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March 8, 2007 ~ New Directions
Thursday.
Sitting in the sun yesterday felt like being held after a long cry. Winter is almost over; spring is coaxing the flowers up to greet the sun.
I've been filled with so much hope, lately, but it is also tempered by a precarious feeling, as if I am teetering on the brink of a cliff. So close to success, yet in so much danger of failure.
The last few weeks have had a galvanizing effect. The risk of losing something I care very much about has spurred me to try things that I never had the guts to try before. Namely, earning money for my writing. Freelance and publication.
Writing is probably about the worst way to actually earn money. Publication is a long shot, rejection slips being a writer's usual "pay." And freelance is often literally applying for a brand new job every other day, no assurance of a paycheck. But writing is what I know, what I love, and what I'm talented in. It's what I know for sure that I can sell, if I work very hard. (Though I am also pursuing photography avenues as well).
So the past week has been a blur of research. While my liberal arts education taught me a whole lot about writing and editing, it taught me not a thing about actually getting paid for it, and how one goes about doing that. I asked some friends, pulled some connections, and I'm reviewing style guides. I'm doing a little market research, and trying to find job listings that aren't work-from-home scams. I still need to figure out how to write, specifically, a writer's resume, and I don't yet have a clue about taxes or legal issues concerning freelancing. I know that the internet has really widened writers' options, but I have to figure out how to capitalize on that without getting scammed.
It has been only a week, though. Establishing myself as an actual writer is bound to take some time, so I'm not discouraged. All of my jobs have been in the writing field, but working for a writing Masters program and being the Senior Editor at a college magazine are not being a writer. Actually taking that title on like a mantle is both exhilarating and terrifying. We shall see where this takes me.
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