From Bunny Slippers to Business Plans
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. 🙂
Oh hey guys. What’s up? What? What’s that? Why yes, I did run a brilliant guest post by Susan Johnston in mid-April and then drop off the face of the planet. You’re absolutely right. God, I’m like the poster child for worst blogging practices ever. (By the way, did any of you buy her e-book yet?)
Those of you who follow me on Twitter already know that my grandfather died last Friday. It hit me pretty hard and, instead of working through it, I spent the past week watching TV, eating Cheez-Its, and taking Xanax. (I also sang my grandfather’s funeral mass and learned that yes, it is possible to belt out hymnals while you’re leaking tears and snot.)
Yesterday was my first day back at work. And yeah, it was a bit overwhelming. I ended the day feeling cranky, stressed out, and emotionally drained. Thinking about all the work I still had on my plate made me want to curl up in bed and pass out for the next year or so.
But then I forced myself to remember my humble freelancer beginnings, a time when I had so few projects on my plate that I spent entire days watching America’s Next Top Model marathons. And I forced myself to consider the fact that my grandfather would be super-pissed if I devolved into reclusive couch potato-dom on account of his death.
And so, here’s a look at things to come now that I’ve ruled out hibernation:
It’s been a good week. I’ve been ridiculously busy at the office. I’ve been ridiculously busy at home. And it seems that query challenge karma alone is bringing new opportunities my way. (At the moment, I’m at Barnes & Noble, working on my ongoing copywriting project and doing some market research.) Before I dive back into work, I wanted to share with you this week’s link love:
[Image via]
I don’t typically write about writing here. Or at least I try not to. Not directly.
I try to keep my content inclusive to all freelancers, despite how obvious it is that I’m a total booktard, and a slave to producing content.
But this past Monday marked the beginning of the FLX Query Challenge, a friendly, biannual competition in which teams rack up points depending upon how many queries they send out each week, and how many assignments they land. I’ve been on a pitching hiatus for awhile now — due to my new job at YourTango, my career coaching certification program, and an ongoing copywriting project — but I’m excited to start putting out feelers again … especially since I’m a team leader this time around.
So for all those writers out there — writers who are trying to get back into the pitching rhythm, writers who have been pitching all along (show-offs), and writers who are just starting out — I thought I’d put up a refresher on the pitch process.
