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Monthly earnings for September--almost

2008-09-29T17:03:00.000-07:00

How has going to college full time affected my earnings? So far I'm doing okay but I need to step it up a little. Going back to school brings not only less time, but more need for cash and paying work. So here's how I've done this month:

Divorce articles: $52 + $26 pending not counted
Private copywriting jobs: $426.76
Elance: $210-$10 for monthly membership = $200
ChaCha: $13.60
Google Ads: $13.32
Suite 101: $3.65
Other blog and website advertising: $61.97

Total: $798.56

I also have $200 in jobs from elance to complete, minus the approx $18.00 they'll take out, and I plan to find another $50 or so in miscellaneous work. That should leave me not getting ahead, but not getting behind either.

Happy writing!

AffiliateBot

2008-09-19T07:44:00.001-07:00

I keep a website at http://www.sagemommy.com/ as a online writing sample as well as a resource for work-at-home parents. No one is going to pay me to run my website, but I do expect to earn enough to pay the web hosting fees and maybe get minimum wage for the time I put in.

Like most web admins, I do this through affiliate links. There are two ways to find reputable affiliates. The first is to search the internet and hope that the ones you find a reputable companies that will pay you for your services and not spam the people who sign up. The second, and easiest, way is to go through AffiliateBot. I'm all about easy!

ChaChaCha

2008-09-18T21:58:00.001-07:00

ChaCha is a website that pays you 10 to 20 cents each to answer easy trivia questions. It's not great money, but it is more than the nothing I usually earn while cleaning my bedroom. I log on and do other things in the room while it runs in the background. When I hear the 'doorbell' sound, I know there's a question waiting for me.

A few thoughts about ChaCha:

The sign up was a bit of a hassle, but entirely worth it. When you sign up, tell them emmiedahl sent you so I get my brownie points.

You make 10 to 20 cents per answer each trivia question. Because they take about a minute each if you are on the ball, that will translate into six to twelve dollars an hour. It's not a great wage, but did I mention it is usually fun to answer the questions?

It IS fun. Time flies when you are chachaing.

What to Do When You're Swamped

2008-09-18T21:58:00.000-07:00

It seems that it is always feast or famine in the writing world. On Tuesday and Wednesday, I was suddenly swamped with writing jobs. I'm not complaining; quite to the contrary, I am thrilled, and I'm slowly working my way through my assignments. I haven't calculated earnings yet--been too busy between kids, homeschooling, and gearing up for college classes--but I really hope I can make up for the first half of this month and get my college expenses paid for.

So here are a few ways I deal with having a lot of work.

1. I thank God. So many people tell me they have tried to write for a living and failed. Work is a blessing.

2. I back off from other activities. We eat quicker, easier meals and back off from housework. The kids do more independent schoolwork and anything requiring intensive parental involvement is scheduled for another day.

3. I sleep less and watch television less. I don't get a lot of either, but they are both easy to cut out for a while.

4. If necessary, extra work may be farmed out to friends. I haven't done this, but I've been on the receiving end of extra work from other writers. Make sure your friend can write well.

Busy periods are usually followed by slow periods because I temporarily stop applying for new work. This gives me time to catch up on laundry, do chemistry experiments, and fill my freezer with ready-to-warm meals for the next time I'm swamped with work.

Happy writing!

Work, work, work... or not

2008-09-16T00:42:00.000-07:00

Today was profoundly unsuccessful. My husband is going on a trip, so I spent much of the day helping him prepare and driving him to the airport (which is only 15 minutes away, so why did it seem to take all day?). I made a whopping $16 I think. It would be funny if I wasn't needing money. Better days tomorrow, hopefully.

Conquering a Lack of Motivation

2008-09-15T08:47:00.000-07:00

Do you ever find yourself just not wanting to work?

Few people understand what an issue this can be for work at home people. There's no one who will be mad at me if I slack off a little. No one is hanging over my shoulder demanding that I stop blogging and get back to work immediately. This is one of the main reasons I work at home, but it leaves me with only self discipline as a driving force. And the problem with self discipline is that it comes and goes. Here are my secrets to getting motivated and getting back to work.

