Couching the Golden Thread

Since I started spending my time creating a day job, I haven't touched brush to paper and hardly strung a bead. In other words, I'm missing color. 


I love working with words, but there comes a point where I feel like grabbing a crayon and coloring in the O's. Fortunately, it doesn't take much to bring the color back.


There have been other times in my life when I've been estranged from my art. During those times, I made a point of devoting quiet moments in the morning to a small black sketchbook and some paints, writing a few words and finding the first colors of the day.


A fifteen-minute ritual each morning works wonders. It's not meditation, which works its own wonders. It's just a very private moment--no editing, no censorship, no expectations. It reminds me of couching. 


In embroidery, couching is a technique whereby a thick thread, often gold, is tacked at intervals to a piece of fabric using very fine thread. To my mind, each fifteen minutes in the morning is like one fine tack holding the design thread in place.


If you find yourself going through a time when your art is hard to get to, you might want to devise a little ritual for your own mornings. A regular quarter of an hour noodling on a guitar or pirouetting around the living room before work can uplift your whole day. 


Now the writer's tip of the day: Confused by the publishing industry? No wonder. It's confusing, and undergoing changes that make it more baffling every day. I just discovered the SFWA site--that's the Science Fiction Writers of America, in case you didn't know. They offer an excellent series of articles in their feature Writer Beware . There, you'll find clear explanations and opinions on electronic publishing, vanity presses, unscrupulous agents, and more. Have a look.


And, whatever else you do, keep that thread running, however you can.

Building the Empire

Wikimedia's great. I just learned about Sweden's Bernadotte Dynasty, which must have one of the nicest coats of arms I've ever seen.

However, this is not the kind of empire I'm building.

Especially not today. Today, I'm staying home with my cat. He's got the right idea. Lie down here, lie down there. I completed a freelance writing job this morning, so I have the luxury of taking a few minutes off.

That's what I told myself, anyway, but I keep gravitating toward the keyboard. Stuff wants to come out. Isn't that grand?

So yesterday I joined Bukisa, where I might just be able to earn a little bit of money by writing what I really love to write. Of course, $4 per 1,000 hits on an article doesn't sound like much, but you know, it's all cumulative. If you've got old articles or ideas lying around you might want to spruce them up a bit and post them. There's a networking element to Bukisa, so if people sign up under you, you'll benefit from their hits, as well.

Last night, I spent some time with my evergreen article, 11 Tips For Surviving a Day Job With Your Creativity Intact, and sent it on up. And I've got a store of others I can dig out and tweak. Bukisa accepts previously published articles as long as you own the copyright.

All in all, an interesting concept. Whether or not the website lives up to the idea remains to be seen. I'll keep you posted.

But today I'm calling in the generals and mapping the advance, i.e., my career plan as a writer. From the looks of it, we may end up in Sweden. At this point, I'm pretty much following my nose. And the light from above.

The Homogenized Life

It's a good thing for my clients that they don't pay me by the hour. I live a homogenized life. I wouldn't know where to start billing.


Writing for me is like living. Well, it is living. I eat a banana, let the cat lick my nose, type a word, scrape dust bunnies off the floor, write a blog post, type another word...you get the picture. Rarely do I sit at the computer and Just Write--until I get to the revision part, when I'm glued to the keyboard because slashing and burning my own work is just so much fun.


But that first draft? How do people do it? I know there are writers who barrel through pages of material just to get it down. At least, that's what I hear. Who are these people? Is this skill or heredity? I give it a shot it periodically, but I think I'd get better results milking a cow.


My pea-picking way of writing overflows into my work, of course, so I always bill by the project. Want to see me squirm? Watch a client ask me for an hourly rate. It's not possible. There's no way I can tell you how much time I spend on a project because 90% of that time was probably passed watching flies and moving paper around on my desk.


I may not make it as a freelance writer. This method can't be cost-effective over the long run.


On the other hand, I remember my first attempt at copyediting. It took me six hours to do a half-hour job. The agency was shocked, but of course I didn't bill them for that. "It's my on-the-job training," I told them. And in fact I got much faster and now everyone's happy.


Still, I'm not a novice writer. And I've always preferred the homogenized life. Nine-to-five never suited me, even when it was possible for me to do. So maybe difficult billing and jobs that take an eternity are just the price to pay for being able to meander through a job like I would through the botanical gardens.


Working at home. The adventure goes on.


