Chat on 7-21-06

[gracepub] Remember everyone - write a blog - article - something and put a link to sharon’s website and this chat room in it

[pthib] what is sharon’s website url?

[SharonHH] http://www.doublehdesign.com

[pthib] thanks

[sam] Hi everyone. I’m still piecing together what’s going on. Are you speaking about work dealing with outsourcing?

[gracepub] We are discussing making a living as a freelance writer and using self promotion to launch a writing career

[gracepub] Sharon is the self publishing guru at www.lifetips.com - the Topic Editor at Freelance at www.inspiredauthor.com and has ebooks

[normaj] kool

[gracepub] available through www.todaybooks.

[suejef] k

[sam] Okay, I’ll try to go back to the beginning when this is over; meanwhile I’ll try to keep up.

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[SharonHH] just for your info: my ifreelance profile is here: http://www.ifreelance.com/provider/detail.aspx?providerid=9879

[gracepub] Sharon - How much money do you think you can potentially make in a year?

[SharonHH] The more you dress it up, the better it sells you

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[SharonHH] ok, I’ll have to do some conversions

[SharonHH] give me a sec, please

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[gracepub] Do you promote your books at your ifreelance profile?

[SharonHH] yes

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[SharonHH] if you look, you’ll see both covers there

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[suejef] missed it again, sorry.

[gracepub] lol - I would like to know if this is a chat problem, an IT problem, or they just came to browse))

[SharonHH] It’s ok we’re talking about filthy lucre

[gracepub] LOL

[WriteGirl] great slogan, Sharon

[SharonHH] last month I made abut $2k

[gracepub] I know writers who make more than $50 000 a year

[suejef] *)

[SharonHH] writing three days a week

[SharonHH] thanks

[suejef] think it’s my machine

[gracepub] k

[pthib] suejeff (gracepub) are you on dialup?

[SharonHH] but I write faster now than when I started

[suejef] no

[SharonHH] so I thins $50k a year is doable

[pthib] k…sometimes that will kick you on/off

[SharonHH] but I’m a WAHM

[pthib] 2K a month!?!

[SharonHH] so until my daughter is more self sufficient

[suejef] no think the problem is with me.

[SharonHH] I probably won’t get there

[pthib] that’s more than I make working 40 hrs a week

[SharonHH] yes, phtib

[Dana] and that’s way more in british pounds rather that dollars too, lol

[suejef] 2k a month sounds like a lot of money

[pthib] I’d love to get to that point, and I’m starting to take baby steps but mine is the ONLY income in HH right now

[pthib] so it’s going to HAVE to be baby steps LOL

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[SharonHH] lol

[SharonHH] I was lucky

[pthib] is this a good average?

[suejef] you worked hard

[SharonHH] no that was a good month

[cushk] me too pthib

[SharonHH] | worked my socks off

[cushk] single mom pt?

[Dana] I think talented is more like it

[gracepub] Practice helps

[SharonHH] it also depends on what’s out there

[suejef] exactly

[gracepub] you will write faster - and better, if you write every day

[WriteGirl] persistent and determined are good adjectives, too lol

[pthib] no, cushk, but hubby is disabled with NO income

[pthib] kids are all grown/gone

[suejef] the working sox off I mean

[pthib] I"m a grandmother now

[cushk] ah - i see

[suejef] me too

[SharonHH] yes, persistent, determined, and driven

[cushk] i have two pre-teens at home - and just me for income

[sam] What did you do differently that month that you didn’t do in the past?

[cushk] pre-teens eat a lot!

[cushk] but i think i can do this full time in about a year. i just want to have some security money put away first.

[SharonHH] well, remember at the start I said it had taken a year or so

[SharonHH] that was the turning point

[SharonHH] and when the work came in I said yes to everything

[gracepub] It took me about a year too - a lot of promotion at first

[SharonHH] and of course I’m trying to do a week’s work in three days and odd bits of time

[gracepub] I never made a dime my first 4 months

[sam] Good strategy

[SharonHH] me neither

[SharonHH] I went freelance in July or August

[SharonHH] I got my first cheque in January

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[gracepub] But - I have the magazine and inspiredauthor.com to work on - so I only work 3-4days a week

[SharonHH] trickles for a couple months and steady build since then

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[SharonHH] Now I have enough work to do and not enough time to spend on promotion

[suejef]

[Dana] promotion probably takes care of itself now…?

[SharonHH] not exactly

[SharonHH] some of it does

[SharonHH] because those articles are still out there

[suejef] Was promotion the hardest part?

[pthib] do you get a lot of referrals for jobs?

