by Jennifer Applin

Hi there readers! I’ve been pretty busy these past few weeks. Here’s a summary for you:

1) After over 50 phone interviews and a handful of in-person interviews I hired a great girl to come here and care for my kids three mornings a week. She has a college degree in child development and is wonderful with my kids. I was a little nervous about this initially but it has worked out very well, so I’m taking this as another *sign* that I’m doing the right thing. As tempting as it may be to run errands sans four kids, I’ve been diligent about using this time for work and nothing else.
2) Having these uninterrupted blocks of time has helped me finish some bigger projects. I’ve made marketing a big focus these past few weeks and it’s starting to pay off. I finished my website (and for someone who is technologically challenged, that’s a big deal). It’s not great, but good enough to give me more of an online presence. I’m also contributing to the group blog, Larger Families. I was a fan first and now a contributor-so that’s fun. I’ve had quite a few sales and there’s a handful of projects that fall in the *maybe* category. Of course none of these are reflected on my website (not until I have the clip in hand-I don’t want to jinx anything), but that list will be growing soon. Also, in a world where success is often defined by money I can say that I’ve made more this past month than the previous three months combined. Gotta love that!
3) I’m a big fan of Christina Katz and when I preordered her recently released book, Writer Mama (check it out-Diana is quoted in it), my name was entered in a drawing for a free one-hour phone consultation and I was one of the winners (seriously I usually NEVER win anything). You can read about my talk with Christina here.
4) I also recently had to do some soul-searching and reprioritize things in my life. I’m one of those who can’t say no to others, and on the flip side I also rarely ask for help. I realized that I really needed to eliminate some of my responsibilities to allow room for writing success. It isn’t just about the time these responsibilities take up, but the mental stress that comes from having too much on my plate. I was feeling a little guilty about letting go and not *doing it all*, but Victoria Moran gave me some great advice. She said the best way I can thank those helping me out is by being successful and using that extra time for the intended purpose. So if my husband agrees to take all of the kids with him to my son’s check-up so I can work, I need to really work during that time (and no web surfing to check up on the latest celebrity gossip). It helps if I tell him what I plan to do with that time and then show him the result. The same is true with turning over responsibilities related to volunteer positions. If I step away because I’m making writing more of a priority, then I can’t say yes to when I’m asked to chair a different position. “Just say no” is my new motto when it comes to requests that don’t directly relate to my current top priorities. This is a little challenging, but I know it’s the right thing. Plus I won’t always be spending this extra time *breaking in*-someday I’ll actually be *in*.

So that’s my update. Like all writers I have times when I wonder if I’m doing the right thing. But right when I’m the most frustrated something positive and unexpected happens. I take that as a sign that I need to keep on keepin’on

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