2016: The Year of the Writer

I am not a person who thinks New Year's resolutions are a good idea. I've discussed this before--you may have motivation because it's a new calendar year, but by February there's nothing left to keep you going. Careers, however, need to have goals. And implementing goals at the beginning of the year can work if you plan well. I have a few goals so that 2016 will become the Year of the Writer in my book. Hopefully you'll come along with me on the journey.

In 2016 my goal is to...

Finally Publish In Another Life

I checked my keywords and I've been talking about this book on my blog since May 2013--at least with the title. I was probably talking about it long before that. The time has come to finally get the revisions into high gear and get it out there. I don't plan on rushing the process, but I think giving myself up to a year to get it out is more than enough time to make sure it's the best it can be.

And I'm going to need your help. I've used Amazon's Write On community to work on one book, and though that first experience was a little lacking, I want to try again with a different genre. When I start uploading the first few chapters, I will let you know and hopefully you'll check it out--and tell me exactly what you think is wrong with it! Criticism is  more than welcome. It's the only way any writer can get better and improve their craft.

Submit a Book to Kindle Scout

And my In Another Life goal leads to this one. I want to try my luck with Kindle Scout. I think that In Another Life could be a contender for a contract. But again, I'm going to have to call on my friends, fans and completely random readers to help.  I'm still studying the process and seeing what a book needs to win, but I'm finding out that a strong fan base is essential--so marketing is going to be a priority for me in 2016.

Resurrect My Neglected Blogs

I don't know if you know this, but I actually have five blogs. There's this one, Book Review Bin (book reviews), Ancestry Musings (genealogy), Showered in Beauty (wellness/beauty/fashion) and College Chronicles (my comic/graphic novel). All of them pertain to other creative outlets and interests of mine, but I haven't been updating them as often as I should. Some haven't been updated in months.

Not only will keeping these blogs a priority help me to keep writing every single day, these blogs could very well be another income stream. Although I haven't had any luck yet with my first Fiverr gig attached to Book Review Bin, I know that the only way I can make advertising, guest posting and other features lucrative is to provide useful information and be consistent to build an audience--and get that ever-important page rank up. Truths of a Shy Writer doesn't even earn income on a regular basis as a PR3 blog, but the occasional sponsored post does come up, along with getting free products in exchange for reviews (which significantly helps on the monthly budget). I realize that I need to offer much more to earn more, and that's just what I'm going to do.

Continue to Advocate for Better Treatment and Better Pay for Freelancers

This is a no-brainer. I don't make nearly enough money freelancing, even during the months when work is abundant. Publishing fiction independently doesn't bring in much more with a small reader base. I'm lucky enough to have help so I don't have to live in a cardboard box, but that help won't always be there. I want that feeling of true independence back--I miss having that.

It would shock most people to learn just how little writers make--even ones with name recognition.  So the only way to make sure that writers and other freelance creative services now and in the future get the pay they deserve is to keep speaking up about it. I'm also sticking to my vow to not take jobs that equal to well below minimum wage. It's been two years since I worked for anything less than $8/hr. It's not worth it to go below that with the skills and research I bring to the table, and it gives clients all over the world an easy excuse to continue mistreating freelancers.

I fully support the #FreelanceIsntFree movement that the Freelancers Union is working on. Even though most of the work the organization does typically benefits those in the New York City area directly, what's implemented there tends to sweep the country. So the sooner they get ahead, the better for everyone.

And speaking of support...

Along with the freelancer fight, I'm also going to promise to be a better reader. It takes a lot of courage to publish a book. And being on the receiving end of the occasional unhelpful review and ratings without a reason, I know that I need to be more active in leaving helpful reviews for authors, especially on Amazon. While Goodreads may help writers find a more niche audience to consider their work, Amazon is sort of the king for independent authors trying to make a sale. If I can help that with my review, I'll make a point to do that, and I won't hold back if the book simply isn't worth the time spent reading it.

This is just the start of making 2016 a great year to be a writer. There are so many other projects I have in the pipeline that I shouldn't have any excuse to slow down. I hope everyone has a lovely holiday season and I'll see you again in 2016!

Two Weeks Left

Yeah, I'll admit it-- 2015 was not a great year. It wasn't terrible either (professional and otherwise), so I have that to be thankful for. But I do have to get a lot of things into place before the end of the year. I have a really detailed, thought-out post I'm still working on for next week, so this week's update is just this:

Get ready 2016. I'm coming for you.

