Stardom, Here I Come

I have been discovered! This is all very exciting. Someone wrote in to say they had found my blog listed on another blog (how I got there is another story) and suggested I try a couple of sites to apply to. I am over the moon and I shall keep everybody updated as to my progress.

Of course, I am happiest because I have proven my husband – who always thought you should be spare with your words and your complaints – WRONG!

From Bibi to Empire

I work. I sleep. I waken. I am still out of work. And then one day I work, I sleep and I dream.

I am inundated with work, all those jobs I had bid for and forgotten about have come through. Even that agent who had pretended not to have received my e-mail submission has written back to say he would love to try and get my novel published. I am so busy, I start to confuse my children’s names. I am starting to make a name for myself. People start to seek me out. They offer me projects that I have to refuse because I am just too busy. I start another blog, How to Make It as a Freelance Writer, in which I divulge my secrets of success. It is so successful that it spawns another blog, and another. And soon, I have an empire, and I am the one offering people work and jobs through elance and LinkedIn.

I awaken. I check my Inbox. I have just been rejected from a job I had forgotten that I had applied to. And that agent still refuses to acknowledge receipt of my e-mail submission.

Welcome to my Bibi

So one week into my new life as an out-of-work freelance writer, I have decided to rebrand.

I now think of my blog as a Bibi, or Boutique Blog, that rare but chic site that is so out of the way, no one can find it! A site that no one knows about but that has wonderful things in it. But right now, I am soooo exclusive that even only half my family knows about my blog, only half of whom care to even visit.

And to prove that I am not just ranting, I have added a hit counter (a free one of course, I cannot afford to pay for one, there are shoes that have to be saved up for). Go down and to the left to check just how exclusive a place you are in!

Tomorrow I promise to start work on marketing.

Lost in the Blogosphere

I’ve just searched google for “freelance writing” to see where my blog stood and there were 6,340,000 results. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FIND WORK IN 6,340,000 results? If I try 10 sites a day, it would take me roughly 1,737 years to go through them all, and it would take readers 3 million light years to find my blog. Bloody hell, can’t I even make it as a blog writer?

I decided to go to the last, last page to see who was the poor sod listed six and a half million entries later. Well guess what, you can’t go there. Nope, but you didn’t know that did you? At first, it stopped on page 88 and said the other entries were very similar but that I could repeat the search with the omitted entries. So then it stopped on page 100. The funny thing is, the winner in both cases (ie. the last entry) was Ed Cysewski, who blogged for the last time in 2006. A pioneer by all standards.

So back to the task at hand, to narrow my search I tried “freelance writing dog”, then I gave up looking on page 22.

So I am nowhere to be found.

But I shall not despair, in fact I shall brand myself as what I have come to term as a Boutique Blog, or Bibi.

On Certifications and Other Assurances

I've been thinking of getting some kind of certification to post on my elance profile. Maybe that will increase my chances to get work. And of course, as things go on the web, I discovered a new website and its American subsidiary (or the other way round). Freelance-writers.co.uk and its .com version both look interesting depending on where you live, although strictly speaking , that shouldn't really matter. They also both exist for proofreaders. Registration on the site is quite expensive, however, at 150 English pounds but only 30 US dollars funnily enough. I'm thinking about it because I'm wondering if I'll ever make my money back! (The way things are going probably not). However the projects and the clients sound more interesting and more upmarket than elance (but please don't sue me yet as I still have to research that a bit more). But the freelancers looked really good also with apparently eons of experience behind them. How can I ever compete? Me, who has been relegated to the corporate world for the last 10 years?

There's only one way around this: creative marketing.

Anyway, the sites have now been bookmarked and relegated to my "writing" folder, perhaps never to be opened again. I tell you, I'll trade for that cup of latte anytime.

And by the way, I've decided to wait a while on the certification as nobody else really seems to have any anyway.

Freelance or Lance-free?

Thinking of freelancing? Think again. To help you along the way, I have drawn up a list of

Advantages and drawbacks to working freelance

The advantages are:
- you save on suits and other "corporate" clothing
- you can do your shopping in the no-rush hours
- you have time to sort your linen cupboard
- you get to see your kids more

Now here are the disadvantages:
- you have to buy your own laptop
- you also have to buy your own stationary
- when you go on Facebook or msn, you're not still getting paid
- there's no latte on the way to work
- you get to see your kids more

Another Day, Another Dollar Lost

Last week I subscribed to Elance, which, I hoped would get me some work. Yesterday I got my first rejection. This does not bode very well. But here's the thing, how are you supposed to compete with all these people who have these fantastic ratings and feedback? How does the new kid on the block get a break on Elance? Beats me. Still, I will get on today and bid for a few more projects. Practice makes perfect right?

It's a Dog's Life

There was a time when I had a respectable job in the corporate world. Then I had a mid-life crisis. It came early. I was only 35. If you don't start writing now, my inner voice said, you probably never will.

I should have told it to shove it. One year and four months later, I spend more time looking for writing jobs than actually writing. I miss my income. I miss buying beautiful shoes. Will I ever get my break?