Where my Write-at-Home Mamas at?? (MARCH!)

[JoyMC]

we started off so strong and seem to have fizzled. but i'm needing Write-at-Home mama support!

i'm having a great time with my freelance work, working on an amazing project i can't believe i got and loving every minute of it. but in other news, i'm super close to starting to submit my MG novel. i've gotten some feedback from a few readers, am waiting on a few more. i'm tinkering with it while i wait, perfecting my query letter, doing some more agent research, and hoping to begin the submission process by April 1 at the latest.

what are you all up to? any goals for March?

[Aufilia]

I'm hanging my head, I can't believe I haven't checked in on MDC in so long.  I'm soooo bad. :(

Well, I have a short story I've been working on the last few weeks.  My group is critting it tonight.  They read it before but then I switched a bunch of scenes around, so they will be able to catch anything that seems out-of-order and tell me if the ending works now.

I haven't been making as much progress with my novel as I'd like--only 9k words total. :(

I haven't written much of anything for pay but I have been actively looking for full-time employment. That's sucked up a lot of time--writing cover letters, tweaking my resume, going to networking events.  I blew an entire Saturday a couple weeks ago making personal business cards.

How are your queries coming, Joy?  Almost ready to go out?

[sapientia]

welll.....I write, I'm a sahm and I would love to make some money at writing from home...so I'm here. I'm always working on short stories, etc. I have a  novel I wrote during nanowrimo and I'm always working on editing that lovely piece of sleep-deprivation, haha!

[JoyMC]

finally, some replies!!! i was starting to feel pretty lonely. 

my query letter is perfected, i've written a solid synopsis, done my agent research, and i've tweaked all i possibly can. i'm just waiting on some slooooow readers. i had two readers spoil me by reading it all in one night. but they were way overly enthusiastic and not at all constructive. i have three other readers who've had it 3 & 4 weeks and i'm dying in a pile waiting to hear from them. i expect them to be more constructive and don't want to send it out before i do.

i'm also working on a really awesome for-hire gig, helping a major Middle Eastern television journalist write a memoir of his last decade spent living in Iraq. cool, right? i love when my paid work is stimulating and fun. (okay, well the chapter on suicide bombers was maybe not fun, but definitely interesting.)

don't hang your head, Erin! sounds like you're busy. and full time employment is an important priority.

Sapientia, welcome! we have been more active in the past. hopefully a few of the other writer mamas will crawl out of the woodwork and we can get some more conversation going.

[sapientia]

Well just had to brag a little (blush) good friend and I wrote a song together-based on a very short story I wrote...and I reworked the story to lyrics, so I am very happy! It's turning out mighty fine!

Yes...btw...I am in a musical collaboration. :) I love playing guitar.

[A&A]

Hi, hope it's ok if I jump in here.  Where would you suggest I look for a little freelance writing and/or editing work?  I already have a full-time job, so this would be a very small side-gig, but I don't know where to start looking.  Thanks! 

[Aufilia]

Joy -- I hope you heard back from your readers by now!  How's it going?

Sapientia -- That's neat about the song! :)  With music and all?

A&A -- When I was working FT I found stuff like Demand Studios to be very manageable. You might check that out and see if you like it.  You can make reasonable money if you can do the research and writing pretty fast.

I've mostly been writing for pay the last couple weeks, though I did manage to finish that short story and send it off to the Writers of the Future contest on the 31st.  And I got an email saying the story I submitted last November was an Honorable Mention for the last quarter of 2010, so that's nice. I sent that one off to the magazine that published my last sale.

My husband has all of next week off so maybe I'll have some extra time... lol.

[JoyMC]

why no, Erin. no i haven't.  i have my MS out to FIVE people. not five flakey people. not five unsympathetic people. five people who should understand and yet have all had it between 6-8 weeks. i am so frustrated. i had two people read it w/in 24 hours, so i know it's not an incredibly difficult read. in fact, i know these five people haven't even started, because most of them have written to say, "oh, it's going to take me a couple more weeks ..."

i really, really want to start querying. but i have only gotten feedback from those first two people, who were wildly enthusiastic, but i fear they love me too much. i set up a 50 page beta swap with someone on a message board who doesn't know me at all, but his is AWFUL. horrible, super amateurish. so i'm not expecting anything helpful from him. 

and so i wait.

anyway, congrats on your honorable mention! that's fantastic!

