Tag Archives: freelance

Wordy Mornings, Udon and Ice Cream

ben and jerry's carmel laptop

These two make a great couple

Most of the time, I’m on a second shift schedule. Husband’s job occupies him from 2pm until 11pm or so, and has done for nearly four years now. It was tough when I was 9 to 5, but when I went freelance, I shifted my day back about five hours, and got reacquainted with my boy.

These days, all three of us are late to bed and late to rise. I realize this will have to change before Iris starts school. But, for now, it works. One of the best parts – on those rare occasions that we go out at night or to a party, we’re still wide awake at midnight as our old drinking buddies with “normal” schedules are swiftly losing steam. Makes me feel young(er)(ish).

Of course, when work is plentiful, I often wake early to squeeze in a little writing before my babes get up. While I do not at all like the jolt of an alarm, or the foggy effects of too little sleep, it always pays off. This past week has seen lots of early mornings, and I almost cringe at the amount of sitting I’ve done. Still, my bank account is soooooooo much happier now, and I’ve once again enjoyed client relationship building. The content folks for whom I work regularly and on a recurring basis are pretty much awesome, and I am endlessly, endlessly grateful for the work, the connections, the respect and the professional growth I receive from them. This is why I left the office. This is how I know it was the right thing to do.

Even better, hefty work weeks mean treats! I pulled my first all-nighter in a long time Monday night, and was not really feeling like food prep come Tuesday evening. So, I ordered too much sushi and udon take-out from XO Asian, picked up some New Holland brew and threw in two pints of Ben & Jerry’s. Once that umpteenth wind came around, I was good to go. There’s nothing like a delicious reward for a job swiftly and (according to my editor) successfully done. And, we’re giving House of Cards a second chance, and I like it. Wishing there was another season of Bob’s Burgers on Netflix, but this is nothing to complain about.

Not when there’s more Karamel Sutra in my freezer.

Lovely weekend to you!

ps-> I came across this strange little thing in looking for the first link in today’s post. I had to share it because it’s weird, and it also mentions udon.

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Freelance Profile: Staying Current

woman close up black dress I realized the other day that the pictures I use in my “professional” profiles (LinkedIn, this site, etc…) are not at all current. While I would love to be able to say that I’ve not aged physically since 2008, it would be a lie. I decided it was time to address this.

Since I now wear contacts on occasion (rather than always appearing in glasses, as I’ve had to do since turning 28), I felt like a profile pic without specs would, once again, be honest.

The picture here is pretty much the only current head shot in which I am smiling and don’t look like I just got out of bed. It’s not my favorite, but I might use it for a bit… not sure yet. While it doesn’t make me look like I’ve aged in the sense that I have lingering baby weight or numerous wrinkles, it does make me look, I don’t know, like a grown up or something.

I am not necessarily down with that.

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Freelance January

people ice skating 1820s print

The people in this picture are obviously not living a 2013 Michigan January.

Happily, so far, our 2013 January has not been nearly that snowy, and no one’s asked me to wear a restrictive white lacy collar.

I admit I am sleepy. Although we’ve mainly avoided the nasty illnesses going around (knock on laptop), it’s still cold and dark and gray out there.

Work is making the time go faster, however. There were some supervisory changes at the company for whom I do most of my work, and that’s made the past several weeks both busier and smoother freelance-wise.

Of course, with Iris being 10 months old (as of yesterday), she’s also making the days very full… and frighteningly fleeting.

I love having a career, but on so many of these cold winter days, I really do wish I could cuddle up with her in a nest of blankets and watch The Tudors Weeds? Season 2 of Sesame Street.

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Freelance Post-Holiday: Back to Normal…

artichoke pizza

Well, the holidays are over (for us) and it’s back to the grind of work, cooking, diaper washing and general management of the perpetual juggling act that is freelance-parenthood-life.

I’m sort of breathing a sigh of relief, because not only will our days have a bit more predictability than they did during the festivities, but I’ll be able to work more and spend less.

