouldn't be that hard to complete.

One Set of Research, Two Stories

I loved researching all things pop culture for that story I was writing set in 1970. The problem? My research led down another path for another story. I'm not abandoning the first story, but I had to see where this second on went. The first story is a lot of teenage angst/confusion/drama condensed into a few months for the main characters. The second one starts in the same era, but spans decades for the main characters. It seems like a daunting task to create a story that will probably have huge time gaps without seeming like it skips a lot, but I think that sharing the research between these two stories will eventually end up making writing both stories a little more efficient.

The Great Website Debate

This blog can get frustrating at times, with a lot of that frustration due to limitations of Blogger. I like that there is the ability to add the other pages, but updating them is quite a feat to get it to look right. I also don't like running multiple blogs on this platform, and I think that merging TSW and Book Review Bin is long overdue, especially since this change may get me more Fiverr spotlight gigs again.

I've always thought about transferring the blog to an actual website, but I don't know if I am ready yet to take on that kind of task. That, and there is always the debate about the cost vs. the effort spent. It wouldn't take much to buy a domain name, but the ability for any money spent to turn into a profit is always on my mind. I don't know if transferring this to a website would give me the ability to break even on domain/hosting costs, which is what I'm looking for before I get started.

And this wasn't the only website I was planning. I've been working on an idea for more than two years now that's associated with books and reading, but like transferring the blog I would need to find a way to make the website profitable. I know that I couldn't create all of the content on my own, and I definitely don't want to be an exposure-only outlet for other writers. This project is stalled until I can find a way to make it profitable enough to pay contributors. This is the time when I wish we could all go back in time and hit up the Social Register to find bored, rich benefactors to fund our work.

I'm still planning and planning. I even tried to make an editorial calendar for content last year, but I never actually got it off the ground. Eventually I will have to execute some part of this idea, or I'm just wasting my time.

Your Call to Action

I can't leave this post without a blatant self-promo section. If you want more of what I offer, Patreon is a good place to start. And don't forget to check out my work on Medium. I'll be back next week with another rousing account from the writing world!

Hello 2016!

It's officially the New Year, so I'm excited about what's coming up in my writing career. A lot of it is still in the planning stages, but I'm trying to find a way to keep myself accountable for daily word counts and give myself reasonable deadlines to get things done. I need something between a day planner and a robot that smacks me when I stop writing. I'll keep working on that...

As usual, I take a little bit of time at the beginning of each year to reintroduce myself to any new readers of this blog that have jumped on this wild ride. I'm all over social media if you want the latest up-to-date information (last year's post is still relevant, so I won't repost all of that). I'm working hard on making my other blogs just as interesting and fun as this one, starting with Showered in Beauty. If you want to see the side of me that gets all nerdy about makeup, fashion and food (99% healthy, of course 😉), then please stop by regularly--or better yet, go ahead and follow the blog so you'll never miss a post.

And I've saved the best news for last: the haiku collection Unfolding Life has been officially uploaded and is available through the Kobo store. So if you own a Kobo and want some poetry to read, go for it. You'll be glad you did.

I hope 2016 is starting out on an amazing note for everyone. I know mine is!

Recovering

I wish I could tell you that today I am recovering from partying too hard this weekend, but sadly I'm recovering from a bit of a cold. It wasn't a full-blown cold, but it did blow my plans for the weekend. I'm sad to say that I had to skip all of my poem/photo a day challenges yesterday, but I'm back on track now. Along with that, I'm participating in a blog tour over at Book Review Bin for the next two weeks. That's always a ton of fun, even though I have yet to win one of the prizes...

And of course all of my submissions are still on schedule. I have plenty of revision work to do this week so that I can submit anywhere from 5-10 poems at the end of this month to publications. Then, the whole wonderful cycle starts all over again. Although next month the revisions will be more intense since I will be working with a lot of first drafts. I'm just glad the idea well hasn't dried up yet!

Oops!

I was working so hard on good blog posts for next week that I totally forgot about a post today. So, instead of boring you with a rehash of my dull daily routine, slightly elevated by the McDonalds fries sitting next to my mouse right now, I've decided to just let you anticipate next week's posts. See you there!!

Weekend Worker

This blog has had its ups and downs, but over the weekend I hit 10,000 page views. Of course a few of mine may count in there, but it's a milestone nonetheless.

This weekend was full of work. I normally work on the weekends, but this weekend all of the writing seemed to drag on forever. I think I need a little vacation, but it's hard to walk away from writing. It's nearly impossible when its my livelihood. Anyway...

On Wednesday I'll be announcing my plans for Poetic Confessions, a blog post theme that I'll be rolling out for National Poetry Month in April. Stay tuned for more details.

New Articles:
Top Websites to Save You Money
Remembering Davy Jones 
Ways You Can Benefit from Eating Chia Seeds

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

I wanted to let all my faithful blog readers (there's got to be at least 3 of you out there) that there are some changes coming to this blog. Most of what you will see will be aesthetics. The content will relatively stay the same--yep, that means you'll continue to get every whine, procrastination, and occasional paid post. I'm cleaning up some of the haphazardness on the sidebars. This is mainly due to my overwhelming energy to turn my image into somewhat professional in nature. That's going to be hard, because I still feel like a 12 year old most of the time.

