Freelance Writers Don't Get "Sick Days"

Well, the Thanksgiving holiday came and passed...and I am officially exhausted!


Don't get me wrong - I had a wonderful time with my family and relatives...it's just that there was a lot of catch-up work to do once it was over. On top of that, my children have caught yet another virus, and have been running fevers and throwing up. And of course, they didn't both get sick at the same time - first, my son started complaining that he didn't feel well a few days ago, and then my daughter's just really kicked in last night. So I have a feeling that this is going to get dragged out for the rest of the week. This has definitely been a crazy flu season around here for us...the worst yet, in fact. Hopefully, we'll be done with all this sickness soon!


In short, my computer time has been quite limited as I've had plenty of laundry to wash (due to non-stop vomiting by people that are too small to understand the concept of leaning over a toilet), soup to make, and sad, uncomfortable little munchkins to tend to. These are the times when freelancing can be tough because I don't have the option of a "sick day" from work. I have deadlines, and clients who are relying on me to meet those deadlines.


Another downside of not having "sick time" as a freelancer is the fact that during weeks like this when both of my munchkins are sick, I spend most of my time taking care of them, and any spare time after that is used to complete assignments...which leaves little or no time to spend on marketing (finding new markets for my work, sending out LOI's, writing queries, networking, etc.). And when I don't spend time marketing, I don't have as much work coming in, which will definitely be reflected in my earnings in the months to come.


Although I have to say that despite these disadvantages of freelancing, I wouldn't give it up for anything. In my opinion, the benefits far outweigh the few downsides of this business. The simple fact that I get to spend my days at home with my kids is enough to convince me that this is the life for me.

I would love to hear how you manage to get your work done when you have sick kids at home. Do you just do the bare minimum of meeting deadlines as I do or are you able to squeeze some marketing in, too?

Happy Thanksgiving

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to take a moment to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a wonderful holiday. :)

This is one huge benefit of being self-employed - having the ability to just take the rest of the week off...so enjoy that hard-earned opportunity.

See you next week!

Busy Week Ahead

Hiya!

Hope you all had a relaxing weekend. Mine was absolutely wonderful - full of enjoyable moments playing with my kids and hanging out with my hubby. It even started to feel "holiday-ish." :) Down here in southern California, we don't usually get much of a winter. Thus, it was very exciting when we had a big drop in temperature...we even were able to light up our fireplace. In a nutshell, my weekend was almost magical, with firewood crackling in the living room, Christmas movies constantly running, much dancing with my munchkins, and even a few quiet moments of reading by the fire. :)

Just checking in to let you know that my week is already packed full of things to do even though it's barely begun. On top of several deadlines keeping me busy, I am taking an eight hour drive with Hubby and the kids to go to a very dear relative's funeral. Did I mention that we're going mid-week? Needless to say, there's a lot to be done, and I'm not quite sure how I'm going to manage it all. (Maybe I'll glean some great productivity tips out of this frenzied week. :)

I had some great post ideas planned for this week, but I just might have to put them on hold until at least the weekend. Anyway, I hope that you all have a productive and rewarding week!

Job Boards

Do you ever search writing job boards for work?

It's become part of my regular routine now. But I have to admit that I've been getting somewhat frustrated with it, lately, since most of the jobs that I hear back from don't really sound legitimate or the pay is ridiculously low.

In fact, I decided yesterday that maybe I was wasting too much time on something that never really seems to pay off, so I decided that I was not going to check out any job boards today.

Well, lo and behold, when I checked my email this morning, I had a perfect and well-paying gig (that I had found on a job board) just waiting for me!

Anyway, moral of the story: Never say never.

Although, I do think that it's important to keep track of how much time you actually spend searching for work on the job boards, and then how many gigs you actually get out of the deal. Doing so will help you in determining whether it's a good investment of your time.

If you do find it worth your time to look through job boards for work, here are two that I recommend:

1) Deb Ng's Freelance Writing Jobs Network
2) Anne Wayman's About Freelance Writing

I'd love to hear your thoughts on finding work through job boards. :) Do you think it's a worthwhile venture? If so, how much time do you spend searching?

Finding a Balance

It's already ten days into NaNo, so I'm sure that some of you have been typing away and are now seeing some great results. I'm jealous. I sooo wanted to participate in NaNo this year, but when I actually sat down and figured out my time, I decided that I should wait until next year, especially because Hubby and I are reallly trying to save up for a house right now. In this effort, I have been scouring the job boards and attempting to focus more on copywriting to bring in the extra income. So far, so good.

The only downside is that I've been spending so much time working that I haven't had nearly enough time for my kids. It can definitely get hard trying to find that balance between work helping your family and then work actually taking away from your family. Oh well, I guess that's the life of a freelancer, I suppose.

Anyway, long story short: I didn't do NaNo this year, due to time constraints. I'm sure it's an amazingly difficult, fun, and rewarding experience, and I can't wait to join in next year! How is it coming along for all of you?

(By the way, I've let all this extra work get in the way of blogging and tweeting. So I am determined to work out a better schedule - even if it means having to cut out a little of the extra work - so I will see you all again soon. :)

NaNoWriMo

Hi All!

The last few weeks have been so hectic around my home that I haven't really been able to squeeze in any time to twitter or blog...

but I'm thinking about doing something really crazy.

I'm considering signing up for NaNoWriMo!

This sounds crazy, I know. But I think that it just might help me to find some steam and get rolling with my bigger writing projects.

I also figure that if I can get into a good habit of writing for a specific amount of time every day in November, then hopefully I can continue that habit long after the craziness of NaNoWriMo subsides.

My main concern is that I will spread myself too thin by attempting such an enormous feat. At the same, though, I think that it could be the exact outlet that I need. No to mention, that it would be great practice at setting and reaching writing goals.

Anyway, I'm still not positive whether I'm going to do it, but I will definitely let you know if I sign up.

How about you - are any of you thinking about signing up for NaNoWriMo?

Sick, Tired, and Writing

Hey Fellow Writers!

I'm just making a quick stop by my blog to let you know that a nasty cold has taken my house (and most of its' occupants) by storm. Coughs, runny noses, fevers, headaches, and stomach aches are currently plaguing me and my children. Hubby somehow avoided it. Go figure!

(Just a side note: have you noticed that mom's NEVER get sick days? Sure, we might get sick all right, but we don't get to stay in bed all day with someone serving us soup and hot tea. Instead, we're up at the crack of dawn, changing diapers, and doing all that's involved in caring for munchkins. Not that I'm complaining...just thought it might be good to hear that there are others in the same boat.)

Anyway, we've been downing lots of water, juice, and soup. At first, I was trying to just wait it out, but have now decided to schedule doctor appointments for us all, in order to kick this thing with some antibiotics. So, hopefully, we'll push this nasty thing out of our house by the end of the weekend. (I figure if I stay optimistic about it, there could be a chance that it will actually happen.)

So, now that I've shared the yucky details of this week in my life, I will say that one good thing is that I've still managed to get some writing done. Not as much as I would like to, but still a good amount. I submitted a few articles, followed up on some submissions, and caught up on my emails. I think I'm going to take tomorrow and the weekend off, though. Some rest and relaxation might be just what's needed in my household right now.

Hope you all are not catching any of these colds that are making their way around! If so, you have my sympathy. When you or your family members get sick, do you keep up your writing? If you do, could you share any tips on how you manage it all?

Have a good weekend...and stay healthy. :)