Let's Write the Winter Blues Away

The sun was out today, but it's like eight degrees outside and we're all still surrounded by snow. I want out. Not just out of the Midwest, but out of winter. I'm done with it. I will gladly trade in my snow boots for spring dresses and my winter hat for... well, anything else not winter related. 

Enough complaining though. Compared to the Big Picture, I'm still immensely grateful for everything else. Even on the days I feel totally lost, I can still spend my day writing. The one-year anniversary (I'm deeming it a publish-aversary from now on) for Unfolding Life is coming up and I've been working on a series of posts about that for next month. I seriously can't believe it's getting close to being a year since I first embarked on that journey. Crazy, crazy times.

Even with all this work I managed to get that grant application in on time. I've got my fingers crossed until the recipient is announced in April. And there's no slowing down either--a lot of literary journals have their submission periods closing this week, so I'm getting everything organized to send out tonight and tomorrow. I don't care how much I tell myself at the end of the every night that all this unpaid and unappreciated work isn't worth it. I still wake up each morning believing that it is, and that's all that counts.

What are you working on this week?

Back to Reality

I know I've been absent from the blog. It doesn't have to do with lack of time or ideas to write about. I just couldn't bring myself to write a blog post without putting a negative spin on it. I don't feel like the world needs any more negativity, so instead of opening my mouth (technologically speaking) I just stayed quiet. Then I realized that if I'm being real and giving the world my experience on life as a writer, negativity will inevitably be a part of it. So advanced warning: this post is in no way uplifting. There. Let's continue.

You know how happy I was that I had the motivation and the determination to make 2015 great? That's not quite how I feel anymore. I turned right back into a realist once I hit the end of the first full work week in January. That's when work starts up again from its holiday slump, only it didn't come back this time. At least not enough of it came back to get myself where I need to be to start thinking of the future instead of wallowing in the present anxiety. The work I do have is more long term, which means I'll wait weeks or months instead of days for a payout. 

I also spent a lot of time contemplating one of those regular jobs again. Hey, time is something I have plenty of anyway. There are some writing related jobs that I know qualify for, but with weather and all of the other things that like to block my path, traveling for an interview could end up being a huge waste of time and money. Of course, I could just be using all of these excuses to hide the fact that I haven't put myself out there in a good long while and I'm just a little nervous to do it. As long as the listings are still up, I'll try to talk myself into taking a real chance.

And about those local jobs--you know what those are, and they give me a lot of anxiety just thinking about them. Customer service is not my forte. I feel like I'm belittled enough in my life without having to deal with it for part-time minimum wage.

That doesn't mean that any of this has stifled my creativity. That's still running a mile a minute. I have tons of ideas, but because the guilt set in again, I haven't strapped myself to the computer to finish them. Then again, I have a list of places to submit to this week including an application for a small writing grant. So at least I'll be keeping myself busy until I can find some answers. I'll probably be so busy trying to figure out a path that I'll forget I'm supposed to be angry and bitter about Valentine's Day. Sweet!

Dream On

The week between Christmas and New Year's is usually where we all make a giant list of resolutions we'll never complete, right? I'm not doing that this year. Although goals are helpful, they don't need to start on January 1. I don't want to enter 2015 totally lost, so I did come up with a way to get motivated without getting caught up in making it into a traditional resolution.

Dream Board -- on the phone so I'll never be without it.

This is my dream board. A lot of people make these just to have a focal point to renew and re-energize themselves in that moment, that day or their whole purpose for life. Mine serves as a way to point me in the general direction I need to go to get where I want to be in 2015. I would like to note that these photos represent very broad ideas. For example, I have absolutely no reason to believe I will ever in my life win an Academy Award, but I do think that I can strive for more recognition for the hard work I do and create better work that is worthy of recognition.

This board will put everything back into focus. I don't want to write that $8 blog post because I think I'm worth more than that? Look at the board. I get frustrated because book sales are in a slump? Look at the board. I get angry because I need help and can't find the courage to ask for it? Look at the board. If it works well, I should be posting photos of my new city, my new job and anything else good that comes my way soon. Hope is not dead over here.

Dreams. They can come true.

