July 9th, 2010
We're only here for the treats, dammit.
The other week, I met up with Marian Schembari — a social media consultant and all-around cool chick — and, as I described my current “office” setup, she exclaimed over how much she loved hearing about the environment in which other freelancers do what they do. I do, too, so much so that I actually own a photo book containing images of well-known authors’ offices. (God I’m such a dork.)
ANYways, it got me thinking of how my work habits have changed over the past few years, and how I do what I do (both cats and coffee are obviously involved).
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July 8th, 2010
So I took advantage of the long, holiday weekend. I went hang gliding and wine tasting, drank lots of sangria at my in-laws’ annual July 4 barbecue, and made some headway on a few personal projects. This included rethinking the services I’d be offering as a career coach, and updating the content on my coaching site.
Among the latest updates? A sign-up form for my new, monthly newsletter. It will include original, coaching-related content; news on the publishing industry; and information on any forthcoming e-courses, webinars, events, and more.
Now if that doesn’t sound like a piñata filled with Awesome, I don’t know what does.
I’m so excited about all the plans I have for Career Coaching for Word Nerds, and I hope you are, too. If you are, do sign up.
Related: My New Web Platform Has Launched!
June 25th, 2010
The other day, I had my very last coaching call with my mentor coach. Our goal for the call was to nail down the packages I would be offering to clients, and how much I would be charging. In order to prepare for the call, I drew up a revised list of one-on-one coaching packages, with revised rates, and also came up with a ton of ideas for standalone teleclasses, and a kick-ass teleseries. I was seriously psyched to get my mentor’s opinion on what I’d pulled together.
And while she thought that was I was offering was seriously awesome, she thought I was charging far too little.
Why do I always have this problem?
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June 23rd, 2010
[Photo via]
Once upon a time, I wrote terrible poetry and dreamed of becoming a published author. 18 years later, I received a degree in writing, literature, and publishing, and began considering a number of different career paths.
Foremost among them was magazine editing.
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June 21st, 2010
I am going to try so. hard. not to overload you guys with shameless LoveMom promotions, but I really wanted to share the post I wrote this week. Because it was an exceptionally personal one, and because it felt so good to write it all out. I’ve already received so many helpful comments on the post, something that makes me all weepy with gratitude. I love that I have writing to turn to when it comes to things like this.
Without further ado:
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June 20th, 2010
[Photo via]
This past month, after three years away, I returned to my old church choir. I wasn’t back for good. Rather, I sang with them as a show of support for the choir director, who was being replaced after over 30 years of service to the parish (a decision from higher up that none of us were happy with). We sang the “Hallelujah Chorus” as our last hurrah, the high Gs and As exploding out of us from our stomachs, our lungs, our chests, our hearts.
The other month, I sang my grandfather’s funeral as well. It was a way to hold myself together, but it was also a gift I wanted to give both to him and to my family. I threw my entire body into that music and — though I was a boogery, sobbing mess at points — it felt good.
Writing does the same thing for me.
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June 15th, 2010
[Obviously, this is what I look like when I work from home.]
The other day, I tweeted about how I’d been making preparations to sell my condo. Specifically, I said: “Our condo has never looked better. But do u think buyers will be scared away by the ‘intimate portraits’ in the bedroom?” And then I linked to this old post from my now-defunct personal blog, containing pictures of said “intimate portraits.” The post itself was about new things I had experienced lately thanks to various writing assignments.
Reading back through that post made me realize that my blogging had been missing something crucial for quite some time now: the personal. Is that why I’d been feeling so stuck lately? (Well. Aside from the whole being-too-busy-to-blog thing.)
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May 25th, 2010
Hey there guys. I’ve finally carved out some time to build up my coaching practice. Before giving things a big marketing push, though, I’d like to evaluate everything I’m offering, and make sure it’s everything I could and should be offering.
So I drew up a market research survey, and I’d really appreciate it if you could fill it out for me. It would be a huge help.
And feel free to pass it along to anyone you think might be interested, or in need of my services.
Thanks. You’re a peach. :)
May 22nd, 2010
My life has been pretty full lately. A little too full. But in case you were wondering what I looked forward to most in the course of my work week (aside from the moment when the lights go out and my head hits the pillow), I thought I’d share with you one of my latest projects.
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They Hate Me! They Really Hate Me!
The other week, I wrote a post for YourTango’s LoveMom blog, about my struggles with chronic depression and PMDD, and how it was affecting my decision to start a family. It was something that had been on my mind lately. I was worried about my hormones and postpartum depression, and about the strain I might place on my marriage. So when I wrote up my post, I really put it all out there, describing my ugliest moments and my worst fears. I was nervous about pressing the “publish” button, but I felt it was important to be honest. I thought that there would be people out there who could relate.
Then the hate comments began rolling in.
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