Your 'do' campaign

Several years ago, billboards in my Central Minnesota town carried a one-word message: do. Do what? I wondered. The figure sharing the billboard space was performing some type of exercise, raking leaves, for example.

After that first siting, I knew I'd been zapped by a brilliant ad campaign, and would never be the same. Like others who are prompted to action by effective advertising campaigns, I wanted to---I had to---do something. And if I hadn't done something by the next time I passed by the giant message---strategically placed on a busy street, by the way---I was instantly slapped with a twinge of guilt. Oh, the feeling passed quickly enough. Nevertheless, the simple word had had its way with me.

Blue Cross-Blue Shield sponsored the do campaign. They may be pleased to know that, for at least one citizen, it was a success. It whispered to me, tsk, tsk, stop thinking about it, planning for it, looking for excuses to get out of it...just do it.

It so happens that their campaign cross-pollinated to my writing ambitions. As one of those unfortunate people who have a built-in anguish meter---translation: I anguish over taking that all-important first step---I now have a two-letter command to get the lead out. To keep it ever-fresh, I've printed the word with a hot pink Sharpie marker onto my own mini-billboard, a 3x5 card, and prominently placed it atop our family computer and workstation.

Hmm...that reminds me. One of these days, I really ought to dash off a thank-you note to Blue Cross-Blue Shield. What the heck---I'll just do it.

From humble beginnings...

When I first became serious about the writing life two decades ago, I didn't know much. Oh, I could spell real well, and my grammar skills were above average. Those God-given tools came from a gene pool largely endowed by my language professor dad, and a mom who spoke and wrote flawless English, as well.

Because I thirsted for the writing life, I thought and acted like a writer by attending nearby writing seminars and workshops where I rubbed elbows with 'real' writers (as in published ones) for a couple of days. I also invested in a couple of very good writing courses.

So, in my toolbox, I had God-given communication skills and some book-learning...but, still, I felt I lacked a certain something. For a time, I stopped referring to myself as a writer. Yet, I did must-do things to build a writer's business and world---I looked for markets, wrote stuff that, today when I re-read it, not only makes me cringe with humility, I get nauseous. It was kinda bad. Even bad writers, though, need validation to keep them on the road to good writing.

It was at that stage in my development that I stumbled onto a little publication of anecdotes for speakers that turned out to be such a confidence-booster that I do a happy jig whenever I think about it now. That little, bitty publication promised a byline, a modest payment, and a copy of the issue. So I prepared the manuscripts containing my stories featuring my children and sent them. Weeks later, a nice but brief letter arrived in my mailbox, telling me they were buying my stories. In my haste to read the letter, I hadn't noticed the piece of paper that fluttered to the floor. When I picked it up, I saw it was a check made out in my name, for the princely sum of eight dollars. I was so thrilled that I flew to the phone, called my mother and blurted out the details of my good fortune (eight bucks is still eight bucks). She was tickled for me, and said a few gushy things. When my copy of the publication arrived not long after, I eagerly scanned the pages until I found my stories...and my byline. Eureka, I was a published writer!

No publication is too small to submit to as we build our writing-at-home business. The boost to our fragile egos is glorious, indeed, and happy outcomes like mine are well worth the time we invest to get our names out there...in our quest to live the writing life.

Baby steps to success

Ever wonder how books and articles get written? I'm not referring to the what-shall-I-write-about stage. I'm referring to the time writers find to get the writing done. One of the big myths in the writing life is that only those who are able to write 24/7 (so to speak) will succeed. It just ain't so.

Consider my cousin Junior. He writes books, screenplays, articles---and he holds down a demanding full-time job! John, an acquaintance with a management job unrelated to writing, stumbled across a subject that grew into a passion a few years back. He grabbed time wherever he could, and recently put the finishing touches on his book. Both of these fellas have learned that it's possible to have a day job away from their home office, and simultaneously build a satisfying writing career. Though they've never told me how they found that precious commodity, I picture them avoiding that great time-grabber, the tube; starting their day an hour earlier; or maybe finding some nook where they nibble their lunch while scribbling until the company time clock beckons. Surely, a passion burns inside both of them that makes writing a priority.

Fact is, in these hard, hard economic times, a writer first has to be able to pay the bills for all the obvious reasons: eating, sleeping, living as comfortably as possible. While a life devoted to only writing pursuits is a golden dream for many, it's not always a realistic one.

What is realistic is to take baby steps every day, just as Junior and John do, that'll keep your feet on the road that may eventually lead to working at home as a full-time writer. If the passion to write is there, a little thing like a detour to success should never have the power to douse it.

What every writer needs

If you've been visiting this blog for a while, you'll remember that I became an insurance agent in the hopes it would bankroll my writing life. For a number of reasons, it wasn't entirely successful though it did keep us afloat in not-grand-style. At least I was heeding the advice of sager heads than mine who recommend having some money stashed away before embarking on the writing life full-time.

