RW Makeover #2: Cash, Money, Books
My book writing push didn’t exactly start off on the best foot. I was set to go to a book event on Saturday to network network network, and woke up sick on Saturday morning. And given that it was about 100 degrees below zero, going out into the cold wasn’t such a great idea (and my mom forbade me to go…I went to her house and watched Scrubs reruns and then Twelfth Night instead).
In taking Kristin’s advice, I’ve started reaching out to book review editors, and hitting up my contacts all over the magazine, newspaper and publishing world to see what they turn up. Just a simple email along the lines of “Do you happen to know anyone at X” is all it takes. So far, I have two intros to book review editors at wonderful newspapers. I also scoured my email and my Rolodex (yes, I keep a physical Rolodex) to create an email list of all the publicists I work with. That way, when I’m looking for books about baseball by women, or new titles coming out in May, I can email blast them all at once instead of contacting them one by one (and then forgetting to contact about half of them). The publicists are crucial…it’s how I get advance copies of books that I can then pitch for reviews, author Q&As, or sources for stories I’m working on.
I’ve also started compiling my financial information for a phone call with a financial expert, which is scary. How often do you sit down and look at your finances? I’m a 26-year-old single gal, and I will admit that my first year into freelance was not that lucrative. I was getting by on the skin of my teeth, and I did drum up some debt — half of which I’ve paid off, thank you very much. But now that I’m doing much better in the money category, it’s time to start saving for retirement (hello, beaches, here I come in about 50 years) and saving for a house, which I hope to buy at the end of the year. One hurdle in being a freelancer is that I don’t have a steady paycheck, so it’s not like I’m sure I’ll get X every month so I can put X to the house fund. It varies vastly. Right now, for example, I’m in a bit of a check slump. People are late on payment (which I’ve bugged them about), and I have checks coming in next month, but that’s not so great right now. So I’m looking forward to this call to get advice on how to get my financial goals in line and rolling. [Jen Miller]
If you liked that post, you might also like:
Jan 24, 2007 RW Makeover
Hello Jen…
I just started out with my writing and sending in queries/pieces, although to magazines that don’t pay. Need the by-lines.
But I do have a long career of self-employment behind me and finally gave it up to become a writer. Here’s one piece of advice on being in debt and/or being owed money when without regular, steady income: get out and stay out of debt as soon as possible, and try to “collect” monies owed to you once a month. By staying out of debt I include a mortgage on a house. I once had three mortgages on two small houses I bought, and when I found out how much I was paying in interest, it scared the hell out of me, so I paid off everything within a couple of years and never went into debt again. I don’t have much of a regular income any longer and couldn’t write one decent paragraph if I had to face my next mortgage- or consumer-debt payment. Also, I rent a houase now, and already know that I’ll move elsewhere when the lease is up. That kind of flexibility is priceless to me, because I like living in different places. Right now I live in a furnished house in Mexico and look forward to my next move in May this year. Couldn’t do it if I owned a house and had to live in it.
Just a thought for you. All the best. Michael