Blogging Beauty Reviews

I've been writing products reviews for awhile, both paid assignments and on my own. I really like evaluating a wide variety of products, and beauty products are no different. However, I didn't want to fill my writing blog with a bunch of reviews for random beauty items, so I've launched a beauty blog called Showered in Beauty. I plan to use it to post reviews, tips and other beauty information. Feel free to follow it!

Being Me is the Only Thing That Works

You may have noticed my slight absence from the blog. Let me update you on what's been going on around here.

Finding a job wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. At this point, the freelance writing landscape is so dry that I was looking for full time work instead of part time work. Though at this moment is doesn't matter--I don't have part time or full time employment. I'm not being super picky either. I put warehouse/factory work on the bottom of the list, but it was still an option until I found out that the one position I was interested in required using heavy machinery (not for me, thanks). I tried retail, and apparently they were all filled up, even after the great back to school exodus. I don't want to get into a commission only deal, which is 100% of the emails that CareerBuilder sends to me. Office work really hasn't panned out either. So... I'm back to the drawing board. A job will pop up eventually, but it's getting harder and harder to even bother in this location. I still believe relocation is the answer for me, even though it's probably not feasible.

To get my mind off of things and to get back into the business side of life (and get this blog rolling again), I started reading about different types of blog posts, what you should and shouldn't write about, etc. Then I realized that on the Don't list, I'm doing everything I shouldn't do. Some of the top Don'ts for professional blogs is starting off with a mention of a long absence (check), whining about your personal life (check) and then talking about your work-in-progress (check -- see below).

I felt utterly defeated until I realized that no one is policing my blog. If I want to whine, that's perfectly fine to do. If I want to tell my readers every little detail about a work-in-progress, I will. I have to be me, and I can't be anyone else. Even a professional version of me, if it just doesn't feel right. There's no point in using this only as a launchpad for shameless self-promotion if I don't already have an audience to talk to. And although I do feel sometimes it's necessary to discuss a current topic in the writing industry or give advice, I don't think it's appropriate for every post, especially if I have ignored my own advice (which, unfortunately, I do have a tendency to do). So, I'm going to keep doing what I do best, being open about what I want, mainly because I think new writers could get just as much or more out of reading my experiences that aren't about writing than the ones that are about writing.

Speaking of writing, not much has been going on. I thought that it would be much more liberating to spend less time writing for money and more time writing whatever I want to write, but when real world problems get in the way, I freeze. It goes way beyond writer's block. I could sit at the computer for an hour. Stare at a blank piece of paper for two hours. Then when I hit on an idea, I get it out in five minutes, then I'm frozen again. I'm trying to find more ways to get motivated instead of clamming up, but nothing much has worked so far. So it's all coming back to bite me. Even when I have plenty of time to write because I haven't got a job, I squander the writing time swimming in fear. So, for this week, it's off to find some coping mechanisms for all of this. I need take a step, whatever or wherever that happens to be.

Projects and Book Sales

I know last Wednesday's post was a little pathetic and a little mysterious, but well worth it. I'm working on a Rules of Freelancing set of blog posts to be featured for the next few Wednesdays. The posts will go beyond the typical, "here's what you need to do" format and I will share my experiences on how I followed those rules and how I broke them all some way or another. Trust me, it'll be fun.

I'm also typing like mad, working on a personal essay. I don't know how I got the idea that writing an essay would be fun, but I'm getting it all down so that maybe I can get it out in a couple of weeks. We'll see about that--this essay needs to be near perfect before I put it out into the world.

And those pesky material possessions weighing me down? Yep, I'm finally starting to get rid of them, starting with my personal library. I didn't want to sell books at first, but like so many have asked me: "Are you ever going to read them again?" For most titles, I would have to say "No." That mean you'll get the opportunity to buy them. I'm listing them on half.com, so take a look if you are interested. I'll read anything written in English, so what I list will vary widely. I'll let you know when more are put up for sale. Right now, I can't put them all up because I'm pretty sure I still haven't unpacked all of them yet.

Big L on My Forehead

Yep... was it predictable that would miss Monday's post? I decided to work outside of the home office at the last minute, so the blog post totally slipped my mind. I should really write these things down, you know. Anyway, we will return to the regularly scheduled posts on Wednesday!

Turned Around

I must have been completely spaced out last week to forget about this blog completely. Oops! What makes me feel guilty about it is that I probably would not have remembered to update it this week had I not received an email recently from the International Blogging Recognition Council (IBRC). IBRC was kind enough to recognize my blog through the referral from one of my great readers. I don't know who you are, but thanks! i really appreciate this honor.