But what happens if that cache of cash steadily dwindles, and the income isn't keeping up? Do you abandon the life you know you're best suited for and instead head back to your old job? It's an option...but there are others. Get creative! Consider one of these ideas, or let them lead you to something that works best for your circumstances:

• Sign up with a temp agency. Many of them have clients who need coverage for maternity or medical leaves, and those jobs typically aren't temp-to-hire.
• Contact area newspapers and ask to become a stringer. Newspapers need content just like any other publication; why not you?
• Check the masthead in regional or local publications. Craft a brief e-mail or snail mail letter that directed to the publisher/editor. You're a professional wordsmith in every communication you write; be sure to let that shine through.

Recently, my daughter and I sat in the waiting room of the local hospital while a friend underwent surgery. I picked up a high-quality newsletter sitting on an end table, and scanned the masthead where I found the appropriate contact. Later that day (after we knew the friend breezed through surgery), I e-mailed him. Did he use freelance writers, I asked? I included two sentences about my experience, and closed by offering to send samples of my writing. He responded the next day, asking for samples, which I sent along with a brief cover letter that provided a little more detail about my experience. Five days letter, I sent another e-mail, this time asking if he'd received the information I mailed to him. Again, he responded positively.

Keeping the wolves away while at the same time building solid reputations and steady assignments is an important aspect of the writing life that can't be ignored. It calls for a little creativity---but we're writers and definitely up to the task.

Help wanted: Only shy folks need apply

I've been a fairly shy gal most of my life (okay, all of my life!). When a former employer offered to pay for a 14-week Dale Carnegie course, I grabbed the op. While it didn't erase the shy gene, it did help me do simple things, like speaking up at PTA meetings, and harder things, like conducting monthly meetings of which I was prez; giving speeches; cutting TV promo ads. Even still, the ole shy gene has never completely left.

So you'd think us shy folks would love the writing life just because we don't usually do those out-there things. Ain't so. As writers vying for writing assignments, we have to put aside our shyness and do all the things the non-shy types do with ease: Communicate well. In every case---mistake-free letters and e-mails, drop-dead great resumes----our single message must be, "I'm capable, let me show you just how capable.'

Confidence is where it all starts. But how do we get that prized commodity?

The same way top contenders in sports, music, or any endeavor get it---by practicing, every single day until they know they're ready to face any opponent, and win.

Writers everywhere are our opponents. To be contenders and win our fair share of writing jobs and assignments, shouldn't we practice every single day?

Success as an at-home writer depends on developing an unfailing confidence in your skills. Yes, you can produce great writing that will keep your clients coming back again and again. Build a mountain of confidence (with an occasional time-off to enjoy a leisurely walk or a good movie)...whether the shy gene is your constant companion or not.

Encouraging a new writer...

Heather is a gifted---take your pick: student, baker, cook, seamstress, crocheter...writer. Whatever she takes on, she does extremely well. Challenging projects, no matter what they are, don't scare her off. Earlier this summer, she repurposed patio blocks into a walking path in her back yard. For days, she dug the earth where she would lay the blocks, then she hefted each one into its place in a path that brought a new look and feel to the yard.

Heather is also my daughter, I'm proud to say, the youngest of three.

Since I got serious about the writing life, she's always been there to cheer me on, be my first reader, comment on what did or didn't work in a piece.

All along, I knew something about Heather that she may not have known: that she has the talent to be a successful writer, have her own writing business (maybe even collaborate with her Mom on a piece or two). Today, we sat down to talk about her future as a writer.

My brother started his own business as a food manufacturer's rep, and hoped to pass on the business to his son, my nephew Mike. And so it was.

When I started my writing business, I'd hoped she would want to follow in my footsteps. And so it is. In the role of mentor I was today. We talked about types of pieces she could write (isn't that always one of the first questions we writers and wannabe writers ask: What can I write about?) We explored her knowledge base, and the types of articles she could write. It was a surprisingly long list; surprising to her, not to me. As writers, we're also observers. What I've observed about my daughter is that she has a wealth of know-how just waiting to be shared with readers everywhere.

We also talked about commitment. I asked her to look at her fledgling writing business as a job that she commits x-number of hours to each week. I suggested that she fill those hours with these pursuits: market study, reading on writing, and the actual writing.

Julia Cameron, Jenna Glatzer, Kelly James-Enger, Bob Bly, Beth Ann Erickson all have the ability to start and keep my writing engine humming. They fill me with hope that, yes, I can do this. Their encouragement says to me that no one else has my perspective, no one else can write what I write.

Today, I hope I've succeeded in filling Heather with that same level of encouragement and desire to become the writer I know she can be.

Working at home: Hard as....read on

I ran across this little ditty by Olin Miller: Writing is the hardest way of earning a living, with the possible exception of wrestling alligators. Amen to that.

