I haven’t been bound to a regular, full-time job outside my home for five years. Searching for one isn’t fun in this LinkedIn, Zoom interview paradigm either. That’s why I’m setting myself free.
I mentioned this earlier. Months ago? Time bleeds, sweeping the months of this crazy year into a gushing wound in need of major first aid. Even without the pandemic and ongoing riots, time has been slippery for me.
Apparently, that’s what comes with age.
What I mean is that I’m going full-on freelancer. I’ve hired a web designer to give me a professional page on my website to market my services.
At the moment, I’m still on Fiverr, but I’m getting ready to close my account there. It connected me with several businesses that will continue contracting me, so it’s served its purpose. Read more about that experience here.
Author Services
In the past several months as order frequency on Fiverr fell to nothing, the twenty percent cut they took from every order started to feel like a chunk of change. Meanwhile, I was discussing how to form a co-op of indie authors who could exchange services to help get a professional book on the market.
Again, many people loved the idea but no one stepped up to coordinate the task. And I didn’t feel compelled to do it either.
As you know, I haven’t felt compelled to do much of anything writing related in recent months.
But one of the reasons (I gave several in this post) I’ve been less than thrilled to get rights back from my small press is because I don’t enjoy being the publisher. I like writing the books.
I am also well-qualified to edit and proofread books. But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t hire someone to edit my work. It’s easy to miss things in something I’ve written because I know what I meant to say (even if that’s not what’s on the page).
I wanted to exchange proofreading and line editing services with authors who could format my books or design covers. Because those things cost money. Although they don’t cost nearly as much as editing.
The services I’ll be offering at very fair rates are three types of editing, critique, and coaching.
Finding Passion Again
During this dry season for my writing, I’ve found another source of passion: working with other writers.
Through my association with Novel Academy, I’ve been given a group of four writers who are mostly just beginning the writing journey. Helping them brainstorm and offering suggestions on their synopses has been pure joy for me.
One of them is a professional coach for retirees. She told me I would be an excellent writing coach.
I’ve known that was a thing for several years, but as always, I don’t feel qualified. Why would someone hire me? What makes me an expert?
My experiences over the past decade and my status as a published author. That’s what my friend says anyway.
And that’s why she’ll be my first coaching client. Look for her testimonial on the services page in another month.
It was this joy in helping these writers find “aha” moments in their process or plot that was the deciding factor about leaving Fiverr and striking out independently.
So, I wrote a two-page business plan, hired a website designer and went to work on Canva making some graphics for the new “business.” It makes me happy to realize I’ll get to feed my fetish for business cards again soon, too.
Asking for Help
This is the girl who doesn’t ask for help reaching out to the faithful readers of this blog.
You can help me gain my freedom.
It’s as simple as sharing this post with your social media followers. Maybe you could add a personal message about how you know me, how you would trust me to coach you or edit your professional documents.
If you’re a writer, you can click over to my services page. Maybe you’ll see something there that interests you.
Maybe you know someone who’s been struggling with their first book. I’d love to connect with them. Or maybe you’ve been overwhelmed by the cost of hiring a professional editor. I promise my rates are half what I paid to have my most recent novels edited.
To make the deal even better, I’m offering a ten percent discount for services booked by December 31, 2020. To claim the discount, mention this blog and the key word “FREE” in the order description box of your request. Find that form here.
Thank you in advance for supporting a small business owner.