April Just Hit Send!

plaidearthworm

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Oooh, do I get firsties? Yay! I didn't hit all my goals in March, but I did more than I usually do, so that's progress! Still working on Wisecrack Zodiac re-launch, have a query in the works plus several blog posts lined up about National Poetry Month. Also have to write a post for Army of Ermas so I'm not a one-off over there, LOL. I have a content goal of five a day with DS, and I'm getting entries ready this month for the Writer's Digest competition.

Basically, my eyes are way bigger than my plate right now, but I'll dive in head first and finish off as much as I can! Everyone have a great month!
 

Skyraven

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Plaid - woohoo on the firsties! lol Congrats on all of your hard work and I wish you the best of luck for the competition. I'm not brave enough to do that yet. lol And as you probably know by now, I don't set goals; just list my accomplishments. So, I'll tally that up and come back here to post it later. Take care doll!
 

WildScribe

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We're early this month! I am trying to get my daily goals back on track, but things keep coming up to delay me. Oh, well, I'll get there this month.

I also have a lot of work that I need to get to, and to keep up with my blogging job.

Good luck everyone!
 

AmyDoodle

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Good for you, Plaid! You've got the jump on April (and I'm not even ready for it to be March). Can't wait to see your Erma post. I've got one, too, on the 19th, but it's not the 18th yet so there's still time to hit the snooze.

I really need to get 4-5 new essays finished and in the WIP. I'm usually too cowardly to say this, but feel free to kick me if I lag behind. I'd like to have 2 new ones in there by next Friday.

New blog post up. The Army wants you! I think. I'm not really sure how to tell. I don't speak Army very well.
 

Skyraven

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Amy - I loved your post! Also read the one before that and left a comment on that one. lol And that's for the invite to kick the bajaffe. Normally, I tried to avoid being stepped on. lol
Wild - you can do it!
Okay so today, I began my new task of tweeting for my part-time gig. And yes I get extra pay to do it. Which is no biggie because I love to tweet everyday. lol I just need to find a tweeting program that won't slow down my phone functioning so I can have the browser open on twitter for the work account and then the program for my personal account. I also posted the press release for a fellow writer's (ahem stand up Jen Nipps!) at The Freshman Writer. :)
Here are my March Writing Totals:
15 posts at the Freshman Writer
4 posts at My portfolio
8 articles for the parenting site
One query off to a parenting mag (which I need to follow up on soon)
Reading The Writer Mama and A Writer's Presence (studying the craft)
Applied to two new writing jobs. (Haven't heard from either one yet.)
Waiting for a response from about.com for a contributing writer position.

And I managed to do all of this with kiddo and a very stressful day job. I'm so proud of myself! My accomplishment list is getting longer every month.
 

WildScribe

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You're doing TERRIFIC, Sky, keep it up!
 

Skyraven

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Wild - thanks so much for the encouragement. I really appreciate it. I claimed 2010 as my year to shine as a writer. And dammit! I'm getting it done! :).
 

Skyraven

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Just got an email about a writing job I applied for. I was turned down, but added to their 'future opps' list. :/ I posted at the freshman writer, created the editorial calendar/tweeted for Momslikeme and jotted notes for a book/memoir for Catholic youth. Not bad for a couple hours of writing. Off to get my taxes done today. Later.
 

Skyraven

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Well, got the taxes done as well as my business stuff. Can't believe I've come so far in my writing that I have to do taxes for them! Lol Did pretty well, too.
 

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Happy April, everyone! I'm a bit late to join in this month since we were in the country for Easter (where we have no telephone or internet service!)

Sky - I really like that you list your accomplishments. I think I might do the same! Much more cheering than seeing where you've not met your goals. Bravo!

Amy - I loved your Easter Egg hunt post. I cracked up at the "pity eggs" that were put out for you! Well done!