I wasn't extremely busy last week--at least no more than usual. So many rules and guidelines have changed at work that needed to put my full concentration on that. I really love the convenience of this day job, so I want to keep it around for as long as possible!

I did manage to get a few articles done on my own as well. Since Triond is offer a bonus 10% on earnings this month for writing 5 articles, I figure I better do all I can to earn that bonus. I really need the bonus too--since I write about topics I like, they aren't the most popular articles on the site. The three articles I have so far are:

Open-Face Chicken Quesadilla (recipe)
Key Terms for Woodworking Machinery
Italian Baby Names A-Z: Gender Neutral

I hope to finish at least two more articles this week to guarantee the bonus. I should be able to get them both done tomorrow, providing I get all of my scheduled work done today. Then what, you ask? More writing!! I'm only starting on page four of my typewriter novel. It is a lot harder to think about what I want to write before I sit down to do it. The computer makes it so much easier to write badly then spend the time to fix it later. With a typewriter, the each page must at least be coherent. But I'm learning to appreciate old school writers even more!

Getting Ready

I move in four days. Well, I sign the lease Friday, move in the important stuff, then finish the rest of it on Saturday. I managed to wrangle my brother to help, so we'll see how fast we can all get it done. Speed is the key, because I'm still working a full 6-day work week right now. That's to keep up with all the new expenses. Eventually I'll be back writing on the weekends instead of working, but for the immediate future it's money first, telling stories later.

This schedule also means I'm may disappear from the Internet for a couple of days--but don't worry folks, I'll let you all know when I'm settled in and ready to get back to the blogosphere.

Have a happy week!

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.

Out sick

The last couple of days I was temporarily out sick. It was just a cold, but I stayed away from anything that wasn't strictly work related: Twitter, Facebook, this blog, etc. But now I'm back! I can breathe out of my nose and I'm ready to pick up some of the slack. I have to get my little behind in gear -- Christmas is fast approaching and I need any extra money I can get. :)

Oops

I've been seriously neglecting my blogging duties, but I've been in such a mood. Ask anyone who's been around me -- I haven't been pleasant company this last week. I'm doing great with work. I'm building a great portfolio of articles and I have enough money to get those bills paid off soon. So I have no reason to complain -- about work. Life is another story, and probably more suited to be weaved into my fiction, if I ever get back to it.

Choosing New Blogging Tools

Getting traffic to any blog is important. The most important type of traffic, however, is targeted traffic that will appreciate your views and also be interested in any products or services you may sell through your blog. Recently I ran across an article, Useful Online Tools for a Blogger, that gives a description of many tools any blogger can utilize to improve their blog.

Some of the online tools are common sense: all bloggers should have some type of tracker for traffic statistics. This shows them where they are receiving the most traffic from and can explore new outlets for attracting new eyes to the blog. Other online tools perfect for the novice blogger include using traffic exchanges, blog lists, and paid advertising.

The pro blogger can use even more tools to keep content looking fresh and exciting. HTML is an excellent area to explore to change fonts, background colors, and the layout of the page. Video, audio, and other multimedia can also provide a new way to express your opinions.

Before choosing any new online tool to improve your blog, test it out. See if your regular followers are excited about the changes. If they are happy, more traffic may turn into more followers.

Real life can take a back seat

Now that all of the packing is done, I just have to venture back to the old apartment tomorrow to let the movers in for the big stuff. My lease isn't up until the end of August, so I will have plenty of time to clean and pick up those last few pieces of mail that I didn't get forwarded.

All my attention can now be focused on my writing career. Not that it's spectacular in any way, it's just that when I want to make money, I neglect my fiction. Fiction is the one writing style that I'm hoping to get paid for one day instead of writing 200 words on a keyword that doesn't make sense in any sentence. My schedule is working, and I'm glad I have to the determination to stick to it this time!

I can't neglect other areas of my writing either--such as this blog. You all are a big part of my motivation. Knowing that even just a few of you read my blog on a regular basis has pushed me to write better, more informative posts. You are keeping me accountable for what I put on the Internet, and I appreciate it.

