Changes
Or, some new things coming and a re-visit of some old challenges
Here it is, November already! I shake my head and shiver. LOL
The last time I posted, it was still summer. A lot has happened in the past three months. My life seems like it’s never boring.
The weather suddenly turned from summer to fall a week or so ago. With it, the leaves on the trees suddenly went from green to red and yellow. I need to get out and mow one more time just to mulch up the leaves. I might end up doing it twice, though … last year, my last mow was in November and it’s looking like that might be the case this year, too. I just know that I have to get my butt in gear and get out there soon!
I’ve had toilet issues again. The handle has broken and I now have the tank lid on the floor on the other side of the room (which is only like three feet away) and a long piece of yarn tied to the end of the chain that hangs over the side of the tank, so I can more easily flush. I’m trying to figure out how to get the plastic nut/bolt off so I can replace the handle. I’m thinking I’m going to just get my reciprocating saw out and cut the darned thing off. But, it works as-is for now, so until I have a little more time, this is how I’m going to have to do things. :)
The biggest news I have – and if you subscribe to my newsletter and read it, you already know this – is that I have gotten a full-time job. It’s scary on one hand, because I’ve been my own boss for eleven years. I don’t like the idea of being restricted in my work hours and such. But, I can’t write when I’m stressed about money, and Amazon has changed their algorithm, as I discovered this summer when my newest book turned into a major flop. So … the stress about money multiplied this summer.
The good news about the new job is that I’m simply going from a contract position doing legal transcription to a full-time employee position, with benefits. I’m familiar with the job, because I’ve been doing it for a year, just on more of a part-time basis. The biggest difference now is that I’ll have regular hours where I’m expected to be at work, and there will be more of them. And … I’ll get paid more. <3
What this means for my writing is that the biggest thing keeping me from creating stories – money worries – won’t be so much of a concern now. I’ll still do proofreading and editing as a side hustle, but when a weekend comes, the only thing likely to keep me from writing is going to be tiredness, not stress.
That being said, when I’m not editing on the weekends, and editing jobs are infrequent, I’ll be writing and doing a little marketing. I hope to get two or three hours of writing in on Saturdays, some marketing on Sunday afternoons, and still have time to clean or watch a movie or whatever. Plus, I should be getting done early enough each afternoon that I can at least spend ten minutes a day during the week looking at my manuscript and thinking about it and where I want to go with it, so that come the weekend, I know what I need to write. I’m pretty excited about this!
Honestly, it feels as though a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders, in more ways than one. I had been worried that I would never be able to write again, that the desire had been killed off. But I realized last Thursday as I was reading a chapter from one of my racing series books in my writer’s group that the desire is still there. I want to write again. I’ve missed it, more than I realized, I think.
My first project, though, is to finish Darcy’s Heroic Rescuer. I’ve not touched it in a couple months. From there, we’ll see how it goes as to what I write next. With the pressure off, I may decide to write something that’s not the usual for me. Or, I may come across a Darcy and Lizzy plot bunny so compelling that I can’t walk away from it. We shall see. LOL
So, that’s how my summer has gone and the change that is coming. How was your summer? Got any major or minor changes ahead?
Until next time …
Zoe <3
Congratulations on the job! After a period of adjustment, I’m sure your life will be much happier.
A steady income can do much to settle a soul and give back some joy in life, even at the cost of some time.
Good luck!