More than once today, I've thought, 'oh, you're so right!' Writing is hard---'specially when you can't concentrate because of outside noise. This particular day, like every other workday since the beginning of April, our neighborhood has been 'treated' to construction sounds, from 6:30 a.m. till, would you believe, 7 or 8 p.m. Backup beeps rip through the air continuously (or so it seems---although, at this moment, they're silent. But wait five minutes and that'll change), and heavy equipment rumbles past the house to and from the worksite half a block away. It'll all change again in October, and our typically quiet neighborhood will return to normal. By then, summer will be gone, and who knows? we may see our first snowflake soon after the trucks go away for good.

So that's the scenario I work under for now. If I were fall housecleaning, I'd block out their noise easily. But while I'm in the creative work mode, constant noises are a distraction. No doubt about it, focusing on writing projects isn't easy---but it's not impossible. After all, other work-at-home writers do it, sometimes amid a house full of little ones clamoring for attention.

Nevertheless, when we sign on for this life, we'd better expect annoyances of all kinds---including construction beeps half a block away---and work through it anyway. It beats wrestling alligators, any day!

A Writer's Mini-Vacation...

Julia Cameron writes about writing. I've re-read two of her books, "The Sound of Paper" and "The Right to Write," countless times, usually picking up on something I'd overlooked in previously readings. To Julia, whom I've never met, I say thanks, you've done a lot to help me stick to the business of writing at home.

Two ideas I've gleaned each time have been extremely useful.

The first is something Julia calls 'Morning Pages.' How and why do it? First, the how: Write three pages (not two, not four) in longhand, every day soon after rising for the day. Second, it opens a vein so you'll bleed words. After the morning pages, you're ready to move on to the business of writing. For several years, I've worn out boxes of gel pens (my favorite writing instrument) and stacks of pads and notebooks of paper. That simple practice does, indeed, prime the pump. Make it a regular part of your day.

The second idea is to take a walk (my version of a mini-vacation). It opens you up to your surroundings, and rejuvenates, recharges. Not quite two blocks away from where I sit is a lovely park. Picnic tables are scattered about in outdoor months. I like to pack up my writing tools, a book or magazine, and a beverage (usually water), and walk there. After an hour, sometimes a little longer, I'm ready to return home. I've enjoyed the sun, the fresh air, and maybe the sound of a few kids using the playground equipment closeby. That time away from the phone and computer refreshes me like nothing else can, and I'm happy to return to my current writing project.

What Darrell did...

Not long after he left the military, Darrell became an insurance agent, first on the East Coast, then, to help his parents through their final illnesses, he came home to the Midwest. To earn a living while he was always there for his folks, he set up shop at home by starting a new agency from scratch.

Building a scratch agency is hard work but it wasn't new to him; he'd successfully done it before. But this time it was different; he met lots of resistance in getting a toehold in this new market. Nevertheless, he worked his plan every day, making cold calls, networking.

Darrell did non-insurance things, as well, to recharge his batteries when they ran low, re-energize his spirit. He mowed his own lawn, joined the VFW, helped relatives or neighbors in need.

Meanwhile, a county away from Darrell's digs, I busily tried to get a toehold, too, as an independent insurance agent working from home. That was the road I'd mapped out to reach financial security for my children and me. With the residual income I'd earn, I could then settle down to the writing life, and be at home for my kids.

One thing led to another. The next thing I knew, I was having lunch with Darrell---up until then a total stranger---and two agent friends of his. Table talk centered on insurance, and how we could get our piece of the pie. Darrell and I became business friends then and there, and for the next five years of our business alliance, he taught me more about the insurance business than I could have imagined. Going into the insurance biz, I'd been skeptical of insurance people and their ethics. Observing Darrell, however, I recognized I'd met a man of ethics, someone who was a credit to the insurance world. He was the best possible example for a newbie like me.

Over countless pots of coffee in my kitchen, we held planning sessions, then implemented them. Some of the joint ventures failed, a few succeeded. Through it all, Darrell kept to his daily routine, determined to succeed, believing he would. It was yet another powerful example; so beneficial, in fact, that Darrell's ways sit in my head even now as I work toward a successful life as a writer.

I relocated to another state five years later but Darrell and I kept in touch. I was overjoyed to learn, a few years later, that the tide had finally turned in his favor. His determination and his plodding ways had paid off.

And so it is with writers trying to build a successful writing business. We won't ring the bell every time, and we will get discouraged and wonder if we're in the right profession. If we keep examples like Darrell in mind, though, we'll be reminded that success isn't always in a hurry to arrive. If we plod and plan---#1, writing; #2, marketing---we'll arrive, too. Darrell was discouraged oh-so-many times, but he'd never allow himself to give up. ("To do what?" he asked me once.)

Try Darrell's way...plod your way to success as a work-at-home writer.

Cousin Junior

Since I was a little girl, my sister Joan sang the praises of our cousin Junior. Soon, I, too, was a fan. He made me feel special, asking questions, listening to my answers, making comments, suggestions. Actually, ask anyone who knows him and they'll all say the same thing: Junior makes me feel special, treasured, unique. He's the relative you want to be sure to see, spend time with, when he comes home at holiday time, or any other time of the year.

