News And Updates
I know that posts like this one –during this week — are trite, but I feel as if I have a lot to be thankful for. The past year was a rough one, beginning when the New York Sun folded. It was my main source of income and, in the months following, my income shrank more and more, leaving me feeling as if I was spinning my wheels, despite the new markets I was breaking into.
In the past couple months, however, it’s as if the stars have suddenly aligned for both me and my husband. Now, the possibilities of both a fulfilling career and the ability to start a family and buy a house in the next year don’t seem so ludicrous. So am I feeling a bit overcome with thanks? Yes. So indulge me.
I’ve always had a thing for glossy magazines.
It started with Highlights and, since then, I’ve subscribed to maybe 30 or 40 different titles (seven of which I’m still subscribed to now). And while they’ve never held the same allure for me as those thick paperbacks I’m constantly losing myself in, they provided me with something even better: a vision of my future as a writer.
I was going to write up a different post today. One on the benefits of online education. But then I was blindsided by the news that Conde Nast is folding Gourmet, Cookie, Modern Bride, and Elegant Bride, and I felt a sharp pang of sadness, followed by a little shiver of fear.
Have you guys felt it, too?
I’ve been freelancing full time for about two years now and, since leaving book publishing, my lifestyle has changed quite a bit:
I’ve felt healthier, probably because I no longer construct entire meals out of vending machine snacks, and because I take the time to work out several times a week. (Not only that, but I’m avoiding the petri dish that is the corporate office.) Read the rest of this entry »
The other day, I mentioned that I had agreed to an on-site proofing gig, on one condition: I would only go in for three half days a week, rather than three full days.
It’s amazing how big a difference a half day makes. I already feel a lot less overwhelmed, and have begun settling into a rhythm of nighttime blogging, a.m. article work, and afternoons at the office.
And, of course, there are benefits to this gig. Namely:
- money
- it forces me to leave the condo
Then again, there are things that I miss:
We haven’t had a nice, long coffee break in awhile here.
I wanted to tell you about last weekend.
My husband left on Thursday night to hang with some old college friends for a few days. He wasn’t slated to come back until Sunday. I decided to use this time as a vacation for myself, and it ended up being the first time in awhile that I didn’t spend my weekend working.
These past few days, I’ve been struggling with a rewrite ever since and, man oh man, has it been rough.
In honor of my impossible rewrite, I present to you the three toughest parts of that piece you’re writing:
Between a last-second edit test, a quick trip to PA, and a full day holding poses for a portrait artist, I. am. wiped. So I hope you’ll forgive me for relying on an easy-as-pie Coffee Break post so early in the week.
This one was actually inspired by a conversation taking place over at the mediabistro bulletin boards, on how different pitching tactics have different success rates.
Ever have one of those days where every step of a project feels like pulling teeth?
For me, this usually occurs when I’m working on one of my dating advice columns for Nerve. First, it takes me eons to find enough people willing to participate. And then, when I feel as if I’ve finally overcome all hurdles, and am on the home stretch, my interviewees miss the deadline I’ve given them, or balk at supplying everything they originally agreed to, or just plain flake out.
Earlier this week, I got to try out the Keyboard for Blondes. Tonight, I’m having people over for pizza and premixed shots, also for the purpose of review. Some other test drive products in my queue? Bacon-related products, like canned bacon, Baconnaise, and bacon-flavored lip gloss. Anti-muffin top underpants for men. Flying Wish Paper.
Just for shits and giggles…what’s the kookiest book or other product you’ve received for review in the line of duty?
In My So-Called Freelance Life, Michelle Goodman wrote that a good way of controlling your overwork tendencies is to “have somewhere to be ‘after work.’” It was this suggestion that made me think about starting up a regular happy hour for freelancers in my nabe.
Being a bit clueless about who actually lives near me, however (and by “near me,” I mean NJ rather than NY), I began to consider another means of connecting with my fellow freelancers: community bulletin boards.