Every once in awhile, I get asked the question, "How is your business doing?" or some variation, such as "How are ebooks working out for you?"
Now, at the moment, this question is actually hard to answer. To understand why, one must realize that my business underwent a couple of changes last year--and a major change this year.
One of the changes that happened last year was that I actually started to do a certain amount of photography and advertising for another business, Celtic Soul Jewelry and Pottery, my wife's pottery business. I have been doing photography for her off and on for several years, but it was for record keeping. The current set of photos are actually for sale purposes.
One of the things that changed my approach was the simple fact that I brought a better camera--something that I was required to have when I was still working for the school newspaper. The old camera was hers; this one is MINE. My wife and one of our friends have made the comment on occasion that it is like I was born with a camera in my hand.
The reason that my photography style had to change was the fact that she started selling pottery and jewelry online (after years of me saying that she should do so). But the change in style has meant that in the future I will be using several of my own photos as cover art.
It is only a matter of time before I start seriously freelancing on that front. And yes, my wife is paying me to do photography and advertising for her. Therefore, I have to consider that part of my current business model--and that is completely brand new.
The other change which happened last year was that I switched from the print market as a writer to the ebook market. This happened in October. It was such a major change that I consider my current writing business to be a new business, and not a continution of my print market efforts (which I started to submit to in 1985).
Now, as the writers who read this blog know, the ebook market is only about five years old, and really did not start picking up speed until 2010. The newness of the ebook market and my recent entry in it means that I am still trying to collect a full set of initial numbers to base my answer on...and my decisions.
(For the record, the section of the print market that I made the most money in was gutted by the internet--it is only now that the internet and ereaders have provided a replacement for that market.)
These two changes by themselves make it hard to figure out how my business is doing. Essentially, it is a new business. By the standard of my old freelance days, I doing better than I was. Unfortunately, the major change that happened just a few months ago makes it look like my business is doing really bad.
Basically, my business has became my sole source of income (outside of the occasional Tarot reading and other odd job).
During my time in college, I relied upon student loans to make ends met. But that is no longer an option for me. I graduated this spring with two Bachelor degrees: Hitory and Literary Studies. While I do intend to go back for a Masters in at least one of these subjects, it was decided that I am going to wait until my wife finishes her Masters in Education for the Linguistically Diverse (think ESL) before going back to school.
Now, let's be honest--the job market s***s, and unemployment will not drop to 7% until 2014 by the best estimates. So my degrees combined with twenty years of food service would get me a job in...food service, if I was lucky.
Therefore, the decision was made because of the job market and a strange bounce that one of my ebooks did (it is performing really well compared to the others) that I would focus on building my business until my re-entry into college (technically, it will be university).
Another factor that makes it hard to figure out how well my business is doing is the simple fact that I was burnt out terribly by the last two semesters (back to back capstone Senior Seminars). I had a hard time getting my act and cranking out the writing.
The cherry on top of all this doubt and non-informationis the fact that I am starting to do artwork, editing, and formating for other writers...and calling it publishing (because I am going to collect a percentage). And that is also completely new for me.
So really at the moment, I am incapable of answering the question of "How is your business going?" This quarter will be better than the last quarter (if my estimate is correct), as has been the last two quarters, and the next quarter should be better than this one. But that is about all I know until I spend some more time working at it.
Showing posts with label college. Show all posts
Showing posts with label college. Show all posts
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Monday, July 9, 2012
My small ten dollar quarterly goal
During the last year that I spent as an undergrad at the University of Colorado at Denver, I decided that my business needed a new plan and a new goal. Having tried to have "real goals" and being overwhelmed constantly with time management conflicts (the joys of working on two Bachelor degrees at the same time), I decided that my writing goal would be a mere ten dollars of new stock a quarter.
Yes, just ten dollars of new stock a quarter.
Yep, I have no ambition. Or rather, I was sick and tired of constantly missing larger and more "realistic" goals.
I am not exactly sure why people think that a writer (or any other self-employed person) is being unrealistic when they create a small, but do-able goal. No, the world says that you must think BIG, and create goals of adding hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to your income every quarter.
In my case, I wasn't sure that I could even hit the ten dollar mark every quarter. After all, it was the year that I was doing my senior seminars in both literature and history.
The reason that I decided that ten dollars was an acceptable goal was that it was small. And I declared that it was "new stock" or "front list." That is the key to the overall plan.
One of the truths about being a writer is that you have two catergories of work--your frontlist (the stuff you recently did) and your backlist (everything else). It is a carry-over from legacy publishing: your frontlist would be this year's book, and your backlist would be all the stuff that you published in previous years.
Another truth is that your income as a writer is the sum of both your frontlist and your backlist.
I once read that if someone wanted to be successful at making a living as an author that one's backlist earnings had to match (equal) one's income from one's frontlist. And this idea was from a book from the 1970s, long before we started to kick around the idea of passive income on the internet.
So the logic that I was using in setting a ten dollar goal was that if I did enourgh work to earn ten dollars from new work in a quarter, then that same work would just naturally flow into my backlist and I would not need to worry about it.
(Ok, I worry about my backlist income, but there is not much that I can do about it--or very little I can do about it.)
Now, I was assuming that my initial income during the first quarter would be a good indication of the amount I would make passively once the work hit the backlist. I was wrong (!). But let's pretend that I was right for a few seconds.
At the end of first quarter, I figured ten dollars for the quarter. Second quarter, another ten dollars of new stuff, and ten dollars from old stuff. Third quarter, another ten of new, twenty of old. And so forth.
Basically, it is a scheme of stacking more and more stuff into the stack until it finally reaches critical mass.
And yes, I know that ten dollars of new stuff is a really small goal. Did I mention I was going to college at the time? As it was, I missed the goal the first quarter of this year...by three dollars (in my defense, it was a big paper I needed for my senior seminar; there was also that whole Paypal situation).
