Don't verbify me, bro!

I was watching the Oprah reruns the other day, as per usual, and I met Grammar Girl. Is this not the most totally awesome shirt ever? It's on my Christmas List. You can buy it at here. Get it? Get it? Explained jokes are never that funny, so if you have no idea what this is, you can watch this. Warnings: language, squashing of constitutional rights, crazy-person, "Police Brutality!" etc.


This was a little uncalled for, yes? So, I'm not sure the original event was funny, but the shirt? Hi-larious.
First person to tell me what Verbify means gets a shout-out on Friday's post!

Freelance Life: In an attempt at "Keeping 13 in Play," I am trying to find markets for things I have already written. This is hugely time consuming, and backwards! You are supposed to study a market, and target a query based on their needs. But, I gotta say, the Keep 13 in Play is a great rule! I'm already getting some good responses. Five in Play... I'm on my way!

Keep 13 In Play

Hope Clark has this great freelance idea. She always keeps thirteen (submissions, queries, or contest entries) in play at all times. That means the minute something gets taken out of play (accepted, rejected, or ignored after two months of polite pestering), it is time to send something else out!


Isn't that a great idea? It is a good way to make sure that you have a chance of working in the near future. It ensures that all writing time is not spent on that novel, to the detriment of your bank account. (Seriously, aren't you looking for a chance to stop working on that novel?) And, on the off chance that everything gets accepted (ha, ha), it is still do-able.

I think I am going to totally do this. Two down, eleven to go!


Totally Random Quote of the day:

"Applause is a drug, like heroin, or checking your email." - Sideshow Mel


So, my novel. It's YA (Young Adult). My main character is fourteen. What am I doing? It's been a couple (OK, sixteen) years since I was that age. I want your ideas. What do you remember about being fourteen? If you are fourteen, um, what did you do today?
Write on!

Dancing In the Dark

I feel like Springsteen just pulled me up on stage to dance! (Is this reference way too 1980's?) I feel like LL Cool J just called me a honey! (Too 90's?) I feel like John Mayer wrote me a love song! (Too wierdo? I've got nothing left. Just keep reading.)

My favorite writers, Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt, put together a new website last week. And they just emailed and said they will give me a link! Check it out at http://www.anneandmay.com/.

Moving on. Quite the productive freelance weekend.

I mapped out a writing career plan. (Don't ask. It's still all over the...um, map.)

I wrote a schedule of my fall semester.

I was hired to teach one day a week as a high school writing instructor.

But most importantly, I got to read. If there is a career where one can get paid to read, please tell me! Reading (well) is the most important skill a writer can have, the most valuable way to spend time. If I'm not reading, I have nothing to write about.

What are you reading? Leave me a comment and let me know. If you are looking for something new, check out Anne and May's books from the link above! I hope you love them as much as I do.

Something for Nothing

Once, while I was answering the phones at work, someone from a local gym called and said I could have a free week's membership. Yipee! So, I went, did the tour, and then respectfully declined to join. (I respectfully declined to join after he kept calling me, "sugar," his boss said within earshot that he shouldn't waste an application on me, and repeatedly asking if I wasn't sure I needed to lose ten pounds.)

Anyway, while I was respectfully declining, he asked, "Did you just want the free membership? Did you just want something for nothing?"

Well, YES! I love free stuff. I am a sucker for samples. My Sam's Club membership is only in use for the food samples they give out on the weekends. When the used bookstore tosses out old magazine, I have to take one. (I call that research.) I love sweepstakes. I am convinced that I could really make a living on entering sweepstakes and selling the prizes.

I realized I felt the same way with my writing. I wanted editors to feel the passion, accept that I was talented, and throw money at me. I am having a hard time with hard work. Working from home takes extreme discipline. There is always something else to be done! The children always need something, the husband is on summer vacation and always wants me to hang out and watch TV. Do you know how hard it is to resist TV?

So tell me, work-at-home moms: Do you set working hours? Are you a night owl? How does everything else get done? Did you give up TV? Do I have to give up TV?

Nuts to That!

It was a great day in This Freelance Life! I got some work done, I did my daily writing, and I sent out one charming note and some new submissions. My itty, bitty one learned how to open the filing cabinet, which made the whole day at the office a lot more entertaining.

THEN, another rejection letter. I hope you guys aren't keeping track of these. What is that, three in two days?

I suppose, if I were practicing my PR skills, I would explain that rejection letters are great! They mean you are working, are getting yourself out there, are trying to create a career. My new writing friend Rachel (http://www.rachelheldevans.com/) explained that even as she was making a good living at this freelance life, her acceptance rate was only 20%. This is like being an actor. You get rejected until... well, until you don't.

But rejection letters feel terrible.

I know, now, why writers write for free. I used to swear I would never work for free. "No, words mean something! This is hard work that I should be compensated for. If I work for free, it will just allow editors to let other writers work for free, thus devaluing the whole system."