To continue to show my appreciation, I'm also developing those interview questions I have been promising for the last few months. Once they are complete (no later than the end of September), I will send out requests to interview writers who blog or bloggers who write, depending on how they seem themselves. Those will be featured on Friday's posts.

I am also contemplating a change in the ads that I post on this blog. Right now, most are through pay-per-blog opportunities. I would rather have ads that better reflect the needs of the freelance writer/blogger, so once I come up with a fair price to place ads here, I will let you all know.

It never ends...

Getting motivated for a new job search is a lot harder than I thought it would be. Because of all the communication problems I was having at this last job, I was ready to move on a month ago. Now I'm stuck. I don't want to actively look for another writing gig. I don't even want to work on my novel at the moment. I tell myself every morning when I wake up that I need to do this, I need to find that, and somehow I get off track and can't get back on. I don't know why I'm in such a mood, but it needs to end now. Writing is all I have at the moment. And if I don't write, all I am is a lazy bum. It's true I could see this time as a summer vacation (or stay-cation, I guess), but eventually this lie won't have a foothold. Enough ranting. Writing this blog post counts as writing and as work, so I'm being productive.

My attitude needs an adjustment, but other than that I have the time and opportunity to really get into the revisions on my novel. I'm breaking it out this afternoon. The biggest motivation for working on it is to get the hard copy of the first draft thrown in the trash before my mom comes to help pack more boxes. I have a thing about sharing my writing with family. They don't get to read it. Ever. It's the best motivation I have at the moment.

One more thing before I leave you guys on this muggy Wednesday: I have put up some new ads on the right column of the page. I don't like to make a big deal about it, but some of the products and services are excellent for writers and other freelance contractors. These ads will also keep the number of sponsored posts down, so take a look if you have the chance. Thanks!

Unveiling the plans

I think it's time that I finally reveal some of the plans I promised for this blog. First, I'm really going to try and lay off of the paid posts. I know they can be annoying and really have nothing to do with writing... except that they are a good example of what a freelancer will do for a few bucks. If you see a paid post from now on, either I seriously like the product/service or it paid really, really well.

My second improvement will come later on in the summer, once I'm a little more organized. Since I know it might be boring to hear about the same writer all the time, I wanted to provide other writer/bloggers out there with a chance to introduce themselves. I will be setting up writer/blogger profile days where I will feature a writer's blog and they can provide a little more information about themselves. It will be a way for free promotion, I guess. I'm generous when it comes to getting the word out about my fellow writers.

I would also change the layout, but I attract all sorts of glitches so I think I'll just keep that the same for now.

Oh, and before I forget I wrote a new article at eHow last week: How To Evaluate Freelance Jobs. It might come in handy for some of you who are like me and looking for some new work.

New plans

I have some great new plans for this blog. I finally sat down late last night and came up with some ideas for improving my blog posts (sorry... you'll still have to see some sponsored posts), adding some extra features, and maybe even updating to a new layout so my two columns are not so smushed together. Before I share any new improvements, does anyone have an opinion about anything else I need to change? I can take your criticism as long as its constructive. Thanks!

Benefits of Blog Advertising

There are so many benefits to advertising on blogs. I did not realize how blog marketing could actually work for many businesses. At first I thought an advertiser would get one, maybe two hits from a blog post or cost per click ad on a blog. Even the most popular blogs couldn’t pull off that big of a profit, right? I was wrong. Especially after I watched Oprah one day and saw that a Mommy blogger earned quite a lot of money from sponsored advertising and marketing on her blog. Amazing!

I know that her situation is probably rare. Most people cannot earn a living by blogging along. Nor should they try. Blog advertising is a good way to earn a little something extra, but cannot be the backbone for your success. The blog itself should be your main concern when it comes to earning money from advertising.

The first tip for any blogger looking to make money with blog advertising is to make sure you write quality content. It does not matter how many visitors your get per day. If you content is not informative or useful in some way, you cannot build a base of regular readers. Regular readers are the ones more likely to check out your advertising in posts.

Along the same vein, whenever a blogger writes a blog post for money, it should reflect what the advertiser wants people to know about the product, but also how it personally relates to the blogger. You can start writing better reviews by carefully evaluating each paid opportunity and choosing ones that relate to your life and your blog.

And no one can ignore the power of SEO for blogs . If you have a niche blog, make sure to use SEO strategies to your advantage.

Paid posts should be a fun way to earn a little extra cash doing what you love to do anyway: blog!