Now, the reason that I am thinking about it today, my measely little goal, is that my wife just learned that I am going to make the quarterly goal before the end of the month. And she thinks that I should make my quarterly goal higher. I disagree. I think that I should stick to it...and keep it this small.
One of the things I realized about having a small goal as a writer is that I could hit it despite being overwhelmed with work in college. I figure that the same would be true if I was punching a time clock and sitting in a cubicle. The amount of work I am doing to accomplish it is about the same amount of writing that I was doing in the print market (magazines) while I was flipping burgers for a living. The difference is that I am not selling articles and stories for a one-time-only check; today, I am focused on ebooks.
And some of the things that I am working on are big projects (!!). I am hitting the ten dollar goal with short stories. I am not sure if I can hack out a long book every quarter, therefore to continue accomplishing the goal, I have to be able to borrow time from the big project. Therefore, I would like it to be as small as a goal as possible.
So for now, I am sticking with the ten dollar a quarter goal. It is not much, but it is keeping me moving in the right direction.
(!) For the curious, it turns out that some of the stuff I do does worse in the backlist. Some of it does about the same. And some of it does much, much better. Without knowing all the facts, it turns out that my estimate was right and oh so wrong at the same time. In my own personal case, a couple of ebooks are doing a lot better than the rest...and so it goes. Based on personal experience, I would tell a newbie writer that my plan is sound.
(!!) One of the projects that I am currently working on is expanding the Three Officer Version of the Golden Dawn Neophyte initiation Ritual. This is not a money winning project.
Yes, just ten dollars of new stock a quarter.
Yep, I have no ambition. Or rather, I was sick and tired of constantly missing larger and more "realistic" goals.
I am not exactly sure why people think that a writer (or any other self-employed person) is being unrealistic when they create a small, but do-able goal. No, the world says that you must think BIG, and create goals of adding hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to your income every quarter.
In my case, I wasn't sure that I could even hit the ten dollar mark every quarter. After all, it was the year that I was doing my senior seminars in both literature and history.
The reason that I decided that ten dollars was an acceptable goal was that it was small. And I declared that it was "new stock" or "front list." That is the key to the overall plan.
One of the truths about being a writer is that you have two catergories of work--your frontlist (the stuff you recently did) and your backlist (everything else). It is a carry-over from legacy publishing: your frontlist would be this year's book, and your backlist would be all the stuff that you published in previous years.
Another truth is that your income as a writer is the sum of both your frontlist and your backlist.
I once read that if someone wanted to be successful at making a living as an author that one's backlist earnings had to match (equal) one's income from one's frontlist. And this idea was from a book from the 1970s, long before we started to kick around the idea of passive income on the internet.
So the logic that I was using in setting a ten dollar goal was that if I did enourgh work to earn ten dollars from new work in a quarter, then that same work would just naturally flow into my backlist and I would not need to worry about it.
(Ok, I worry about my backlist income, but there is not much that I can do about it--or very little I can do about it.)
Now, I was assuming that my initial income during the first quarter would be a good indication of the amount I would make passively once the work hit the backlist. I was wrong (!). But let's pretend that I was right for a few seconds.
At the end of first quarter, I figured ten dollars for the quarter. Second quarter, another ten dollars of new stuff, and ten dollars from old stuff. Third quarter, another ten of new, twenty of old. And so forth.
Basically, it is a scheme of stacking more and more stuff into the stack until it finally reaches critical mass.
And yes, I know that ten dollars of new stuff is a really small goal. Did I mention I was going to college at the time? As it was, I missed the goal the first quarter of this year...by three dollars (in my defense, it was a big paper I needed for my senior seminar; there was also that whole Paypal situation).
Now, the reason that I am thinking about it today, my measely little goal, is that my wife just learned that I am going to make the quarterly goal before the end of the month. And she thinks that I should make my quarterly goal higher. I disagree. I think that I should stick to it...and keep it this small.
One of the things I realized about having a small goal as a writer is that I could hit it despite being overwhelmed with work in college. I figure that the same would be true if I was punching a time clock and sitting in a cubicle. The amount of work I am doing to accomplish it is about the same amount of writing that I was doing in the print market (magazines) while I was flipping burgers for a living. The difference is that I am not selling articles and stories for a one-time-only check; today, I am focused on ebooks.
And some of the things that I am working on are big projects (!!). I am hitting the ten dollar goal with short stories. I am not sure if I can hack out a long book every quarter, therefore to continue accomplishing the goal, I have to be able to borrow time from the big project. Therefore, I would like it to be as small as a goal as possible.
So for now, I am sticking with the ten dollar a quarter goal. It is not much, but it is keeping me moving in the right direction.
(!) For the curious, it turns out that some of the stuff I do does worse in the backlist. Some of it does about the same. And some of it does much, much better. Without knowing all the facts, it turns out that my estimate was right and oh so wrong at the same time. In my own personal case, a couple of ebooks are doing a lot better than the rest...and so it goes. Based on personal experience, I would tell a newbie writer that my plan is sound.
(!!) One of the projects that I am currently working on is expanding the Three Officer Version of the Golden Dawn Neophyte initiation Ritual. This is not a money winning project.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Camp NaNoWriMo June 2012
 |
| Camp NaNoWriMo June 2012 |
But this year, for those of us who are swamped during November, there is Camp NaNoWriMo. Or Camp Insanity as I am going to call it. Yes, I plan on writing a very bad novel this summer...even if I am eaten by bugs and poisoned by ivy.
My working title is Asteroids and Axes. It is a working title; who know what it will be by the end of the month.
And my plot?
Mankind is colonizing the solar system. The asteroid ore pod Molly Brown returns to Earth transporting its precious cargo of metals back to a resource hungry planet. It is also carrying a surprise in the form of an unidentified astronaut. A dead astronaut. A murdered astronaut.