By the way, I just discovered the greatest site. Probably everyone in the world has known about this forever, but in case you don't, here's a link to Wikimedia , where you can get public domain pictures to plaster all over your blog or whatever you're making. Because, in case you were wondering, no, I didn't shoot the milkmaid.

...And I Did NOT Get Wrapped Around a Pole

All I can think of to say right now is...I DID IT!!!!


Yes, I just sent in my first entry to my first writing contest. I stopped dusting the studio and rewrote Chapter One. I grit my teeth like nobody's business and made changes I didn't want to make, and after all I'm very pleased. Fancy that.


This rewriting thing has got me thinking. Revising a manuscript over and over is like whipping up alternate galaxies.


I threw together the first three pages of Chapter One two years ago simply so I could submit my thin skin to a thick-skinned manuscript clinic run by Jerry B. Jenkins at my first Christian Writers Guild conference. Turns out he liked it (not that he didn't rip it apart, but he liked it while he ripped it apart). I was stunned and gratified. And, by this time, stubbornly attached to the part he liked.


But of course, getting precious about any creative work is death for creativity. As soon as something becomes absolutely essential, that's the time to throw it away.


Over the next two years, Chapter One went through both drastic overhauls and minute tweaks. Yet every time I overhauled or tweaked, I did so around the part I was hanging on to, which didn't help the situation. Anyone who's revised a text knows that changes in one sentence mean changes in another. It's like boxing clouds. Blink your eyes and you've got a whole new chapter. Except for the parts you refuse to change.


Then I joined a crit group. Oh dear. They were kind, but it was a structural issue, you see.


Resistant to the end, I dug in my heels. I tried every which way to keep that part. It was my opening hook. Jerry loved it! Maybe it could be a prologue...except it happened in the past. Maybe it could be not exactly a prologue but not exactly part of the chapter, either...Well, even I could see how far that would fly.


So yesterday I took a hatchet to it and started Chapter One in a whole new place. Know where? In the place I'd started the very first draft almost three years ago. Now it's a whole new old chapter, and much better besides.


How many incarnations did Chapter One go through to get to where it is? And how many more lie ahead? If I lined all the versions up like cousins with a family resemblance, they'd reach around the globe. And there are twelve chapters to go.


What am I doing with that precious severed limb? I'm hanging on to it. It'll make a perfect blurb for the back of the book.


Tomorrow I'm dressing up as a clown witch and letting my split personality slug it out. But tonight, I'll sleep the sleep of the just. The just entered, that is.


HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Dusting the Studio

My painting teacher used to call the fiddly prelude to creative work that we all seem to indulge in "dusting the studio."


We walk around and rearrange things just so, stack these over here instead of over there, hang something on the wall and scrutinize it for the thousandth time, or, for those of us who work at our desks, maybe pay some bills...or write a blog. Very helpful stuff.


Still, there's a fine line between getting ready to work and postponing the inevitable. The personal dance that marks the start of our creative time is magical, intimate, and unique to each of us. And we each have a tipping point: One moment we're psyching ourselves up, the next moment we're procrastinating. Knowing our own special moment to stop fussing and get down to it is one sign of maturity in an artist.


My one and only job this morning is to get Chapter One ready to enter a contest. I'm excited, scared (it's my first writing competition), and generally overwhelmed by the amount of work there is to do on my entry.


Last year at this time, I thought my manuscript was ready for submission to anyone, anywhere. Then I joined a critique group of specialists in my story's genre. God love them, they put Chapter One back on the front burner and handed me a lesson in humility.


This first chapter has a slight structural problem that I've been pondering for weeks, along with some protagonist issues that affect the mood of the entire story. These are not small obstacles and I really don't know where to start, which is why I'm still polishing Chapter One two short days before the contest deadline.


And still dusting the studio.


But because I think I know when to dance and when to stop, I'll leave you with this: Dust away to your heart's content, and then get to work.

The Truth About Freelance Writing, Part One

There's a writers ghetto out there, and I found it.


Did you know that minimum wage in Kansas is hanging in there at $2.65 an hour? This will change, thank heavens, at the beginning of 2010, when it's brought into line with the national minimum of a bare $7.25. Still, it's not much. Here's a surprising list of ten job titles paid at or very close to minimum wage:


Emergency Medical Technician, Pharmacy Technician, Certified Nursing Assistant, Preschool Teacher, Amusement Park Ride Operator, Line Cook, Lifeguard, Nanny, Automobile Mechanic, and Tax Preparer.


