Category: Writer’s Blog

I love research. LOVE it. I’m really good at finding the “best” way to do almost anything. Pros and cons of different website hosts? Check. Optimal CRM software? Understood. Steps for building a successful resume, at the request of a colleague? Researched and written.

But I have to admit, I find that I sometimes use research to keep me in a safe place, rather than putting myself out there and risking failure. If this sounds familiar to you, then you may be in the same place I found myself: more time on work planning than actually working.

I have listened to *so many* podcasts and read *so many* books and articles on freelancing, writing, editing, business management, website design, and on and on. I could probably host my own podcast, after absorbing so much detail! Instead, here is where I am starting: a series of posts about building my small business from zero to $100K. Right now, I’m much (much!) closer to the zero end of that scale. That’s okay! We have to start somewhere.

I have years of writing and editing experience, a solid background in sales and service, and a strong eye for detail. I have used several CRM and project management tools for different client work. Programs including Salesforce, Basecamp, Dubsado, Canva, Audacity, and WordPress. Coursework from several top-of-their-field freelancers and marketers–I have the knowledge and skills I need to take my business to the next step.

Will you please follow along as I grow this business? Learn from my successes and failures, trial and error, and cheer me on as I build this successful business while working full time in another! I will document this process weekly, so watch this space. Cheers!

My confidence was in bloom, as I sat at the table with my laptop bright and ready for work. 

OK. Now is the time. Isn’t it?

I have college degrees; a B.A. in Spanish, and a B.S. in Biology.  I have written stacks of research papers in both Spanish and English.  I’ve also written for pay, including creating new curriculum that I taught in a veterinary assistant program at a community college. Examples include Ethics in Veterinary Medicine and an overview of holistic/alternative veterinary medicine. 

I’m not a “real” writer, though.

I’ve queried and submitted posts for a local family website when my now-tweens were barely toddlers. Those posts still pop up now and then, and I enjoy re-reading them and seeing the photos of my little ones.   I also remember how exhausted I was as a mom of young twins, working full-time, creating no mental energy for personal work.  

The kids do their laundry and make their own lunches now, so it’s time, right?

Shortly before leaving my career as a veterinary technician and hospital manager in 2012 for a new opportunity, I began writing a blog for the clinic.  That blog developed into a short-term job writing posts for a local website developer/SEO, a new vocabulary and other lessons learned.

I started writing and studying the craft seriously almost ten years ago. I have a growing home library of books about writing, and am enthralled with learning how writers have made their own varied careers.  I have a list of writerly podcasts in rotation for my daily walks and chores; topics include grant writing, writing for kids and young adults, author interviews, scripted podcasts, communication and more.

Through 2019 and pre-pandemic 2020, I attended meetings of the Willamette Writers group when they started a chapter for writers in my city. I was working on several fiction projects, and delving into research on what writing path felt like the best fit. I even dragged my kids along to see my favorite local writer lead a meeting.

I’ve always wanted to write a novel.

I recently finished the first draft of a novel in November of 2020, developing a habit of writing nearly two thousand words a day for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).  This was my fifth attempt at writing a novel-length book, and the only draft I’ve finished. I have written a NOVEL. Yes, it’s a first draft, but still over 50K words, in an order of my choosing.

I have had this website for two years, daring me to put myself in the public view.  I have dreamed about what my writing career could be, but have been too set in my routine, too nervous to take a leap.

If not now, when?

Right.  Deep breath.  The time is now.  I am a writer.

Please share: what scary step do you want to take this year?