I am not sure if that is enourgh of a plot, but that is all I have right now. Why? Because I just learned that Camp NaNoWriMo starts in a couple of hours (mountain time that is). And this is a last second attempt to make sure that I actually crank out a novel this summer...I will explain that comment later (let's just say that I am not pleased about the fact that my semester is still not over yet...long story involving paperwork).
Friday, May 18, 2012
My current project list
Last week was the last of the current college semester. I am still not sure how well I did...I am not really sure that I can summon up the energy to care at this point. It may or may not have been my last semester as an undergrad; there is still that question hanging over my head (an ugly advising issue).
As I slowly recover, I am kicking around my current project list.
I have decided that I need to get more stuff up on Smashwords. I would like to get some more magical and Golden Dawn stuff up. Towards that end, I am doing a rough draft on a book on secrecy; I am using the rough drafts as posts on my Gleamings from the Golden Dawn blog. There are a couple of sections that may not be posted online before the ebook goes live...howevver long that takes to accomplish.
I should also really consider revising my Three Officer GD Neophyte Ritual book and getting it back up during this production cycle. Also in the works is an ebook on the abusive behavior that one occasionally sees in esoteric groups...yes, it inspired by behavior that I recently witnessed this last cycle (really, it is a good idea to give the entire product line of a writer one star reviews just because you think that they might be talking about you in one of their books?! and furthermore, it is even better for your entire Order to do so?!).
I will be writing more erotica...because it is the best selling stock I have in my product list at the moment. Yes, I am being driven by the need for money. Plus there is the fact that I am going to be applying to a masters program (or two); and if I get in, I will be fighting the smae lack of writing time problem that I have been struggling with for the last several years. Erotica is something that I can write that does not require extended attention.
And yes, I am hoping to get some regular fiction done this cycle (either science fiction or urban fantasy). It is what I would prefer doing...except that it is hard to write an entire novel when the time between writing the chapters tends to be three months (it is hard to maintain the flow...or even a single plot point with this type of temporal gap involved).
So that is what I have planned...outside of taking regular pottery and jewelry photos (which is what I should have been doing today). Wish me luck.
As I slowly recover, I am kicking around my current project list.
I have decided that I need to get more stuff up on Smashwords. I would like to get some more magical and Golden Dawn stuff up. Towards that end, I am doing a rough draft on a book on secrecy; I am using the rough drafts as posts on my Gleamings from the Golden Dawn blog. There are a couple of sections that may not be posted online before the ebook goes live...howevver long that takes to accomplish.
I should also really consider revising my Three Officer GD Neophyte Ritual book and getting it back up during this production cycle. Also in the works is an ebook on the abusive behavior that one occasionally sees in esoteric groups...yes, it inspired by behavior that I recently witnessed this last cycle (really, it is a good idea to give the entire product line of a writer one star reviews just because you think that they might be talking about you in one of their books?! and furthermore, it is even better for your entire Order to do so?!).
I will be writing more erotica...because it is the best selling stock I have in my product list at the moment. Yes, I am being driven by the need for money. Plus there is the fact that I am going to be applying to a masters program (or two); and if I get in, I will be fighting the smae lack of writing time problem that I have been struggling with for the last several years. Erotica is something that I can write that does not require extended attention.
And yes, I am hoping to get some regular fiction done this cycle (either science fiction or urban fantasy). It is what I would prefer doing...except that it is hard to write an entire novel when the time between writing the chapters tends to be three months (it is hard to maintain the flow...or even a single plot point with this type of temporal gap involved).
So that is what I have planned...outside of taking regular pottery and jewelry photos (which is what I should have been doing today). Wish me luck.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Another damn semester
Well, it looks like I am going to be stuck at college for one more damn semester. Between serious doubts that my English requirements have been met (departmental difficulties) and the fact that a single class has sucked in all my time...well, as I said, it looks like I am not going to be graduating this semester.
For those of you who are curious, the class that has been sucking in all the time is a history class. It is thy capstone class---Senior Seminar in History. This is the first week this semester that I have not been at the library digging though a box of government memos...since week two of the semester. Every spare day that I had I have been at the library...I spent 30 hours there during spring break. It would have been 35 if they wouldn't had a furlough day. I have a folder two inches tight with single-spaced typewritten notes, and last week I finally hit the point where I think I have enourgh to support a twenty-five to thirty-five page paper.
Plus, for the past two weeks, I don't remember a day without a headache...actually, it has been longer than two weeks, but I am having a hard time figuring out when the headaches begin (I go to bed with a headache, I wake up with a headache, it is a constant thing). I have lost ten pounds this semester, and we all know that I did not actually have any weight to spare to begin with. My wife does not remember the last time I looked, or sounded healthy. And no, I do not have health insurance or enourgh money to go see a doctor. I am hoping that it is stress.
There are a few other things going on that I can't talk about.
I have thrown every class I am taking other than this senior seminar under the bus. I am currently trying to figure out if it is too late to drop Honors Thesis (Literature), or if I am just going to have to take an F in it (Senior Seminar sucked up all the time and energy I had.) Along with my business---under the bus, it went. And this semester saw the loveliness of the PayPal Forbidden Four drama and a rather nasty campaign against a fellow writer in the Golden Dawn community.
(And we all know that writers cannot afford to toss their businesses under the bus. The only nice thing I have to say is it is a good thing I am self-employed or I would have fucked one of the easy classes I am taking. Yes, I am having trouble surviving the two easy classes---it is going to be touch and go as it is.)
Basically, it has been solid stress this semester. You know that it is bad when you think about stepping in front of the lightrail train.
Well, I would love to sit here and complain some more, but I have sixty pages of rough draft to read from classmates for today's peer review session; and yes, that is also the same damn class.
