Inundated with Work This Month
Following a slow-as-molasses July (caused partly by a serious chest cold that laid me up for more than two weeks, during which I wasn’t pursuing additional work), August has catapulted me out the starting gate. I made $400 the first weekend and have earned $600 more since then (just on Upwork) working just a couple hours a day sporadically.
I’m not used to being in quite this much demand these days (I semi-retired a couple years ago, so I haven’t been advertising my services much) but two of the clients I landed recently inside Upwork want additional projects tackled, and outside Upwork, there are two authors (both local, one writing a memoir, the other a horror novel) who found me (I’m guessing here) either on craigslist or as a result of my recent blog post about being a Tacoma writer.
When I asked the locals how they found me, one said he couldn’t remember; the other said his sister did some research for him looking for reputable local writers with good reviews, and I was one of the people who popped up for her. That’s great to hear!
Anyway, I’m also serving a couple more people via Upwork and of course, I’m always on retainer with Scholastic Book Fairs, so I get small projects from them, on average, every week or other week that usually last about an hour each, sometimes more. (Two employees there send me tasks to do on a semi-regular basis. I received a heads up that I’m about to get more from them soon, too.)
It’s a good feeling. And it’s timely, too, because I need to pay down my only credit card again. I had some necessary vehicle repairs done recently that set me back almost a thousand dollars and I’ve been doing some extracurricular activities (trips to Forks and Westport, movies, etc.) that have kept me out of my writing den this summer. I need to get away once every blue moon to blow the smoke off and do something other than work (even though I LOVE LOVE LOVE my job!!!!).
As a Top-Rated writer/editor at Upwork, I frequently get invited to submit quotes on projects, too. I don’t accept many of them (alas, most potential clients on Upwork want to get a Rolls Royce on a skateboard budget), but I do accept a number of the higher-paying gigs when the topic is one I’m already familiar with or when the topic intrigues me. I have a quote in at Upwork right now to proofread a manuscript for a brain surgeon and patient advocate. I read an excerpt from the manuscript on his LinkedIn profile and I’d love to tackle the project. He’s in the business he’s in for all the right reasons.
Anyway, this is just a heads up–an explanation for why I haven’t been blogging much: I’ve either been busy with clients, taking vacation days while the weather here in the Pacific NW is lovely, or coughing my lungs up. (Thankfully, that last “pastime” has come to an end, finally!)
I’m just so glad I never smoked or I might not have survived that particular challenge! The doctor even gave me an inhaler (Albuterol, which is for people with asthma) in case I needed it in addition to the Mucinex I was living on for over two weeks. It was pretty scary for a time there…
But I’m back in the saddle again. You never know how good feeling good feels until you’ve felt crummy for stretch of time. I feel reborn and ready to take on the world again.