Add to this startling list of talented people: Freelance Writer.


Only a small percentage of writers actually live from their writing--this I knew. But I had no idea how deeply dismal it was out there until I fell into the middle of the bidding wars.


Hundreds of article sweatshops are happy to hire writers who churn out dozens of articles a day for less than a penny a word. At these rates, 500 words will net you $3-4. Even if you can manage two of these an hour (and we won't mention quality), you're clocking in right around minimum wage.


There are faster writers in the world than me, and faster minds. There's obviously a place on the market for speedsters who can grind out enough legible words, backed up by dubious research, to make this arrangement worthwhile. Although it drives prices and quality down in the industry, it certainly works for site owners who just need enough keywords in their content to drive traffic to their online shops.


But this system is not for me. After a friendly e-mail exchange with one canvasser of articles who asked me to offer his readers a series of rapid weight-loss meal plans (to which I said I was not a nutritionist and to which he replied I didn't need to be), I hung up my bottom-of-the-barrel article-writing hat.


I'll certainly keep my eye out for good opportunities--it's a wide, wide Internet, after all. But for now I'm thanking God for the positive responses coming in from translation agencies that actually pay people for the work they do, and feeling blessed that I have this option.


I'm also sending up a prayer for all those preschool teachers and emergency medical technicians who face blatant disregard for their training and education. It's something to think about the next time your 911 call is answered in the middle of the night.

Dancing While the Floor is Moving

It's official. Looking for a day job is now my day job.

I don't know why it's always been so hard for me to see how to make money by writing. Lots of people do it. I can see my professional life hovering on the horizon: a colorful patchwork of books, articles, this and that. But how to get from A to Z? For some reason my mind's got butterfingers.

Still, I think I'm getting closer. I've narrowed my search to three areas. The ubiquitous translation, writing articles for corporate magazines, and writing book reviews, which I just realized can actually be done for money.

If you're interested in investigating some avenues for yourself, I've started researching those last two activities with these basic texts: Top Dollar for Your Articles by Harry Husted and Get Paid to Read by Steve Weinberg (both edited by Bob Bly). 

My painting teacher once told me, "If you look inside a how-to book, you'll find you already know it." This may be true with painting, but I've found these how-to's very helpful in sorting out the first baby steps of professional writing--and calming me down besides.

In addition, today I'm starting to work with a packet by Angela Booth called Your Just-In-Time Cash Machine. Get past the title, if it grates. This looks like a very clear and helpful e-book about tip-toeing into marketing your services online.

The book includes a seven-day action plan, which I plan to implement starting today. I'll let you know how it goes.

On the creativity front, early next week, I'm moving from a big bedroom in my house to a cottage close by on the property. I'll have room there to set up a table for picture-booking and maybe even my tapestry loom. It involves a bit of pre-move room painting, but it's a cheerful little place with lots of windows and good energy.

My first loom-beaded necklace is almost done. Well, that means the necklace itself is beaded and now I have to figure out how to sew in all the warp threads and attach the clasp. Oh, and the fringe. It's ridiculously hard to photograph because of the shape of the loom, which is solid behind the warp and blocks the wonderful light that makes the piece worth looking at, but I'll keep at it and post pictures at the first opportunity. I may have to put it on for a photo session!

If you're wondering what loom beading is or would like to see the loom I'm using, here it is . Its name is Larry. Don't ask me why.

And now, back to the dance. Time to critique a fellow critter's novel in exchange for one on my own. I haven't said much about them, but these critiques are the most valuable input to my writing I've experienced in a very long time. I'm inching up to submission.

Do I have stars in my eyes?

And a-one and a-two...

Follow Your Nose

My agency sent me more work today. The Invisible Day Job seems to be gathering steam. Please join me in the Happy Dance, and may your day job be treating you kindly, too.

Now, about following one's nose...

A year ago, I subscribed to SCBWI, The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, for no other reason than my dream has always been to publish a picture book. It was a slightly silly move, since in every other way my life was facing the opposite direction.

The bimonthly bulletins started coming in the mail. I filed them away unopened, and not without some pain. They were like love letters to myself from a parallel life. A wistful twinge to the heart and into the cabinet they went.

This morning, I took myself out for breakfast. As an afterthought, I grabbed a handful of these colorful magazines and shoved them in my bag, half intending to look inside. At the table, with nothing else to read, I opened the cover on top.