For those of you who are curious, the class that has been sucking in all the time is a history class. It is thy capstone class---Senior Seminar in History. This is the first week this semester that I have not been at the library digging though a box of government memos...since week two of the semester. Every spare day that I had I have been at the library...I spent 30 hours there during spring break. It would have been 35 if they wouldn't had a furlough day. I have a folder two inches tight with single-spaced typewritten notes, and last week I finally hit the point where I think I have enourgh to support a twenty-five to thirty-five page paper.
Plus, for the past two weeks, I don't remember a day without a headache...actually, it has been longer than two weeks, but I am having a hard time figuring out when the headaches begin (I go to bed with a headache, I wake up with a headache, it is a constant thing). I have lost ten pounds this semester, and we all know that I did not actually have any weight to spare to begin with. My wife does not remember the last time I looked, or sounded healthy. And no, I do not have health insurance or enourgh money to go see a doctor. I am hoping that it is stress.
There are a few other things going on that I can't talk about.
I have thrown every class I am taking other than this senior seminar under the bus. I am currently trying to figure out if it is too late to drop Honors Thesis (Literature), or if I am just going to have to take an F in it (Senior Seminar sucked up all the time and energy I had.) Along with my business---under the bus, it went. And this semester saw the loveliness of the PayPal Forbidden Four drama and a rather nasty campaign against a fellow writer in the Golden Dawn community.
(And we all know that writers cannot afford to toss their businesses under the bus. The only nice thing I have to say is it is a good thing I am self-employed or I would have fucked one of the easy classes I am taking. Yes, I am having trouble surviving the two easy classes---it is going to be touch and go as it is.)
Basically, it has been solid stress this semester. You know that it is bad when you think about stepping in front of the lightrail train.
Well, I would love to sit here and complain some more, but I have sixty pages of rough draft to read from classmates for today's peer review session; and yes, that is also the same damn class.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Is this my last semester?
Starting this week, I may be entering my last semester of college. Well, my last semester as an undergrad (I still have an urge to apply to a few Master programs).
I didn't actually think it was going to happen. I did not get the monetary hold lifted from my account until yesterday. I don't want to think about the price that my wife is going to extract for loaning me the money to accomplish that goal.
Of course, some changes have been made in the program, something that I discovered while talking to the advisors earlier this week. I thought that I was working towards a double major; it turns out that I was wrong about that. In reality, I am working towards getting two Bachelor degrees instead (one in History and one in Literature). The reason for the change---I am just four credits away from hitting the credit threshold for acquiring two Bachelor degrees. I am not sure if two Bachelor degrees will look better on my resume than just one. I am also not sure if this makes me a historian and a literary critic---time will tell.
Now to actually make this my last semester, I do have to pass everything. I also need to kick my Honors Thesis proposal for Literature though the system, and get off the waitlist for one class (there is an online version, but I hate online classes). So for the generally curious, my semester consists of:
Senior Seminar in History (no clue what the subject is, but considering that Chris Agee is teaching it, I am betting on cities and urban development); World at War (1914-1945); Chinese Philosophy and Culture (Ancient Chinese---I got interested in the subject when I took the Ancient China history class a few semesters back; it is a religious studies class, but I have already taken three of them---all listed as Literature classes); and of course, my Honor Thesis in Literature (I presume that my proposal will go though---I plan on doing a reading of The Hobbit as a trickster tale).
Of course, I am presuming that my proposal will get though, and that I can get off the waitlist for the other class. I am also presuming that the advisors added up my numbers correctly, and was correct in thinking that I only needed one core course and one elective besides my speciality requirements.
It promises to be another interesting semester.
I didn't actually think it was going to happen. I did not get the monetary hold lifted from my account until yesterday. I don't want to think about the price that my wife is going to extract for loaning me the money to accomplish that goal.
Of course, some changes have been made in the program, something that I discovered while talking to the advisors earlier this week. I thought that I was working towards a double major; it turns out that I was wrong about that. In reality, I am working towards getting two Bachelor degrees instead (one in History and one in Literature). The reason for the change---I am just four credits away from hitting the credit threshold for acquiring two Bachelor degrees. I am not sure if two Bachelor degrees will look better on my resume than just one. I am also not sure if this makes me a historian and a literary critic---time will tell.
Now to actually make this my last semester, I do have to pass everything. I also need to kick my Honors Thesis proposal for Literature though the system, and get off the waitlist for one class (there is an online version, but I hate online classes). So for the generally curious, my semester consists of:
Senior Seminar in History (no clue what the subject is, but considering that Chris Agee is teaching it, I am betting on cities and urban development); World at War (1914-1945); Chinese Philosophy and Culture (Ancient Chinese---I got interested in the subject when I took the Ancient China history class a few semesters back; it is a religious studies class, but I have already taken three of them---all listed as Literature classes); and of course, my Honor Thesis in Literature (I presume that my proposal will go though---I plan on doing a reading of The Hobbit as a trickster tale).
Of course, I am presuming that my proposal will get though, and that I can get off the waitlist for the other class. I am also presuming that the advisors added up my numbers correctly, and was correct in thinking that I only needed one core course and one elective besides my speciality requirements.
It promises to be another interesting semester.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Nanowrimo results sort of
This post is for those people who are curious about how much I managed to do in this year's National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Basically, I gave up a couple of days into the month. Reason: I was swamped with homework. I am not sure how many words I wrote in November...provided that one is willing to count homework, it was at least twenty thousand words. I do plan on finishing the novel I started, but it is going to have to wait until the semester is over.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Depression
 |
| When cats get depressed. |
The stress of college and the joys of senior year has combined with a small student loan problem to create a perfect storm of depression. Of course, my genetics and childhood programming does not help. And I have gotten to the point that I am not even eating out of the vending machines...which would be good, except that I am generally not eating; even vending machine food is better than no food at all.
All this depression is having an effect on my school work, as well as my writing.
