It is November again, day-light-savings time has ended, and we are now pushing full steam ahead into the election, the holidays, and the new year. The light has now shifted and we are plunging head long into a new season (is that Winter I smell in the air?) and 2008 is quickly becoming the year that was.
This shift in life of the year is always a sea change for my emotion and outlook. I always have the sense of preparing to hibernate, to buckle down and focus on my internal projects, to wrap myself up in quiet, dark days and stay inside until the sun peaks its head back out in April and says “come on out, it is fabulous out here!”
As my first hibernation as a self-employed author, I see myself as having considerably more distraction-free time to get going and get working. Now that I am also coming close to the two-month Liberation Day anniversary I am feels like I am finally getting a grip on this new lifestyle, and can start really focusing on getting the wheels turning.
Here is the plan for the month of November, which also happens to be National Novel Writing Month(NaNoWriMo – though I am not participating):
- Client Work: now that the ebook is out, the first indulgent project finished, I am ready for some structured client work! So bring on Demand Studios, Bright Hub, Business Consultant Clients, and (hopefully starting this month!) Alternative Medicine Client! I am really excited for the latter because I will be writing about alternative medicine for Thyroid issues, a subject near and dear to my heart.
- Print and Online Submissions: This month I also want to work on building out a bit of my print/online portfolios, such as magazine and journal submissions. I have already sent out three things (2 poems, one essay), and hope they will be accepted by their destinations. The Chicken Soup books are going on sale this month where I am featured with 3 stories across two books, so I think it sets the tone for the month! Check out one of my stories, reprinted in full on Belief.Net!
- Doing basic research for my new fiction project: That’s right, I’ve decided the next personal project I want to pursue is a novel, and better yet, a historical novel. I was a history major in college and absolutely loved it. I realized my calling as an author is to write pieces that combine my love for history and writing, and I am so excited! I want my first novel to be focused on early colonial (as in first-landing type colonial) life in North Carolina. First step: preliminary research on the people and time period, Second Step: visit the area, hopefully in March or April. Yea for having a goal!
The name of the game this month is to get established – get a routine established, get work inertia established, get an identity as an author (even a rudimentary one) established. And also work on getting our little community here established too. Spread the link here around, friends, we are on to something!
Also Uncommoners, check out Chris Brogan’s new *Free!* ebook on social media marketing called, “Fish Where the Fish Are,” it has lots of great points and insights in it!
So, what’s your plan or goals for the Eleventh Month?
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Oh my God! How can you do so much?
You make us feel like lazy slackers.
Just kidding. I wish you all the success that you deserve and desire. As for my self I just started a collaboration project with Damien.
I will be guest posting on his blog a series of self improvement articles.
That’s all for me.
Happy blogging!
I am a bit jealous to you. You can write in English well compared to mine. But it alright since I can practice my writing. I don’t really like to read novel, but I can read comic and manga a lots
Sure beats my day job:)
Hopefully I’ll be able to follow in your footsteps soon
Until then I’ll admire your writing skills.
All the Best
Great job, you sure do have a alot of passion to keep up with all this
My November goals are to finish the draft of my business plan and to clear out my marketing log – lots of queries on my to do list to write.
I have heard so many people talking about this that I am sure it comes as no surprise to say that the best way to find jobs in a recession is to investigate jobs on employer websites:
-employers do not use recruiters in recessions because they cost money
-job boards are flooded with applicants
People just do not look for jobs on employer websites. There are thousands of employer websites in most cities and many of the job sit on there for months without applications.
This is where most of the jobs are and I found this far more effective than other means.
I started using a research jobs site called Hound that I do not think anyone knows about because it is run by a small company that does not advertise.
All Hound.com does is show you unadvertised job openings that are not publicly advertised and are located on employer websites.
Very few people realize that most employers post their job on their own sites and not on job boards like Monster, CareerBuilder, etc. because these sites charge employers up to $500 to post a single job. In my experience (I am getting more interviews that I ever have), your chances of getting interviews and hired are much better when you are applying to jobs that are not advertised that no one knows about.
I have gotten a ton of interviews through the Hound site. If you are looking for a job I would highly recommend using Hound . What most people do not realize is that most jobs are found on employer websites and not job boards. Hound puts all of the jobs it finds from employer websiste (every Fortune 500, Inc. 500 and other company it can locate) on its site.
When you start seeing sites advertise themselves a lot that should be a warning sign of sorts because that means that lots of people will start going and applying to the jobs. I really trust Hound because it does not advertise. You can find the site at http://www.hound.com