What I've been up to...

img credit: genyae

Wow, where does all the time go?

I know.


Actually, erm, I don't.



Ok, moving on...

What have I been up to???  Well, apart from scratching my imaginary balls, I've been...


Recovering from the poetry workshop I ran at the school...

Near enough killed me. Was bloody hard work, I tell ya. But I got through it (yay, me!). There really wasn't a lot of room for creative expression as the students had to study the work of other poets and certain techniques used. It can be difficult to get someone to peak underneath the skin of a poem to see the machinery working behind it. Studying the machinery isn't something I particularly enjoy doing myself so I don't blame some of the students for not being up for it. However, it was a skill they needed for their exams, so I tried to look for palatable ways to workshop it to them. Wasn't easy. However, I hope some of them left feeling a bit more confident.

Looks like the cheque for that is winging its way to me next week (early next week, I hope). So it's not gonna be as frustrating as the last workshop I ran in a school where I waited over 2 months to get my cheque. (memories. painful.)



Job Schmapplication'ing...

I mentioned I was looking for one or two more online writing gigs. High paying.

To that end, I found out about a UK-based company that's looking for UK and US writers. I had to send my application by email and post. Looks promising. Hope they're for real. And if they are, hope mama gets it. Pay looks good – up to £75 per article - mmmmm (as in 'mmmmm, nice pay' - not 'mmmmm, I wonder').



Got 2 new online gigs...

- Do-follow blog commenting: Got this one via the DP forums. I get to comment on any do-follow blog I want for $0.50 a pop (has to be approved though). I don't have to make it on niche-specific blogs which makes it a lot easier for me. I used to do paid blog commenting a while ago – not much – but it was something I quite enjoyed doing at the time, so I don't mind getting back to it. I find the comments easy to write as I just respond naturally to them.

- Proofreading/light editing: I got this one through a UK-based company called Delegate2 - they own FreelanceWriters.info. Early days yet, so we'll see. Pay's $1 for every 250 words. I do like proofing so I'm glad I have the paid opportunity to do more of it.


Both will make for nice filler-type work.



Erm, so that's me, people.


And how's your week been?



2ThePoint-t-t-t.

Some Flow in my Cashflow…

img credit: roctopus

Money's been really tight.

Actually, tell a lie, pretty non-existent.

Depressingly so.

Sniffle. Sniffle.


Which is why I'm pretty darn chuffed about a 2-day poetry workshop I'll be running in a school this week.

It came out of the blue from an organisation I've run workshops for in the past.

The pay's good – I'll be getting £650 for the 2 days, plus expenses are being covered.

It's gonna be a bit of a challenge as I have to be up at 5am to get there for 8am, plus I'll be running 5 sessions per day. The good thing is that each session's with a different group so I can repeat the same format. I'll probably tweak it in places as I go from group to group but that's it. It's still gonna be pretty energy-demanding though, but rewarding too as ultimately it's about creativity and encouraging an understanding and expression of it in others. It's a 2-way thing too as you get to learn a brand-new way of looking at the world every time the participants express themselves.


I'm not gonna lie. I'm a bit nervous, apprehensive – all those teenaged eyes looking to me for inspiration – it's not something I've ever gotten used to. But nervous is good. I'll be ok. I tend to feel the jitters before a workshop. Once I'm in there though, my adrenaline usually kicks in and I pretty-much get down to it. It's afterwards that I feel really drained.


Anyway, wish me luck.


Enjoy the rest of your week, y'all.


2ThePoint.

Dear Diary: I Don't Like Writing on Demand...

img credit: jeffisageek

I like writing. I like blogging. But I don't like writing on demand.

There. I said it.

I used to think there was something wrong with me for feeling that way. But now, I don't. I just think it's part of my inbuilt navigation system telling me where to go.


I prefer to write when the mood takes me. Like now.


So where does that leave me with the whole freelance writing thing?

Well, I already have one client I write for. Been writing for his company for a while - since last May. He's SUPER cool, I get to write in my own style, plus the money's good ($50 per post) – so I wanna stick with that for a while.

I plan to apply for a few more high(er)-paying gigs, but one that doesn't require I write x amount of pieces every week. One-offs would be fine with me.

I don't want to write for a rate that's significantly lower than what I'm currently on. In the past few months, I've noticed that I feel a bit funny when I attempt to cheat myself out of the rate I'm deserving of. I know what's possible. If one client can pay me $50 a piece, then there's bound to be another client out there who'll be willing to pay me something close to it or more.

So, apart from my current client and getting one or two more high-paying gigs, I'd rather not take on any more writing-on-demand work. Rather, I'd like to shift my focus to things I really love/enjoy doing.

I realise that part of finding more time to do other things will be down to me and how I organise my time. That will definitely be a challenge as I can be my worst distraction. I'm super special like that. :-)

(p.s.: You know what's probably gonna happen, right? Life will probably test me by sending me a shit-load of writing jobs or something. Ah well, if it happens, and that's a big if, I'll just have to cross that bridge when I get to it.)


Right now, I'm just aware that there are things lacking in my life and I need to do something about it. I welcome the dissatisfaction I feel as, sometimes, with dissatisfaction comes the energy to change.


Take care, people. I hope you're where you wanna be (or inching towards it).


2ThePoint.

February: End-of-Month - Online Earnings...

img credit: fionaandneil

February's been a challenge of sorts. Offline, things aren't looking too pretty. The £500 cheque I waited over 2 months for finally arrived, but disappeared almost as soon as I cashed it. I also decided to step off the school project. Very personal reason. Nothing to do with the project at all. However, it does mean I'm one part-time income down.


Online was different though. I saw an improvement on what I made in January.   In January, I made $174.16 online.  February, I made around double that at $349.15. Not bad but I could do with making more this month.

FEB'S ONLINE BREAKDOWN:

1) Freelance Writing.......$302.56

- blog writing - $288.30 (private client)
- forum posting - $14.26 (myLot - $11.13; PeazyShop - $3.13/£2.20)


2) Paid Surveys.......$46.47 (originally paid in £GBP)

- MyVoice - $28.66 (£20)
- Pinecone Research - $8.54 (£6)
- MySurvey - $7.10 (£5)
- LightSpeedPanel - $1.46 (£1)
- Other - $0.71 (£0.50)


3) Misc.......$0.12

- Pickjack - $0.12

PROOF OF PAYMENT...
(opens in new window)

(MyVoice & MySurvey pay with vouchers. MyVoice post out theirs - I don't have a camera so can't take a pic of it. MySurvey email theirs. Proof below.)





Have a great March, people.


Over and out...

2ThePoint.