2006 was a very good year for me. I became a paid, professional blogger at ClubMom.com for A Readable Feast and at Real Families Real Fun for Citizen Mom's Family Journal.
My contract as a ClubMom blogger was renewed, but at half the blogging and half the pay than before. And even though I won a couple of awards for Citizen Mom's Family Journal, a silver Davey and a 2006 WebAward, my contract with the magazine expired.
Even so, my professional copywriting took off as a result of a partnership with BKMedia Group, a terrific local design firm. I continue to write for several business clients and find the work rewarding. I'm even writing a business blog called The Write Spot after my commerical writing business. It's a way to highlight my skills and portfolio, and to bring more value to my clients.
But there's some evaluation and cutting of deadweight, too. I've toned down my Usborne Books business. I loved the people I met, and the books I got to share with my children. But it wasn't making me much money, and it was taking time away from my writing. Still the business taught me a lot about direct marketing, customer service, and networking.
I've also cut back on my volunteer obligations. I no longer do the newsletter for my mom's club. I've quit the charter school board, and I'm turning down offers to join the boards of other organizations. Yet, I'm doing more probono work for networking and leads groups as a way to expose other business people to my commerical writing and blogging business.
I still do the MOTHERS Book Bag for MOTHERSOughtToHaveEqualRights.org and help out with their e-newsletter. I feel appreciated and valued there, and the contacts I make with women like Ann Crittenden, just to name one example, are wonderful.
So what's next? I'm taking classes at my local community college on email marketing - both for my business and to help my clients marketing their companies better. I'm also taking a class through my local chamber of commerce on business planning.
Finally, this week I'm taking a Lighthouse Writers workshop called "The Day-Long, Kick-Butt, Get-Your-Writing-Year-in-Order Workshop" to focus on my writing goals. Here's the description:
If you’re like most writers, you’ve disappointed yourself time and again when it comes to meeting your writing goals. You didn’t write enough. You didn’t read enough. You didn’t make contacts to help you get ahead in the writing world. Even worse, you beat yourself up for all this – which didn’t make the writing any easier.
This strategy and goal-setting workshop, designed for writers of all genres and experience levels, will help you (gently) plan your writing year, by: --Identifying goals that are important to you --Uncovering barriers to productivity --Developing a specific, 12-month writing plan with deadlines --Creating a system of accountability for meeting those deadlines --Getting a jumpstart on the project you need to be working on right now. You’ll leave the workshop with a draft, a plan, and the enthusiasm to achieve your goals.
I'm looking forward to the class as a way to get focused in finding a new home for Citizen Mom's Family Journal either online or in print, expanding my copywriting client base, doing some freelance writing for magazines or online sites, and continuing to get more work as a professional blogger with folks like Bloggers for Hire.
What are your blogging and writing goals for 2007?
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