This post is a guest post written by Linda Everett (Grandma).  After hearing about her recent ordeal, I asked her if she would share her story with the NJFM community.  There’s something to be said about the determination of a freelance writer!

Writing for money generally means meeting deadlines, on time. If you miss a deadline, you not only could miss out on being paid for your work that is due, you also could be banned from further work. Therefore, it is rather obvious that meeting your deadline means get ‘er done, no matter what else happens.

I had such an occasion this past week, when twisters ran across Oklahoma near our home. We had about twenty minutes to get out of town, as the storm predictors said we were in the potential path and should take cover. We opted to load the two kids and a large dog into the car, and my daughter and I drove to southwest Oklahoma City to the home of her husband’s grandfather. He actually lives about four miles north of Moore, OK, where the most severe tornado in history caused much damage a week before.

The Journey to Safety

The roads were packed, as people who remembered the extreme damage in Moore decided to leave Yukon and surrounding areas for safer ground. Safer ground is sometimes not all you think it is, as this series of five stacked tornados hit El Reno and then, instead of staying on the easterly track towards Yukon, turned south towards Mustang. I had recommended to daughter that she drive south towards Mustang, but she opted to get on easterly I-40, which was jammed with cars. We did have to come almost to a stop once, but eventually made it to grandpa’s house after going a few miles south.

Naturally, there was another tornado that decided it should go across southwestern Oklahoma City, so as the wind gained speed and the rain began to fall, we crossed the street to grandpa’s daughter’s house, where she had an underground shelter in the garage. This was a totally new experience to me. I definitely did not want to get into the coffin-like cement box. However, as the sirens wailed and radio reports pinpointed a tornado very close to the house, we did pile down there.

Hunkering Down in the Shelter

In all, there were 17 adults and children plus 12 dogs and a pet bunny in that small 5×8 foot shelter. The kids and pets were under the stairs, and some of us adults had seats on a small ledge. It was stuffy, but we had electricity and a fan going. Everyone was pretty good, but the older girls wanted to go out and look. One of them did get a cell phone photo of a small tornado right overhead. I have never seen such whipping 80mph winds and torrential rainfall. The ditch in front became a lake and there were several inches of water on the road.

Once we decided to come out and head back to grandpa’s house, we all got soaked on the way. Then it was a matter of listening to the news about all the downed power lines, trees and debris everywhere. We waited about two hours before venturing home around midnight. Fortunately, that was not a problem; we had no detours and only saw a few trees in the road.

Writing Obligations

When we first left home, I decided I better take my laptop and flash drives with me. I had one assignment that needed to be submitted by around noon the next day. We phoned home to see if the recording would work, thus indicating power was on. It did not work. My thoughts then turned to stopping at a McDonald’s on the way to use their Wi-Fi hookup. I had finished the article on the laptop at grandpa’s house, but the battery was getting low.

We tried one McDonald’s that had lights on, but no internet and it was packed with people. Maybe if we could have parked closer, I might have been able to pick it up. The other McDonald’s on the way home was not lighted; no power. Closer to home, I was glad to see some lights on, but still wondered if we would have power and if the internet was working at home. If not, if would mean getting up early in the morning and trying to find a connection somewhere around town.

Fortunately for me, the power had gone off but was restored at home, and the internet worked. I submitted the article around 1am. This was a first for me. I knew I had to have my laptop with me. I often wondered what stuff I would grab in an emergency. At this point, that was it; had no room in the car for anything else. My daughter told her husband (who was out of town on his semi-trucking job) that I was flipping (you-know-what) about not getting this article done. I guess we were very lucky, with no major damage from the weather or hail and we had power on.

Priorities of a Freelance Writer

In view of the potential problems, getting an article in on time should have been the least of my worries. But, since this is my only source of outside income, and it was part of a huge job, I did not want to lose the opportunity. I did keep my eyes on the prize, and would have run all over town looking for internet connection if ours had been down. Maybe it is old-fashioned commitment, or work ethic, but also I hate to lose. The other thing that worked in our favor, I believe, was the power of prayer, and I was busy with that the whole time.

Linda Everett (aka Grandma)

The last two weeks have been very busy for me and I haven’t been sending out my daily queries. Ideally, I’d like to have several queries in the hopper so when I get a rejection, I know I still have other queries in the system.

Rejection Reminder

After receiving a rejection for the one query I sent, it’s a bit of a reminder to get back on the schtick.

Hope you guys are doing better than I am.

I’ve finally decided to put on my big girl pants and try something new.

As I was writing articles for Constant Content, I found myself pulling some of them off the site. I put a lot of work and research into my articles and expect to be paid accordingly (Anna’s rant hit home). I decided not to play around with pricing. I also decided not to sit back, hope and pray my articles would sell. Instead, I’m taking a proactive approach.

I went to Barnes & Noble and picked up a copy of the 2013 Writer’s Market. My old 2008 copy is out of date. Over the next few days I’ll spend time learning about how to write an effective query letter. I’ll test the market by sending out several letters. I fully expect to receive rejections initially, but rejections will help me to hone my query writing skills. Once I get the hang of it, it should be smooth sailing (more or less).

In the Meanwhile

When I’m not playing around with query letters and rejections, I’ll be spending part of my time completing a few of the ebooks I have sitting on my computer. For the past year I’ve been bouncing around looking for ways to earn money. I’m pretty burnt out on blogging (hence the infrequent posts here) and am not willing to play by the new blogging rules (Facebook, Twitter, Pine Interest and the rest of the social networks). Writing books and publishing articles sounds like the next step in my writing journey.

