I Hate My Freelance Writing Career! (Part II of II)

Part I of this post examined how doing too much can make you hate your writing career – and how you can combat that.

Here, in Part II, two more reasons you may hate your writing career will be examined – and offer solutions to the problems.

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2 More Reasons You May Hate Your Freelance Writing Career

Working on Projects I Don’t Care For: Lately, I’ve been working on a lot of projects that just don’t excite me.

To be honest, a lot of what I do doesn’t excite me, per say, but it’s work I don’t mind. During my slump though, it just seemed that the projects – one after the other – were things that I just didn’t like at all.

It was mentally exhausting gearing myself up to work on them.

The reason I’ve been taking on practically any and everything is I want to get out of debt within the next two years – all except for my mortgage. Read about that goal here.

While I have a reason for buckling down and doing work I really don’t enjoy, it was taking a toll on me mentally.

Solution: Either reset goals, or change your mindset. I opted to change my mindset by refocusing on my goal and really ingesting how it’s going to feel to be debt free except for my mortgage.

Now, I have to admit, this is hard -- really hard. And, this is where being a Type A Personality really comes in handy. We’re really good and setting goals and achieving them – no matter the sacrifice.

Putting Dreams on Hold: During this whole process – taking on projects I didn’t like, doing too much – I wasn’t doing anything that gave me personal joy. I was putting my dreams on hold. Eg, training for this year’s marathon.

I had a car accident in February that’s interrupted my training schedule. I don’t know if you know anything about athletes, but when we’re unable to work out, we can get cranky and depressed.

I’d forgotten this. Even though I’m only able to train at a measured pace, now that I’m back on the track, I feel joyous again!

Solution: Do something just for you; chase a dream. This is particularly important when you’re going through trying times.

The Most Important Thing You Can Do To Break Out of a Writing Funk

One of the things I’ve noticed is that I get frustrated when I work without a plan. Many of us go through life without one. We just kind of do our thing – day after day, week after week, month after month.

But, have you ever stopped to think, “Where is this road I’m on taking me? Where do I want to be in 3 years, 5 years, 10 years?”

If you don’t have a life plan – get one – now! It can center you like never before. I talk about how having a life plan helped me make a decision when an “opportunity of a lifetime” was dropped in my lap. Read about it here.

Planning forces you to focus on what’s really important to you. If you’re in a writing funk, it usually has nothing to do with writing, and everything to do with your life.

Here's hoping you never "feel the funk," or get out of it soon if you're already there.

Monday's Post: How Googling Your Name Can Lead to Cash

EXCERPT: There are billions (yes, billions!) of websites on the Internet. Getting noticed is extremely difficult -- if not impossible. Googling your name and leveraging those contacts who already know about you can go a long way to increasing your income. We'll examine three ways to leverage this name recognition -- and put cash in your pocket!
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Copyright Notice: May be reprinted with the following, in full: Yuwanda Black is the publisher of InkwellEditorial.com: THE business portal for and about the editorial and creative industries. First-hand freelance success stories, e-courses, job postings, resume tips, advice on the business of freelancing, and more! Launch a Profitable Freelance Writing Career in 30 Days or Less -- Guaranteed! Log on to InkwellEditorial.com.
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Start a Successful Freelance Writing Career

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Update: Editor-in-Chief's Job Offer

I'm sorry this post is a day late, but here it is.

In my March 29th post, I wrote about an Editor-in-Chief's job offer I received. I was a bit hesitant and took a few weeks to make up my mind. Like the little guy in picture, I was left scratching my head -- what to do? What to do?

Well, I finally decided and I'm not going to accept the offer. Why not?
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What about the work-from-home ebooks I keep promising? Software problems. Am having the bugs worked out as we speak so they can be back up before day's end.
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As flattered as I was, I thought about all I'd have to give up to take this position and I decided that, although it was a fabulous opportunity, it wasn't a fabulous opportunity for me. Why?

1. My Career: I've worked pretty hard to get to this point as a freelancer. I would have had to cut back on a lot of that -- possibly losing long-time clients in the process. It's not the clients I feared losing so much as the rebuilding I would have to go through if the position didn't pan out.

As many of you know, publishing is a very demanding industry and start-up magazines have a high failure rate. While I believed in the project, it was not something I was willing to pour my heart and soul into. It wasn't a passion. I was excited about the opportunity more than the project itself.

A venture like this needs -- at a minimum -- goo-gobs of passion, along with a heck of a lot of hard work. I'm a hard worker -- that was never the problem. BUT, the sustaining passion was not there.

2. Life Choices: A few years ago, I wrote down what I wanted out of life -- what was important to me. I did this so that I could structure my life in that direction.

I'm an entrepreneur at heart and tend to be a bit schizophrenic in the things I want to try. One day I want to start an online company selling ethnic art (did that), the next I want to start a virtual recruiting firm (did that to a limited degree) and the day after that I want to be a magazine publisher (even wrote a business plan for that).

After reading a book about writing down life goals to make them happen, I did this to keep myself structured and focused on what I really wanted out of life.

