It's Monday. It's snowing again. I'm finally fully recovered from a weeklong cold. Motivation is low, and I have a to-do list that will surely haunt my dreams tonight. I'm sitting in front of the fire with my husband who is typing with fury on one of the hundred projects that haunts his dreams. His problem is falling asleep. Mine is waking up. I haven't set an alarm for years because I know I'll shoot awake before seven with an idea, a worry, or worst of all, remembering something I nearly forgot to do.
Naturally this procrastinating mood led me down a road of reading blogs about other freelancers-- mostly about how they make their money and manage their workloads. So I thought it might be fun to jump on here and give a glimpse of what I consider freelance work, what projects I have right now, and where I stand with them.
Here is my work for the week, which I am about to schedule out hour by hour for the week.
BIGGEST PROJECT: I'm interviewing BJ Novak live onstage this week! I have to read his book and watch the Newsroom and Inglorious Bastards, and of course write my questions. This is actually for Twain, but it's so huge I'm separating it out as its own category. I'm listening to BJ Novak on Marc Maron's WTF Podcast as I type.
MARK TWAIN HOUSE: I'm still clocking in about 25 hours a week at the Twain House, and the project I am working on hardest right now is finalizing the schedule for a writing conference. This entails emailing with about 50 writers at once, which takes forever and requires meticulous records to keep straight. Looking forward to finishing this once and for all tomorrow in a marathon stretch.
SEA TEA IMPROV: I'm currently teaching a class on Sunday afternoons (great steady income source) and did a few gigs this weekend. This week is going to be all about marketing our Valentine's Day shows. With two shows, one rehearsal and one class this week, this is actually a light Sea Tea week, so I'll catch up on my admin work (setting up future gigs) tonight so that I don't have to think about it for a few days.
WNPR: I just started as an intern there and I am going to make myself write 3 blog posts (2 science & one more newsy) during my shift there on Thursday. Very excited about this.
FISCHMAN ORTHODONTICS: Doing some marketing freelancing for a fantastic orthodontist in West Hartford-- and this week I'm working on creating a blog for his website.
UNITED WAY: I'm writing a short play for their Annual Meeting, due tomorrow night. This is the one that will wake me up in the morning. Big project. All the research is done and now I have to smooth out the creative work.
SYLLABLE: Have to market the next installment of the reading series, which is Feb 25th. The last one didn't get enough submissions so I have to really be on top of this one.
LITERARY DISCO: Just recorded an episode which I'll upload in a couple of days. Have to read an essay and record another episode at some point this week.
LEGO: Nothing right now, so I just wrote to the director that hired me originally and said hi for the New Year, reminding him that I exist.
PERSONAL WRITING: I'm working on my literary reviews, so I finished a graphic novel today that I'll write a review of tonight (on Goodreads, where my reviews have no consequence, rightly so). I have the next book I want to start right next to me. I am hoping this project results in my writing and critical mind improving so much so that I can work towards writing reviews for "real" outlets within the next year.
And so, that is a night in for a Freelance writer: working on, planning out, and obsessing over those items. I feel inspired and ready to fly through this week. This is a very, very typical load for me.
Hope you all, dear readers, are working on equally fun and inspiring work. Happy writing!
-- Julia