My Writing Life

So, why should you care what I have to say about writing?

If you're in your first few years of your writing career, then we're probably struggling through some of the same issues. My first paid writing job was in 2000, when I was in college. I'd written a few pieces for a local alternative paper and submitted some academic pieces for undergraduate journals. Of course, those jobs weren't paid, but at the time, I loved seeing my name in print. Eventually I got a job working for my university's newspaper - an amazing experience - and I was paid to write and edit other people's work.

After a year of graduate school, I left to pursue life after college. With a classical liberal arts education, I discovered that life after college was wide open. My view then was that I wasn't specifically qualified to do any specific job, but now I look at it more as having the option to explore any field I wanted. I landed a job as a reporter for a small outfit that covers the outlying areas of Cincinnati.

I worked as a general assignment reporter for a year, covering everything from school district levies to fundraisers for terminally ill folks in the area. During that year, I got to write perhaps four political stories, and I lived for them. Politics, after all, is my passion, though football runs a close second. I wanted to write about politics, but there was no room for trailblazing in community reporting.

In June 2004, my husband and I found out that our carefree lives as yuppies was over and that a little one would be joining us in January. I left my job as a reporter without a moment's hesitation. I had decided that I would stay home and write. The only problem was that I didn't know what I'd write. I admit that I wasn't that educated about the world of freelancing, and I didn't know where my writing life was headed. From June until October, I piddled around at home, working on designing a website, writing fiction, and reading about life writing. Then in October, I connected with someone who needed a writer and didn't know how to find one. I started working for Ian, writing keyword articles about car loans and other quick-money Internet topics.

The articles I wrote for Ian weren't exciting, at least after the first 50 or so, but the concept was? Why was he looking for hundreds of articles on only a handful of subjects. He'd used the term "SEO," and I pretended I knew what he was talking about, but I didn't have a clue. I set about researching the term and learned the basics. During that time, I also discovered Write for Cash, Rent a Coder, and a couple of other places where many web writers get started.

It's now been 27 months, and I've moved around a good bit in my writing. I've written sales copy for websites, magazine articles, and pamphlets, and I self-published two booklets earlier this year. Blogging is my newest form of writing income - or at least I hope it is.

I share my writing story with you because I'm sure that some of you reading are natural cynics, as I am and I believe many writers are. You're wondering what I know about writing and if I've ever written anything for pay. I know because I ask myself that same question about people online. I'm not an expert by any means, but yes, I do know how to make money writing. I know how to set goals and reach them. I know how to craft a resume to focus on quality writing skills. Like many of you, I know how to work out of my house while dealing with my son, partner, pets, and other demands on my time.