A&A - i have had good luck finding freelance work on Guru.com. i know it's not for everyone, and you do have to put in time weeding through jobs and making proposals. but it's worked really well for me for several years.

Sapientia - cool about the song! are you still working on it?

[Aufilia]

Joy, that's so frustrating.  One of my readers had mine for 6 weeks and I nearly died waiting, but I knew up front it was probably going to take that long.  I hope you get some replies back pronto. 

I haven't had much luck at all with Guru.com.  I don't know if I am just asking too much money (but I can't ask less and still make a worthwhile amount) or just have a bad pitch or what.  I also find a lot of the proposals so frustrating when they say things like, "I'm only taking bids under $25" or want to pay you under $500 to write a 300 page of novel.  And it also annoys me that I would have to pay separately to pitch to jobs in the usability area instead of the writing area.  I don't even care about a 2nd profile, I could do it fine with the one I have!  But it won't let me.

My crit group is doing the first 2 chapters of a new novel project tomorrow.  I'm hoping someone says something that totally inspires me because that project is feeling uninspiring at the moment.  My outline has turned out to be totally inadequate, and I can't see how I can write the whole story I outlined (which will clearly need a lot more stuff to fill in the now-obvious gaps) without the novel becoming unmarketablely long.

[JoyMC]

Originally Posted by Aufilia 

I haven't had much luck at all with Guru.com.  I don't know if I am just asking too much money (but I can't ask less and still make a worthwhile amount) or just have a bad pitch or what.  I also find a lot of the proposals so frustrating when they say things like, "I'm only taking bids under $25" or want to pay you under $500 to write a 300 page of novel.  And it also annoys me that I would have to pay separately to pitch to jobs in the usability area instead of the writing area.  I don't even care about a 2nd profile, I could do it fine with the one I have!  But it won't let me.

you're not bidding too high, you're just not finding the right clients. i bid quite high - i rarely make less than $40/hour on a Guru job. so there are a ton of jobs i don't get, and the vast majority i don't even bid on. but there are truly good clients on there. it just can take a while.  i don't know what the usability area is. 

how did your critique group go?

[Aufilia]

$40!  I feel like I'm bidding too high if I aim for half that.  Do you have many repeat clients?  (And do you really know anything about the outer banks of NJ in the late 1700s? )

The critique went well. Sadly, however, it didn't inspire me to go write a bunch more on that novel.  I have about 9k words and when I got to the middle of chapter 5, I realized I actually need about 3 or 4 more chapters between there and chapter 6.  I don't know why this has got me so stuck, though!  I think it's a symptom of my general stress level right now.

Edited by Aufilia - 4/12/11 at 7:12pm

[tjjazzy]

i don't bid on guru but if i find something interesting on craigslist and they ask me for a fee, they often seem to disappear. i wonder if i'm asking for too much but now i see that if you're asking $40 an hour, i'm not asking enough! i think i AM getting underbid though by other writers. i generally ask $10/250 words or $25/hour (depends on the work.) i generally brush it off though because if they're not paying writers well (or at all), they're probably not worth working for anyway.

[JoyMC]

Originally Posted by Aufilia 

$40!  I feel like I'm bidding too high if I aim for half that.  Do you have many repeat clients?  (And do you really know anything about the outer banks of NJ in the late 1700s? )

The critique went well. Sadly, however, it didn't inspire me to go write a bunch more on that novel.  I have about 9k words and when I got to the middle of chapter 5, I realized I actually need about 3 or 4 more chapters between there and chapter 6.  I don't know why this has got me so stuck, though!  I think it's a symptom of my general stress level right now.

i do have many repeat clients. enough that i don't have to bid too frequently anymore. and i was really fortunate that my very first Guru client turned into a 7 book client. and no, i had to google "outer banks" to find out what that was. (and i told that project client the truth on that count. i haven't heard anything about that project - i also bid at the absolute upper limit of that listed budget, which was at least in the ballpark of realistic.)