For a few years, he sent me Christmas gifts. I still treasure one in particular, a silver, Native American-made bracelet with matching earrings.

Far more importantly than gifting is his fondness for the human condition. He was a dedicated Boy Scout, faithfully living the Boy Scout Promise. The ultimate achievement is the rank of Eagle Scout, an honor that only 3% of all Boy Scouts earn. Junior was one of the 3%. He was off to Europe then, to experience a broader view of the world before he headed off to college.

At home, he helped his dad become a member of a country club. When uncle, a businessowner who worked from home, applied for membership in one of the two clubs, he'd been blackballed. Neither club accepted Italian-Americans, or Jews. That injustice rubbed Junior the wrong way, and he couldn't rest until he'd done something to change it. In a relatively short time, using those extraordinary people skills of his, he broke down the barriers. Soon, his Italian-American dad was welcomed as a member.

Before he got on with the rest of his life, Junior joined the Navy in WWII to help America win the war, and became an ensign. The picture of him in his Navy whites hung in aunt and uncle's den until my 91-year-old widowed aunt gave up housekeeping. It was the first thing you saw when you walked into the room. His was a face you liked instantly.

Why am I telling you about my cousin Sam, Jr.? Because, among his other wonderful traits and accomplishments, he's a published writer. By the time he left the Navy, he'd penned his first book, "Amen, Amen." Then came the second, "Tale of the Twain," both for Harper & Row. Junior liked the work-world too well to leave it. Yet writing was such an integral part of his life that he always found time to pursue writing projects. Junior was always an inspiration to me; I just didn't fully know why at the time.

Then, suddenly, it became apparent. I wanted to belong, like him, to the world of writing.

A while back, our local newspaper sponsored a Christmas Memories essay contest. I immediately sat down to write about a favorite Christmas childhood memory. I called it, "Two Old Gents." It told the story of my fifth, and my Grandpa's last, Christmas, and the last year I believed in Santa Claus. It won the grand prize, and a $35 cash award. Aunt sent the piece to Junior, who loved it. That approval in my fledgling life as a writer from a cousin I so admired urged me to keep at it. He was, and is, my inspiration.

Sometimes, it's the people we know and love who can send us, knowingly or not, on our journey to fulfillment in a field we love. Thanks in part to Junior, my feet are firmly planted on the road to writing success.

Think about these opportunities...

Ah, the opportunities out there for work-at-home writers like us! Writers who write about their own successful journey recommend that we find a niche in which to be an expert, and venture into other areas, as well. Variety is the spice of life, isn't it?...and no less true for writers.

While I'm busily carving out my own niche, I also look for writing opportunities that help me stretch my writing muscles (or offer a quick buck while I work on projects closer to my niche). Writing greeting card prose is a terrific way to write using an economy of words, thereby sharpening your ability to write tight in other areas. One of my favorite areas is writing resumes. A while back, I wrote resumes for townspeople who didn't want to tackle that task on their own. It was a nice side business, as well as a rewarding one (three out of four let me know the resume I'd written for them got the interview, the number one job of a resume). Recently, I gave a resume as a grad gift to a friend's kid; and I've donated resume packages at fundraising time to a couple of causes I believe in.

But a writing field none of us should ignore is business-to-business writing. It's lucrative and enjoyable. But is it easy? Probably not...yet very doable. How? For anyone considering it, Bob Bly, a veteran in the field, offers valuable how-to's of navigating those waters. Groping along on your own can take months, even years, and, in that slow process, you lose precious time and the ability to earn good money. Bob's courses are valuable to me because they're jam-packed with everything I need to know to get started and earn real money. Lots of good stuff, including how to write marketing plans and white papers (check out the link on the side if you want to learn more).

The absolutely great thing about the work-at-home business of writing today is this: We have unlimited opportunities to write in whatever field interests us and we have writing experts like Beth Ann Erickson (Filbert Publishing), Kelly James-Enger, Jenna Glatzer, Julia Cameron, and Bob Bly (to name a few), who share their expertise with folks like you and me who want to make a go of this biz.

Sometimes, we detour...

I wrote for the non-profit for six years, but I yearned for a steady income from writing to support my children and me. Hmm, I thought nearly every day, how can I ditch my day job and still have an income? A chance encounter with a former advertiser from my television advertising days provided an opportunity, and the answer.

Mary Jo's new hubby had just signed on with an insurance company, and he was doing very, very well in his new profession. She told me he was looking for salespeople, and she'd recommended me. I'd sold another intangible, advertising, so she expected I'd do very well in insurance, too.

At her invitation, two thoughts ran riot simultaneously through my brain: first, I can be a full-time, stay-at-home mom; second, here's our income while I build my writer income. Bingo! I was in.

Turns out, insurance sales was a seven-year detour that stalled my writing career. I managed to write for the non-profit (and build more writing samples), but little else. What I hadn't counted on was this: to be a successful, money-generating insurance person, I had to spend lots of time studying for my license, then taking continuing ed courses to maintain it; learn the products I sold, attend meetings, make phone and cold calls morning, noon and night. Juggling two full-time careers and motherhood was a tough assignment.

