Investing My Blog With All of My Personalities

By now you may have noticed that my blog is even more schizophrenic than usual (which is saying a real mouthful!). It seems I have returned to my corporate accounting days when it was common to juggle multiple projects, each with its own critical deadline. As most of you who’ve ever done office work know, everyone believes their deadline is critical, and invariably, everyone’s projects and deadlines overlap.

You would think that when we are in control of our own schedule, that we would get away from this phenomenon. But I’m here to tell you that is not the case, mostly because we commit to various people or projects which come burdened with a deadline of their own. I even passed on a couple of things as I believed it would overburden me in the month of April. Little did I know…

Do I Blog? Do I Network? Do I Novel? Do I Study My Craft?

All of a sudden, I seem to have truly committed to my life as a writer, and therein lies the problem. Suddenly, I need to spend more time working on the writing class I signed up for in early March. But I also need to work on the Freelance Blogging course I signed up for too. (and which now is encouraging me to find a mentor which will require still more of a time commitment!) Then, of course, there is Camp NaNoWriMo to which I committed completing the novel I started in November. And what about the crit notes I need to get back to? Suddenly, I’m back to that crazy woman who worked long hours so that no project went past its due date.

OK, so the reality is that I’m happier when I have more on my plate. It’s as simple as that. Since I don’t have much in the way of actual paying work commitments right now, I have to create them in one way or another. But in order to create those paying work commitments, I have to hone my craft, right? And that means signing up for classes which will help me do so.

The beauty of it is, when I get stuck or frustrated with the blogging courses, I switch over to the writing courses, and when I don’t want to use my left brain at all, I work on my novel. In the end, everyone is happy. I think.

I did actually submit a post to BlogMutt today. I wasn’t seeing a whole lot of success with Elance, or even much I wanted to bid on, and as there seems to be at least 15 or 20 people bidding on each small dollar job, I wasn’t feeling very warm and fuzzy about putting forth the effort.

Sure, if my post is accepted, I stand to earn a whopping $8 for the post I did on BlogMutt, but even with the research I did for the post, I didn’t put more than a half hour into it, and the post is less than 500 words. (While you’re laughing your tush off at the idea of me writing something that short, give me credit for actually being able to confine myself to something so brief. That was my one impossible thing for the day.)

If nothing else, I’ve already earned the first of many writer’s badges of honor by receiving rejections on Elance. Whether my post is accepted or rejected on BlogMutt, it is simply one more step along the path I’ve chosen (or been chosen) to tread.

The way I see it, some of my writing is for fun and some of it is for profit (or I hope there will be some profit) and all of it is a learning experience. Perhaps some day I’ll have the opportunity to give back by teaching or mentoring someone else. But for now, I’m the student and the one who needs a mentor, if I could just figure out exactly what to ask for!

My gratitudes tonight are:
1. I am grateful to have reached lesson 28 in the 30 Day Freelance Blogging course.
2. I am grateful to have submitted my first post to a potential buyer.
3. I am grateful for the hours I’ve spent watching videos and reading about writing in the Holly Lisle course.
4. I am grateful for a continuing flow of opportunities opening themselves up to me.
5. I am grateful for abundance: opportunities, lessons, friendship, family, love, joy, harmony, peace, health, prosperity and philanthropy.

Blessed Be

And now for some shameless self-promotion:
I’d love it if you’d visit my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SheriLevensteinConawayAuthor?ref=aymt_homepage_panel and my website, www.shericonaway.com. I’ve created these pages as a means of positive affirmation and would be very grateful if you’d “like” them or leave a comment! Thank you!