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I discovered something odd about myself—the writer—last week. Don’t laugh. I realized that I need inspiration in order to vacuum or deep clean a bathroom or the kitchen, for example. But I can write just about anytime under any circumstances.

I need a housecleaning muse. I suffer, sometimes, from domestic chore block. And procrastinate? Oh my. Here are some of the excuses I use when I don’t feel like cleaning:

• The cats are asleep and I don’t want to disturb them.
• I only have a window of twenty minutes—not enough time to dust and vacuum, so I’ll do neither.
• I’ll clean the house when I don’t feel like writing. (Yeah right! That never happens.)
• No one is going to stop by, anyway—who will notice if I let it go one more day?
• I’ll do it tomorrow—I’ll probably feel like doing it then.
• It’s not really that dirty.

I remember when I started this writing career many years ago, that some days I would clean instead of write. If I was stumped as to what to write that day, the floors would get washed. If I suffered from a severe case of writers’ block, I’d make new curtains and hang wallpaper, as a way to work through it. I still take a walk to clear the clutter from my mind when I’m working through a writing-related situation. But I wait for inspiration to clear the clutter from this house.

So is there anyone else out there who can relate? Have you turned from super housekeeper to obsessed writer? Do you need a domestic task muse? What is your motivation or inspiration to clean the house or take care of other chores that require leaving your writing room?

Here are some additional tips to help you get down to business and finally start that freelance writing business. For the first 3 tips, read yesterday’s blog post: February 4, 2012.

4: Use your time wisely. Becoming a successful freelance writer takes discipline and realistic scheduling. Failure comes to those who procrastinate, who have trouble prioritizing tasks and who are easily distracted. Those who succeed in this business have found a way to organize and discipline themselves.

While some freelance writers schedule certain hours each day to work no matter what, others work around family and professional obligations. The important thing is that you spend enough time in work mode and that you work smart enough to actually accomplish something each and every day. I work best with a schedule. Each evening, I evaluate that day’s work. I consider upcoming deadlines and the volume of work that needs my attention. Then I create a schedule by prioritizing tasks.

5: Just start. It isn’t easy to transition from full-time office worker to full-time writer. Most of us don’t have the funds to support us while we build a new business. I didn’t always have 12 or even 8 hours each day to spend working my freelance writing business. I built it over time. For any of you who are interested, here is my story:

I started writing articles for magazines from a corner of my bedroom using a manual typewriter in 1973. I was selling quite a few articles and I even had a book published through a traditional royalty publisher during those first several years. I was fortunate to be a homemaker and stay home mom. I waited to start my career until my three daughters were in junior high and high school, so my transition into the world of writing was fairly easy. Frankly, while I was serious about my writing, I was under no pressure to earn a certain amount of money.

In 1986, however, it became necessary for me to take a full-time job. I’d just spent 5 years researching and writing a comprehensive local history book and self-publishing it. So funds were low and my lifestyle was in transition.

How I missed writing. While I had a good job with lovely people around me, I hated working for someone else—on someone else’s agenda. And it looked as if this would be my future. I became despondent. That’s when I realized that I had to find a way to write no matter what else was going on in my life.

I started getting up at 4 every morning and writing before I went to work. Then I would write on weekends. I wrote my book, Quest For Truth, a true metaphysical adventure, in 8 months on that schedule. I can’t even begin to describe how happy and fulfilled I was. But I wanted more. I wanted to come home and establish a writing business that supported me spiritually as well as financially. So I began using that time in the wee hours of the morning to submit articles to magazines—remember, this was before the ease of the Internet. Within a year, I was able to quit my job and come home to write. And I’ve never looked back.

6: Write what they want. You have to go where the paying work is and accept the jobs that are available. While I never compromised my values in order to get paying work, I have certainly had to take some challenging and sometimes not very interesting jobs in order to keep the flow of money coming my way.

I prefer writing books, editing interesting manuscripts for clients and presenting workshops. But, in order to pay the bills, I’ve also written copy for local water companies, I’ve written articles on boring topics and I once wrote a 16-chapter book in 3 weeks for a client.

I’ve seen too many writers so bent on making their own personal statement or doing things their way that they get nowhere in this business. If you want to make a living or even earn some part-time money as a writer, you have to go where the work is and write what is needed/wanted. Write about things that are current, popular or even a bit provocative or controversial.

It takes more to become a full-time writer than just dreaming about it. If writing full-time is your dream, read and reread the above six points I’ve provided in the Saturday (4th) and Sunday (5th) blog posts and use them to finally fulfill your passion.

Patricia Fry is now the author of 35 books, including her two latest:
Publish Your Book and Promote Your Book.
http://www.matilijapress.com
And at Amazon.com

There aren’t many careers that allow you to follow your passion while earning a living. And there aren’t many people who can establish the balance one needs in order to create a business around their passion.

Would you like to establish a career as a freelance writer? Do you dream of writing full-time? Follow the suggestions below and your dream could become a reality.

