Welcome back this third week of January. How’s the weather where you are? We are having one of the mildest winters on record here in Olympia, Washington, basking in fifty-degree temps and wondering when hell will break loose. Maybe it won’t this winter. Maybe it’s just being sneaky and will hit us when we least expect it. The trick is to be prepared for anything.
And that will be our topic today….preparation for the unknown.
On a personal note, I am done with the second edit of my novel “Shadows Kill,” and I’m now ready for beta readers if any of you are interested. Sadly I can’t afford to pay you to do this, but you will receive my undying loyalty. If you are interested, let me know, but I need it read within a week or so.
Now let’s move on to preparation.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.”
Confucius
How can we ever go wrong reading the words of Confucius?
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
If you are a freelance writer, and by that I mean you write for money, then we need to chat. Let me tell you a story about my family during the Great Depression.
My dad spoke often about those bleak days. He told me his parents took any odd job they could find to put food on the table. He told me about raising chickens and selling the eggs. He told me about riding the boxcars to different cities in search of odd jobs. Every day was a new “experience” as every member of the family chipped in and made money any possible way.
Being a freelancer is a bit like those days. Diversification is the key. I’ve been singing this song for a couple years now, and some of you have heard the notes. You can’t put all your proverbial eggs in one basket. Being a freelancer means writing articles for magazines, writing blogs for companies, making passive income on sites like HP, writing newspaper articles, and on and on we go. When one source of income dries up you always have another to fall back on.
TIP OF THE DAY
Branch out. If you are in this for the money, then you need to expand your efforts so that your source of income doesn’t dry up and blow in the winds like the great Dust Bowl of the 30s.
CONTEST OF THE DAY
Yes, you can make money entering writing contests. Someone has to win, right? Why not you? Wag’s Review Winter Writing Contest will be taking submissions in poetry, fiction and essays from now until February 28th. First price is $1000 and you can find out about it by following this link.
MAGAZINE SITE OF THE DAY
Upstreet Magazine is taking submissions for their mag. I believe they pay fifty bucks if your article or essay is accepted. Find out about it here.
THAT’S IT FOR TODAY
Things to do and people to see, so I’ll leave you now to do whatever it is you do. Have a great week. Thanks for always being here…now get out there and diversity.
Bill
“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”
Billybuc
Artistry With Words 
I love your tips on this and have actually been doing a bit of this myself in the past week or two with submitting to some new sites and networking a bit more, because I just felt I needed to spread my wings just a bit more. And as for winter, same here hasn’t been too bad so far, but I am truly afraid to brag as the next thing I know it could be freezing and snow galore – so I will just keep quiet and my fingers crossed. Hope you are still having a great day, Bill 🙂
Janine, I hope you don’t have a late winter like you had last year. That was horrible. Let’s pray it stays mild for both of us…and good job diversifying, my friend. Thanks for sharing that.
It has been snowing here most of the day! We have had below zero temperatures the past couple of weeks, but today, it was nice enough for the snow to turn to slush before we finished the afternoon. I appreciate your counsel and wisdom, Bill. You have been there and done what most of us are trying to do!
Thank you, Denise, and I’m sorry about that winter weather. You are hardier than I could be. One year in Alaska was enough winter weather for this boy.
I have a tendency to either get so many irons in the fire that I don’t get enough focus, or I get so focused that I lose diversification. How do you balance between the two extremes?
For me it’s all about scheduling my time, Donna. Each day is designated for a particular project or undertaking. That’s the only way I can do it and make sure that everything gets some time. 🙂 Thanks for the visit and I hope that helps.
I need to do this! I actually can write things other than poetry!
I know you can, Audrey. I’ve seen proof. 🙂 You’ll succeed no matter what you do, Audrey, because of who you are.
Like always, great tips from a great writer. Thanks my friend.
Thank you, Greg. Coming from an experienced freelancer like you, that is high praise.
Diversification is a huge player in my marketing endeavors this year, Bill. I’ve entered contests, submitted stories to an anthology and one magazine (so far), and contacted advertising companies. I’m trying to cover the bases and satisfy my need for variety at the same time.
I know you are, Sha, and you’re doing a great job at it. Carry on my friend. You don’t need my help. 🙂
Well, that’s scary advice! i have been sitting on my first blog for weeks now and today’s the day I plan to launch. I just have to get my head wrapped around all that technology stuff. A good sign though is that I think people will be interested because i am already sitting with the air con on and its nine in the morning: predicted temps around 31 degrees. “Not another perfect day in Africa!” Does anyone know the film that quote came from?
I am keen to read your novel for you as I am keen to earn your undying loyalty because I want to model my hub page writing on yours, if that is alright with you.(I have an English degree and journalistic experience, so that may be helpful for the novel)
Zelda, thank you for stopping by, and best wishes on your blog. Send me a link when your blog is up and running and I will visit for sure.
Thank you. I would love you to have a look. I haven’t managed to get my blog up and running yet but have just published my first hub article
http://zeldames.hubpages.com/hub/Whats-it-like-living-on-an-African-Wildlife-Estate
I have had quite a lot to learn technologically: when I went back to nature, I kinda left technology behind too.
I will take a look; thank you, Zelda!