Regarding work, a few of the things I wrote was stability, working less hours and the option of retirement at 50. I'm not saying I will retire then, but I want that option if I so choose.

This opportunity ran contrary to all of these life goals. As previously mentioned, start-up magazines have a high failure rate (there went stability); require long hours; and you must put those in over a period of years.

Once I realized all of this and compared it to my life goals, it sealed the deal for me.

I've learned a few things about myself in this process, which I'll expand upon in another post. BUT, perhaps the thing that stood out most to me is how important it is to have a life plan. Write down what you want and continually remind yourself of it.

Life pulls you in so many directions that it's easy to get off track. Knowing what you ultimately want -- having a picture of what your ideal life would be -- will keep you focused on the end goal.
Tomorrow's Post: Even though I'd promised to address The Thinking Blogger's Award post along with this missive today, I'll do it tomorrow. Deadlines, deadlines!

Best,
Yuwanda Black, Publisher
InkwellEditorial.com
InkwellEditorial.blogspot.com
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Copyright Notice: May be reprinted with the following, in full: Yuwanda Black is the publisher of InkwellEditorial.com: THE business portal for and about the editorial and creative industries. First-hand freelance success stories, e-courses, job postings, resume tips, advice on the business of freelancing, and more! Launch a Profitable Freelance Writing Career in 30 Days or Less -- Guaranteed! Log on to InkwellEditorial.com.
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How to Launch a Profitable "Portfolio Career"

I first heard the term "Portfolio Career" a few years ago when I was talking to a girlfriend about a mutual friend. This particular friend had resigned from a high-paid sales job that required her to travel a lot.

Tired of the grindstone, she quit and launched a portfolio career. So, what exactly is a portfolio career?

What is a Portfolio Career?

A portfolio career is one in which you do several things. You don't work for any particular employer, you work for several doing very different jobs.

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WORK-FROM-HOME E-BOOK REMINDER: Inkwell Editorial's work-from-home freelance writing e-books have been offline since August of last year. I've been planning to migrate them to Clickbank. But a series of life events, coupled with work, have delayed this process. So, I've decided to put them back on InkwellEditorial.com until I can find the time to do the migration. They'll be back up next weekend.

As always, editorially yours,
Y. Black, Publisher
InkwellEditorial.com
InkwellEditorial.blogspot.com
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As defined in the article Portfolio Careers: Creating a Career of Multiple Part-Time Jobs by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D., "Portfolio careers are usually built around a collection of skills and interests, though the only consistent theme is one of career self-management." Source: http://www.quintcareers.com.

For example, the friend who quit her sales job started doing promotions for a record company. In addition to that, she worked part-time in her previous career - leveraging contacts she'd made during her career in the field.

What makes a portfolio career different from being a freelancer? Technically, there's no difference as they are both self-employed. However, a portfolio career is one in which the professional holds down several different jobs -- usually in extremely different fields.

In the past, professionals might have hidden this type of "split career." As more and more job hunters seek more time in their personal lives, however, many are coming out of the closet, if you will, about their career choices.

So, how do you go about developing a lucrative portfolio career?

A) Assess your interests and abilities: Are you, for example, good at marketing and at crafts? There's no reason not to do both.

Make a list of all that you're good at or have an interest in. Select two or three that you might want to turn into part-time ventures and go for it.

B) Leverage existing contacts: Like the executive mentioned above, this is the easiest way to get your portfolio career off the ground.

If you want to do marketing for small businesses, for example, get your company off the ground by telling everyone you know about your new career path.

C) Marketing and networking: Marketing can be as simple as getting a website. For networking purposes, join a chamber of commerce.

NOTE: In my 2/27/07 post, Networking No No's: What NOT to Do When You Network, I discuss some things you should not do when networking that may seem to run contrary to the advice offered here regarding a portfolio career. Specifically, I'm referring to representing the right business.

So, how do you network effectively if you have a portfolio career? I would select one of the things that I do and promote that at networking events. If you have a website, for example that explains your portfolio career, then potential clients will eventually discover all that you do anyway.

BUT, the reason I would only promote one thing at networking events is that, in marketing, too many messages confuse prospects So if you say I write marketing proposals for small business and I design jewelry as well, what are they likely to remember you for?

In my opinion, this sends a confusing, unprofessional message.

FYI, joining two or more networking groups will allow you to promote one business at one group, and the other business at another group.

Just because you work for yourself does not mean you don't need to be professional about it. Treat it like a real, full-fledged business; because, that's what it is. It's just a business with several arms.

Wondering if a portfolio career is for you? Take a FREE test at http://www.creativekeys.net/portfoliocareer3.htm.
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Copyright Notice: May be reprinted with the following, in full: Yuwanda Black is the publisher of InkwellEditorial.com: THE business portal for and about the editorial and creative industries. First-hand freelance success stories, e-courses, job postings, resume tips, advice on the business of freelancing, and more! Launch a Profitable Freelance Writing Career in 30 Days or Less -- Guaranteed! Log on to InkwellEditorial.com to learn how.
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