Friday 20 July 2012

Making a Living Writing: A Detour from the Usual Posts

Excuse me, I hope you don’t mind. I am going to take a small detour from my usual topic with this post. I would like to pause and reflect on why it is that I do what I do. Why is it that I write?

My writing career is a delightfully twisty journey which has never left me bored. No straight lines for me. It was in 2005 when my BA was nearing completion that I had to decide how I was going to utilize what had cost a fortune to acquire. My skill set was formed through a major in History with a minor concentration of both Sociology and English. I knew how to research and write. Not only did I have the ‘know-how’, I loved the work. So I felt a career in writing was the natural result.

My writing career was actually my second career, but it was the first time I had chosen a career. My first career I fell into, with this career I had designs. So I began to volunteer for local newspapers, I can still remember the buzz I got when my first article was printed. That euphoria has simmered a bit, but there are still some projects which provoke the high.



I have not yet pursued post-graduate work, though I know it is around the corner. I am educating myself at the present, which is one of the strongest ways I learn. But I am realizing there are wonderful resources out there and I am planning to tap into them.

It was only a few months ago I happened to stumble across the website Make a Living Writing while cruising my LinkedIn site. I was quick to realize this site had much to offer me so I signed up and began to follow it. Since then, I often access the information Carol shares. It was not too long ago that I made a trip into the Freelance Writers Den; which is an educational resource offered through Making a Living Writing website, and once again paused.

The Freelance Writers Den looks to be a wonderful way to begin some post-graduate work. I know I would not be getting a certificate or documentation but the skills I would acquire would serve me well. I need help figuring out how to bust into the magazine market, how to scope out jobs which pay a decent wage, I need mentoring with the work I do online and how to network and market myself. I have so much to learn I suspect the Freelance Writers Den would be a fabulous first step in figuring out that which has stumped me thus far.


As a writer I have lots of wonderful hopes and dreams. These dreams serve me well as I formulate short and long term career goals. My favorite writing career dream is that I have a book publish with great reviews. I often visualize this dream focusing in on how such a success would make me feel. Then I buckle down and create goals which I believe will lead me to the realization of this favorite dream. I believe lack of information has been a barrier to my accessing all that I wish to. Possibly post-graduate work through a source like Freelance Writers Den would remove that barrier.   

It is interesting to note that Making a Living Writing is actually hosting a contest. I love contests, they offer me new writing ideas and allow me to once again dream about possibilities. So with this blog post I am actually entering into the contest. The prize is a free month in the Freelancers Writers Den. What a great opportunity to see what it is all about before I invest in a membership. I felt it was a wonderful opportunity which I did not want to miss. Now, I step back and let my imagination run wild, and dream. 

©H. Ballantyne 2012

1 comment:

  1. I have also found Freelance Writers Den to be a place for good information. I am in the process of writing mystery novels in my spare time and have found that there are some very excellent books to read on this subject. I have a list of them on my website at http://taylorsbookpub.com/fiction-writing-books/ Check them out as they will help you to understand what is necessary to getting published! Good luck in the contest!

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