The World of Opposites

It's happened again. The Universe gives you the opposite of what you ask for to test if you really mean what you say. And apparently, I don't. =)

I'm a goal setter. Luv me some goals, especially in the New Year. One of the goals I set each January is monetary--how much I hope to earn in the new year. I break the goal down by month so it's easier to track.

Last month I had a very lucrative project. So much so that I've actually already earned all of my August and part of my September income. Which is wonderful. The question then became: Do I keep pushing and try to stay ahead, or do I take advantage of the extra money to focus some time on creative projects I've pushed to the side?

I opted for creative projects. Grand plans to spend half days working on book and essay projects.

You can see where this is headed. I made my creative plans and I'm not kidding you, within 3 days my plate was overflowing with new work. There is:

• A new science/technical article for a breeding magazine. Very scary as it has an "I can't believe an editor would actually do this to me" short deadline, but I'm going for it.
• Writing a brochure, web site content, one-page, and promotional pieces for a new client.
• Editing an e-book
• Writing a keynote speech for a new client
• Accepting 4 (count 'em, four) new assignments from a local magazine
• Bidding on a new website content writing project that looks like it will work

Creative writing what??  I admit, I shoved those creative projects to the back burner and am doing my best not to be a stress case as I work through the above. The challenge of it all is kind of fun. EVERYTHING has a tight deadline. I believe every project listed above is due September 1st, with the exception of the science article which is due sooner (I will not think about it, I will not think about it, I will not think about it...)

Soooo... I guess I'll be creative NEXT month, huh? Cheers!

Cup of Comfort for Cat Lovers

I've just been informed two of my humor stories, "Dibbs!" and "The Great Cat Butt-Wiping Adventure" have been accepted as finalists in the upcoming Cup of Comfort For Cat Lovers book, to be published by Adams Media in Spring 2008. Fifty stories will be selected out of 56 finalists so I have a good shot at having both my pieces included.

I also recently learned, almost by accident, that I placed third in the "How I'd Like to Work Like A Cat" contest sponsored by I Love Cats magazine. I say I learned by accident because as of yet I've received no e-mail or letter telling me I won. Instead, I received in the mail the book, How To Work Like A Cat by Karen Wormald. There was no invoice, no letter, nothing with it. I was scratching my head, trying to figure out who sent me this book or when I might have ordered it when I glanced at the envelope and saw "3rd place" written in faint red ink. Ah ha! A clue! (Fine, so I'm no Sherlock Holmes.)

I vaguely remembered entering the contest months ago so I Googled the title and sure enough, Ms. Wormald is being kind enough to supply books to the top 3 essay winners. Never let anyone tell you there isn't glory and high praise in the life of a writer.

Seriously, it's a cute book and I'm thrilled to have placed. Now I just have to wrangle a copy of the July/August issue of I Love Cats the winning essays are supposed to have appeared in. Maybe that will magically appear as mail as well. Meanwhile, I'll keep watch for that Publishers Clearinghouse Sweepstakes check because, obviously, miracles do happen...

When Every Minute Counts

Do you ever have those weeks where every minute of your time is scheduled? Starting at 7:30 tomorrow morning and ending at about 11:30 am on Friday, almost every second of my time is accounted for.  I have multiple interviews for upcoming articles scheduled for tomorrow morning, a new networking group to attend on Thursday, meetings all day Thursday, runs scheduled for Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, new client meeting on Wednesday, and the list goes on and on. 

I admit that while some people might complain, I actually thrive on such a tight schedule. When I'm busy I get things done.  There will of course have to be room for flexibility as I think I might flat run out of energy by Thursday if I don't schedule a break in there somewhere. Plus there's the unknown of what may come arise.

Today, for example, I ended up spending all afternoon writing a "need it by tomorrow" brochure. Fortunately, I love the subject matter and the client is a favorite of mine, making the project more fun than stressful. I also was up early and churned out the final draft of an article that's due Wednesday. Ah... I love it when the words just flow.

As it stands, it's 6 pm and I've got to get busy on some research I'll need in place for my interviews tomorrow. If you need me, have your people call my people and we'll schedule something... way, WAY in the future. =)

Buying A New Notebook

It's the small things in life that bring me pleasure. Like shopping for a new notebook. I probably spent 20 minutes in Eckerd's yesterday, roaming the paper aisle in search of the perfect notebook. Had a great time. Compared colors (am I feelin' the dark blue or neon green cover?), debated the virtue of spiral bound vs. tear out, and then there was the whole size issue. I typically buy your standard 8 1/2 by 11 pad, but have recently discovered the joys of the composition size notebook (9 3/4 x 7 1/2). It's much less intimidating to face a blank page when it's smaller.

However, I surprised myself and walked away with a honkin' big notebook, bigger than legal pad size, spiral bound at the top. The novelty of it grabbed me. Any way one can introduce freshness into the writing life is a good thing. I also grabbed a couple of the composition notebooks as there was a sale, 2 for $1. (And oh, how happy was I?)

Luuuuuv supply shopping. Drop me off in an Office Depot and let me roam the aisles and I'm a happy camper. I think my total purchase price for all 3 notebooks and gum was something like $6.38. Happy happpy joy joy. Money and time well spent.