15 Quotes to Soothe the Freelance Writer Soul

Being a freelance writer takes a brave soul. You have to find the courage within yourself to go out into the world as a writer come what may. It’s important to keep your thoughts and mental health in check. The journey is sometimes a rocky one, but for those who trek on the road less traveled, it’s worth the risk. Here are a few quotes to help you on your way.

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Sharing is Caring

Who do you confide in? No, seriously. Do you share your hopes, dreams, fears and aspirations with just anyone? Or do you keep the deepest, darkest and most personal part to yourself? If you’re the latter, well welcome to the club of pretty much everyone. I find it odd that in such a technologically progressive world, I’ve heard “I feel so alone in a crowd of people” from more people than I care to admit.

We all seem to think that we’re weird individual creatures from Mars whom others couldn’t dream of comprehending, but honestly that’s just not the case. Sharing is caring. What I mean by that, is the most you share with others, you’ll be surprised and elated to find out that you’re really not that different from those you know. I mean really, it’s a mind blowing process.

Once upon a time, I used to think I was this strange person who had all of these weird ideas and concepts that we just completely against the typical norm. Then I shared parts of myself with others and came to realize I’m not as “weird” or “special” as I thought. Sure, my genotypes are pretty unique, but there are a bunch of 20 Somethings out there running around trying to figure out where and how they fit into this world.

The more I shared with others, the more connected I began to feel and it’s quite awesome! I will admit though, that once I found out that I was vanilla boring, my ego deflated a bit. Drat, I thought I was unique and special. In all honesty, it is nice to know that I’m not the only one on Mars. Turns out we’re all on it. ;-)

So in an effort to share more, I’m going to toss out into the blogosphere my hopes and aspirations that I usually keep close to the vest. I either felt that people would think they were stupid or lofty so I kept them to myself. I like to think of myself as “practical” (scared) and I try to do the conventional thing. But convention is boring and lame; and the wild child in me is dying to come out. Here are a few things that I want to achieve sooner than later. Don’t judge me too hard, haha!

Things I’d Like to Accomplish

1. Be a features writer for several magazine publications, writing on culture, music, etc. etc. etc. I love people, especially my generation. We’re idealistic, scared, fun, interesting people in which I love to observe. So if I had my way, I’d be doing more of that and less of dreaming about it. (Hm, I smell a call to action soon)

2. Get to Sweden. I’d love to go visit the country. When I was in college, I had studied a lot of their public policies and they have some cool things going on over there. (Paternity leave, how cool is that?!)

3. Get a loft in downtown LA. It’s funny when I was in school in LA, I hated it (Granted it was a difficult time in my life). But now after being away for a few years, I am dying to go back. I’ll make it happen one day!

In short, let’s keep it real and talk to people. It’s incredibly fun and very eye opening on how we all want the same thing; which is to be happy and enjoy life as it comes our way. What are some things you keep to yourself? I’d love to hear about it!

Why I Love Coffee

Good Morning!

I’m having a slow start and feel exhausted, which is weird because the mornings are generally my time to shine. Have you ever had one of the mornings where you are just so tired that you feel like you can’t comprehend much? That’s me today. Well fortunately I’ve made myself a big ol’ cup of java and hopefully that will get me a kick in the pants to start writing. You know the kind that actually pays the bills, lol. I hope everyone has a great caffeinated morning and a fantastic day! Happy Hump Day!

cheezburger.com 

5 Things You Shouldn't Say to A Freelancer

By definition freelance means:  A person who sells services to employers without a long-term commitment to any of them. Now that we have that covered, a freelancer can be involved in virtually any industry doing almost anything. But for the sake of this post, I’ll be talking about freelance writers. Believe it or not, the writing industry is incredibly vast and there are so many avenues one can take. No matter which niche you decide on, writing as a profession takes some serious commitment and is not as easy as one might believe. With that being said, I’ve heard from my peers some of the most unintentionally ignorant remarks about freelance writers that tend to make my blood boil. Without further ado, here are 5 things you shouldn’t say to a freelancer.