That detour is behind me now. I knew I'd never again take on a second career to finance my first choice. My takeaway from the experience, though, was that, more than ever, I wanted to be an at-home writer.

One road that leads to publishing...

Newbies like I was a few years ago sometimes get lucky. Really lucky.

I landed my first writing gig quite by accident. I'd called Susan, the editor of our local art society's monthly newsletter, about something unrelated to writing. She mistakenly thought I'd called, volunteering to write for her. "Can you write fast?" she'd asked. Huh, say what? I thought. (The answer was no, I couldn't, but she moved on to another question before I had to divulge the terrible truth.) She assigned an article, a contact person, and told me when the article had to be in. I hung up the phone, a dazed but excited soon-to-be published writer. My pay? A byline.

Later, I read how-to advice on starting an at-home writing career. Volunteer to write for a non-profit, it said. Good advice, I'd thought, remembering my own experience. Most non-profits, after all, don't have a budget that allows them to pay non-staff writers. But a byline is a byline, and just as credible with magazine editors looking to see writing samples as are paid writing samples.

I wrote on assignment for that publication for six years. It was the unplanned first step (why not call it luck cuz that's what it was) in my journey to be a write-at-home business woman. Thankfully, I had a day job that paid the bills, yet, I did 'earn' something quite valuable from that first writing job: On-the-job knowledge of writing to deadline, interviewing people, focusing on an idea, working with a fabulous, patient editor. Oh, and this. I earned a tall stack of writing samples that I've sent out successfully to other editors who not only gave me a byline; they also paid in cold cash.

When opportunity comes...

As writers, we pull inspiration from wherever we can find it. That includes the wide world of sports and those figures who achieve the ultimate in their field. That's our goal, too, to achieve the ultimate by writing well enough, marketing well enough, that we'll be published regularly.

"When opportunity comes, it's too late to prepare," John Wooden said. Why should that statement inspire? Because what he accomplished does the talking. Just as we'll listen to Stephen King, Bob Bly, and other writing moguls who've scored big, we should listen to Coach Wooden, who has done what no one else has done: He was named to the Basketball Hall of Fame twice--first as a player for Purdue University, next as coach of UCLA's Bruins.

Like Stephen King and Bob Bly, the Coach did the hard stuff every workday. He positioned himself to be ready for the Big O, Opportunity. He had a plan, a playbook, indispensable tools we writers need, too.

Need more inspiration? Take a mini-break and watch "Miracle," Disney's movie about the 1980 Olympics. Herb Brooks, legendary coach, mercilessly, some would say, prepped his team of college---not pro---hockey players who walked away with the Gold Medal. Herbie positioned his team to win, and win they did!

What should be in our playbook? The plan to work our writing muscles every day, and write, write, write. Without that prep, we'll never be ready to meet the Big O.

Doing the hard stuff...every day

As writers, we write. But we're also salesmen and women and marketers of our word products. Not everyone likes to 'sell,' though. My daughter told me once that she could never be a salesperson. I shot back, and with fervor, that she is a salesperson every day; she sells me on ordering pizza instead of cooking, or going to the library today, not tomorrow.

The subject of an e-newsletter I received today reminded me of the difference between successful salespeople, and those who fail. Neither likes to do the hard stuff like make cold calls, or talk to prospects who aren't friendly or nice to them. But---and here's the winning difference---the successful salespeople do those things, anyway.

Tim, my television advertising sales manager, was first a salesman for the station. He was phenomenally successful (he told me once it was because "they didn't tell me I couldn't be successful"). I rode with him when I first started and observed how he handled himself on his calls. Whether he said it in these words or not, his message was always the same: Mr. Businessowner, you don't just want to stay in business, you want to grow your business, and I have what you need to accomplish that. Tim kept those balls in the air, prospecting, making callbacks to cranky or nice businesses, whatever it took. He was a guy to imitate.

His style translates to the writing business, as well. That magazine editor who wants profiles of women doing the extraordinary needs content to fill each issue. I have the story that will accomplish that need.

I constantly keep in mind that what I write, I must sell. To sell it, I have to market myself and my product. Sure, I'd prefer to skip the marketing part and just write. But if I want to be a successful work-at-home writer, I have to do the hard stuff, too.

Things getting intense? Take a break...

As you build your work-at-home writing business, your income may be---how shall I say it?---puny, nearly non-existent. In the early days of establishing yourself, you'll spend more time looking for markets than writing. Good opportunities for making a living as a work-at-home writer do exist (check out the links). More than likely, hitting the big time won't come right away. Keeping those balls in the air, like my old sales manager Tim used to tell me, is the long road to success.

Most workdays will be intense, fretful. Bills are piling up, and there's more space in the fridge than food. Should I be searching for a day job, you ask yourself (maybe daily, at first), or can I make it in this crazy world of wordsmithing? Your batteries are running low and need to be recharged. Money's tight and jetting to the Caribbean isn't an option...for now. You still need a cheap getaway.

