BellaOnline Forums Career Nonfiction Writing Are you satisfied with your writing life?

I feel really frustrated, because I want to write to inspire and inform, and help people live BIG lives -- but I'm not there yet. I'm definitely not satisfied with my writing life. I want a part-time job writing, whether print or website. How can I make this happen?

Anyone out there happy with their writing lives? If so - what makes it good for you?

Hi Laurie:

I have similar goals --but am just making the transition from full time work as a marketing director for a really cool local gov't agency to freelance writer/pr person/virtual assitant. We are also moving across country at the same time. I would also be interested to hear from happily busy writers.

Meredith

that dear friend, is a life long occupation in itself ...
one: on being satisfied & two: on our writing life.

a little reminder: remember the 'ripple effect'

... whatever you 'do' has an effect upon yourself & others. from the smallest thing we think insignificant to what we would think the grandiose gestures of doing something big ... it ALL effects someone & something.

life happens continually, keep your focus & your focus will be perfected in all the ways it needs to be. causing you to change with the intent & focus of your heart.

you are a creative person, creating everyday. your life! being the change you want to see in the world today! what a wonderful adventure. what a glorious journey!

enjoy!

c.l. mareydt
http://www.freewebs.com/clmareydt

Wow, that was deep and fitly spoken! You do live up to your name. :-)

I think it's also important to be open to new opportunities, and keep trying, and write what you love regardless if you'll ever be published, and .... that's it. And be patient. I want everything NOW!

Laurie, I think I've always been a decent writer. However, I found it frustrating that it took me so long to figure out that writing is truly my passion. (about a year ago) I began to wish that I'd chosen Journalism for my major vs. Psychology. Everything happens for a reason and in its own time. Two things I did to give me the boost to write regularly was I joined the newsletter staff at my church and also joined an online writing group. In the last year because of those two activities I have written more in one year than I have in the last 10 years combined. Bella is an excellent opportunity to be heard. Just hang in there. Nothing worth having comes easy. I have to keep reminding myself that all the time.

Best of luck to you.

Laurie,
As others here have said, and as you've no doubt discovered, the writing life is, um, a life-long process. I don't think we ever achieve a perfect Zen-like state with our writing. Most of us write because we have to--something inside us needs to get out, and we put it down on paper. It's what makes us writers. Getting paid for it...now that's a whole other thing <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />. I write mostly nonfiction; business stuff actually--anything from grant writing (which I totally don't like) to commercial stuff like ghostwriting OpEd pieces and creating press kits (brochures, press releases, etc.)--anything that gets my juices going. If you're just starting out and looking to get published, trying writing OpEd pieces (Letters to the Editor) for your local newspaper. Or if you've got one subject that you're really knowledgeable about, maybe you can propose a weekly column to a local newspaper--even those free newspapers (like the Thrifty Nickel) need new content all the time. If you want to get your name out there as a writer, sign up for a free blog at someplace like blogger.com, and start posting your writings there. There's lots of ways to drive traffic to your blog too so others can find you, like doing tagging and social bookmarking, but that's way off topic so I won't go there. Anyway, just keep writing and sending stuff out. You can also go to websites like elance.com and bid on writing projects there too, but that's a real hit-and-miss proposition. I always advise people to start out with a blog, mostly because it's free, but also because they're quickly starting to be THE hot marketing tool, and what better way to market your writing than to get it out there into the world! I've also got an ebook that I'm getting ready to launch that's sorta related to this, but I've got to find an appropriate board here somewhere to ask for reviews before I "put it out there." Hope this has helped.

Yesterday I received an acceptance from a Canadian magazine called alive, from a query!! woo hoo

Life lesson: PERSERVERE no matter what your dreams may be, because if you try long and hard enough, you will reach your goals!

Thanks for the words of encouragement Angel, Yolanda, c.l :-)

I think it also helps to put it out there, to talk about your dreams and goals. It helped me, anyway....

Congrats Laurie! Good job!

Julie

Hi.

I recently stared writing myself. You might consider joining an online site which pays you for non-fiction articles. See my content producer page and you'll see what articles I've written & you can go to their home page to join yourself.

They don't pay much, but I look upon it as paid experience for Writing 101.

Good luck and let me know if you join.

Here's the link...

http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/11137/l_v_paganini.html


L

I've been freelancing for nine years now and there is a constant ebb and flow of success and happiness as a writer in my little world! But, I've learned to take it in stride and just keep plugging. Diversifying helps -- I write for children's non-fiction and travel niche markets. When one is down, I focus my energy on the other and vice versa; they're separate enough to keep me busy.

I recommend www.lulu.com as a publisher when you think you have a 'final' product. They help you through the process for free, have a helpful forum area, and you get to hold your work in your hand with bookcovers and now even dustjackets for a really nominal fee.
A 112 page book, perfect bound (softcover) or coilbound (I do cookbooks) with no color photo or artwork inside pages (your covers can be as colorful as you want) will cost you under 7 (seven) dollars US. You pay postage to yourself.
You can buy ISBN's for your work thru' Lulu and get Amazon and Barnes and Noble to buy and resell them. Lulu has press kits and other things to help promote your book. AND you can sell your work as an Ebook at no extra charge.
I was glad I found Lulu two years ago. I have two books for sale thru' them and am working on two more and a revision of one when I have any time at all.
Getting your hardwork into your hands is sort of like being handed your new baby; very, very fulfilling!

That's interesting...do you have your books listed on Amazon and Barnes and Noble? How does this work?

My boyfriend is writing his first novel, and I want to be able to help him take it to the next step when he's done.

S0, I've been reading all your posts, and have to chime in here. I also have aims to "be a writer" and do consider myself a writer. My biggest challenge here is making money from my writing. Any tips on that?