1: Spend time writing whether it is convenient to do so or not. Perhaps you have a full life—you work eight or ten hours a day outside the home, you do a lot of charity work and/or you enjoy an active social life. We each establish lifestyles that suit our needs and desires. Our routines are important to us. In fact, it represents our comfort zone. To step outside of this zone, even to pursue something we think we want to do, often causes some discomfort. What to do? You have choices. You can give up your dream of writing or try easing into the writing realm. When people say, “I want to write, but I just don’t have time,” what they mean is, “Writing is not one of my priorities right now.”

Make writing a priority and you will find the time.

2: Make time to write. Usually this means making some sacrifices. What are you willing to give up in order to write? Sleep, TV, Internet surfing or perhaps overtime at work? If your life is filled during all of your waking hours with specific activities and rituals, then something will have to change in order to accommodate your desire to write. And the change won’t occur just by wishing or hoping. It will take your concerted effort.

Get up an hour earlier or stay up an hour later and spend this time writing. Turn off the TV more often—much more often. Say “no” to every other social invitation. What may feel like a sacrifice at first, will become part of your new writing routine. If writing is your passion, you will soon feel blessed to have the time to write rather than feeling deprived of time in front of the TV.

3: Be realistic about your writing choices. Perhaps your true dream is to support yourself by writing stories for your favorite romance magazines. Or maybe you’d like to become a novelist. It is extremely difficult to break in as a career writer of fiction. If fiction is your writing bag, I strongly urge you to set that dream aside for now and pursue a mode of writing that is more likely to produce the monetary results you are seeking. If you’re planning to earn a living through writing, nonfiction is easier to sell and a more reasonable medium to engage in. Establish yourself as a nonfiction writer, first—start the flow of work and the flow of money. Then, add to your writing repertoire in order to facilitate your love of fiction.

Here’s what I recommend: start writing articles for magazines, seek freelance writing work in corporate offices or on the Internet or produce some how-to booklets on topics related to your expertise, for example.

Now there’s a creative and viable idea. Whether you give horseback riding lessons, make beaded jewelry, are a whiz at finances, raise poodles, do nails or grow herbs, create booklets on various aspects of your knowledge and distribute them for sale to clients, appropriate specialty stores, from your Web site and so forth.

Let’s take the subject of manicures as an example. You could write booklets on the care of your nails, cuticle health, how to give yourself and others a professional quality pedicure, manicure styles over the years, what your nail color choice reveals about your personality, how to decorate your nails for the holidays, recommended products, old-wives tales about nails and so forth. And you can submit articles on these topics to magazines at the same time.

Tomorrow I’ll have three more tips to help you establish a freelance writing business. In the meantime, check out my websites and order my latest book, Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author. It’s starting to rise up in rankings at Amazon. I guess word is starting to get out.
http://www.matilijapress.com
http://www.patriciafry.com

I’ve discovered over the years that writing is more than just a hobby or a craft. In fact, it has become my mode of earning a living, my passion, a way to gain credibility in my field and my favorite promotional outlet. But it is so much more. Writing has brought me some fabulous opportunities.

Unusual, and often marvelous, things happen when I put myself out there through my writing.

1: I meet interesting people. Both in person and over the Internet, I’ve met many high profile movers and shakers in the world of independent and traditional publishing as well as some extremely talented and successful authors. One can never have too many friends and business associates. Personal and professional connections are vital to establishing a successful writing/publishing career.

2: I get some lucrative writing assignments with some great fringe benefits. And because I’m the author of several solid books related to publishing and book promotion, I am invited to speak in interesting places—like the time I traveled all expenses paid to Dubai.

3: I attract some fascinating clients. Some years ago, I conducted a publishing workshop for a group of home-schooled students as a SPAWN project. (Small Publishers, Artists and Writing Network). We actually produced a perfect-bound book of the students’ work—a book that they also designed. The local publicity for this volunteer project, landed me two wonderful new clients.

A search for people to interview for an article on learning public speaking when English is your second language, resulted in my meeting a lovely woman living in Florida. She just happened to be finishing up a book and needed some help. I was commissioned to edit her book.

4: I always have something to talk about. People are interested in the life of a writer/author and want to spend time with you.

5: As a writer, you learn that the world is full of ideas, interesting characters, fascinating perspectives and other prompts you can use in your stories or nonfiction writing. Writers are more observant—or should be.

Writing is not just about sitting in your cubical drawing material from your own head. A good writer pays attention to what’s going on outside of his everyday world. It’s when you venture out to be with people and nature that you discover a greater writer within.

The awkward month of the year is over. Don’t you think of January as awkward? For some of us, it sets the tone for the year. If you get through January unscathed, you know the rest of the year will be okay. While many people hold off making difficult decisions during the first month of any year, most are ready to commit come February. I suggest that, if you are serious about your article/story writing and/or if you have a book in the works, ready to publish or even published, that you consider NOW joining SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network). Why? You can network with other authors and freelance writers—some of them professionals, glean an enormous amount of information related to publishing from our site and two amazing enewsletters and there are enormous opportunities for exposure and learning.
http://www.spawn.org

I’m processing applications today. Fill yours out and you’ll receive a free book (choose from several) in time to read it next weekend.