Thanks to the depression and my empty wallet, I have considered dropping out of college to increase the liklihood of getting a job. For some reason, employers do not want to consider anyone who is not available 24/7---especially in the only types of work that I am qualified for (restaurant and retail).
I need a piece of paper to be able to get a real job, but I need a real job to make sure that I survive long enourgh to get the piece of paper. It is a rather wicked little Catch-22 that I am stuck in. (By "real job" I mean one that does require me to drop out of school for minimum wage.)
And today on Facebook, I discovered a new twist. One of my Facebook friends (a writer of Tarot and Wiccan material) recently took a "day job" to help make ends meet---and now, she has people thinking that she is no longer an occultist or an author anymore.
Seriously?! I have never understood the idea that if you are an occult writer, or at least a real one, that you cannot have a day job. Given how small occult book sales are, one automatically needs a day job, or another type of writing gig, to support oneself. It is the reason that I occasionally write other type of stuff under another penname---I like to get paid occasionally.
Anyways, I am hoping that my depression lifts soon. That and the problem with my student loan is fixed. Otherwise, I am going to have to start cruising the LolCats sites to cheer myself up...and that is even worse for my schoolwork and writing than the depression is.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Thirty books all with the same cover
Warning---in this post I am talking about a writer who writes erotica...well, that is the polite term for it.
So tonight, I decide to spend some time on Smashwords...because I had no desire to read my homework. While there I am checking out the various books that people are putting up. I had the adult filter off because I am curious about whether that is a viable money making choice.
(Feel free to blame my curiosity about possible money making options on the fact that part of my student loan has still not gone through yet, and the semester is about to wound down. And I thought some merchants paid out slow.)
While there, I noticed that one of the erotica writers (ok, let's be honest---it is pornography) has used the same cover for thirty of their books. The cover for Summer Suds, a sex romp that starts at a car wash is the same cover (with just the title changed) as Summer Camp Surprise, and the list goes on for twenty-eight more books. They do have a couple of other covers, including one that is used twice.
Nevertheless, I find myself wondering isn't there some rule of thumb that you want the covers of your book to be different from one another? Or does that just apply to actual physical books?
Now, I suspect that the only reason that this writer is even using a cover is that you must have a cover to get into the premium catalog (aka the rest of the distribution network). But seriously, are they so cheap that they are only willing to spend money on one "safe" cover? Looking at their regular website, I realized that they are willing to buy for the more racier, not approved by Apple style of covers (lots of naked flesh and sex acts if you are curious).
So are clothes really that expensive that more than one cover is out of their price range? Or does it really not matter if all your erotica titles have the same cover? And does this also apply to other types of ebooks?
So tonight, I decide to spend some time on Smashwords...because I had no desire to read my homework. While there I am checking out the various books that people are putting up. I had the adult filter off because I am curious about whether that is a viable money making choice.
(Feel free to blame my curiosity about possible money making options on the fact that part of my student loan has still not gone through yet, and the semester is about to wound down. And I thought some merchants paid out slow.)
While there, I noticed that one of the erotica writers (ok, let's be honest---it is pornography) has used the same cover for thirty of their books. The cover for Summer Suds, a sex romp that starts at a car wash is the same cover (with just the title changed) as Summer Camp Surprise, and the list goes on for twenty-eight more books. They do have a couple of other covers, including one that is used twice.
Nevertheless, I find myself wondering isn't there some rule of thumb that you want the covers of your book to be different from one another? Or does that just apply to actual physical books?
Now, I suspect that the only reason that this writer is even using a cover is that you must have a cover to get into the premium catalog (aka the rest of the distribution network). But seriously, are they so cheap that they are only willing to spend money on one "safe" cover? Looking at their regular website, I realized that they are willing to buy for the more racier, not approved by Apple style of covers (lots of naked flesh and sex acts if you are curious).
So are clothes really that expensive that more than one cover is out of their price range? Or does it really not matter if all your erotica titles have the same cover? And does this also apply to other types of ebooks?
Friday, October 21, 2011
Pricing ebooks
I have been thinking a lot lately about how ebooks are priced. Mainly because I just started to get back into the writing game after a brief absence.
(Not that it is a serious venture back into the field, more like a sticking my toe into a pool of slime and wondering why I did so. For those who are curious about how serious I am taking it, just slip over to Smashwords and take a gander at my little test project, Pizza Boxes on the Floor.)
Honestly, looking around the internet, it looks like the Wild West when it comes to determining ebook prices.
The traditional publishers are still secretly trying to charge the same amount for an ebook as they are for a physical copy. Actually, the other day, I saw a history book that actually cost more for the ebook copy than a physical copy. I am guessing that some publishers believe that people will be willing to pay for convenience.
In my case, I am not willing to pay for convenience. Or rather I am not willing to have to pay for a ebook and then have to pay again for a hard copy with actual page numbers that I can cite in a college paper.
On the other side of the scale, there are the pirates who believe that no one should make a penny from any ebook. I am sorry, my cats would like to eat; therefore, I need to get paid something. And yes, if I am going to be pirated, than one of the pirate is going to have to pay a copy first.
So the question will arise about why I choose a 99 cent price for a 8860 word ebook, especially one that a reader will some time can find almost the entirety of for free on the internet already.
Well, I had three choices.
First option, the "reader names their own price"---there are two problems with this option. One, I know that a lot of readers would download the entire book and not read any more than the free preview that I am already offering; and two, there are outlets who would not carry the ebook if this option was choosen.
Second option, the "free ebook" option---I am sorry, my favorite charity is my cats, and they would like to eat. If I wanted to give stuff away, I would have choosen the first option; it would result in the same amount of income.
Third option, "pick a price that ends in 99 cents," better known as the iBookstore price force---iBookstore, if you are charging for a book, will automatically round the price to the nearest 99 cents. It is an iCommerce thing (I am sure that Apple is going to trademark that term soon enourgh).
