Friday, June 10, 2011

Life as a Freelancer: Week #1

Today officially wraps up my first full week as a FT freelancer. Spoiler alert, however—I am still looking for a full-time, non-freelancing job. I certainly hope my writing projects will come flooding in, and I have a few articles on tap (plus I’ve been sending out LOI’s like a crazy lady), but I have to face facts that a writing business can take some time to build, and I really like my cable TV and electricity, so I might have to head back to the grind sooner than I’d expected.

BUT—I’m happy to say that my first week has gone pretty well. My fellow work-at-homers were right: it is hard to establish a schedule and stick to it…not to mention getting others to respect it, too. I’ve had to run out due to various appointments, but I was able to wrap up a long-lingering article and sidebar today, and I’m planning to start lining up some interviews for a few other articles I’ve just been assigned.

Last night my business partner and I attended a networking event and handed out a lot of business cards. We made some pretty good connections, so we’re both hoping this leads to some projects.

I had a rough few weeks leading up to my last day at the job, and I’m definitely still grappling with moments of pure panic, but I’m trying to power through my fear. I’m trying to focus on my writing projects and see every day as a new opportunity, but it’s hard to break my usual habits of worrying and over-thinking everything.

How is everything in your writing world?