I know self publishing (such as through lulu.com) can work, but it is difficult to promote and sell that way. For people who do public speaking or other work where they have built in audiences, this is a relaistic optoin, but what about those of us who see a limited number of people in our daily lives?

Any tips on places to begin *selling* articles/reviews/etc?

Articles and books can be hard to sell, which is why I sometimes feel frustrated. I would LOVE to have a regular column in a paper or magazine (wouldn't we all?).

There are hundreds of writing sites that do provide encouragement: Writer's World, Writer's Weekly, Writers on the Rise. They're all good in their own way. My biggest challenge is finding paying markets -- there's over 19,000 magazines in the US alone -- how do you access them? (besides books like Writer's Market)

I've been freelancing for about 5 years also and have had a variety of jobs and projects in that time. I love it because it's always changing-even though the monetary rewards also kind of rise and fall.

I've found lots of writing projects on Craig's List too.

I spent over 2 years with a very wellpaying job editing an online news site. It was easy and I got kiind of spoiled. Since it went under last Nov, I've been focusing on getting assignments, working on my own website and pulling out my novel which has been sitting on the back burner.

You just need to keep focusing on what you want to achieve and believe that it will come. The most important thing sounds very trite but you need to be happy with what you are doing and find it fulfilling. The happier and more passionate you are about your writing, the more success will chase after you.

Joan

Stephanie, no, I haven't put out the money for the ISBN's YET; I want to be SURE that everything is right and set up on the page the way I want it.
Since I do cookbooks, I started out in a 6x9" format. Lulu has recently added a square book format that was what I originally wanted for one of my books. Finding the time to re-format (again!) has been difficult, since I started working again on an on-call schedule.
When your boyfriend is ready, Lulu can get a book into his hand pretty quick. He can see what it would look like and show it to others. To self-promote, you need a couple of books to send to each reviewer, so its a fairly inexpensive way to do this.
Have him sign up at Lulu and check out the writer's forums for information about writing, publishing, promotion and all the other things you probably haven't even thought of yet. Lulu will walk you through it all.
Pass along my wishes of success on his novel (I wish I had his talent). Hope to see it in print soon.

How to find markets? What do you know a lot about (health, weight, mind & body, biology)? Writer's Market is a great start for narrowing the field, now pick up a magazine that fits your expertise, ask for writer's guidelines (either online or through contact info on masthead) and study the publication to come up with a creative, informed article idea that might strike the editor's fancy.

Now send a professionally-worded query. Wait for reply. If you've followed the right steps, you will find a market for your piece (just don't fall apart if it doesn't happen the first go-round). Now, write the article. Cash the check.

Now do it all over again. That's how you make money writing! The key is, don't just talk about it, do it. And do it again... and again. I have a regular "web review" column for a regional parenting publication and am on hiatus from a travel with dogs column for a pet-friendly publication in addition to other markets I contribute to regularly as a freelancer. My advice -- be patient, be persistent, be professional and success will come your way!

Cheers,
Megan

I know your post wasn't directed toward me, but it inspired me all the same. Thanks for the inspiration and motivation!
Marie

I'm actually a Content Producer for Associated Content, as well. I've submitted a handful of articles about various subjects, the latest one about the NYC Steam Pipe explosion, and I've made a significant amount of money from their performance bonus.

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Hi BioAlegra, you can definitely try Associated Content. The Content Producers there have gained a lot of exposure from publishing on AC - including people who do not have a lot of experience writing.

And as for making money, they have uncapped performance bonuses and even pay a small upfront payment for certain content.

And if you're going to try it out..
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Hi Laurie,
I'm new to this forum, but hope my experience speaks to you. I quit my teaching (high school English) position a few years ago to become a full-time writer. While I've been writing all sorts of short stories and poems my whole life, I didn't know much about the industry itself. What I did know was that once I turned to writing fulltime, there was no "Plan B" for me...I was going to be a successful author. My goal was a bit different than most on this board - I wanted to write books. I wrote two novels and during the writing process I was also researching everything I could about the business end of the industry. I also wrote for a newsletter and a regional magazine to build "clips" and a platform of sorts.

Fast forward two years after changing careers and I landed a literary agent in NYC and a book deal with McGraw Hill (all happened a year ago and the book is due out early next year). What I didn't expect was to sell a nonfiction book rather than my novels (although those will follow). What I learned was "Be the Writer" and you'll be amazed at how things fall into place.

If you're interested, I have a lot of resources for aspiring writers on my website http://wwwheatherhummel.net.

Coincidently, the book I wrote is about chasing your dreams no matter how old you are! I co-authored it with my mother, who is a 68 year old model.

Good luck!
Heather

Wow Heather,

That was such an encouraging post. I especially liked it when you said "Be the Writer."

In fact, an amazing paradigm shift occurs the moment you start with "I am a writer." vs. "I am going to be a writer."

* Saying "I am a writer." allows you to own who you are upfront, and gives you the full responsibility to live up to the terms of that statement.

* Saying, "I am going to be a writer." gives you an unlimited time frame to work around the goal...never allowing the goal to stand on it's own two feet.

Just a thought...

Be encouraged to do and to be THAT thing you were made to do and to be!

Hi Latarsha - you speak the same language as me!

I compare the philosophy to the majority of people on Match.com - they're always in the state of looking because that's the message they send to the Universe - that they're looking rather than having it already. Certainly there are those who meet someone and marry, but they are usually the ones who go into Match without expectations, like a friend of mine did.

Anyway - Be the Writer and the rest follows. That much I do know!

Not at all! It is my only talent and I have let it go. I tried a few years ago to start writing again after years of not doing it and I could not even write one word. Sadly I have not tried again but since my life has been going worst with every passing days (i probably should say with every passing hour or minute or even second it is that bad) I highly doubt this is the time that I will be able to start again.