My friends, I've been hoarding a gold mine! Articles and tips, publishers, editors, names and e-mail addresses, a schedule of events, and on and on.

I sighed and ordered another cup of coffee. For weeks, I've sat at my computer, trawling the depths for the handful of publishers still open to queries, and all the while I've been locking their names away in my file cabinet, unread.

One could say the resources popped out of the closet at exactly the right moment, and I would tend to agree. I was following my nose when I joined SCBWI and it paid off. I'm a squirrel that way. Someday, I think, I'll need this. Better have it on hand in case all the world's bookstores burn down on the same day.

Tip for Wednesday: Follow your nose. It's connected directly to your heart.

Marketing and Me

A fish up a tree.

Marketing is my nemesis. It hides in my closet and jumps me in the dark. And it seems that everything is marketing. Outside of the day job, that is.

In a funny way, I cling to my translation job because I work through agencies that find clients for me. True, I get paid a bit less this way than I would with direct clients, but it's worth gold not to have to market myself.

A day job keeps me in a rhythm and gives me something to bitch about. But when the work isn't regular, I have to switch gears and become marketer and product at the same time.

Like many Americans these days, I'm trying to patchwork several jobs into one cohesive income. I love the idea of freelance writing. Pack up the old computer and type my way down the road. Send in an article and rake in the dough.

Over time, I've come to the conclusion that magazine articles are a dismal way to earn a living unless you're at the top of the pile. There's no guarantee of publication with most venues and they don't pay much in the end. But I think I may have found a market that makes sense in my life.

This morning, I downloaded a book by Bob Bly on writing articles for corporate magazines. Unlike the commercial magazine market, corporate magazines actually pay for articles. I'm thinking that this may be a market segment that won't have me spinning my wheels.

In a bold and scary marketing move, I'm also thinking of becoming an affiliate of Bob's. He charges reasonable prices for his products and I think what he's offering is both helpful and trustworthy.


It probably also wouldn't hurt for me to affiliate with the American Writers & Artists, Inc. AWAI offers a range of intriguing possibilities for those of us with creative leanings to make money working at home, next to our artistic pursuits. I've benefited from several of them over the years.

If you're like me, you'll have to squint your eyes to see past the in-your-face copywriting format of their advertising, but please take the time to do it. There's real substance and opportunity there.

Okay, enough marketing for today. Time to go look at some color...and write an article on prioritizing so I can read it to myself.

Adios for now, from Up The Tree.

Thank God For Cheesecake

I used to take my journal to cafes and ruminate for hours. These days, I take my little Mac and sit with the 20-somethings, dispatching e-mails and posting to my blog. Age is really only on the outside.
I still sometimes take my journal, by the way. It's amazing how many knots come untangled with a cup of coffee and a piece of cheesecake.

Of course, there are ways to untie internal knots without cheesecake. About a hundred years ago, when I was struggling with my Masters thesis and had no idea anymore what I was even writing about, my wise advisor assigned me an essay a day until further notice. Essay writing, that is, not reading.

Every day, I had to commit to paper a page and a half or so of composed, integral thought. For me, this was a very different process to journal writing. It imposed the stricter parameters of a formal essay and forced me to get to the no-nonsense heart of one single idea. It also made me hold my subject at arm's length, and this led to clearer and more objective thought that often carried me far from the original tangle of emotions to a lyrical piece of writing that could stand on its own merit.

This was back in the days when people still wrote with paper and pen, before word processors. The consumption of ink was astronomical, but the conceptual process was pretty much the same. Start writing, find out what you have to say, and make it intelligible to someone else. And, if possible, beautiful.

It only took ten days of essays for me to move beyond my block, but it taught me a skill I've carried with me for twenty-five years.

Of course, I'd rather have cheesecake, hands down.

I still have a million things to do at once, including getting my agent query off this week, which is a bundle of tasks in itself: cover letter, synopsis, and sample chapter.

Competing with the query on my list is my eBook, The Day-Job Survival (and Escape) Kit . I wrote DJSK three years ago as a manual of insights and exercises for making your day job as inspired as your art and sold it for a short time on my own website. I've decided to update it and get it out there again, but in a much bigger way. And I know all too well what this means. The dreaded marketing.

Oh, if only I could write all day long and let marketing magically happen on its own. But these days writers have to be prepared to promote their own work, publisher or no publisher. For non-sharks like me, this is a knot of the first magnitude.

You'll be hearing about Step Two of this incredible journey very soon.

Step One? Order one large cheesecake to go.