So I've been away for awhile, and no one missed me too much, except for my (count them-2) loyal fans who've both made comments about how long its been.
Thanks for that, by the way!
I've been off on the Great American Freelancing Adventure. And like all adventures this one had good things, it had bad things, exciting things and things that weren't that fun at all.
But throughout my journey I learned a ton about myself, my career as a writer, what is and isn't so important in making your life a good one.
So here's a breakdown:
THE GOOD
1. I really felt like a writer! I was getting paid for articles- and one guy even asked me to repeat jobs so that I had a few months of a pretty steady paycheck. It wasn't enough to set me for life, but the extra spending money sure was nice.
2. I got immediate feedback once you've completed a job (100% feedback so far *Cough*)
3. My work was validated when people started requesting me for proposals instead of me looking for work.
THE BAD
1. I was busy ALL the time
2. No sleep and an unfortunate addiction to monster energy drinks.
3. I had to turn down social engagements, which I'm sure made everyone think I was a real snob. (Besides I miss movie nights with Nette-who else would wear pajamas to the movie theater in the middle of the night!)
THE UGLY
1. No one's ever going to know that those articles came from me. I won't get "Credit" for an of it except to pat my own back.
2. I didn't get paid enough (which has been pointed out to me mainly by my current bosses)
3. I'm still working on a job that should have been finished almost 3 months ago. It's driving me crazy because my gut feeling that I should never have taken the job in the first place, I wanted to do as much as possible as soon as possible. It's certainly taken a toll on my Moral and its horrible for my reputation, so I'll just chock it up to a lesson learned.
WHAT I LEARNED FROM THE EXPERIENCE
1. Don't bite off more than you can chew.
2. Slow and steady really does win the race.
3. I am above all else a fiction writer, and while freelancing sometimes felt like an albatross around my neck, my novel is a siren's song that constantly calls me home.
Freelancing isn't done for me (the extra money is nice) but I promise to treat it more a lifestyle change than a fad diet.
I promise to never let my motto be "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans," but I promise instead to be the person who says Que Sera Sera, Whatever will be-Will be.
