From Bunny Slippers to Business Plans
We haven’t had a nice, long coffee break in awhile here.
I wanted to tell you about last weekend.
My husband left on Thursday night to hang with some old college friends for a few days. He wasn’t slated to come back until Sunday. I decided to use this time as a vacation for myself, and it ended up being the first time in awhile that I didn’t spend my weekend working.
I’ve already written in the past about the importance of being prepared. A huge part of that for me has been the greedy consumption of books: how-tos, self-helps, career guides, etc.
I’ve read so many that I think it’s about time for a roundup. After the jump, the 20 books that helped me build my freelance life…and that could very well help you too!
Today marks for first day of ProBlogger’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog, which I joined in on because, well, frankly, I’ve been losing focus with Freelancedom lately.
I mean, my posts have been coming more sporadically and, when I do post, I worry that my content is too writer-centric (are there any non-writers reading this blog?).
Which is why I was thrilled that the first task of the month was to develop an elevator pitch for your blog.
This week has been weird.
On Sunday, I had two other bloggers over from the Modern Materialist for the purpose of test driving vodka. I’d been avoiding vodka since college, so I was hit particularly hard.
On Monday, I awoke with a hangover that lasted for the entirety of the day. I slept in until 12 and got almost nothing done, aside from two blog posts and the completion of a first draft on an article. This threw me off for the rest of the week.
Throughout the week, I also: went out on two “school nights” in a row (salsa class and a jazz show); spent a lot of time transcribing interviews from my bed; and kissed my husband goodbye for the weekend (he left last night, totally tricking me into believing that the weekend had come early).
The result? I have been doing some major slacking. But I haven’t stopped reading, so here’s your weekly link love:
[RCA Rp5022 64 Mb Voice Recorder With Usb, $19.98, Amazon]
[Olympus TP-7 Telephone Recording Device, $17.71, Amazon]
I’ve been doing a lot of interviews lately and, to get the job done, I’ve been using the items above.
My voice recorder (new versions are available) has a ton of storage place, allows me to place markers within my sound files, and includes a USB port for uploading to my computer. My telephone recording device also works like a charm, one end plugging into my recorder, the other going into my ear, allowing me to record all of my telephone interviews. Both of them being quite cheap, I’d recommend them to any writer on a budget.
But once the interviews are done, the worst part still remains: transcribing.
After the jump, a few resources for those who wish transcribing could be easier, or for those who’d like to outsource it altogether!
I’ve been hella busy lately, but have still been attempting to put up at least three Freelancedom posts a week. Please don’t leave meeee!!!
Bribery: This week’s link love.
I can’t believe I haven’t posted about Twitter before. After all, I’ve been using it to promote my writing and connect with other freelancers for quite some time now, and even did a guest post over at TwiTip on taking your Twitter networking from online to in-the-flesh.
I think it warrants a mention here at Freelancedom, no?
After the jump, 4 ways to use Twitter as a means of building your personal business:
I remember how good it felt when I first published this piece on YourTango. Finally, I thought to myself. Something that’s not about sex.
I was reminded of this yesterday, when I appeared on a radio show to talk about the experiences detailed in the article. Near the end of our chat, one of the hosts asked me where listeners could find more of my work. I dutifully rattled off my url.
Afterwards, I panicked. Poop! I thought to myself. When they go to my site, all they’ll find is sex stuff! Is that really all I want to be known for?
It’s weird. I’ve been feeling oddly discouraged lately, despite the fact that I’m working on pieces for two great publications. Luckily, I’ve been finding plenty to inspire me, on both Twitter and my Google Reader. Enjoy!
[Photo via]
We fill our resume with words and phrases such as “detail-oriented” and “innovative,” and list job responsibilities instead of quantifiable acomplishments and successes.
And then we send it off to an HR associate who has probably received…well, just about as many resumes as the woman in the photo above.
In a time when competition is getting fiercer, and all resumes look the same, isn’t it time to start rethinking the way you’re presenting yourself?
Cover letters are the place to start. But they won’t help you any if you continue to make the same mistakes. It’s time to start thinking about features vs. benefits.