My answer? To turn off the computer, pop in a classic old movie (my favorite), and lose myself in the moment. Oh, and grab a healthy snack and cool beverage. I'm ready to do just that soon. My choice will probably be, "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House." (I like the word dream). Cary Grant's comic genius is not to be missed. It's not far-fetched to believe that one art---whether it's acting, music, photography---can inspire the art of writing. I expect to be rejuvenated, ready to race for the page and create anew when the last scene plays. All thanks to Cary who did what he did so skillfully that I want to duplicate it in the art I've chosen.

What Winston Churchill said...

We all learn little tricks to keep our feet on the path, and our toes pointed straight ahead to the goal we're headed for. Seems no job needs those helps more than a writer working from his or her home office. It gets lonely sitting there, facing the page. Some days, the writing goes well; some days, not so well. Some days, finding markets goes well, some days, it doesn't go at all.

I rifled through my happy quotes today for a little inspiration. Here's one I like, compliments of Winston Churchill: "Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts." He packed a lot of good stuff in those words, don't you think?

When he uttered those words, he was probably thinking of the B-I-G picture---winning the war for England and the rest of the world. Like the lyrics in the love songs that you know were written just for you, this quote seems to have been written for me.

The words tell me not just to have the courage to keep a-going'; they're telling me that when I do get there not to get too high-and-mighty, 'cuz it ain't gonna last forever. It's a humbling thought, one I'll be sure to remember.

Whine, but only a little

Crummy days. No matter where you work, in an outside office, or at home, you get 'em. Yesterday was my crummy day, one of the worst. (Note to reader: Do feel free to unload details of a crummy day you've lived through, and how you survived it.)

What happened to bring on this whine session? Nothing happened. Absolutely nothing.

I sent countless e-mail follow-ups (Dear Editor: Will you be able to use the piece I sent three months ago? You prefer single as opposed to simultaneous submissions, and I just wondered if...), tried to locate sources for another project, froze the computer twice on a research mission, left phone messages to set up interviews, and, zip, nothin'. By the way, part of e-mail's allure is that responses are instantaneous, right? So...where are they? Is anybody home???

As my Mother and Rock of Gibraltar would have said, Simmer down, you!

So I did. That small action actually saved the day. Look at the situation through their lens, I told myself. I may be in a hurry for a reply, but maybe they're waiting for a reply before they can get back to me. My Solution: Be patient a little longer.

Then I asked myself, Have I really researched that market well enough to place a piece there? Solution: Do like the guidelines say; study the publication first. Then submit.

Finally, this burning question begged for an answer. Undoubtedly, I have the passion to write and be read. But do I also have the passion to slog through the valleys as well as enjoy the peaks? Solution: Take a closer look at my commitment.

It takes more than writing well to be a successful freelance writer. It takes perseverance, day in, day out, crummy days or no.

No pressure, no diamonds. That's Mary Case's simple but profound gem. Four words that could have helped me skip that whine party.

When NOT to Give Up

When do you NOT give up? When you're hot...when you've sold something. When you're not hot...when you're not selling anything. Whether you work at home as a writer, photographer, artist, designer, baker extraordinaire, it's advice that could likely save you from wondering why incoming projects have dried up. It's advice I learned the hard way...

For quite a few years, I was a television account exec for a CBS-affiliate station. My territory took me to parts of three states. I cold-called on businesses in tiny towns, mid-sized towns, and a few bigger towns.

I loved one town in particular, a rivertown, population 17,000. The people there were genuine, and had a lot of town spirit. I met the businessman who was the center of influence, and through him, rolled out the campaign idea that 126 businesses signed into. It was one of the best campaigns that had ever hit that part of the state. I poured extra effort into it. For five straight weeks, I thought of little else. I met with 126 businessowners, wrote most of their copy, snapped all of the photos. I was passionate about my purpose there. Sure, the money would be nice. More importantly, I wanted their advertising investment to pay off, help their businesses prosper.

Over and over, my sales manager patted me on the back. A couple times, the station manager congratulated me, even smiled at me (something he rarely did). I couldn't spend the kudos I received, of course, but they were a nice affirmation of my work.

I was a hot commodity. But one who'd forgotten a key element to future success: Don't stop when you're ahead. No one had taught me that part of sales, to live not just for the moment but for the next one, and the one after that.

I never repeated that success. I'd lost my momentum.

Something good did come from it, though. I've never repeated that mistake (others, just not that one). Now when I get a pat on the back, I thank God for the success...then return to the page.

Working at home, it's especially important not to get caught up in the successes. A better approach is to do what Tim, my sales manager, told me once: Keep those balls in the air. Translation: Produce, produce, produce.

Qualifications for a Work from Home Writer

One of my favorite quotes comes from Jessamyn West. "Talent is helpful in writing but guts are absolutely essential." In my opinion, she just defined a key qualification for work from home writers. Hers is a quote I keep on a 3x5 card, and read for a little quick inspiration. It came in handy today when I received an editor's response to an e-query I'd sent a few days ago.