So in the interests of greed, because we all know that occult writers only write books for the money, I went with the third option, and decided 99 cents was a good price for 8860 words.
Is 99 cents that much? Some people are going to say it is. But I do not think so. After all, that is how much a can of cat food is being sold for at Walgreens (and they label that a "great buy"). And my cats would like to occasionally eat.
(Not that it is a serious venture back into the field, more like a sticking my toe into a pool of slime and wondering why I did so. For those who are curious about how serious I am taking it, just slip over to Smashwords and take a gander at my little test project, Pizza Boxes on the Floor.)
Honestly, looking around the internet, it looks like the Wild West when it comes to determining ebook prices.
The traditional publishers are still secretly trying to charge the same amount for an ebook as they are for a physical copy. Actually, the other day, I saw a history book that actually cost more for the ebook copy than a physical copy. I am guessing that some publishers believe that people will be willing to pay for convenience.
In my case, I am not willing to pay for convenience. Or rather I am not willing to have to pay for a ebook and then have to pay again for a hard copy with actual page numbers that I can cite in a college paper.
On the other side of the scale, there are the pirates who believe that no one should make a penny from any ebook. I am sorry, my cats would like to eat; therefore, I need to get paid something. And yes, if I am going to be pirated, than one of the pirate is going to have to pay a copy first.
So the question will arise about why I choose a 99 cent price for a 8860 word ebook, especially one that a reader will some time can find almost the entirety of for free on the internet already.
Well, I had three choices.
First option, the "reader names their own price"---there are two problems with this option. One, I know that a lot of readers would download the entire book and not read any more than the free preview that I am already offering; and two, there are outlets who would not carry the ebook if this option was choosen.
Second option, the "free ebook" option---I am sorry, my favorite charity is my cats, and they would like to eat. If I wanted to give stuff away, I would have choosen the first option; it would result in the same amount of income.
Third option, "pick a price that ends in 99 cents," better known as the iBookstore price force---iBookstore, if you are charging for a book, will automatically round the price to the nearest 99 cents. It is an iCommerce thing (I am sure that Apple is going to trademark that term soon enourgh).
So in the interests of greed, because we all know that occult writers only write books for the money, I went with the third option, and decided 99 cents was a good price for 8860 words.
Is 99 cents that much? Some people are going to say it is. But I do not think so. After all, that is how much a can of cat food is being sold for at Walgreens (and they label that a "great buy"). And my cats would like to occasionally eat.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
What I have been up to lately
 |
| Halloween and kittens---what could be more fun? |
There is also the added bonus of monetary worries. Under normal conditions, I would attempt to make it up with quick and dirty writing...unfortunately, as I have already noted, this semester is a PITA.
I am no longer doing an astrology column for Campus Connection, the student newspaper of the Community College of Denver. I am not sure why I wasn't contacted for this semester; and after the difficulties of getting payment from them last semester, I am not sure that I even care. While it means that I have to make up for that bit of income loss, given the fact that this semester is a monster, it might have been a good thing in disguise.
Outside of the lack of money, time and energy, I am doing well. I may actually get a test-project up on Smashwords before the end of the year. I hope. Maybe not. Who knows? Time will tell.
Being honest, I will admit that the only thing I foresee accomplishing for sure is the 31 Days of Halloween Kitties that I am doing on my Golden Dawn blog. And that is just a bit of fun to lighten up the mood. Ironically, there may not be a single picture of any of my own cats in the set. You would think that given the number of cats I have that I would be able to get one of them to wear a hat; but no, I can't. They tell me that they are much better than the cats you see on the internet wearing silly hats. They may be right.
So anyways, if you don't see me updating this or the other blogs, presume that I am busy reading books and writing papers instead...because if I am not doing that, then I am busy trying to sell my blood for money.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
September 11th
Ten years ago, the Twin Towers fell in a terrorist attack.
And I suppose that I really should write something about it.
(Beyond the article about how 9/11 affected me that is still awaiting approval on one of the online writing sites---it could be weeks before it goes live at the pace that they are moving---but that was more about how the terror attack affected the business that I was working for at the time and affected my decision to go to college.)
But honestly, I was more deeply concerned about the Columbia school shooting (or any school shooting for that matter). School shootings affect me more emotionally than the events of September 11th ever have.
I guess it is because I have studied too many wars. Senseless deaths happen in all wars. Entire cities are destoryed periodically in the name of idealogies and terrority conquest.
There is also the little fact that I was born on the anniversary of the German invasion of Poland. I was raised hearing stories about the horrors of Nazi Germany and what happened in that conflict.
For me, outside of the reactions of people in the local community, the events that happened in New York City that day ten years ago are remote. Sure, I am reminded of it every time I have to go through a security checkpoint (most of which are laughable when you actually have been taught something about security measures); but beyond that for me, 9/11 was a bizzare act in a rather strange war, one that the United States started decades ago.
(Forgive me, I am a history major. I have seen enourgh to convince me that there are some real complaints to be lodged against the United States about our actions in the Middle East before 2001---I just wish that there were other ways to address the wrongs that the United States did without having to blow up and kill innocent people. And if you really want to hear about horrors, read up on the Crusades.)
It is the school shootings that cut me to the bone. I understand the envirnoment they happen in. And I understand how mentally ill someone must be to commit them. For me, school shootings are an act of terror---bombing buildings and civilians are just acts of war.
I am not saying that we should forget 9/11. It was a tragedy.
I am just saying that I did not have as strong of an emotional reaction as others had to it.
It makes me wonder if I have been writing about non-humans for too long.
 |
Image courtesy of Brian Nieman and adopted by the Library of Congress for their 9/11/01 exhibition.
|
And I suppose that I really should write something about it.
(Beyond the article about how 9/11 affected me that is still awaiting approval on one of the online writing sites---it could be weeks before it goes live at the pace that they are moving---but that was more about how the terror attack affected the business that I was working for at the time and affected my decision to go to college.)
