Monthly Revew - MAY

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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:

1. 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.
2. 9 AM to 4 PM will be the normal working hours. I will take an hour at noon for lunch with the kids.
3. 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!

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!