“I wish I could sleep in”

On the contrary, freelancing has made me more punctual than I have ever been in my 24 years of existence. I have a set morning routine in which I wake up before the sun (early bird over here), get coffee, walk a few miles with Abbey, shower, and get ready to start working. I find that mornings are best for me when it comes to working. In addition, besides doing actual work, I’m always reading up on brushing up my writing or looking at new projects. Since you’re getting work from companies, it’s best to keep normal business hours. Most successful freelancers take their work seriously, thus have set hours in which they work.

“I’d love to work in my pajamas”

To be honest, I’ve never worked in my PJs. I do have an aversion to pants, but most times I am fully dressed. Freelancing is different than the traditional 9-5 but it still is work, so I treat it as such. By getting dressed I set the tone that I am in “work mode”. Plus being in your PJ’s 24/7 just doesn’t sound appealing to me.

“Must be nice not having a boss”

While I do not have a “direct supervisor” I do have editors to please and it can at times be a bit trickier than your traditional boss. Editors that I have worked with come in all different shapes and sizes. Meaning to say some have given great direction and communication and others… well, might as well be speaking in a different language. Having the same boss would at least give you the ability to understand their expectations. Don’t get me wrong, I like it this way, but it’s not all sunshine and daisies as some might believe.

“You must not like people, or you’re anti-social”

Just to clarify antisocial is a term that is supposed to be used for the likes of Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy. I assure you, I am not a serial killer. I do like people though that can be debated from time to time. Some think that freelancers are by nature hermits. That is totally not true. Sure, I have to make more of an effort to socialize, but it’s something that I try and keep up with. Not having coworkers was one of the hardest adjustments I had to make. I have had some interesting times with the help of Meetup.com (more on that later). Plus I’m sure my dog only listens to me for Dentistix so for her sake and mine, I make time to hang with friends.

“When are you going to get a real job?”

The biggest and most common insult of them all. I get this a lot from well meaning friends who do not understand what I do.  While the human side of me wants to point out that I make more per hour than they do, I simply smile and say I’m happy with where I am. I suppose to the outside world, I get to sit on my bum and ponder life’s mystery while magically getting paid. I get that it’s hard to understand the ins and outs of freelancing, I’m still figuring it out myself really. But seriously, it is real work in exchange for real money.

To be frank, if I worked the way my peers thought I did, I’d be broke living in a van down by the river. I am not an existential hippie smoking peyote while doling out philosophical advice to the masses. Sure it’s not the traditional method that most people are accustomed to, but there are guidelines that I adhere to in order to be successful. So next time you want to ask your friend, neighbor, cousin, or whomever about their freelance endeavors, it’s ok to be inquisitive, just don’t be a douche. :-)

linguistblog.com

Taking a Coffee Break

Doing what you love as your occupation can be a bit daunting. I've always enjoyed writing so when I made the decision to become a freelance writer, I thought it would be a piece of cake. I'll be honest, it's not as easy as it sounds. Being conscious of my work and stressing over whether I did a good enough job are my main issues with my work productivity. Sometimes I'm so in my head, I create my own writer's block. So today, I decided to catch up with my friend, Summer who's been out of town for a few weeks. We headed over to one of my favorite local coffee shops, Sambalatte. If you're ever in Vegas, I highly recommend you check them out. Their Nutella Latte is amazing and my drink of choice. Catching up with Summer was a great way for me to get out of my thoughts and enjoy time away from my laptop. Now that I've had some friend time, I can get back to my work. I'm also working through "Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You" so bear with me as I'll be sure to write my review on it this weekend!  

Hello and Welcome!

   

Working from home provides me with a decent amount of time of my hands, so I've decided to jump into writing a blog about, well... writing! I absolutely love the written word. There's something to be said about how magical the imagination is, especially when a good book helps you transport into a different world. I just love it! I also love coffee, like a lot. I am a regular fixture at my local Starbucks and admittedly I know all of the baristas names and they all know me and my order (caramel macchiato). Currently, I just started reading "Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You" by Peter Cameron. I'm also in the beginning stages of writing my own works. So I hope you will join me in my journey of reading, writing, and caffeine! Cheers!