Something I learned since last Christmas, when I was a leisurely pregnant lady with few holiday assignments: Freelance writers don’t get vacation days. Last week, I was the loser who was working in the guestroom while the rest of my family partied in my aunt’s Ohio living room. Such is life.

Time for a clean slate, renewed energy and a good holiday detox diet. I will make more effort to find new clients. I will find more time to do yoga. I will start saying no when an artichoke laden pizza weasels its way into my sight.

Let’s do this, January.

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Am I *Actually* a Successful Freelancer?

confused smiley faceI am so busy. All of the sudden. Like, I have to remind myself to go to the bathroom.

Not that I’m complaining. I’ve been working toward this for a year, and it’s good to see things finally get going.

But I’m hungry, and would like one evening – just one – to sit and relax without my head spinning from new assignments.

Good thing I’m going to the beach this weekend. Any more time at the dining room table and I might start rocking back and forth while chanting things about keywords and duplicate URLs.

Again, this is a good thing. Just didn’t see it coming.

I may have to go underground for a bit. See you when I resurface!

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Freelance Adventures: Guest Posting

guest passOk, third post of the week. I know. I can hardly believe it either.

No guarantees for next week. Just sayin’.

So what’s new on the world of freelance for Katie you ask? Guest posting, that’s what. I got an email about two weeks ago from a client I worked with several months back, asking if I would be able to help out with some guest postings.

I’ve always enjoyed working with this client – he’s straightforward and dependable, which are not to be taken for granted in the freelance world. And bonus, his timing was impeccable, as some recent client turnover has put me on the hunt for work.

Hint, hint.

Anyway, long story short, I’m now an “outreach assistant” for certain web sites. This means that I try to land guest postings on blogs that write on topics fitting with said web sites, and simply put site URLs in my author bio.

Fabulous things about this:

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Winding Down Freelance…

drawing of wind up dollThere are lots of nice things about working as a freelance writer, one of them being that when you have to, you can put real life first without feeling like it’s inconveniencing your co-workers.

I’ve been fortunate for this through my entire pregnancy. I’m a person who deals well with a very specific sort of stress, and very poorly with another. Basically, when I have a lot to get done, like buy a house, plan a wedding, go to class, go to work and maintain a social life, I thrive.

But if I have any health/physical situation that makes me concerned or less capable than usual, I sort of crumble under slight pressure.

Working out of the house, on my own time and terms, has allowed me to make a healthy pregnancy the priority. I haven’t had to deal with taking time off for appointments, or finding a minute to call the nurse when I have a question or sitting in a cubicle when all I want to do is work on the bed.

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Seven Months Free(lance)

number seven green whiteLast night I went back and read my first freelance Friday post. I wrote it just over seven months ago, on what happened to be my sixth wedding anniversary.

My tone was pretty confident, considering I was secretly six weeks pregnant and technically unemployed, and about to tackle the annual season that had temporarily broken me the winter before. I’d like to call myself brave, but the truth is that I had a bed I’d made and some unavoidable challenges. I had no choice but to adopt a good attitude.

I’m happy to report that, while I’ve not made the millions every freelance writer dreams of, I remain steadfast in my decision to leave my job. The most important reason for this is that I firmly believe my pregnancy has been much healthier than it would have been in my pre-July 22 condition. Stress is an evil, evil thing, and not worth the (underpaid and underchallenged) position I occupied.

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In the Office

push pins paper clips magnets

There is a small part of me that likes being in an office.

And that part is alive and well… about six hours a week.

Luckily for me, a friend of mine needed someone to answer phones in his law office three days a week, two hours at a time. The part time job fits perfectly into my schedule, is an easy way to earn some extra cash and gets me a little social time during business hours.

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I Gots Biiiiills!

frelance writing from home

Dearest freelancing lifestyle, I yet have so much to learn about you.

One of the things we give up when we leave employee status is the guarantee of a regular paycheck. Presumably, our gigs and a staggered pay schedule will fill in the gaps.

Of course, this assumes that people pay you for work within a two week period. But as I have learned, if there is no contracted pay plan, it might take folks a while longer to get that check in the mail.

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