Nuts to that!

Writers write for free because they need clips! Writers write for free because we need somebody to print their words, to have somebody accept our work. I will only do it for a few weeks. I need some clips! I need some validation! I need some acceptance!

I Want to Be Where the People Are

I've decided that I must blame my NYC obsession on my childhood. These princesses were never content. Instead of just dreaming about a prince, these girls just wanted a new life!

Ariel: I want to be where the people are.

Belle: There must be more than this provincial life.

Jasmine: A whole new world, a dazzling place I never knew.

What's your excuse? Why did Disney mess you up for life?

Moving on to my freelance life: The great interview I was so excited about? The editor thought I wanted to be his secretary! Now I will admit that my resume is a little Administrative- Assistant-heavy, but I sent the man writing samples and the subject line of my email was FREELANCE WRITER!!

But he was very nice anyway. And now he knows I exist and knows I want to write for him. Frankly, I don't think he would have given me the time of day with just my skinny portfolio. If nothing else, it was a foot in the door.

After the hilarious / awful interview, I came home to yet another rejection letter.

And my mom calls. She's going to New York this weekend. Without me.

Miles to Go Before I Sleep

Did you see my to-do list yesterday?? I think I was being overly ambitious again. My husband's to-do list yesterday: fix the car and go golfing. He accomplished that list and felt pretty great about himself. After hours on the computer, the house falling apart around me, bills still unpaid, and no clean laundry, I felt like a walking disaster. Do you do this? Do you have a self-defeating to-do list?

I love Flylady (http://www.flylady.net/), but I am having a hard time learning from the master. I just want to do it all, and do it all right NOW!

So, my revised to goals for this week. Write everyday. Go to the play date. Clean the house. Pay the bills. Buy a hosting plan for the everlasting website. A little laundry. There. That is something I can accomplish.

Moving on, I made new writing friend yesterday. You can find her on the blog roll listed below. Nice to meet you, Julianne! I am finding my writing friends invaluable. Who are your writing friends?

This Week in Freelance!

Just to let you know what a writer's life looks like, here is my to do list for the week. This is on top of raising children, daily blogging, and Facebook dedication.

1. Finish the website and get it on the web. (Doesn't that sound very techie, like I know exactly what I am doing?)
2. Submit another article to the editor who rejected me last week. Perhaps this will spend more than ten minutes in his inbox?
3. I have a HUGE interview for a full-time writing gig. I can't find out a thing about the company, so I am feeling vastly unprepared. Also, I don't really want a full-time gig, since the whole point of being a freelance writer was to stay at home with the munchkins. So, A) I'm hoping he won't notice I know nothing about his company and am a very baby writer and B) still love me enough to let me write part-time. Hah! Wish me luck and PRAY!
4. I am pursuing a PR gig in my hometown.
5. At the start of summer, I said I would finish the first draft of my novel by July 31. That means I now have to write, like, 20 pages a day. Wow, this feels like college!

So, crazy busy! I really love it. I am living the dream. Well, my dream anyway.
"What's your dream?" - Pretty Woman

Stop Dreaming. Start Doing.
Write On!

Freelance Roller Coaster!

This would be a great Six-Flags ride! Just give everybody a laptop and tell them to go make a living!
This week:
first acceptance letter
yet another rejection letter
a meeting that changed the rest of my life (shout out! http://www.rachelheldevans.com/)
I got a link to my blog from my favorite blog ever (http://goodgirllit.blogspot.com/)
my friend Keri gave me free press (http://my12stones.blogspot.com/)
and the possibility of a FULL-TIME WRITING FREELANCE GIG!
I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but...um, my hopes are up.

I am getting a professional head shots (http://www.jamilynphotography/myspace.com), so the website will have to wait until those are finished. By the way, check out this article about your Facebook picture. http://www.slate.com/id/2195142/ It's called, "I Look Stupid."

I am babysitting today to pay the bills. It's a freelance patched together life!
Write on!

Free Smarty Pants!

Get smarter... for free!

http://www.5min.com/
has free, five minute videos about, well, life! We writers have our limits. Have you ever tried to tell a child how to tie a shoe? No way, dude. There are some things you have to see to understand. Today the some of the features are how to make an apple pie and how to make a "super easy homemade rocket!"

http://www.dailylit.com/
has free books sent to your email! New releases are available for a small fee, but most of the classics are free. I've been reading Agnes Grey (not as intellectual as it sounds) and Moby Dick. Well, I keep quitting Moby Dick, but since it's still coming to my inbox I am trying to figure out what is going on. Whale! Starbuck! Ahoy! You can cancel a book if you hate it (and not too lazy to cancel it like me!) You can sign up for daily, weekdays only, or MWF.

http://www.gutenberg.org/
is also amazing. They have 25,000 free books to download. They want your money, but you can decide if you want to support them.