But honestly, I was more deeply concerned about the Columbia school shooting (or any school shooting for that matter). School shootings affect me more emotionally than the events of September 11th ever have.
I guess it is because I have studied too many wars. Senseless deaths happen in all wars. Entire cities are destoryed periodically in the name of idealogies and terrority conquest.
There is also the little fact that I was born on the anniversary of the German invasion of Poland. I was raised hearing stories about the horrors of Nazi Germany and what happened in that conflict.
For me, outside of the reactions of people in the local community, the events that happened in New York City that day ten years ago are remote. Sure, I am reminded of it every time I have to go through a security checkpoint (most of which are laughable when you actually have been taught something about security measures); but beyond that for me, 9/11 was a bizzare act in a rather strange war, one that the United States started decades ago.
(Forgive me, I am a history major. I have seen enourgh to convince me that there are some real complaints to be lodged against the United States about our actions in the Middle East before 2001---I just wish that there were other ways to address the wrongs that the United States did without having to blow up and kill innocent people. And if you really want to hear about horrors, read up on the Crusades.)
It is the school shootings that cut me to the bone. I understand the envirnoment they happen in. And I understand how mentally ill someone must be to commit them. For me, school shootings are an act of terror---bombing buildings and civilians are just acts of war.
I am not saying that we should forget 9/11. It was a tragedy.
I am just saying that I did not have as strong of an emotional reaction as others had to it.
It makes me wonder if I have been writing about non-humans for too long.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
End of summer
 |
| Handmade Robin Egg Blue Triple Spiral Star Pendant |
I got very little writing done. I did set up a couple of new blogs---one for my wife (though I am going to be doing all the posting), another for a comic strip that I hope to get done...someday.
I made some progress on the two novels that I am currently working on, but not enourgh that I can slap a release date on either one of them. For the past month or so, I have been supposed to be working on a Smashwords test project (actually two of them)...but it keeps getting put on the backburner.
In fact, I would say that my own business had been on the backburner all summer. For some reason, I choose to place my wife's new business ahead of my own. I am sure that my friends will have their theories about why I did that---most of the theories will involve mental illness.
Speaking of mental illness, somehow I managed to avoid a really bad depression this summer despite the fact that I am no better off this summer than I had been during the previous summers. (Actually, I was probably worse off this summer---but I am afraid to look at the paperwork that would confirm that theory. I find that the lack of money in my bank accounts depressing.)
So tomorrow is the state of the Fall semester. I would promise myself to do better this coming term...but I have a whole table covered with books I have to read for my literature classes, so I am not going to be holding my breath on that front.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Revising my class schedule
Checking my transfer sheet, I realized that one of the required classes I need did not transfer with the right course number. So I had to drop the Critical Essay class.
Faced with the choice of dropping the Korean War class and taking the missing class (Introduction to Literature which has to be taken at UCD), or taking the missing class another semester and enrolling in another class instead to keep me at the twelve credits, I chose to punt and take Immigration and Ethnicity in American History instead.
I actually thought about signing up for this class in the first place, but decided to try to take two English classes this semester instead. Haha---the joke is on me. At least, I have only missed one class (a whole three hour of lectures), so hopefully I should be able to catch up.
Faced with the choice of dropping the Korean War class and taking the missing class (Introduction to Literature which has to be taken at UCD), or taking the missing class another semester and enrolling in another class instead to keep me at the twelve credits, I chose to punt and take Immigration and Ethnicity in American History instead.
I actually thought about signing up for this class in the first place, but decided to try to take two English classes this semester instead. Haha---the joke is on me. At least, I have only missed one class (a whole three hour of lectures), so hopefully I should be able to catch up.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Classes I am taking this semester
This week was the first week of classes for the Spring 2011 semester at the University of Colorado at Denver. This semester I am taking my standard allotment of four classes (12 credits).
I finally got into the Critical Writing Essay class. It is one of the classes that I have to pass in order to get my degree. This class involves a lot of writing and developing the ability to actually wax on about the meaning and structure of a piece of writing.
I am also taking 1950s: Korean War, Cold War and US Transformation. Personal interest---it actually fills no slots other than an elective. Have to do an small research project---I am thinking something to do with the pulps (either men's magazines or science fiction).
My other history class this semester is Urban Development in the US; it is a class focusing on how cities developed and some of the social changes that resulted from having big cities in the United States. Again, personal interest (though I am hoping to convince an advisor to count it towards my US history requirement). I am hoping to get some background for the urban fantasies that I find myself writing.
My last class is Medieval Women---Whores and Saints. I am taking this class because (1) it fulfills a requirement, and (2) it is being taught by my favorite professor (ironically the professor that I hated the most at the beginning of last semester). Based on last night's class, it is going to be a major learning experience.
So there are my excuses for not getting a lot of writing or occult work done over the next few months. But on the bright note, I am getting closer to graduation (not that it means much to someone who plans on flipping directly into the Masters program).
I finally got into the Critical Writing Essay class. It is one of the classes that I have to pass in order to get my degree. This class involves a lot of writing and developing the ability to actually wax on about the meaning and structure of a piece of writing.
I am also taking 1950s: Korean War, Cold War and US Transformation. Personal interest---it actually fills no slots other than an elective. Have to do an small research project---I am thinking something to do with the pulps (either men's magazines or science fiction).
My other history class this semester is Urban Development in the US; it is a class focusing on how cities developed and some of the social changes that resulted from having big cities in the United States. Again, personal interest (though I am hoping to convince an advisor to count it towards my US history requirement). I am hoping to get some background for the urban fantasies that I find myself writing.
My last class is Medieval Women---Whores and Saints. I am taking this class because (1) it fulfills a requirement, and (2) it is being taught by my favorite professor (ironically the professor that I hated the most at the beginning of last semester). Based on last night's class, it is going to be a major learning experience.
