Published by deborah.woehr on 13 Aug 2007 at 09:20 am
Monday Round Up
As of today, we’ve lived in our house for two years. My husband and I were remarking about how fast time flies as he was telling me his latest project for the house – gutting and redoing the master bathroom. That room has been in dire need of attention long before we moved into the place. We’re down to one bathroom for four people, which will be a challenge but doable. At least I don’t have teenage girls.
I spent the majority of Saturday reading and taking copious notes on ways to earn a living as a writer, since I’m still “in between assignments.” I’m not stressing about it anymore, but taking this time to enjoy the rest of the summer and finish the writing projects that have been ongoing for quite a while. I broached the subject of working part time to my husband on Friday, stating that I don’t want to have to rely on anyone to pick up my boys. He was agreeable. We both agreed that we’ll have to give up certain aspects of our lifestyle, such as fast food and smoking.
I’ve decided that I’m ready to take the plunge in quitting smoking. I had talked to my doctor about quitting about a year or so ago. She had written a prescription for Wellbutrin for me, which I never filled. I wasn’t ready then. I’ve set the appointment to get another evaluation and prescription. Now that I have two goals set, the quitting process will be easier (I hope).
Back to writing, my goal for this week is to finish the web content for my husband’s site. I have the rough draft for the home page complete. There were a couple of things he wanted removed, so we’ll be going over that as well as the other pages for the site. Once we finish that, all that will be left is design tweaks. Then comes the marketing.
The next item on my list is determining whether I want to redo my home page on this site to announce my writing services or set it up on another domain. During my Saturday reading, I learned that it was best to specialize in one or two things. You can offer a variety of services, but your potential customers need to know what you’re best at. I wrote a list of skills late last week and determined that I’m best at desktop publishing and copyediting.
The latter is tedious work, which I wouldn’t want to do full time. Desktop publishing is another story altogether. I love designing books, ebooks and marketing packages. I haven’t had much time to really delve into the CS3 programs, other than to gain a working knowledge. Now, I’ll need to make time, while building a decent portfolio.
I’m giving some serious consideration to resurrecting my Elance account, which I’ve had since 2003, in order to gain clients. If you can land the right assignment(s), then the cost of the membership will pay itself off. This happened to me the first year. I wasn’t so lucky the following year, mainly because my competition was all too willing to work for free. I still haven’t decided if it’s worth the bother.
A couple of you may be wondering if I have deserted my Lulu blog. I haven’t. I found myself at a standstill when I finished the last post on the Lulu publishing options. I’ve spent the last two weeks hemming and hawing over whether I should publish God’s Last Twilight. When I couldn’t make up my mind, I sent a copy to some readers early last week. Once I receive their feedback, I’ll make my decision. Then I’ll pick up where I left off.
John (Syntagma) on 14 Aug 2007 at 3:12 am #
My experience of services like Elance and others is that the jobs advertised are extremely underpaid. “Micropayments” barely covers it in some cases.
In my view, you’re always better off getting work from people you know — or who know you. That means you need to establish a reputation in your field, preferably online.
After slaving away at Syntagma Media for two years, we’re now offered jobs or advertising almost on a daily basis. Become a magnet and coinage will fly in from all directions.
Incidentally, I’ve got a couple of books lined up for our Dial Publishing imprint shortly. I’ll certainly come to you for the design and pre-press work. I really liked your WBA anthology.
deborah.woehr on 14 Aug 2007 at 4:43 am #
Thank you, John.
I’d be honored to help you design your books.
That’s great about your job offers! I will take your advice and forget Elance.
Scot Herrick on 14 Aug 2007 at 2:07 pm #
On the quit smoking side, there is now a terrific new drug out that makes quiting smoking much, much easier. It’s called Chantix, prescribed by your doctor. Just search on “Chantix” or “Quit Smoking Drug” and it will come up.
Essentially, the drug blocks the receptors in the brain for getting the charge from the nicotine. Both my wife and a coworker of mine have used it and both quit within a week (while taking the drug for a month — one third of the prescription time…).
The site also offers a 52-week support program.
Having quit cold turkey many years ago, having something like this really helps.
Of course, your health insurance won’t cover the cost (about $150) of a prescription — preventative drugs to lung cancer and other ailments just don’t cut it with insurance companies… But, the cost of the prescription is usually offset by the cost of the cigarettes, so there you go.
deborah.woehr on 14 Aug 2007 at 2:16 pm #
I just got back from the doctor’s office about 2 hours ago with the prescription slip for a 3-month supply of Chantix. She told me that it has been the most successful with her patients. So, I’m going to give it a try, regardless of whether my insurance will cover it or not. $150 for a prescription is better than $150,000 for a hospital stay.
Thank you for the encouragement, and congratulations to your wife and coworker.
Marti on 18 Aug 2007 at 6:02 pm #
You know I think you did a fabulous job helping me with my books so I wish you all the best with your editing work!
deborah.woehr on 18 Aug 2007 at 6:07 pm #
Big hugs to you, Marti.
I hope your books are enjoying success!