1. Switch to a different activity. I usually have several writing gigs at anytime. If I start getting tired of one, I can switch to another, stay productive, and feel re-engaged in my work.

2. Reward yourself. Tell yourself, after I finish this paragraph I am going to take a break. Or get more coffee. Whatever motivated you, use that as a reward the same way a good supervisor would.

3. Take a break to pay bills or balance your checkbook. This can be a wake up call. Suddenly you realize that you urgently need money, and that boring job sounds like a fun way to spend the afternoon.

4. Reduce distractions. This is most important (and next to impossible) for those of us with children at home while we are trying to work.

Happy writing!

Weekend update

2008-09-14T23:56:00.000-07:00

I will be officially halfway through the month in less than three minutes. Here is what I've earned so far.

Divorce articles: $52
Private copywriting jobs: $235.26
Elance: $135-$10 for monthly membership = $125
ChaCha: $12.70
Google Ads: $4.98
Suite 101: $1.14
Other blog and website advertising: $35.30
Total: $466.38

Yikes! I'm over 500 behind. Here's how I plan to catch up this week:

I have two more divorce articles to write (easy money, plus they're fun in a warped way). I have put in five bids on eLance and hopefully I'll get one or two. I have a decent source of low paying copywriting jobs that has been my 'fill in' work, but the pay is so abysmal and the topics so random that I try to avoid it unless necessary.

My husband is going away for the next two weeks, so I won't feel pressured to keep normal hours. Therefore, I am setting my daily goal at a lofty $150 per day.

I also plan to send out queries for 'real' writing jobs--you know, the kind where the printed word actually gets printed.

Happy writing!

Organization

2008-09-13T15:36:00.000-07:00

Organization is one of the keys to keeping a freelance writing career rolling. If you are a good or even decent writer and systematically search for work, it will start coming. Even the low-paying crap work brings in enough money to be worth your time. You must research and finish things on time, and send the assignment in the correct format to the correct person. And, meanwhile, a writer should be always looking for more and better work. Most of us are running lives in the meantime.

Unfortunately, the brain action that makes us creative thinkers makes us less organized. Most writers must work at developing the skills we need to keep our non-writing lives in order. Here, in a too-small-to-be-adequate nutshell, is how I manage certain aspects of my life.

Household: Every Saturday, I make a detailed to-do list of everything that needs done around the house that week.I try to do as much as possible on the weekend, then squeeze in the rest or delegate where I have the chance.

Writing: I add it to my household list. I also start a word document with the article's name and leave it on my computer desktop, where I will see it whenever I start up the project. I usually set a personal deadline that is about halfway through the actual project timeline. This way, even if I am a day or two late, I am actually several days early. I add writing goals such as "Query three online publications" to my list and try to keep up with them.

Children: They come first, so I plan for aproximately half my time to be spent in various interruptions. Therefore, I plan, for example, to get five hours worth of work done (max) in a ten hour workday.

Meals: I plan them when I get the grocery flyers and every morning take out what I need for dinner that night. For breakfast and lunch, I have a repertoire of healthy and easy to prepare meals. Often my children know how to make these as well and can chip in if I am under a time crunch.

School: I am returning to school after five years off, but so far my plan is to attend classes and complete all assignments and papers as they are assigned. I have a large binder with dividers, and I will keep a folder for each class with one side dedicated to assignments and the other to finished work. (cross fingers)

It's much simpler and much more complicated than that, but I am actually writing an ebook on the subject. I'll let you all in on the deal when its finished.

Happy Writing!

Emily

September Goals

2008-09-12T15:25:00.000-07:00

This month, my goal is to make $2000. Spread out over the ten week quarter, this will be enough to cover my college expenses, including tuition, books, and childcare. Here are my stats so far:

Divorce articles: $52
Private copywriting jobs: $191.35 (what an odd number...)
Elance: $90
ChaCha: $12.70
Google Ads: $4.98 (ouch)
Suite 101: $1.14
Other blog and website advertising: $35.30
Total: $387.47

I am currently doing another elance job for $45, so that would bring me to a whopping, almost half month total of $432.47. In order to meet my ambitious and entirely necessary goal, I have to have a super-duper writing weekend. I'll report in when I get my head above water.