My blogs and online articles still bring in a steady income. The income is significantly lower than what it used to be. It averages about $1,000 per month, some months a little more and others a little less. $1,000 a month is nice for residual income, but not enough to meet my financial needs so it’s time to move on.

There are so many ways to make money online. It’s a matter of finding what works for you. Back when I first started online, I enjoyed the challenge of writing hundreds of articles and blog posts in an attempt to earn money. I no longer enjoy that challenge.

Change in Pace

I’m ready to take things slower and delve deeper. Writing an ebook allows me to fully explore a topic. I get to educate myself as well as the reader on all aspects of the subject matter. I won’t need to use keywords, worry about ad placement or concern myself with Google’s latest algorithm changes. When it comes to writing, all I’ll have to think about is providing an engaging reading experience for my targeted audience.

The real challenge is in getting the book to the folks who would benefit most from reading it. I’ve got quite a few ideas and strategies floating around in my head, but nothing concrete. Fortunately, my first book is one that would benefit several of the small businesses in my area (or any area as I think of it). It should be fun (and scary) testing my presentation skills.

Since I feel like I’m starting all over again, I’ll end this post with the following quote:

“Everyone starts from scratch, but not everyone keeps on scratching!”
– Anonymous

Well, here it is. Felicia at No Job for Mom is admitting that she’s working a part-time job.  That job is writing articles for Demand Media Studios (again).

My residuals have taken quite a beating and it’s time for me to do something to stem the tide.  As I’ve done before, I’m taking my Demand Studios journey real slow.  My current goal is to write one article a day Monday – Friday.  If I make it through the week unscathed, I’ll slowly increase the article count by a half an article a day. The goal ultimate goal is to reach 4 stress-less articles a day (wish me luck).

I know my propensity to get frustrated with Demand Studios so I figured it’s better to start slow to keep the frustrations to a minimum.

My Residuals

It has been some time since I’ve updated my paltry earnings.  Ready?  Here they are:

My March residuals seem to be picking up ever so slightly (and I mean slightly).  Going forward I intend to diversify my income sources a bit more.  I’m considering going after a few magazines and maybe private clients (not so sure about private clients because they can be rather demanding at times).

I also managed to sell a couple of pieces of furniture from my furniture restoration hobby-hope-to-turn-into-a-business venture.  Next to transforming a blank piece of paper into an engaging tale, taking an old long-forgotten piece of furniture and giving it a new personality is something I truly enjoy.

Long-Range Goals

I’ve gone back to school to study and become certified in holistic nutrition.  Nutrition has long been a passion of mine so I thought it would be nice to have the formal education to back up my never-ending research projects.  Eventually, when I grow up, I want to become a holistic nutrition consultant.

Immediate Goals/Projects

On top of the writing, furniture, school and family, the weather is getting warmer (in spite of last night’s snow storm) and it’s soon time to get back to organic gardening and a host of other warm weather projects.

So, there you have it.  I haven’t been making much money at all, but I’ve been pretty busy doing things I enjoy.  Actually I truly enjoy just about everything except Demand Studios and washing dishes.  Oh well, guess we all have to take the bitter along with the sweet.

I’m going to try to update NJFM a bit more frequently than once every other month.  I can’t make any promises, but I will surly try.

Hope everyone is well and making more money than I am.

With the ending of an old year and the beginning of a new, we all get a chance to reflect and make plans for the coming year. As I look back over 2012, I see a year of growth.  I cannot think of a single year in my adult life that I’ve learned and experimented as much as I did in 2012.  Going forward in 2013 I intend to add depth to my knowledge and width to my experimentation.

Where does Writing Fit in?

During my time of growth and discovery, writing took a back seat.  As I look at the infrequent posts here on NJFM, it’s obvious that writing about writing hasn’t been at the top of the list.

A few things writing has taught me:

1. Don’t force it
2. If you have nothing to say, be quiet
3. Let life happen

I enjoyed making money as an online writer.  When the online writing climate changed and my income dropped, I made a half-hearted attempt to do what I did in the past to increase my income.  The big difference this time around is the enjoyment level.  I don’t have the same level of joy as an online writer as I did in the past.  That meant I would have to force myself to write.  Forced writing doesn’t work for me.

I also found that I pretty much said what I had to say, especially on the topic of writing.  My philosophy remains the same and though there are many ways to slice a pie, do I want to keep slicing the same old pie and repeat the same stories on how I sliced the pie?

So, rather than force myself to write about things I’ve written about before, I thought it would be better to shut up, sit back and let life happen.  But before I shut up and let life happen, I thought I’d share a few numbers with you.

 Income for 2011 vs. 2012

As you can see my income dropped in 2012 and will probably drop further in 2013.  I went from a high of $3,237.49 in March 2012 to December’s low of $1,128.16.  The only thing that makes it a little less painful is my income is mainly residual and I didn’t do much writing this year.

 Immediate Future

For the immediate future, I’m taking my Suite articles and sprinkling them around my various sites.  Since taking them down from Suite I have quite a few broken links to mend.  Once that task is completed, I’ll play it by ear.

One of my goals this year is to practice mono tasking.  On the whole, we seem to glorify the ability to do several things at one time.  We do lots of things at one time, but don’t do them very well nor do we truly enjoy the plethora of tasks we’re engaged in.  I want to slow down and enjoy what I’m doing.

With that goal in mind, I’ll write when inspired and find alternative ways to bridge the financial gap of my lowered income.  That’s my plan, plain and simple.  How about you?  What are your plans for 2013?