As for me, I'm befuddled. I wrote out my goals for this month and because of our internetless, computerless holiday, I'm already behind. One of my goals was to write at least 1 DS article a day this month. But when I sat down to write one lousy article this evening, I was so bored I couldn't finish it. The deadline is tomorrow and there's a good chance my sitter won't show so if I don't do it now, it'll go back into the general pool. Maybe that's not a bad thing.

Boy, am I rambling! Anyway, my main goal this month is to get a good rough draft of Chapter 1 of my book. Last month I did pretty well on fleshing out the outline; now it's time to write!

I also would like to write 2 blog posts a week, either at The Expat Freelancer or Petite Paris. I posted about the positive side of rejections at The Expat Freelancer yesterday, so hopefully I can get a Petite Paris post in later on.

OK- I'm going to stop blathering now. Clearly, I'm just procrastinating!

Good luck to us all!
 

Skyraven

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Hiya cleo! Glad to see you here. I read your recent post at Expat and it was perfect! It was exactly what I needed to read today since I was rejected via email yesterday. I left you a comment so you'll get more details.
I love my accomplishments list because it really pushes me to make it longer and longer every day, week and month.
And The Freshman Writer was updated yesterday, due for one tomorrow, and I'm thinking of expanding it to five posts a week. I've been doing three so far and have been very consistent. :) Also, I followed up with two writing jobs - one was a query I sent out a month ago to a regional parenting magazine (my big goal this year) and the other for a parenting website (which I applied to ages ago but never heard a response). I'm also going to treat myself to a class in book reviewing next month courtesy of my tax refund. lol
 

Skyraven

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I had to come back to announce that I got a positive response from the parenting mag. The asst editor forwarded my query to the editor. If the editor wants to assign it she will. But, I'm glad they got it! lol I also received a response to the follow-up to the parenting site and the editor wanted to know if I'd be interested in writing fun stuff. She even took the time to review my resume/portfolio and stated that I seemed to be an active blogger. Woohoo! So I sent her an email back letting her know what I'd like to write as well as asking for word counts and pay. We'll see what she says tomorrow. I got it this morning and emailed her this afternoon. Had to give myself time to stop hyperventilating in order to think clearly about what I would write in my email. lol :) So excited!
 

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That's great news, Sky! Congratulations!! It's a bouyant feeling, isn't it? Thanks for your comments on the Expat Freelancer, by the way. I'm happy to know that the post resonated with you. And now on to happier times!

Wildscribe - I have to thank you for encouraging me to call the editor that had expressed interest in my pitch, but then never followed up. Well, I called him today and he is still interested and wants me to write it for the pub's Winter issue. I am so relieved! If all goes well, this will be a nice clip that crosses many genres and showcases various aspects of my writing ability. Yay!
 

Skyraven

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Thanks Cleo. It was nice to hear. Still haven't yet heard about the pay rates or word count, but I've been keeping myself busy with Examiner articles (two today), posting at the Freshman Writer (yesterday & one due tomorrow) and finally, going through my idea book for projects that I can work on and develop further. I also exercised my brain my trying to find 27 five letter words from Overpowering. I found 35. :) I'm trying so hard to keep busy and not get discouraged. It's hard for me to focus on magazine writing when I can self-publish on the blog or online with other projects. Instant gratification is too much of an addiction for me. lol
Glad to hear that you got in touch with that editor. Happy that it worked out for you! :)
 

AmyDoodle

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Heiddi, I just wish I could use Twitter like you do. You're all over it, and I'm a Twit when it comes to that.

I've added a new essay to the WIP and have several more nearly ready, so don't kick me yet. There may still be an opportunity though, since I'm historically a slacker, so don't give up!

Blog post up on Army of Ermas, and the dog's throwing a lingerie party on Mind Over Mullis. I may have no life, but apparently the canine is a party animal!
 

