How To Think Outside the Box When Developing Multiple Revenue Streams
May 20, 2013 By
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 [...]
Why Freelancing Is Like Juggling a Bunch of Flaming Chainsaws
March 29, 2013 By
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
March 14, 2013 By
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 [...]
What Kind of Writer Are You?
January 18, 2013 By
My writing partner once told me I was the most business-y writer she knew. To be honest, it hadn’t occurred to me that there was any other way to be. That was why, when I sent out an LOI last month in response to a call for book reviewers and learned that the position was [...]
Why Your Goals Aren’t Good Enough
December 31, 2012 By
Earlier this month, I met up with Susan Johnston of the Urban Muse at the Holiday Shops at Bryant Park. We don’t get to see each other often — she lives in Boston, I live in NJ, and the last time we saw each other was at the ASJA conference back in April — but [...]
I’m Not Really Much of an Entrepreneur, Am I?
December 10, 2012 By
About two years ago, Ryan Paugh approached me about becoming one of the founding members of the Young Entrepreneur Council. At the time, I had just left behind a permalance gig to focus on building my career coaching practice. Still, I was also juggling a number of writing and copyediting assignments, and singing at funerals [...]
Choosing to Change Course Doesn’t Mean I Failed… Right?
September 6, 2012 By
<— This brilliant illustration perfectly conveys exactly how I’ve been feeling these past couple of months. I posted about my depression / career-related identity crisis just last week, and am still struggling to scramble my way out of that hole. Yesterday, I took my laptop to my favorite local cafe and tried to co-work with [...]
Why I Don’t Want to Have It All
August 29, 2012 By
Class started off slow. Instead of sitting cross-legged on our mats, hands resting palms-up on our knees, we rolled up blankets and placed them — lengthwise — beneath our backs. We stretched out, our heads propped up on blocks, our arms flung out to our sides, our eyes closed. We concentrated on the rise and [...]
Why I’m No Longer Fit for an Office Environment
July 26, 2012 By
I’m already several hours into my workday, and I’m still unshowered, wearing the pajama top that sometimes slips down so low I unintentionally flash my husband. My hair hangs in oily, unattractive clumps, and I sorta smell. I mean, I’d like to shower, but I’m pretty sure that as soon as I disrobe, that package [...]
How to Let Go of Having It All
July 13, 2012 By
In viewing an infographic developed by JESS3 that aims to give readers a peek inside the mind of freelancers, I was completely unsurprised to learn that “lack of clear direction / path” is one of the top three things that keeps freelancers up at night. I can certainly relate. I’ve recently been engulfed in my own period of [...]