I'm perhaps the busiest I've ever been, with a to write list of 10 items long for actual articles people are planning to pay me for, on spec, or at least good odds of being chosen to publish (due to prior publication in that market) . All are due by the first of next month. I sent one article on spec out this afternoon; 9 to go...
My last blog talked about the interview form heaven and the possibility to get a lot of assignments from one source, and i can already see the challenge in success. I'm still a stay at home mom with limited writing time. I sensed today already my rising level of frustration with my kids because i have a lot of articles filling my head and looming deadlines. This is perhaps the biggest battle. I love writing, but if it becomes too problematic for me to handle it and still be a good stay-at-home mom, it'll have be truncated or axed. Today was just an inkling of it but it reminds me to recommit myself to my priorities. I tend to put more pressure on myself than anything external. Yes, if I have one deadline in a week posed by someone else, it's my tendency to give myself three more, just as my own personal goal, to send out to magazines that wouldn't care if I sent next week or next year. I'm quite talented at being driven, focused and ambitiously workaholic. That's why I've got to tame the ambition. It's great if my priority is to have a soaring writing career. But that's not my top priority--my kids are, and writing is something that fits in when and how often I can fit it.
Something has to give. I know already it's going to be the online stuff I do. It's a no-brainer--it's the lowest paying of all the writing I do (at least so far; it takes months/years to know how much an article will earn....). Funny, that publishing company is having some perks for writers producing quality stuff right now, but never mind. Being practical, their little bonus is still monetarily far below anything else I could get paid for. SO probably until my social -conscious drive to produce service writing online just for the benefit of people getting new info, I'll probably cool it on that front.
A sample of articles I published:
Sunburn Prevention: Take Off Those Sunglasses!
Nutritious, No-cook Summer Lunch Ideas
Cell Tower Radiation of No Concern for Pregnant Mothers or Childhood Cancer?
Medical Treatments for Vulvodynia: Throwing Darts in The Dark?
When Food Producers Mislabel The Food You Buy; What Labels Can You Trust?
I recently learned the importance of having times of peace and stillness, in order to maintain my ability to do anything else. I was getting into a state of constant tension and it was hard to think or prioritize. From now on, I intend to have still times. I might just sit and listen to the birds sing, or whatever restores my soul. Without those times of restoration, I don't think my energies will amount to much in any other arena of my life. I hope you find the secret that works for you.
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