Skyraven

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lol Amy, you're too much. Won't kick you, but glad to hear about your progress. Keep up the great work.
I've done a lot since the last time I checked in here. I've posted at The Freshman Writer (Be Considerate) based on my bus ride yesterday. I posted on my portfolio about writing and bravery. Applied for another contributing writer position for about.com. Have a feeling about this one based on my sample article. I also sent out a query letter inquiring about an internship with a writing group that I'm a member of. Figured it was a great way to learn from writers that I look up to and hone my skills. Being very brave today. lol
 

JenNipps

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*comes slinking back in & waves*

I desperately NEED to get back into the JHS groove. I've been extremely lax. Actually... I think that's an understatement.

I'll wait until May to post goals, though. I'm the Publicity Director for the Oklahoma Writers' Federation, Inc. Our conference is rapidly approaching (April 29-May 1), so I'm working on promotions for that. And....

*drumroll*

I have a book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Devoted to Creating was released in mid-March. I've been working on promoting that, too. And writing fiction. Pretty much anything but articles. I've been doing a little JHSing, but -- honestly -- not much.
 

Skyraven

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@ravenlea - Hi!!!!! How are you?
@jennipps - Woohoo! You've been a very busy lady. You've been putting yourself and OWF out there. Nothing wrong with no JHSing for now. You go girl! WOohoo!
Pals - check out Jen's book info and release here! She rocks!
writing for me, but quite a few JHS's. I've been following up on a couple of old job applications and applied to yet another topic at about.com. Have a good feeling about this one. Need to apply to a couple more jobs today. Yes, you read that right, it's a goal to apply to three calls for writers I found. Need to do it today. Sick of seeing them on the inbox of my phone and not doing anything about it. And right now I need to find a quote for the Notable Quotable so I can post that before going off to work. Forgot that I posted a couple of articles at the parenting site. Not too shabby. I'm also considering a magazine writing class, but no one I've found has start dates. On a very different note, I'm going on a retreat in June. Not a writer's retreat, but a spiritual retreat. Haven't been on one since kiddo was 4! And he's 9 now. I need the time away to reflect because I've been going through a lot spiritually and it's really affecting my self-confidence. So, I'm looking forward to that and getting some writing time, too. :) Later gators. Great to see you gals here, even if it's to say hello! Hugs!
 

Skyraven

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Well, I jhs'ed three job applications that were on my list. I've got one more as well as the Notable Quotable for the Freshman Writer. I can still do the last JHS, but the quote will have to wait until I get home because my office has now put it on a list of blocked websites. I'm also rereading Stephen King's On Writing. Need some inspiration right now. Trying not to be discouraged because I'm waiting to hear about a blogging job and an internship proposal. We'll see. :) Later!
 

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Hello writers! April's been a quiet month here, hasn't it?

Jen - congratulations on your book! You must be over the moon!

Ravenlea - I hope you're well...

Sky - You've been reading my mind on FW lately. I've been contemplating writing about having too much on your writing plate, and about being bold as a freelancer! Guess we're on the same mental track these days! Glad you're being bold and that all is going well!

Me, I've been working on my book and preparing two new queries. And I posted a link to a new database for English-language magazines in Europe at The Expat Freelancer. It's a wonder I'm getting anything done - my husband is away until next monday so I'm taking care of the little ones solo. It's not too bad if they fall asleep when they're supposed to.... (8 month old on lap, not sleeping as I type!)
 

Skyraven

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Cleo - Thanks so much for coming by to visit. I say great minds DO think alike. lol I'm really trying to be as bold as possible and put myself out there. Glad to hear about your work on the book and the queries. I'm sure the link to the database will be very helpful to the writers. Going to check it out. Can I add The Expat to my blogroll at FW? :)
 

Skyraven

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@cleo - Thanks! I'll add it tonight.
I've been applying to writing gigs and writing and working. I'll be working an event for Momslikeme tomorrow. My dayjob's left me a bit tired the last couple of weeks so I'm not doing much in the evenings. I posted over at The Freshman Writer about Stephen King's book On Writing. :) Check it out! Need to post at the parenting site when I get home tonight as well as chatting on momslikeme. I've decided to take a couple of writing classes in May - one about book reviewing and another on magazine writing. Investing in my career makes me happy. Lol Catch you all later.