Pitching for work I don’t actually need more work at the moment, but I still like to keep an eye on what’s available, and I still keep looking because you never know when a current client no longer has any work for you, or if they go bust, or if you fall out, or anything….
I published a book
I didn’t get around to writing any of Catch the Rainbow yesterday, but I did sort some of the rest of the material into some sort of order. This one may not get finished before the end of August, but then again, it might … The Life of Richard Cadbury was also neglected. I need to…
Managing the diary
A light week last week followed by an uncluttered weekend meant I could devote some time to scheduling the diary a little more efficiently and adding a price list to these pages. I also finished another book from the Make Money From Home series and started the next one. By the end of the weekend…
It’s okay to take a sick day
Ever since the poet went back to work on 1 July, we’ve both had cold upon cold upon cold. And yesterday, I was finally flattened. Unusually, it seems that the poet is a couple of days behind me this time. Also unusually, it seems, if I wake up and I’m not very well, I generally…
Publishing short stories
Today’s faff, then, has been all about re-publishing standalone short e-stories. Once upon a time, I discovered CreateSpace, a wonderful self-publishing tool from Amazon. The best thing about it, for me, was the cover creator. Every single book I thought of writing, as it went into the ideas and drafting stages, was given a spot (and…
Do you need a logo?
So I’ve been reading this series about making money from home (Make Money from Home series by Sally Miller), and I’m finding it very interesting and informative. I’m trying a few things out that they suggest, and one of those is creating a logo. But do you need a logo? I’d never, ever thought about…
August 2020: Plan for the month (lists alert!)
After basking in my Camp NaNoWriMo winner glory for a moment or two, I finished work late on Friday. It was about 9pm here, so about 11pm for my client. The work was mostly late because Word had a bit of a hissy fit and took it upon itself to remove ALL of my tracked…
Camp NaNoWriMo – Day 20 (last day)
With me finishing the revisions of Twee Tales Too on Wednesday, I already had an extra hour today. Then when I checked in to the content-editing workroom, there was no work, so that was another extra hour today. I hoped that would be enough to finish today’s work. First of all I had the last 3,106…
Camp NaNoWriMo – Day 19 of 20 (in the end)
So this great plan of mine to be at my desk by 9am and write for 4 hours was foiled before I even got there. The poet was working from home and he had a Skype meeting (or a Team meeting) at 8am. For 4 hours. (FOUR hours!) I fannied around for a bit, doing…
Camp NaNoWriMo – Day 18
As well as arriving very late to my desk this morning, I then got distracted. Three times. First of all, I saw that Martin Lewis, our money saving expert, has helped produce a textbook for schools, designed to teach kids about personal finance. The pdf for this book, and the teachers’ guide, are both free…
Camp NaNoWriMo – Day 17 + How to calculate your hourly rate
Although technically I wasn’t at my desk at quite 9am today, I was still working. I was doing my daily email declutter, responding to emails and turning down work. I had around half a dozen work invitations in my inbox this morning, and not one of them was suitable. Apart from being topics of no…
Camp NaNoWriMo – Day 16
Oops, skipped a day … From this week, my 10-project writing planner has a new project attached. It’s a proofreading job, and I want it finished by the end of Friday. Next week, I add a different project to my planner. This week’s proofreading job means I’ll have 2 projects on the go at the…
Camp NaNoWriMo – Day 14
After quite a bit of rigmarole (see yesterday’s post) I finally started work yesterday afternoon. I was keen to do some work for the client as well as some writing for myself. So I allocated us both at least an hour each. I wrote 1,908 words and my average speed stayed at 26 words per…
Irritating interlude
Yes, I know they always happen and we should always build in some sort of contingency. But I’d only just got into a good rhythm of work when this week happened. And not only this week. Wednesday happened as well. Wednesday was not a good day. I had so many chores to do that by midday…
Camp NaNoWriMo – Day off (rant alert)
Time was already tight this week with so many errands and deliveries booked in, so when the internet fell over – yet again – yesterday morning, I was not a happy bunny. Every time the internet crashes, which is around twice a day at the moment, it takes time out of my already busy schedule….
Camp NaNoWriMo – Day 13
On Saturday we managed to get out for another bit of a drive. We ended up in Lincoln, as I’ve never been before. We had a lovely meal at a pavement table, as we had the dog with us, and even the slight drop of rain didn’t spoil it. We’d managed to sit at the…
Camp NaNoWriMo – Day 12
After all of my bluster about starting the day writing, on the very first day I failed spectacularly. Friday was a Very Busy Day. The poet’s car was due in for its MOT. I had a hair appointment. And it was deadline day for the Greek client, and he’d asked for an early submission if…
Camp NaNoWriMo – Day 11
Leaving my own work until the end of the day doesn’t work. It doesn’t get done. Especially if I’m busy on client work that has a solid deadline. Soft deadlines work for other people. They don’t work for me. So I need to do my writing work first – or at least ‘my own work’,…
Camp NaNoWriMo – Day Off
The day started on time yesterday, but much of the morning was spent on admin. I checked in with the content editing job first thing, but there was no work waiting for me. They did this a couple of weeks ago too. I checked in at the start of my designated time, three times in…
Camp NaNoWriMo – Day 10
The poet went back to work on Wednesday 1 July, his furlough over for now. Within 7 days of him mixing with people again, we both had signs of a cold. I’m about 2 days behind him. I work from home anyway and have done for a long time. This means that I’m not mixing…