As some of you know, this is the first time in over six years that I have taken a Sabbatical from this blog. We got word early on New Year’s Day that my brother passed away suddenly and unexpectedly shortly after midnight. It has been a rough period for our family—but also a healing period. We all dropped everything we were doing—everything we felt was important to us—and gathered in order to support one another and to honor my brother. It has been a long and difficult, yet heart-warming and healing twelve days. Thank you for your kind words and for your patience.

I plan to resume this blog with the sort of information and resources you can use—starting today. And I believe that an appropriate topic would be how to manage our writing projects when life takes unexpected turns. Because it happens. All of you reading this have experienced interruptions to the flow of your writing. Everyone of you has experienced life getting in the way of what you think you want to do—what you believe is important—the writing world you have created.

Some of you actually allow small, everyday occurrences to interrupt the writing you say you want to do. A friend calls for a coffee date, you agree to head up a committee, you are lured outside by beautiful weather or you just stop to chat with neighbors too often. Many of you get completely off track and it takes you many months or years to resume your beloved writing projects.

We all need breaks, change of scenery and connections. But, if we hope to succeed to the degree that we desire, as writers, we have to develop some important standards. Here’s my recipe for success:

• Determine exactly why you want to write—is your reason frivolous or reasonable?

• If you have trouble meeting writing deadlines (yours or those of others), schedule your writing sessions and be strict about them. Work every day from 8 until noon, for example. Get up a few hours early and write before work. (I wrote an entire book in eight months on this sort of schedule.) Write at night instead of watching TV.

• Give your writing a higher priority than maybe you do now. Get more serious about it and you’ll automatically get more writing done.

• Block everyday interruptions using every creative means you can come up with—screen phone calls, turn off your phone during your writing time, write while the kids are in school or bed, etc.

• Find a writing buddy—someone you have to be accountable to.

• Reward yourself AFTER you’ve written so many pages or you’ve been writing for so many hours. Go for a walk, enjoy a latte, do some watering out in your yard, go run your errands, etc.

Becoming a writer is more than just a physical activity. It is also a choice, a decision, a frame of mind. If you hope to establish a freelance article-writing business, you want to write stories for publication or you are working on a book, take a look at the list above to determine whether you have all of the mental, emotional and physical components in place.

http://www.matilijapress.com
http://www.patriciafry.com

How often do you visit your book page at Amazon.com? I try to get over to the page featuring my latest book, “Promote Your Book,” a couple of times each week. I check to see how many books Amazon has left in stock, what they are selling the book for, how the book is ranked, how many people “liked” the book or the page and if there are any new reviews. This morning, I discovered a new review. Thank you Blair from Indiana. This brings the number of reviews up to twenty-four. All are 5-star reviews except for three. Those three reviewers dinged the book a little for one reason or another.

The latest review took a star away because the 250 book promotion ideas weren’t fleshed out enough and some of the resources I offered cost something to purchase—typically other books with additional information, directories, programs for blogging or starting an enewsletter, joining Toastmasters, for example. I emailed the reviewer—who, incidentally, wrote a marvelous review, and I pointed out to him that if I’d fleshed out every promotional activity in this book, it would be the size of a set of encyclopedias.

Promote Your Book, Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author is not meant to be a complete guide to Internet marketing, public speaking for authors, selling books through Amazon or eBay, giving book signings, speaking at conferences, doing TV and radio interviews, etc. It is a collection of ideas with enough information for each to help an author get started with it and resources if they need to know more about it.

Each of you reading this and everyone else in the world would have written this very same book in very different ways. None of us would ever approach the same topic in exactly the same way. And each of us appreciates certain things about the books we like or dislike. I am saying this so as not to discourage you from moving ahead with your book the way you see fit.

Of course, you want to (you must) consider your primary audience and attempt to meet their needs or desires through your book effort. But beyond that, whether you write a chronicle of your community’s history or focus on early pioneers, businesses, landmarks, wildlife, hiking trails, tragedies or even fountains and art (as one writer I know has done), remember that it is your book and you have the power. It’s your decision.

New authors are sometimes intimidated by their potential readers and have a difficult time deciding which way to go with their books—create a children’s story, one for young adults or write a straight mystery for adults. Should it be an all-about a particular event in your community or a compilation of memorable events and activities taking place in and around your town? You are in charge. You get to decide. But know that there will definitely be people who will criticize your decisions because they simply have different needs and desires than the primary audience you wrote it for.

Interesting concept. I’d like to hear from those of you who have lost sleep over the direction you wanted to take your book or who feel they wrote the wrong book.

This is a good time to purchase your copy of Promote Your Book from Amazon or at my author site. If you’ve already read this book, how about leaving a review.

http://www.matilijapress.com
http://www.patriciafry.com