As you can see, my income is varied and, well, low.

Back on the Ball

2008-09-12T15:20:00.001-07:00

I'm back in the blogging business, and I swear this will be the last time I bail on my loyal readers. So here, as a make-up gift, is a lead to a paying writing gig. I couldn't post it before because the person who gave me the lead was still doing it, but now we're both tired of it.

Hotels By City needs hotel review writers. They pay $5 per review and, no, you don't have to have stayed in the hotel. They are very clear about what they want and it's a 'fill in the blank' kinda deal. When I was going a lot of them, I reached a point where I could do five per hour. That would be around $50,000 per year if you did it full time.

Confessions of a Jewish Drop Out

2008-07-17T17:12:00.000-07:00

This is my working blog, and absolutely NOTHING good goes on here. Which is why I hate that it is listed first in my blog roll.

June's quotas are, of course, not met, and I haven't even made goals for July because it's been so friggin crazy. Oy. And I've decided to go back to college on top of it.

The joke that inspired my title:

Q: What is a Jewish drop out?

A: A boy who didn't finish his PhD.

Monthly Review

2008-06-23T14:05:00.000-07:00

June, so far...

It's been a long month, and although I started strong, I have accomplished virtually nothing this month. Here are my stats so far, with just a week to go:

Hotel site= $315
Website and blog advertisement= $60
One survey= $10
Editor's stipend for local newsletter= $25
Total=$410

That's a far cry from my $1200 goal, so I am going to get into speed and see if I can catch up in this last week. I doubt I'll make it, but I at least can close the gap a bit.

Life Goes On

2008-06-11T08:59:00.000-07:00

Think your life is impossible? Everyone does. Right now, I do.

When I left for a board meeting and planning session last night, my twelve month old had a low grade fever and had thrown up once. I blamed both on teething. I came home a few hours later to find her passed out on my bed with a raging fever of 104.5 degrees. Why don't men ever take children's temperatures? My husband won't even give them Tylenol or cough syrup; I have to be the one to make these decisions, and if I am not around he figures it can wait. This is a difference caused by upbringing--he grew up in a comfortable Italian-American family with access to health care, while I grew up with relatives from the third world who freaked out about fevers because they have seen too many infants die for lack of Tylenol and routine immunizations.

I tend to freak out about illnesses, and this is complicated by the fact that it takes several weeks of dogged calling to get an appointment with my doctor. I'm not one to run to the doctor, but I like having the option should the need arise. Thanks to some interesting scheduling policies at Central Washington Family Medicine, I need to decide on Monday morning if my child will need to see a doctor *next week* and even then, they may just tell me to call back next Monday after I have spent the whole twenty minutes of Elmo's World (my only time to get anything done) on hold. But I digress.

I can't just go to sleep when my children are ill, after all they aren't going to cease to be ill at night (and I've heard too many stories about that little cousin who went to bed with a teething fever and never woke up... thanks, family). So, I slept in my clothes, if you can call it sleeping, both of us on top of the covers because I didn't want to fall totally and comfortably asleep, and she didn't need any extra warmth. Thanks to Tylenol and cold, wet cloths on her head and neck, she never went over 104, although she never went under 102 either.

Today I will be cleaning all day because I have in-laws about to converge upon my household, plus I have writing to do. At some point I need to tweak the CAPE homeschooling website like I have been promising to do for months, and I have a newsletter to put out as well. Oh, and there's sick baby to be dealt with, and doctor's office drama to be scripted should I decide to go that route, although right now all signs point to NO.

Happy writing!

Home Office

2008-06-10T09:49:00.000-07:00

Right now, my home office is in the entry to my master bedroom. It's a desk with computer, almost entirely covered with a drift of miscellaneous papers, and there is a pile of unwanted winter clothes and shoes beside it. Clearly this is not the ideal, so I am exploring ways to make it more organized and efficient without spending money. Even so, I wonder how necessary this is. After all, the only thing necessary to my home business is the computer, and I can reach that.

