When I was a young homemaker, my husband worked on commission. He brought home a different amount on his paycheck every two weeks. I hate, hate, hated not knowing how much money we would have for bills each month. We just couldn\u2019t seem to get enough ahead to ever make this sort of thing work for us. When he had a good month in commissions, we had to put the extra money toward a bill we couldn\u2019t quite pay off the month before. It was stressful not having a set amount of pay to plan on. <\/p>\n
Then he got a regular job with a regular paycheck. He earned a regular salary plus raises when his route increased. This was better\u2014until the powers-that-be would decide he\u2019d built his route to such a degree it was time to split it and give part of it to someone else. His paycheck would be cut accordingly. Again, we couldn\u2019t exactly rely on a set salary.<\/p>\n
I never wanted to live like that again. My dream was to have a reliable amount of money coming in each month so that I could plan ahead as far as household and other expenses. <\/p>\n
So what am I doing in a business that is one of the most unstable of all? Writing and publishing? <\/p>\n
Certainly, there is no regular paycheck in this profession. Some months you might place three $1,000 articles, do a $1,200 editing job, sell two dozen books, get paid to speak at two events, write some copy for a local business and collect $350 in consulting fees. The next two months might be dead. I have chosen a profession with just about as precarious a financial situation as possible and I\u2019ve stayed in it for over thirty-five years. How do I manage?<\/p>\n
One thing I\u2019ve noticed is that rather than concerning myself so much with the amount of income I require each month\u2014because this is going to be unstable no matter what I do\u2014I regulate my expenses. Sure there are months when I decide to purchase a new piece of business equipment, when my car needs repairs or my house needs painting. But I maintain a fairly low level of expenses and I strive to earn more than I need to cover them each month. When I bring in more money, I stash it. Then I have it when I need to cover an unexpected (or long-term planned) expense. <\/p>\n
I believe that it is important to preserve one\u2019s health and well-being, as well. Most of us do. So I try to take advantage of down times\u2014when I\u2019m not on a deadline or when I don\u2019t have an editing job on my desktop\u2014to get out of the office. I take mini-vacations and walk on the beach. I create a new garden space in my yard. I spend time with my friends. Or I even leave town for a few days of respite.<\/p>\n
Sure, slow times in this business should be spent promoting and gaining additional exposure for your books and services. But there comes a time in a career when you can streamline that process\u2014you know where and how to spend your time and energy. And this affords you nice pockets of time for regrouping and refreshing away from work.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m actually in intense work mode as we speak\u2014with back-to-back editing jobs on my desk and a new book coming out this month. But the heat is headed inland (where I live) and the cooler beaches are calling to me. I will be taking pockets of time in the coming weeks to walk my stresses away along the water\u2019s edge, knowing that, because of my diligence, the bills will be paid. I can relax in the knowledge that I\u2019ve somehow overcome the horror and fear of the irregular or erratic salary. How about you? How do you manage the lack of security in the writing\/publishing business?<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com<\/a> When I was a young homemaker, my husband worked on commission. He brought home a different amount on his paycheck every two weeks. I hate, hate, hated not knowing how much money we would have for bills each month. We just couldn\u2019t seem to get enough ahead to ever make this sort of thing work […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n http:\/\/www.patriciafry.com<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"