The biggest change may be that I'm no longer shamelessly begging for freelance work. Does that mean I'm not taking any new clients on? Absolutely not. This just means that if you want to contact me about it, you'll need to leave a comment with some type of contact information (email, website, etc.) I know plenty of people that have asked me to work with them, but they always forget to leave a way to contact them.

Come hell or high water, I publish this year, so you all have that to look forward to. And I'll do it no matter what, even if I have to hand write every page in every copy myself!

Iffy Monday

Can't be a happy Monday--I almost forgot to post my regular Monday ramblings! I'm still very distracted with all the moving, trying to get back to the writing that I want to do, issues with old friends, and sparking new ones.

On the writing front, the good news is that I started the novel that I wanted to write using the old Royal Sprite portable typewriter I bought at a yard sale a month or so ago. Bad news? It is going to take forever. I might even pull a hand muscle if I'm not careful! :)

I might be distracted in my daily Internet duties because the only mess left from moving is in the office. That's the only place I can really hide things, so the piles of books, papers and sentimental junk will just have to stay here a little while longer.

It was actually the sentimental junk that got to me this weekend. It totally distracted me because it reminded me of an old best friend. I guess we can't call each other that anymore--she's getting married this weekend and I was not invited. There have been more than a dozen weddings of friends that I haven't been invited to over the past two years or so. This is the only one that has bothered me. I'll let people go through all the excuses about money, making tight guest lists, etc. Truth is, she just didn't want me there. I thought about sending a card, but the fear of continued rejection (no acknowledgment of the sentiments) will probably keep me from doing so. I guess it's for the best, right?

I will do my best to put this little hiccup in my emotional well-being behind me so I can focus again on what's important. Or I could just write a poem about it and get it over with!

Unexpected Surprises

With the way my life is going, many of the unexpected surprises seem to come more often than the mundane. I had a pleasant weekend. I thought my work, reading, and writing would not be interrupted, but I was pleasantly surprised when the whole family got together for breakfast on Sunday morning. I also have had hiccups in my schedule this week, but I was taught that friends are some of the most important people in your life. I'm not very strict on keeping a tight schedule. There are many ways to be flexible with it, but when I am home and in front of the computer, I feel like I'm always playing catch up. One of these days soon I may just pull an all-nighter for the the hell of it. Maybe I'll accomplish something!

Noticing the way work has been tough lately, I'm also moving my usual blog post to Tuesday or Wednesday instead of Monday. Mondays are hard to deal with just because you have to get back into the swing of things after finally getting a little extra sleep the day before. I'm also trying really hard to find a little more relevant topics to talk about in terms of writing. I'm pretty sure someone out there is tired of hearing me go on and on about what life is like.

Looking for web hosting

I know Blogger and other free blogging site can be a pain. A lot of times those that want to advertise with your blog decide that it is just not worth it because you do not have you own domain and web host. If you are thinking about getting a new domain and web host, consider checking out Web Hosting Geeks. This website features independent reviews of the best ecommerce hosting. Besides independent reviews, the site also features customer reviews so you can easily compare web hosting services that are affordable and provide you with the tools that you need.

I have been browsing the site and realized that getting a web host and my own domain is a lot more affordable than I thought it would be. I also appreciate all of the information available through Web Hosting Geeks' blog. I was really interested when I read about web hosting security risks and how to prevent security risks. It's going to come in handy when I finally get my own domain and choose a web hosting service.

If you are looking to find a new web host for your blog, writing site, or commercial website this is the site to visit for fair reviews and advice on choosing the right service for your needs.

Always learning

Today has finally been a good day on the front of freelance writing. Not only have I met my daily article goal, but I also worked ahead. If I keep working this hard for the rest of the week, I will have the weekend all to myself. Of course I won’t stop writing – it just means that I will finally be able to work on stories, poems, and some other article topics I find especially enjoyable to write.

Unfortunately, I have noticed a significant drop in some opportunities. I’m wondering if this is an end-of-the-month thing. Before I was so engaged in a single job that I didn’t realize how the number of opportunities drops around this time. I’m not dependent on these other jobs, but they do offer an easy way to pad the check – and they pay quicker than the 60 days I have to wait for my main job!

I also have plans to improve the blog in my free time this weekend. I still have a page rank of 0, and I’m slowly building backlinks. Very slowly. I didn’t know really how important they were until now. It’s crazy how something as simple as that can give you a pass or fail on writing opportunities. I’m in a good mood at the moment, so I’m determined to strive for improvement on both the writing and marketing fronts. I never thought of myself as an internet marketer until I realized that I have to sell my skills to get better jobs. Finally, I’m learning!

Entrecard

My blog is now a part of Entrecard. And to be honest, I'm still not sure how it works over there, but I'm going to take some time tonight (in between Bones and ER, of course!) to learn how everything works.

