New Goals

I'm making it a new goal of mine to submit 4 queries a week as well as 4 job applications for writing jobs. I hope this will keep the wait times for submission lists to a minimum, I'll be submitting so much I won't have time to think about the other submissions that are waiting to be read. That is the theory.

So far my queries are at 4, 3 of those done this morning. I submitted to The Writer last night at around midnight. I'm excited about that one. A credit in The Writer is an exquisite deal. It could really push me into the big leagues, help with connections, and they oftan take from their pool of writers for jobs later on. Not to mention it's a really nice chunk of change.

My jobs are at 2. Another one of my goals is to be a little more picky about what I take on job-wise. I find myself writing cover letters like a demon to try and make money, only to hear back from no one. If I think a cover letter will be answered, then I will try, everything else seems to be a waste of time and money I could be making doing something else.

Writing an article about Whale Migration and Snake Plants today. In a rut with the anthology today, maybe it's all the submitting. Non-fiction just seems easier than fiction lately.

Still waiting about the car.

Writing Groups and Taxes

Today I joined my first real erotica writing group. I also received my first critique of the book of fairytales I'm currently writing. It went well. A little more critical than I would have liked, but that is the case with most of my stuff. Everyone seems very nice, the group is small, intimate, which is what I needed. It also looks like I might win another prize from Alison Tyler's Blog.

Right now I just have business jitters as I start looking into putting the finishing touches on my professional website. I have to pay taxes for the first time next year and it's pretty terrifying. I don't generally keep tabs on my finances though I pay all debts on time.

My job as a freelance writer really hit home when me and my soon to be husband went to go buy a new car. It was going to be in my name but the bank all but turned me down because I could not prove constant employment, though everything on my record is completely spotless. It was very disheartening and frustrating to work so hard all of this time only to be turned down because my job wasn't perceived as valid to a bank for a loan. There is nothing wrong with the money I make, the bills I pay, as a financier goes I'm awesome, I just don't get my pay check from the same person every month so I don't count.

As a solution I'm considering applying for my own business at some point soon and moving on from there. Then I will hopefully be recognized for loans. Time will tell.

Romania

This is my new article over at The Compass Online Travel Magazine. Go over and take a look, it should be up on my website soon.

Twitter

I really don't like twitter. Main reason being it can be hijacked so very easily. I'm not all for people stealing my account and polluting words. On another note, is it bad I want to make an account just to follow Buffy the Vampire Slayer alumni and pro-sex positive porn stars/sex-ed women? I think it says a lot about my character.

We didn't get the cottage. Some other couple got it. When we showed up our agent had ambushed us with three other clients and then pressured us into a lease because the other couples were signing one. So we signed it, I gave away my 50 dollars for the paperwork, which I now wish I could have back, and that is that. No cottage. My writing haven is lost to me.

On the up side now we are looking at getting this except in a 5 door hatchback.

I also started working with the editor of PaperBagPress. May I say my job is not only awesome, but she is as well? Yay!

Cottage

I might get a perfect little two bedroom cottage in the woods on a huge farm. It is what I always pictured my perfect writing haven to be in my dreams. Just have to wait for the okay once the paperwork goes through, I can't wait to get the call.

My first win

So, I entered a short-short 250 word max erotica contest on my favourite writer's blog of all time, Alison Tyler. Did I mention I won? Yeah, it shocked me too. I've only just started into the foray of erotica writing. This was a quick free write that took me maybe five minutes. To say winning was a shock, is an understatement. Now I get a neat button and a super cool ego boost to boot. Go me!

On another note, I spent a huge amount of money on myself today. I joined a romance writing class at Gotham Writer's Workshop in NYC. I've been looking at their offerings with lust for years now and as I've just graduated, I felt compelled to give myself a little treat. Something to not only perk up my career but also a little writer's pick-me-up. Everything I write leans towards romance so now it's time I see how the professionals do it. Then print out some notes from my workshop and enter the wide and wonderful world of e-book publishing.

On another note, I also became a proud intern at a start-up erotica press, Paper Bag Press. They print excellent erotic literature by new and experienced writers. Grab a look see if you have time.

Other updates are on the way. New LKH book comes out on Tuesday, oh my little heart is all a flutter. I'm making my husband take me to the bookstore when he gets home from work, since I cannot drive. Yes, I know I'm 23, a little young to have a husband. We are newlyweds, give me a break. Hehe. Lord, I've got a lot to talk about this week from a super long line of submissions I got submitted to some wonderful stories that are coming out of nowhere. No progress on the novel though. Sad face.

I've been super busy

Lately I've been reaching out my little freelance writing tentacles like crazy in order to secure some kind of stable writing. Though there is a lot to be had in writing if you know where to look it's very disheartening that most of these jobs won't respond to you if they have already found a client other than you that they wish to work. This means I spend the majority of my days checking my email after writing at least 15 job submissions with re-worked resume a day. That's a lot of work for nothing. The constant spamming I suppose you could call it gets my name out there and increases networking but with the amount of people who've taken on freelance writing I don't suppose they read every entry someone receives for an online writing job. I can only hope my entries are not being pushed into some gigantic pile only be rejected because they found someone else quicker and cheaper.

Some of my favourite sites seem to be having this problem of underpaying for a unsavory product. These days most workers want SEO articles, which is fine, I can do that. However, I won't work for lower than five dollars per 500 words and most ESL workers from other countries will write things that are not top notch for lower prices. This means most of my work is taken by someone who bids a lower price simply because employers are cheap. It's disheartening to my profession that low quality is valued over a little more expense. Though it's understandable to a certain degree with the economy that does not make it professional, expecially when most companies wind up turning out another project for rewrites of that same bunch of work later when they realize they are no longer satisfied with the quality. Why not do it right the first time and not bite the bullet twice? Just thinking.