Emmie's Work Week

2008-06-06T12:20:00.000-07:00

I met all of my goals for earning, but I have a little catching up to do on sending queries and writing for Suite 101 and my website. I also have to have someone take a picture of me for Suite 101 and my blogs. Because I just know you guys are dying to see my thin hair and flabby butt.

Maybe we'll leave my butt out of the picture.

No word from About.com... fingers cramping from being crossed so long.

Daily Goals--Tuesday

2008-06-04T12:53:00.000-07:00

So, I almost met my goals yesterday. I:

Completed $100 worth of work.
Send a query to one internet publication.
Send a query to one print publication.
Worked for 1/2 hour on Suite 101 related stuff (and actually got that long neglected article published!).
Worked for 1/2 hour on website related stuff (and actually added another article, on cheap and easy organization!).

That just leaves the two queries, which I honestly forgot. Seriously, I spent the late afternoon and evening thinking, am I forgetting something?

Somebody didn't have time to make her lists yesterday. Can you tell?

No News...

2008-06-03T08:44:00.001-07:00

... is good news, right? That's what I've always heard.

The last time I applied for an About.com guide position, they rejected me in hours. Hours. Like they didn't even have to think about it. I can see the HR chick reading my writing sample and shuddering.

It's been a day and a half since I turned in my app for Work at Home Moms guide, and I'm still waiting. So I'll call that a good sign!

Off to write about hotels I've never seen...

Happy writing.

June Goals

2008-06-02T22:07:00.000-07:00

To earn $1200 as a writer.
To sell an article to one internet publication.
To sell an article to one print publication.
To fix my neglected Suite 101 article and write two more.
To add four new articles to my poor neglected website (which, btw, has a newly revamped Cottage Industries section and a new article on DIY cleaners).

From a practical standpoint, this means that every writing day, I will:

Perform $100 worth of work.
Send a query to one internet publication.
Send a query to one print publication.
Work for 1/2 hour on Suite 101 related stuff.
Work for 1/2 hour on website related stuff and no, daily freebies don't count.

Meanwhile, my friends are all in Portland having a par-tay with other homeschoolers and experiencing a very cool city I haven't seen since I was five. Grrrr.

About.com Guides

2008-06-01T17:16:00.000-07:00

I just applied for a job as a Work at Home Moms guide at About.com. I'm at least as qualified as anyone else, after six years now of working from home in a variety of careers and circumstances. So pray for me, or send good vibes my way, or whatever your religion allows.

If you want to make a living in the www universe, being an About guide is a good place to start. It's a whole lotta work, but you'll make at least $720 a month. Wowzers! There's a list of topics they need guides for here.

Monthly Revew - MAY

2008-05-31T23:30:00.000-07:00

Here are my stats for May.

Hotel site= $810
Website and blog advertisement= $64
Homeschool site= $15
Editor's stipend for local newsletter= $25
Total=$904

If you recall, my goal was to achieve a writing income of $1000, so i didn't quite make it. However, I am not going to be that hard on myself because I lost half of the month to houseguests and pneumonia, both viable excuses.

At least it isn't my only source of income, or we'd be livin' la vida third world. (says prayer of thanks) But that won't stop me from upping the ante. Yes, my friends, in June I am planning to earn $1200. And I'll tell you just how that's going to happen... when I know myself.

Happy writing!

The Nature of Priorities

2008-05-22T08:40:00.000-07:00

The problem with making one thing a priority is that it bumps other priorities down the list.

I really-really-really need to clean my house for a houseguest coming tomorrow. I have, count them, THREE potlucks in the next twenty-four hours and no potluck-y foods in the house. Grace is supposed to have several projects completed for her Little Flowers group tomorrow and I can't even find the book to see what they are.

I could go on and on. But writing is officially my priority on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Today, I am a working mom. So now I'd better get to work.

Happy writing!

This Week's Goals

2008-05-19T08:51:00.001-07:00

Since I haven't been meeting goals, I figured I would increase the pressure by adding to them.

I want to bring in $110 a day in income this week on my three writing days. It would be nice if I could find time to make up the shortfall from last week, too.