The letter was brief. No, they can't use my piece. I didn't take the rejection personally. I know that editors need good writing to fill their pages, and even though I'd studied the magazine and their guidelines, the idea just wasn't right for them at this time. I sent him a quick thank-you-I'll-try-again e-mail.

Maybe that's what Jessamyn means, in part, by guts. The guts to put yourself back mentally as quickly as possible, and try again. For as long as it takes.

I sold television and radio advertising for a number of years. It, too, was tough, and I didn't have the guts right away to handle those not-so-subtle messages from businessowners 'Get-outta-here-I-don't-want-to-advertise-on-your-lousy-station.' Then Tim, my sales manager and a super-salesman, gave me the best piece of advice I've ever gotten: "Keep those balls in the air." Simple, huh? Tim defined that six-word inspiration like this: Make your cold calls, make proposals, and you'll get your percentage of the sales. It worked then, and it'll work in other sales settings. Writers are, after all, salesmen, too.

Talent is the foundation to your life as a writer. Guts build the house.

Think this positive thought

Finding work-at-home opportunities was fairly easy in pre-Internet days. Flip to the classifieds in the back of most magazines, and entrepreneurs found enticing possibilities like these:

Learn to repair plastic furniture or car seats. (First, you bought the program, and practiced, practiced, practiced with the materials they supplied);

Make doormats from used tires. (You merely cut tires you got free or bought for cheap into strips, then assembled them into attractive, useful mats);

Sew and sell baby bibs. (Even skilled seamstresses like my friend Kathy failed to sell her bibs back to the company.)

Not only did you have to be skilled enough to produce desirable products buyers wanted, you had to learn where to find those buyers. Every program required an investment. If you didn't succeed, more than likely, you were out the money. It was difficult to make a go of these businesses, let alone make and sell products consistently enough to say goodbye to the day job and the security of a steady income.

Writing is the best of the best at-home businesses, no doubt. Do it anywhere, full-time, part-time. This work-at-home job doesn't require an inventory of costly materials; instead, your inventory consists of ideas. And the market is big enough that you will find buyers of your product, your words.

Which leads me to this positive thought, by Wayne Dyer: "There's no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love. There is only a scarcity of resolve to make it happen."
Apply those 24 words to your writing (or making rubber mats from tires, for that matter) and you'll keep your feet on the path to success.

Working from home takes commitment

One of the perils of working from home is that it's so easy to put off the work we love in favor of the mundane things; weeding the garden, cleaning the cabinets, all necessary things, just not at the time you should be working. Procrastination is a good word for it. I know people can move beyond it. My Dad was a good example. According to my Mom, he was a huge procrastinator, maybe even a charter member. Yet, he achieved the highest educational level possible, the Ph.D. That gives me, a fellow member of Ye Olde Procrastinator's Club, lots of hope.

I just purchased Bob Bly's how-to e-book on writing e-books. In itself, it's no guarantee that I'll write income-producing e-books. That's where commitment comes in. Bob's e-books are comprehensive, and I know if I read it carefully, then get busy following his methods, I will have a pretty good chance of succeeding. It's all in the commitment.

Don't go your work-at-home writing life alone

Established: The writing life isn't the easy life, but it is the life that many of us want. As you face the page, it is you and you alone who sit there, so, in that respect, it is lonely. But, happily, we don't have to stay alone. Not with helps like these.

Like good writing publications (Writers Journal, ByLine, The Writer, and Writer's Digest, my favorites), where we're invited into the lives of others who have made the journey. We learn about their struggles, their problems and how they solved them; their low moments, their high ones; how they approach the good life they, too, have chosen to live. The magazines are valuable helpmates.

Along the way, I've found another enormous help, Filbert Publishing, an online resource, who publishes not only a fantastic, free e-zine, Writing, Etc; they publish e-books that provide knowledge designed to help you succeed at the writing life. We all need to stay upbeat, positive, and regularly think 'can-do' thoughts; like the monthlies and bi-monthlies I mentioned earlier, Filbert's publications help you stay in the zone.

I was giddy with anticipation when I read an ad for their new e-book, 101 No Cost (And Low Cost) Techniques to Turbo Charge Your Freelance Income. I could use a little turbo-charging, I admitted to myself, so I ordered it. I just have to say that it's everything I hoped it would be.

Don't go it alone if you want to succeed in this business. Surround yourself, as I do, with good books, magazines, e-helps. Let them inspire you, too!

Who said it was easy?

Writing and reading---it's a marriage not without its rough spots. Just as you must write to be a writer, you must read to be a writer. Within the books and articles written about your craft, you'll encounter again and again the idea that rough times go with your work-at-home writing business. It's wise to believe it---and to take steps to keep on keeping on.