Originally Posted by tjjazzy 

i don't bid on guru but if i find something interesting on craigslist and they ask me for a fee, they often seem to disappear. i wonder if i'm asking for too much but now i see that if you're asking $40 an hour, i'm not asking enough! i think i AM getting underbid though by other writers. i generally ask $10/250 words or $25/hour (depends on the work.) i generally brush it off though because if they're not paying writers well (or at all), they're probably not worth working for anyway.

oh yes, many many writers bid at around $15/hour or less. but i am highly skilled and experienced. i only want to work with people who value what i bring to the table. a lot of people feel like "anyone can do it" but if they could, they would write their own book.  but i did spend a couple frustrating years with not enough work and working up the ranks at Guru.

and to be clear, i don't work hourly, i work for flat rates, generally. i just make sure i am earning enough. 

[Aufilia]

Originally Posted by JoyMC 

i do have many repeat clients. enough that i don't have to bid too frequently anymore. and i was really fortunate that my very first Guru client turned into a 7 book client. and no, i had to google "outer banks" to find out what that was. (and i told that project client the truth on that count. i haven't heard anything about that project - i also bid at the absolute upper limit of that listed budget, which was at least in the ballpark of realistic.)

It was still open with like 20 bids when I bid on it the other day.  I bid on 3 or 4 things that looked reasonable.  One of them wrote back to ask for a flat rate since I'd bid hourly, and I told them I didn't feel there was enough information available for me to make an accurate bid and asked 4 questions.  They haven't got back to me with any answers so I may be out of luck there.  Oh, well. 

Going to be at Norwescon for 4 days next week.  (I run the writing workshop but am not on any other panels this year except for a group reading I somehow got stuck organizing.) I really hope once the con's wrapped up I find more time for my own projects.

I've been reading romance novels lately and have a mad burning desire to write a regency romance.  Except that whenever I actually sit down to plot a romance, it doesn't end up with a standard romance-type plot (particularly in regards to how the relationship forms) and I fear my stuff would never actually fly in the romance genre.

[tjjazzy]

you never know, aufilia. you'd think ppl would be looking for something different by now after years of the same romance formula!

you're very lucky JoyMC :) i can't seem to find *that* client. i do have a couple who are excellent but have small budgets or only publish new things sporadically (so the work isn't there extremely often.) i just wish i had more. when i apply for local jobs (rather than online), i don't get bites. i think i'm too qualified for them and they are under the impression i want more money than i actually do. but who knows, right? unless they tell you!

[Aufilia]

jazzy, lol, I'd think so, but then, I read as much outside of the romance genre as in it, so I might be odd. :)

Saturday I sent off a followup to a query I sent to an agent last December, and a new query to a new agent.  Got one rejection last night and another one first thing this morning!  Geeesh. I guess that's better than waiting months upon months to be rejected, though.

[JoyMC]

i don't read romance, but i say you should totally mix up the formula. my mom goes through those books like anything, and she must be so sick of the formula!  sorry about the rejections, but you're right, it's better than waiting. now you can just move on down the list to the next agents!

i have FINALLY gotten really constructive feedback on my book from two great sources. so now i'm working through those revisions and hoping to start submitting within a couple weeks. my for-hire work has also been really satisfying, working for a major Middle Eastern journalist on a political memoir. certainly more meaningful than random web content. 

on Guru, i feel like i've been fortunate, but not lucky, if that distinction makes sense. i got that first job because i took the time to write a great sample geared exactly toward what they wanted, and getting rehired wasn't luck, if you know what i mean. 
 

Originally Posted by Aufilia 

jazzy, lol, I'd think so, but then, I read as much outside of the romance genre as in it, so I might be odd. :)

Saturday I sent off a followup to a query I sent to an agent last December, and a new query to a new agent.  Got one rejection last night and another one first thing this morning!  Geeesh. I guess that's better than waiting months upon months to be rejected, though.

