Wednesday, January 4, 2012

What do YOU do?

I think a lot of people have romantic notions about being a writer. I know I do, especially when it comes to people who write things that are different than what I write. Novels, children's books, Time magazine columns, self-help books. Their professional lives MUST be quite fascinating and awesome. Mine, not so much. I thought I'd share a few of my activities this week to highlight how unglamorous my life is. And no, there will be no tales of dog poo or body fluids. Those are a given.

* I had to email an editor to see if the two stories I submitted over a month ago will in fact be published. Upon viewing the magazine's January issue online and not seeing my byline, I sent an email to the publisher to confirm that she was going to use the articles. If not, I'd be happy to take them and try to sell them elsewhere. I was thinking the local newspaper. She quickly responded saying that she DID want the articles, WOULD use them, MISPLACED one of them in her system but had found the original version in her emails, and yada yada. This pleased me to no end, because really, who likes to work for no reason whatsoever. I did spend a morning in a pretty foul mood before she responded however. I'm thinking I'll finish the next article that she ordered up, now that the publication is off my shitlist.

* I applied to two freelance jobs. One is for a part time content editor for a web site clearly produced in another country. The job ad was riddled with poor grammar. Um. It pays. Let's just say that. The other, was for a temporary reporter position, which would require me to work 40+hours/week in an office for 18 weeks. I'm into that, sort of. Finding childcare under those circumstances gives me the hives, but the prospect of working like that TEMPORARILY is appealing. It would definitely make me appreciate life as a mostly mom.

* I contacted an editor I did some work for this year to see how life was, and more so, to see if he wanted to give me MORE work. He assured me there would be some crappy paying gigs to come in the future. I like working for him because he swears a lot in his emails and because he's brutally honest. Anyone I can call suckahead is good people in my book.

* A writer friend of mine asked if I was going to any conferences this year. I found out the ASJA 2012 conference will be in April. I would LOOOOOVE to go to NYC for that conference again this year, but I gotta justify it to my hubby. (Mr. LooksAfterTheChildrenWhileIUseHisMiles) I had a great time last year at this conference. It was so incredibly stimulating to be learning about the industry while simultaneously existing in NYC.

* I've resolved to wake up at 5:30am to dedicate some time to writing whatever I want to write. Monday and Tuesday were banner days because of this little arrangement. I'm floating on a writer-high and caffeine just as the kids are getting up for school. Everyone benefits.

So that's it. I know it seems like not much, but it's something compared to nothing. I just hope there's even more something in 2012.

2 comments:

  1. I gotta hand it to you...your 0530 wake up call is more than just a little inspiring. makes me wanna do it...I feel like I should go to bed at, like, 830 to accomplish that.
    This is a lame comment. sorry. I am trying to kick butt in the witty department for the sake of our fledgling blog, but I am failing.
    Tomorrow will be a fresh start!

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  2. Ok, the message verification robo-word that I had to type was "asycheak." now that's a robot computer with a sense of humor and a good sense for the level of quality of my comment! Straight up assy-cheek.

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