Recently, I was inundated with work; writing assignments, editing jobs. I knew I should be looking for work beyond those assignments but I was busy, and loving it. I didn't think much beyond the current work. That lapse in marketing/promoting taught me an unforgettable lesson. Marketing and promoting my services is just as much a part of being a writer as is the actual writing. It's the 24/7 job you must be passionate about. For instance, ideas will pop into your head as you eat dinner, watch a TV program, drive to an appointment. Jot the inspirations down so you don't forget them. Always look for new opportunities to stretch your writing muscles. Thanks to the Internet's appetite for new content, we can all stay as busy as we want.

I've already mentioned that quick quotes are quick energy shots to my writer brain. Another energy shot is reading well-written articles on the craft. I also stumbled across a surprising discovery. Reading bad writing is beneficial, too. Why? Because you think (1) I would have said that another way; and, (2) If this writer can get published, I can, too!

I've already tucked the thought that the writing life is an easy worklife into my mental garbage bag of useless, anti-productive thoughts. The writing life, working from home, is a good life, and one so worth living.

It's just like Dorothea says

Working from home has its ups, its downs. Think about it; they're no worse than the ones you've experienced in the outside workplace where office politics regularly dictate high peaks and deep valleys. We all need little (and sometimes big) encouragements to keep our feet on the highway to $uccess. Quotes I've collected are those quick little encouragements that send me back to the page and the work I love. Dorothea Brande ("Wake Up and Live") penned one that quickly became one of my favorites:

"Act as if it were impossible to fail, and it shall be."

She also says, "Be very clear about the success you desire. Act as if you already had it."

Nice thoughts that could fit any situation, but, if you need a little mental prodding to help you arrive at your home workplace, they're powerful enough that they may just move you to do as a writer does---write---and re-charge your ambition for another day.

Do positive encouragements keep you going? Do you write them onto 3x5 index cards when you find ones that stir encouragement in you?

Persistence equals success

Hard words for me to practice: Be persistent in whatever you do.

I don't have enough fingers and toes to count all the times I've tried something and given up before I'd reached the success mark I'd set for myself. One reason for those failures may be the fast-paced, want-it-now society we live in. If an endeavor doesn't succeed immediately, ditch it and try something else.

Another reason for my failures could be my commitment level. Had I really thought it through, pictured what success would look and feel like? I'm guessing the answer to that question is a no.

Learning from our mistakes is a good thing. Here's what I've learned. Since I've chosen to work at home, as a freelance writer, the sound foundation on which I'm building that career choice is persistence. Every day, I've committed to write; assignments, for sure, and at the very least, my daily article. It's an idea Michael Masterson, a highly successful entrepreneur, writer, and founder of Early to Rise, an e-magazine, suggested after he'd read about a woman who'd written 365 plays, one each day for a year. He challenged his readers to do likewise: write an article, a story, a poem, every day. At the end of the year, you'll have improved your writing, and have a significant body of work that can be marketed and sold, in whole or in part. Not only that. In my opinion, the person who accomplishes that feat has also made significant strides in another area of importance, persistence.

On the flip side, I've noticed that, when I don't write every day, I lose my edge. Re-starting my writing engine isn't easy. Before I can face the page, I also have to overcome another writerly problem, self-confidence (should I really be writing? can I write? etc., etc., etc.)

Dorothy is a retired Latin teacher I once knew. In her retirement, she gravitated to a work-at-home job as a writer. She told me how she'd set up a writing schedule for herself, 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. every weekday, and that she'd stuck to it faithfully. The takeaway I learned? That her persistence succeeded. She produced stories, articles, poems that she successfully marketed. Instantly, Dorothy became my role model.

I'm committed to my work-at-home job. The most important tool I use is persistence because I'm 100% convinced, thanks to Dorothy and Michael, that persistence equals success.

Writing-at-home dream job

Walking the few steps from my bedroom, where I've donned casual wear for the day, to my home office, has been a dream of mine for twenty years. Ditching the day job, the time clock, the annual reviews where I'm awarded a piddly 2% pay increase, and the office politics is the only healthy way to live and work, in my humble opinion. The dream includes never having to make another home-packed lunch, never having to commute through traffic filled with rude drivers and jillions of gas-guzzling, endlessly long stoplights. No more alarm clocks, no more snotty co-workers skilled at back-stabbing, no more begging for time off. But how to leave that insanity behind and earn a comparable, or better, income was my two-decades-old dilemma. I wanted it badly enough that I searched for the key that fit the door to my dream life.

At first, I searched classified sections in the backs of magazines. Sure, I found work that offered high returns for a few hours of effort. Light-heartedly, I'd mail my check and the order form, sit back with fingers crossed, hoping this was that key. Not long after launching the work-at-home program, I'd figure out it was just another scam.

Next, I searched internet leads, and didn't have much success until I ran across a name I recognized and respected. I could trust this man and what he was willing to teach me because he had a reputation to keep clean and shiny. The name---Bob Bly. His business---teaching people like me how to make an income through writing. His informational ads spoke to my dream. After all, he's been a successful, well-paid writer for decades. Here, no doubt in my mind, is that long-sought key.

I just ordered my first e-book from Mr. Bly. I'll update you on how it works for me.

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