Chronically Confused

Because I've been having such a hard time at work, I thought I would turn to my other options that I take for occasional writing jobs -- including working with this blog. My intention to have a blog was never to make money on it, but I would take the occasional paid post. I still do. But I try to only take posts that I know would interest a wide variety of my readers.

So yesterday I spent some time trying to better my blog in order to attract more readers and more sponsors. But it turns out that if you don't put any money into your blog, you can't get anywhere. Very few people like the idea of using Blogger. I guess since it takes less than ten minutes to set up a kind of blog like this, I don't blame anyone for being wary about the quality. But I really wish that before casting me aside, my blog posts would be read. I try to write high quality posts, and I believe that this should be the deciding factor, not whether my Google page rank is higher than 5 or that my blog lives on a domain name that I have no money to pay for.

I guess I'm just upset because of the way some of those sponsor groups I work for. Now there are another set of rankings for blogs, and it put mine down lower on the totem pole than it has been before. I can get paid $5 for a post that someone else gets $250 for, and each post is probably of comparable quality. And I do understand that sponsors are paying for a wide range of exposure that I cannot give them. So I guess I'm saying that once again, I find myself a failure. But at least this time it's not a failure as a writer. It's a failure at being a marketer or advertiser. I guess I just don't believe in the "spend money to make money" concept. I only believe in hard work.

Maybe I should just get a job stuffing envelopes. Then again, even I could screw that up the way my life is going.

Let's forget how I like to complain and move onto something a little bit lighter in mood. I've written a new poem for Earth Day, which you can take a look at on Associated Content:

Mother Nature Cries
An Earth Day Poem
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/1576980/mother_nature_cries.html.

I also wrote a movie review on one of my favorite movies, It's a Wonderful Life:

A Wonderful Classic: It's a Wonderful Life
A review of the box office bust turned Christmas classic.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/1577225/a_wonderful_classic_its_a_wonderful.html

I started packing too. I had an empty box sitting in my office for the past week, and since July will come up pretty fast if I don't pay attention, I started packing away a little bit of the decor in my office.

And now I'm going to go sit in front of the television for awhile to see if I can forget about anything that's happened this week.

Friday Update

So I disappointed myself and did not meet my monthly article goal. But that will not happen this month. I plan to produce 200 articles in March no matter what, because I need the money if I want to pay off debt and move again.

If you're a regular viewer of my blog, you may have noticed some new ads in my right hand column. These are some great websites you should check out. Dolphin Bubbles is a great site where you can check out the dolphins that live at Discovery Cove. Another link offers a chance to win a trip to Sea World, which is just about the coolest place in the world. And the newest link is to a company that offers an awesome deal on full color, customized classified ads that produce great results. So if you have something to sell, that would be an ideal way to do it.

Well, it's lunch and back to work. 4 down, 6 more to go for today. Then I can relax and watch Mr. Smith Goes to Washington on TCM tonight.

Navigating my Blog

I've changed things slightly. To make it easier to find examples of my articles and such, I got rid of all the individual links on the right side of the page and instead linked only to my profiles on those sites. But remember, there are other places where a lone article or two is floating out in cyberspace, so if you run into them, take the time to say hi.

Vote For Me!!

This seems to be a year filled with elections... and of course the blogosphere is not different. If you want to make a difference in my day, you can always click on on that little button on the top of my blog that says "vote for me." There are a lot of great blogs out there, and if you vote for mine, well, shucks... I just might blush. Thanks!!

LAST DESPERATE PLEA FOR A NEW LAYOUT

I promise this is the last time that I will post about getting a new blog layout. Anyone that can help me with a professional looking layout and be able to keep all of the elements on my blog after the switch will get a good deal: free advertising for any website FOR LIFE. This means that I will post an ad for your website/blog/webpage anywhere on my blog (top, bottom, side--doesn't matter) PERMANENTLY.

To help me out, all you have to do is email me and let me know you are working on a layout for me... I need to get this as soon as possible. THANKS!!!

Work and Life

So, this weekend I'm getting a new phone and a new apartment... or at least I am going to look at some. Should be exciting. And I've had a lot of work lately, so this is really promising. Only thing is, one company is still holding out on some back payments. It's really annoying me! I'm also trying to work on boosting my Google page rank to get more blog posting jobs, and that's frustrating too. But, I'm ina good mood and ready to spend the rest of the evening surfing for credits.

DESPERATE FOR A NEW DESIGN

I am really desperate for a professional blog design... I'll name my first born after you. Anyone willing to help? I need something good, but also something quick. I can't stand blogger templates anymore!!

CALL FOR LAYOUT DESIGNERS!

For all of those out there who love to design bog layouts, I want you! I'm looking for a new, professional look for my blog, but I hate the hassle of trying to work with the code in order to get all of the same elements transfer over to my new layout... I'm not good at code at all. So, if you want to redesign my blog, I'd be your best friend forever! I cannot pay in cash, but I can pay in advertising. I'll let you advertise a website on my blog indefinitely for a great blog layout. Any questions? Email me. Thanks!