I am going to deal with my Suite 101 issues tomorrow (I'm not procrastinating, I swear; today isn't a writing day), then send queries for two non-paying and two paying writing jobs.

Why more work? I've become too dependent on the hotel reviews. They're always there, quick/easy money beckoning and taunting me, so I spend most of my writing time in that arena. It sounds like a good plan, but they don't pay as much as some of the other jobs I have been able to hunt down and don't help with building my writing reputation. While they are my main source of income, I need to get out of this rut.

Update May 2008

2008-05-17T10:04:00.001-07:00

We are more than halfway through May and here's what I've earned and from where:

Website and blog advertisement (several sources): $56.00
Homeschool review: $15.00
Hotel reviews: $230.00
Total: $301.00

In other words, I am at about half of where I should be. That's not too bad considering I lost almost half of the month.

Met Goal

2008-05-15T09:49:00.000-07:00

I did it! I did it! I did it! Hurray! Lo Hissimo, I did it!

People who don't have small children are wondering if I have lost my mind. But, seriously folks, I actually made $110 yesterday. It took until almost midnight, but I got-er done. Since it's my first time, I was ecstatic.
Someday you may be a work at home parent, and then you will understand that we have to get our thrills somewhere. My life is not exactly a page turner.

Writing Hotel Reviews.

2008-05-14T18:28:00.000-07:00

When all else fails, write hotel reviews.

This is my entire money-making strategy. Isn't that terrible? I wish I could tell you what hotel site is paying me $5 for a 10-15 minute review of hotels I've never visited, but I've been sworn to secrecy by the person who told me (Thank you again, Mrs. Hannigan! :-)). So, while I plan to share leads occasionally, this isn't your day.

The offers to write for money haven't been exactly rolling in, so I am very thankful for my hotel reviews. According to my master plan, I should be writing 22 every writing day, but I've fallen way short. Yesterday I did 12 and today (so far) I've written 14.

I'm trying to look at this positively. After all, that's $130 I didn't have before. On the other hand, I need to get on the ball. My house is a mess, my kids are behind on schoolwork, and I haven't even been keeping up with writing. I prefer having at least one area of my life in order, and raising children takes a lot more effort than describing a hotel pool.

Blue. Sparkling. Picturesque.

:-) Happy writing, everyone.

Goals Reworked

2008-05-13T09:10:00.000-07:00

When I originally set my $1000 monthly goal, I had an entire month to work it out. Now that month is almost over and I have a lousy fifteen bucks (and a congested cough) to show for it.

I made a few decisions:

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are going to be 'workdays' at my house. The kids will do schoolwork independently and I will ignore the piles of clutter threatening avalanche. Like a mom who has to get in a car and drive to work, work-at-home moms need space and time dedicated to their cause.
9 AM to 4 PM will be the normal working hours. I will take an hour at noon for lunch with the kids.
I am going to have to get very organized to pull off the above. But that's okay. I'm a professional.

Originally I had 13 working days in which to earn $1000, making about $77 per day my goal. Now I have 9 days to make $985. Can I do $110 a day? We'll see.

And this is supposed to be 'starting slow'.

Welcome to the New Blog!

2008-05-01T08:50:00.001-07:00

Isn't this the ugliest blog template you have ever seen? I swear, it looked really cool when it was a thumbnail.

Anyway.

This is going to be my writing blog. Right now it's mainly for accountability purposes, but my hope is that in documenting my attempts to succeed as a writer, I can help other aspiring writers see what worked and what didn't for me.

My long-term, non-specific goals:
1. To be published in a variety of media, including web, magazines, and eventually a book.
2. To be respected within my field.
3. To achieve financial security.

Vague enough for you? Okay, here are a few more specific goals:
1. To earn a middle class income as a writer.
2. To do the above while homeschooling and keeping a relatively balanced life.

To be embarrassingly specific, I hope to make $5000 a month by this time next year. That's roughly ten times what I earn now.

This month's goal is $1000. Each time I meet a goal, I'll set it higher.

More to come later, including where I am finding jobs and how I am finding time.

Happy writing!