Thought I forgot about this place, didn't you?
Truth is, I did. I thought it might be difficult to maintain two or more blogs, but the truth of the matter is I have to become good at that, like right now, in order to implement my plan to Take Over The Universe.
My first love is, and always will be, fiction. Flash fiction in particular. However, flash does not pay the bills, rather, it is food for the heart and soul. To make a decent living, I had to find a way to make my writing earn its keep.
Did you know it's almost as hard to break into the magazine market as it is to swallow a doorknob? Not that I've ever tried to swallow a doorknob, understand. Anyway, the turn-time is achingly slow, and a girl could starve to death waiting for the inevitable rejection slip.
Onward. I know there has to be a way.
I turned my attention to copywriting. Copywriting (as I understood it at the time) is similar in a lot of ways to flash fiction. Short, punchy, dynamic. I can do this.
(For the record, the term "copywriting" generally applies to sales letters, some of which can top twelve pages or more and garner a rate in the four digit category.)
I started writing web content (keyword optimized) for a client. 500 word articles, on a specific subject, research links and keywords provided. The catch? The articles had to contain 45-55% keywords.
This is a lot more difficult than it looks. 70 articles later I was totally burned out on writing articles.
I took on another client, who required a bit more research but only one keyword per 100. This is much easier.
I have a career.
Unfortunately, my first client is disorganized and unclear. This makes it hard to work with her. My second client pays much better, but there is no volume. I started to poke around.
Serendipity called. An old friend from my childhood days contacted me and we caught up on Life. Funny thing, he was involved in Internet Marketing, and I just so happen to be a web copy writer. Coincidence? There is no such thing.
Then he pushed me toward IM. Why write for peanuts for someone else, when I can write for myself and make a living? Good point.
And that brings you up to date.
The moral of the story?
Don't settle. There is a way, if you are patient and trust the Universe and the plan it has for you. Angels are in the woodwork, at the ready. You just have to have faith, trust, and a lot of elbow grease.
Speaking of which, I need to grease my elbows.
:)