[Aufilia]

Joy, I love that you give yourself credit for winning your job based on your talent and hard work.  And the memoir work sounds neat.  I have to admit I love reading biographies and memoirs from the middle east because the politics and cultures in part of the world are just incredibly interesting to me. 

I have been lax about posting.  2 weeks ago we were at Norwescon all weekend, which was delightful but exhausting. My workshop stuff went well and the group reading I helped organize at the last minute went very, very well. I need to sell another story to that magazine ASAP so I have an excuse to organize it again next year.

This weekend my youngest brought home the plague and we've all fallen ill like dominoes and I haven't done a bit of paying work this month.  I did read 3 whole books in 4 days, though. Last month was my best freelancing month yet, though. None of it from guru.com but I put in 5 or 6 more bids last week and got 2 people asking followup questions of me, which means I was at least interesting enough to bother with. I think my proposals are getting better.

Erin
 

Originally Posted by JoyMC 

i don't read romance, but i say you should totally mix up the formula. my mom goes through those books like anything, and she must be so sick of the formula!  sorry about the rejections, but you're right, it's better than waiting. now you can just move on down the list to the next agents!

i have FINALLY gotten really constructive feedback on my book from two great sources. so now i'm working through those revisions and hoping to start submitting within a couple weeks. my for-hire work has also been really satisfying, working for a major Middle Eastern journalist on a political memoir. certainly more meaningful than random web content. 

on Guru, i feel like i've been fortunate, but not lucky, if that distinction makes sense. i got that first job because i took the time to write a great sample geared exactly toward what they wanted, and getting rehired wasn't luck, if you know what i mean. 
 

[AFWife]

I'm jumping in...

I have, what I consider, a banging idea for a short book (like, The Giver in length) but I can't seem to sit down and write it. I start and then it all goes dead. The general story is there in my mind...do I just need tons of planning? (Probably...this isn't college where I sit and type out a paper overnight)

I'm also considering writing an eBook. I was thinking about doing a devotionals type of thing...but then my MIL suggested I do something with breastfeeding info and tips. I wouldn't want to sell the latter (I'm not a professional by any means).

I dunno. It's a few thoughts. I need a freaking hobby. I'm losing my mind with this SAHM thing.

[Aufilia]

Originally Posted by AFWife 

I'm jumping in...

I have, what I consider, a banging idea for a short book (like, The Giver in length) but I can't seem to sit down and write it. I start and then it all goes dead. The general story is there in my mind...do I just need tons of planning? (Probably...this isn't college where I sit and type out a paper overnight)

I'm also considering writing an eBook. I was thinking about doing a devotionals type of thing...but then my MIL suggested I do something with breastfeeding info and tips. I wouldn't want to sell the latter (I'm not a professional by any means).

I dunno. It's a few thoughts. I need a freaking hobby. I'm losing my mind with this SAHM thing.

Yes, my advice for writing your short book would be to sit down and write a novel outline (which is different from an essay outline -- more like a wordy description of the important stuff that happens in your book).  Then if you feel like you need more structure, you might break the outline up into scenes, and write down what each scene accomplishes (does it develop character? move the plot? provide necessary background information? etc).  Sit down and write it all the way through without going back to edit, and keep writing even if you think everything you're writing sucks.  Then put it away for a few weeks or a couple months, and when you get it out again you'll be able to look at it with fresh eyes.  :) 

Haven't gotten much done this week.  Wrote maybe 1k on my novel, and did some freelance work. I am feeling really sluggish lately, a little depressed. I think this is partially due to a week of bad sleep when everyone was sick, I'm feeling stressed about being perpetually short on money, plus my oldest has been acting out (yesterday I made the mistake of trusting her with her scissors after having taken them away from her for a week, and she cut off her hair!! last week she got kicked out of childcare at the Y 3 times, which has never happened before ever, and makes it really hard for me to get fiction writing time. Oh, and the smart-mouthery coming from her!  i could go on, but I won't... needless to say, I've been really frustrated with her).

Erin