7 Things I Worry About as a Pregnant Sex Writer
30
Dec
Two months ago, I found out I was pregnant, and I immediately burst into tears. They were happy tears, because my husband and I had been trying for the past three and a half years. Not only that, but we’d been about to try a third round of IUI. Talk about dodging a bullet. That [...]
Can I Still Call Myself a Writer?
6
Dec
I’ve had plans to be a writer for the past 28 years. And for the past 28 years, I’ve done a pretty good job of achieving success in that endeavor. It started with published poetry and both lit mag and school newspaper involvement when I was a young twerp. Later on, I was an editor [...]
How To Be Open To All (the Right) Opportunities
12
Jun
Several weeks ago, I shadowed one of my OMies as she taught kids yoga as part of the Newark Yoga Movement. It seemed like a fantastic program. The children were adorable. My friend was brilliant. But in the end — remembering how ineffective I’d been when doing volunteer work with kids in the past — [...]
How To Think Outside the Box When Developing Multiple Revenue Streams
20
May
Before I went full-time freelance nearly six years ago, I secured a permalance copyediting gig, an internship at a web magazine, and freelance publicity work from my former employer. I figured that — beyond that — I would just frolic about, getting assignments at a variety of magazines and magically paying my bills. And it [...]
One Quick Tip for Revitalizing Your Writing Life
7
May
Those who have been reading this blog for the past, um, forever know I’ve been in a bit of a writing slump. I’ve been feeling burnt out on the same old same old, lusting after lit mag credits, and wondering how to find a balance between the two. As a result, I just slowly… stopped… [...]
Is It Worth It To Drop Several Hundred Dollars on a Writing Conference?
29
Apr
I am a cheap bastard. Instead of spending money on pricey project management systems, I run my life through Google and GQueues. I avoid paid teleclasses and webinars in favor of business books that I dog-ear and pore through over and over again. I even married a web developer so I could get him to [...]
How Do You Bribe Yourself Into Getting Busy?
25
Apr
Those of you who follow me on Twitter may have noticed that I’ve been having a little bit of trouble with motivation these days. Monday, April 22, 2:27 p.m.: “I just picked up a book, slammed it down, and shouted at myself, ‘You can read that if you get shit done!’ Obviously losing it.” Tuesday, April 23, [...]
The Guru I Don’t Want To Be
3
Apr
A little over three years ago (holy crap), I launched Career Coaching for Word Nerds, a career coaching service for beginning freelance writers. I did it because, for several years, I had been receiving emails from writers pleading for advice, and I realized there was a real need for the help I could provide. Besides, the [...]
Why Freelancing Is Like Juggling a Bunch of Flaming Chainsaws
29
Mar
I went full-time freelance almost six years ago, and I feel as if the entire expanse of it has been one big experiment in finding (and maintaining) the right balance. And I’m not talking work/life balance. Please. Let someone else write 2,000 words about work/life balance, and whether or not I, as a woman, can [...]
What Got Me Here: Self-Education, Goal-Setting, Hard Work, and a Helluva Lot of Privilege
14
Mar
When the Nate Thayer / Atlantic kerfuffle occurred, I cycled quickly through a series of reactions. First, I felt a knee-jerk “Damn the man! Save the empire!” swell of joyful rebellion. Then, after reading senior Atlantic editor Alexis Madrigal’s response — an explanation of the limits of digital publishing — I felt recognition. That’s when I wrote this on [...]