[SharonHH] promotion was tricky, because I only knew about it from an academic viewpoint

[SharonHH] having taught journalism and a little bit of pr

[pthib] promotion is hell (excuse my language)

[WriteGirl] I think someone asked earlier if you created a business plan..and if so, how?

[SharonHH] not many referrals yet

[suejef] k-just checking I’m still here

[SharonHH] but I take care of that by putting testimonials on my website

[SharonHH] WriteGirl, I didn’t but I should have

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[SharonHH] I had an earnings target and I knew what I had to do

[SharonHH] first, get recent clips

[SharonHH] second, apply for jobs

[SharonHH] third, (and first) raise my profile

[SharonHH] which I’ve done mainly through blogging

[SharonHH] and the funny thing is, I’ve become an expert in things I didn’t realise I was an expert in

[SharonHH] lol

[gracepub] lol

[pthib] so how do you determine that you’re an ‘expert?"

[SharonHH] i don’t

[SharonHH] others have referred to me as such

[pthib] I mean, I’ve done TONS of things….waitress, cashier, bookkeeping, taxes, parenting, insurance sales (current job)

[SharonHH] far too british to say I’m an expert, lol

[sam] blogging is in. can’t wait to get started.

[SharonHH] but …

[Dana] lol

[pthib] wife, mother, grandmother, breadwinner, finance manager (home finances that is)

[suejef] going to check out now, nite all

[SharonHH] I worked as a journalist from the age of 22

[SharonHH] nite, suejeff

[Dana] nite Sue

[pthib] nite suejeff

[gracepub] nite

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[SharonHH] and I taught journalism, so I know about writing

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[SharonHH] I’m learning about parenting and writing my experiences

[SharonHH] and I know about moving because of 20 moves in 25 years

[SharonHH] I kid you not

[pthib] uuggghhh!

[suejef] I’m going to check out nite all

[SharonHH] but all this was just stuff I did

[SharonHH] that has turned into expertise

[pthib] I HATE to move!

[sam] Suz, is this chat going to be in our chat files

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[SharonHH] well, this next one is going to be the last for a while

[gracepub] at inspiredauthor.com

[pthib] well, then I must be an EXPERT on Many things LOL

[SharonHH] lol, I bet you are

[pthib] y’know Jack of all trades, master of…??? many?

[SharonHH] the thing is, if you can write knowledgeably about many things

[SharonHH] that’s a good way of getting clips

[gracepub] If anyone has more questions to ask sharon at another time, she has a topic at www.forum.novelwritermagazine.com

[SharonHH] I get email updates of new posts, so feel free

[SharonHH] mine is the freelance writing one,

[pthib] well, i’ve started blogging and that’s one baby step…

[pthib] hopefully things will grow from there

[SharonHH] but never say to people ‘I can write about anything’

[sam] Can a body pull up old chats here, or do they go poof into smoke after its over [SharonHH] because they won’t believe you

[pthib] got a ? about articles…

[gracepub] I just bought this software - I haven’t set it up properly - but I am sure there is something, somewhere, in some module

[SharonHH] of course, if you show them, that’s different; fire away

[gracepub] Sharon is good at archiving - We should post a copy of this in her forum

[cushk] i’m going to feed my kid and plan out my schedule for tonite

[cushk] absolutely wonderful talking to you all

[pthib] I wrote 10 articles for someone at one of those "I’ll pay you" sites, but never got paid, can I claim them as mine?

[gracepub] k, see you later

[pthib] I don’t even know if they ever used them

[cushk] by the way grace - check your email for something from me

[gracepub] k

[cushk] i think you missed it

[gracepub] ((I haven’t been in my email for 3 hours)

[pthib] nite cushk

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[SharonHH] sorry, what did i miss

[cushk] i sent this about a week ago - 5 days maybe? i’ll resend it if you can’t find it grace

[cushk] nite

[SharonHH] accidentally backspaced

[WriteGirl] Sharon..thank you for staying up so late and sharing with us.

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[SharonHH] you’re welcome writegirl

[gracepub] Yes - if I haven’t replied then I didn’t get it

[pthib] sharon is there any way to find out if one of the sites that said they’d pay for articles, used the ones I sent?

[normaj] I got to go too. But it has been interesting!

[sam] just thinking of all the possibilities with blogging–is it difficult to add pictures

[pthib] should I email them and see if maybe the person I was dealing with is no longer there or can I just count them as mine?

[SharonHH] phthb, just do a search on the title

[SharonHH] and see if it’s online

[pthib] k thanks

[SharonHH] then you can chase

[SharonHH] bye normaj

[gracepub] bye

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