Thursday
Nov122009
Leads, Apps, Work, Time
Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 08:43PM
This is the theme song of my life, the rapid repetition of those four words in my head. Let me explain.
Leads
So, my work with TownMe will be ending this week (amicably, hopefully with more work in the New Year) and with the absense of that income there is a void in my life that another freelancing job should hopefully fill. However, a) the lead boards have looked a little dry as of late and b) I don't really want JUST ANY freelancing job. I want to be writing for magazines. The pay is better, the work is better, and the publishing credit is way, way better. I just need to get over the initial barrier, start writing some pieces on spec and sending them out along side queries for more substantial work. I want to crack this one!
Apps
I'm going to be applying for the Provincetown Writing Residency this year at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, and the application is due December 1st. Everything's all set, except for the decision of which story I'm going to submit. Do I submit the first thirty pages of Arianna, a work that is ambitious but may not ever have the follow through to become a novel? Do I submit Tarian (aka Diary of a Teenage Murderess) which is a little slicker and much more polished than anything else in my arsenal, but currently has the unfortunate feeling that it might never get sold? Or do I submit Scarlet, the Robin Hood story that's been under wraps but is my current baby and takes a lot more risks than older works when it comes to voice and character (and is admittedly the least polished and so far, no one but me has laid eyes on it)? EEK!!
Work
With TownMe ending and my job at a retail store starting to pick up more hours, I don't know if I'm going to feel more distracted or more present when I end up sitting down at my computer, because I'm going to need that time to put in the upfront work for magazine research and also to work on Scarlet. I don't know how to anticipate that either. Also, as the type of place that likes to call you last minute to work, how much time should I be working and how much time should I guard preciously as my own?
Time
Time is, of course, what it all boils down to. Oh, and money, which, speaking of, I just got hit with an unexpected bill from the surgery. I have to sign up for my own health insurance in December and it's all such a complex mystery to me. ::sigh:: One more thing to tackle. Who has the time?
Leads
So, my work with TownMe will be ending this week (amicably, hopefully with more work in the New Year) and with the absense of that income there is a void in my life that another freelancing job should hopefully fill. However, a) the lead boards have looked a little dry as of late and b) I don't really want JUST ANY freelancing job. I want to be writing for magazines. The pay is better, the work is better, and the publishing credit is way, way better. I just need to get over the initial barrier, start writing some pieces on spec and sending them out along side queries for more substantial work. I want to crack this one!
Apps
I'm going to be applying for the Provincetown Writing Residency this year at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, and the application is due December 1st. Everything's all set, except for the decision of which story I'm going to submit. Do I submit the first thirty pages of Arianna, a work that is ambitious but may not ever have the follow through to become a novel? Do I submit Tarian (aka Diary of a Teenage Murderess) which is a little slicker and much more polished than anything else in my arsenal, but currently has the unfortunate feeling that it might never get sold? Or do I submit Scarlet, the Robin Hood story that's been under wraps but is my current baby and takes a lot more risks than older works when it comes to voice and character (and is admittedly the least polished and so far, no one but me has laid eyes on it)? EEK!!
Work
With TownMe ending and my job at a retail store starting to pick up more hours, I don't know if I'm going to feel more distracted or more present when I end up sitting down at my computer, because I'm going to need that time to put in the upfront work for magazine research and also to work on Scarlet. I don't know how to anticipate that either. Also, as the type of place that likes to call you last minute to work, how much time should I be working and how much time should I guard preciously as my own?
Time
Time is, of course, what it all boils down to. Oh, and money, which, speaking of, I just got hit with an unexpected bill from the surgery. I have to sign up for my own health insurance in December and it's all such a complex mystery to me. ::sigh:: One more thing to tackle. Who has the time?
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