What free-get smarter-sites do you love?
Write on!

Good Grief!

Feeling a little Charlie Brown today.

I got another rejection letter. I know it is a part of the business, but it is still so not fun. I'm allowing myself one day (twelve hours) of wallowing before I have to snap out of it.

I think you would be very proud of my professional, yet friendly response. And, frankly, rejection letters are better than when editors just ignore you. That's when I turn into high maintenance writer girl. "Does any body work there? Did it get lost in the mail? Why are you ignoring me?" (Kidding! I'm always friendly and professional.)

But, I'm not giving up! It's back to my thousand words.

How do you deal with rejection?

Start Spreading the News!

My New York obsession is out of control.

I don't know how it started. I think it was Carrie Bradshaw, et al.
But now, I watch TV shows based in NYC. (Yes, I realize most of them are filmed on a lot in LA.) I TiVo the Documentary Channel which keeps having reruns of Secrets of New York.
I have been facebook-befriending college acquaintances who moved there on the slim chance that we might get to be real friends, and they could invite me to visit and... (If you are a facebook friend who lives in NYC, I don't mean this. I really like you.)
I read books about New York and blogs from people who live there. I even read page six even though I have no idea who any of those people are.
I don't know how to stop!

And, believe it or not, I like where I live. I just wish where I lived had theatre and actors and musicians and was the publishing capital of the world and had taxis and places to get good bagels and museums and sidewalks.

So, for now. I'm just planning a visit. Any advice?

Stop dreaming. Start doing.
Write on!

Keep It Holy

I've been taking Sundays off. Even though May said it much better than I will, http://goodgirllit.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2008-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2009-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=5
taking a sabbath rest has been a big thing for me lately.

Here's how I fail. Instead of welcoming the rest, I ache with resentment! Writing is (now) fun, and blogging is fun, and if I love my job and it doesn't FEEL like work, then surely God wouldn't mind. "Surely God didn't say..."

So, the sabbath was created for us, and not the other way around, it's not supposed to be all rule-y and oppressive. And why am I resenting a day of worship and rest? REST is in my best interest: how cool is a God who tells us to take a day off?

How do you rest?

Write on! (Just try to take a day off...)

My Thousand Words

Welcome Facebook friends! It's good to see ya'll over here in blogosphere.

Carolyn See (http://www.Carolynsee.com) has this great theory about writing. In short, each day write a thousand words and send one charming note (make contacts, make friends, make nice.) It seems so easy, doesn't it?

And yet.

A thousand words? Every day? That's like, three THREE pages. Every day? Crazy.

But ya'll, it's working! It's given me a goal, forced me out of my comfort zone, and helped me log off Facebook.

What crazy tips have been working for you?

Web Hosts and Cute Cakes

The family had a great acceptance letter party! My sister made a cake which she decorated to look like Discipleship Journal. It was really fun to celebrate good news. (It doesn't take much for us to throw ourselves a bash.)

I can't have a party every time I get an acceptance letter... I want this to be an everyday occurrence!

Spent all day yesterday comparing web hosting services. Seems like a huge waste of time. Also, it doesn't fall under Bethany's new mantra: Stop dreaming, Start doing. Instead of agonizing over this decision, I am just going to pick one and start writing! My new site should be up next week.

What decisions do you fret over? Are there times to just jump in and stop gathering every bit of information?

Write on!

Accepted at Last

I AM PUBLISHED!

That's right, baby. First acceptance letter came to the in-box yesterday. Oh yes. I did a little happy dance. Thank you Discipleship Journal! I'll give ya'll the link when the article is printed.

Reactions: I called every member of my immediate family, but nobody was home! My family has heard me talk about being a writer for 10 years! They knew I was all talk, but lovingly listened anyway. I think I'm throwing them a party tonight! My writing crew was hilarious. ("You da bomb!")

There is nothing like sitting down and hammering it out!
Quit dreaming. Start doing. (Or dream and start simultaneously.)
Write on!

What comes first?

I had a funny chicken/egg/cart/horse dilemma yesterday. Do I write (so editors see something on the webpage) or do I create a webpage (so editors hire me to write something)? What comes first?
I decided... both! I sent off a quick query letter for an article I had already started and I edited my webpage too! I've always wanted to be the kind of person who had a website. It is CRAZY empowering to JUST START doing someing I was always afraid to try.
So, the website is coming along. I can't wait to show it to you guys. Speaking of which... have you ever tried to take a decent headshot of yourself? I see fab self-portraits on facebook. How do ya'll do that? I'm tempted to use the picture the layout came with. She was pretty cute.
Write on!

Freelance Life

Welcome to my blog! This is the first day of my freelance career procrastination.

This blog is about my writing career. I'm just starting out, so join me on the journey!

This week's goal: to create a website.
Tell me about yours. Any tips, ideas, words of warning?