Full time job

My freelance writing may be gratifying, but for all the effort I'm putting in, it still doesn't add up to a half-time income. My plan was to work, or look for work, 20 hours a week, but I've averaged more like 14. I really do need a full-time job. I feel I've been semi-retired longer than I should have.

That means I need a plan, and I have to stick to it.

For starters, I'm going to:

Send out an e-mail to all my friends that I'm looking.

Apply for at least one job a week.

Go to a job search resource center and sign up for a couple of counseling sessions.

Sister weekend

The five of us met in Chicago in July 2010. What wonderful time!

Writing a SACO book

Okay, I don't deserve credit for this, but an acquisitions editor contacted me about writing a SACO book. So she is doing the feasibility research, not me. Nothing may come of this, and I may still need to look into it myself, but I am very excited that something I wanted to do may happen by itself.

Regular Second Gig

Well, I've signed a contract to work 10 hours per week for a marketing company where Spencer's brother is the head of creative. I'll be writing, proofreading, DTP and blogging, plus possibly maintaining the Web site. Combined with my four to six stories per month with the Woburn Advocate, that's a viable second gig, although I won't really believe it until the money starts rolling in.

And I'd love to be able to drop the Advocate in favor of more lucrative and interesting features for magazines. I love doing it, but the pay is extremely low, and I'm always wiped out the next day.

My next step is to establish a work schedule I can stick with. I want to work at least 4 billable hours on Mondays and 6 on Wednesdays, supplemented with a couple of administrative hours on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon.

After summer is over, or if the marketing firm wants more hours, I'll add time on Mondays, which means I'll have to leave Harmony on Sunday afternoon.

Also, after this month, I will no longer accept Monday stories at the Advocate and try to reserve that as a quiet night at home to do laundry, relax and get ready for the work week.

If this works out, I'm going to drop Elance and ramp up my search for feature articles.

Books and SACO

I joined a Meetup book group and only attended one meeting. I really enjoyed it, and it was great motivation to read. I'm not sure about going during the warm months because I'll more likely be in Harmony on Sunday afternoons. Meanwhile, I'm quite determined to finish The Brothers Karamazov before picking up another thing. I've gotten into the habit of watching TV when I'm home alone in the evening, and I'd like to replace that with reading, writing, and doing crafty things.

I got a contract from World War II magazine for the SACO story and filed a first draft, but I haven't heard anything yet from the editor. I'll give her a poke this week.

Doing the research made me realize what a rich and complex subject it is. I'm wondering if it's a viable project for a book, and if I could possibly make any money writing it.

Web class

I started a web class this semester, planning to re-learn some web publishing basics. But after missing a couple of classes, I just dropped it. But I have all the materials. I'm going to go to the course web site and download all the powerpoint presentations for the lectures and try building a family history site.

Lose 10 pounds

I didn't want this list to turn into another version of futile New Year's Resolutions, but I got on the scale this morning and had a shocking revelation. I thought my clothes were a bit tight! Time to cut back on treats and crank up the exercise.