Tweet Don’t judge me, but I’m a big fan of reality TV. Just like I love a good memoir and an autobiography, I get a high from watching real life people do crazy ass things. To me, it’s just inspires me to do something crazy myself. One of my favorite shows is, “Shark Tank.” It seems antithetical to my very nature to be a shark when it comes to making money. But maybe that’s why watching it thrills me so. It’s also observing the inventors, creators and designers who work up the courage to give their 5-minute shpeal on what…
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Tweet Photo by: roberthuffstutter My husband and I hobbled on over to a used car lot recently. The reason for our less than enthusiastic attitude was our fear of encountering the dreaded stereotypical used car salesman. The man with a big persona (a.k.a. desperate man who talks too much). You know the guy. The one who hunts you down and seems to pick up your scent even before he sees you. A swarm of salesman suddenly encircles you all in business suits, all waiting until fatigue and desperation gives way to a sale. Okay it might not be THAT bad!…
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Tweet photo by: RogueSun Media I say “acting” because that’s what all writers feel at some point in their careers. That we are all acting, pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes, pretending that we are actual writers when there are days we wonder if we’ll ever really deserve the title. That’s how I felt on the days I put on my mask and became “the journalist.” Since I got my degree in English not Journalism, I wear that badge with both fear and trepidation. I don’t want anyone thinking that I (god forbid!) am a real reporter less they mock…
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Tweet Photo by: Onion I’ve already listed “What Being a Writer Has Taught Me” in an earlier post, but one thing I didn’t mention was how it has changed me. See, I’m a shy person. As a grad student in Counseling Psychology I took the Myers-Briggs personality test which only confirmed my introverted-ness. Yet, when I put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard I’m suddenly transformed. Kind of like superman with his cape I guess. It makes me “more powerful than a locomotive and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.” Well, maybe only in my dreams.…
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Tweet photo by Lisa Norwood Here’s what I’ve learned. Tell me if you think I’m wrong or right. It seems like in the digital world particularly in the area of freelance writing, there is a wave of what I like to call “lit cliques.” It’s kind of like being in high school, you know which group you belong-the geeks, the oddballs and you know which group you’d like to belong-the jocks, the popular crowd. Well social networking on sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter is kind of like a big popularity contest where top freelancers are in one corner and…
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Tweet photo by nickwheeleroz MacKenzie Phillips shocking confession on Oprah startled the world! At least it shocked me. And though I don’t have quite a huge secret, I do suddenly have a desire to share a tiny one. Here it is…I don’t like every writing job I get. Phew! It might not be a big secret but it’s a difficult one to say. Being a freelance writer means I get to live my dream. I get to work at home and make my own hours which means sleeping as long as I want and going to the gym when I please.
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Tweet 1. That you need be thick-skinned to handle a mind-blowing number of rejections but be thin-skinned enough to be an observant, sensitive, intuitive and honest writer. 2. Publishers can get away with a lot like promising to pay you and then suddenly disappearing into thin air. 3. That you need to have an insane amount of faith (comparable to the number of rejections you receive). 4. That this would be the best and yet the hardest job of my life. I’m talking 10 hrs a night and weekends. 5. That you need to be good at everything (marketing, accounting,…