So there are my excuses for not getting a lot of writing or occult work done over the next few months. But on the bright note, I am getting closer to graduation (not that it means much to someone who plans on flipping directly into the Masters program).
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Critical Writing Panic Attack
As I noted in a previous post, my wife was hoping that the start of the semester would even out my bad mood. No such luck. Today, I had a small panic attack (and am still on edge) in the Critical Writing class.
Definitely not the way that I wanted to start that class. But I do understand why it happened.
Critical Writing is one of the classes that I have to take in order to graduate (provided that I want to finish up the Literature major---or even a minor in Lit). I knew that the class was going to be hard. But the more the professor talked about what we needed to do to pass, the more I wondered what a high school dropout like myself was doing there.
I am not sure that I can get across that bar at all. Oh well, even if I crash and burn---hopefully---I will pick up the skills I need to survive my senior seminar in the fall. And yes, I am so stubborn that I would rather flunk the class than drop it. Here is to the book and 600 words (good words) that I have to finish before the next class.
Definitely not the way that I wanted to start that class. But I do understand why it happened.
Critical Writing is one of the classes that I have to take in order to graduate (provided that I want to finish up the Literature major---or even a minor in Lit). I knew that the class was going to be hard. But the more the professor talked about what we needed to do to pass, the more I wondered what a high school dropout like myself was doing there.
I am not sure that I can get across that bar at all. Oh well, even if I crash and burn---hopefully---I will pick up the skills I need to survive my senior seminar in the fall. And yes, I am so stubborn that I would rather flunk the class than drop it. Here is to the book and 600 words (good words) that I have to finish before the next class.
Clarification of my job skills
Just a quick note to make something clear: When I say that I am not qualified for anything outside of flipping burgers or supervising people flipping burgers, I am actually saying that I don't have a piece of paper that says that I am quailified for anything else (aka the lambskin that the university gives you saying that you have an education and are programmed to jump though administrative hoops while sitting still). It does not matter what type of skills, management or otherwise I have, without that piece of paper, it is like having none. Of course, that is like saying that because I have not gotten published by a big publisher that I have no skills as a writer.
Where would we be if we did not have our gatekeepers keeping the riff-raff out?
Where would we be if we did not have our gatekeepers keeping the riff-raff out?
Monday, January 17, 2011
Foul mood continues
Well, my foul mood has continued. Blame it on my brain rotting. Or something.
My wife is hoping that the start of the new semester improves my mood. I am not so sure that it will. One of the things that is driving me batty is the little voice that says that I should drop out of college and head back to working in restaurants.
(As if there are any jobs to be had in restaurants, even if one is available 24/7. And outside of restaurant work, I am only qualified [or not] to do freelance writing.)
It is the little voice that says I should be doing more to get us out of our little budget problem that is driving me nuts. My childhood training kicks in, and that makes me grumpy. Which is turn, drives my wife nuts.
My wife is hoping that the start of the new semester improves my mood. I am not so sure that it will. One of the things that is driving me batty is the little voice that says that I should drop out of college and head back to working in restaurants.
(As if there are any jobs to be had in restaurants, even if one is available 24/7. And outside of restaurant work, I am only qualified [or not] to do freelance writing.)
It is the little voice that says I should be doing more to get us out of our little budget problem that is driving me nuts. My childhood training kicks in, and that makes me grumpy. Which is turn, drives my wife nuts.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Writing Christmas articles
One of the markers I use to gauge how mentally healthy I am at any given time is the stuff that I am writing. As all writers know, your writing is an indication of your mental state; some writers even use writing to change their current mental state. It is like a giant feedback loop. Your mood affects your writing; your writing affects your mood.
Last week, while I was supposed to be studying for finals, I had a couple of evenings where my brain absolutely refused to do any more schoolwork. I find myself cruising the internet, looking for distraction. While on Facebook one night, a friend of a friend joked about giving someone a lump of coal for Christmas. I seconded the notion, then found myself wondering how much a lump of coal actually would cost. So I googled it.
What I discovered was that a lot of companies were selling lump of coal themed products. Looking at the date, I decided that it was way too late in the season to write a Christmas shopping article. Ha! The idea and one other just stuck in my head.
Today, I broke down and wrote the artiicles. The shopping piece might do me some good next Christmas season. I never actually have time to write Christmas articles during the time that internet writers are uploading them; a pesty thing called the University of Colorado at Denver gets in the way and takes up most (if not all) of my writing time during the height of that season. As a result, I have no Christmas test articles out there---I know a lot of writers have a big stock of Christmas articles online, but I have no idea how many pageviews they are getting. Are Christmas articles (or any holiday articles) worth the time and effort necessary to write them? I don't know. I need to find out. So I now have a test Christmas shopping article up on Associated Content---oh wait, it is now the Yahoo Contributer Network.
The other piece I wrote was simply to get it out of my head. It was a short semi-fictional piece about my mother playing Christmas music in July. My mom playing Christmas music in July is not the fictional part. That is some god's honest truth; she actually plays Christmas music in July. Don't ask why---I never figured it out. I have also never figured out why I get the urge to play Christmas music in July either.
This is not the first semi-fictional piece I have done about my family. The first one I did was actually done for an Introduction to Fictional Writing class I took at the Community College of Denver. It was a piece about the time I fell down the stairs at school and said a few choice words. The assignment was to fictionize a real memory; in my case, it was already partially fictionized (because my memories of it consisted of my father telling me the story). I never published that piece; maybe someday I will (mainly because I like the story).
The first semi-fictional family piece I actually published to the web (first on Helium, then on AC) was a piece about recieving a fruitcake for Christmas. (Lump of coal---fruitcake---there seems to be a pattern there.) It is definitely fiction. For one thing, I actually like fruitcake. The second thing is...well, I took liberties with how I depicted one of my relatives. It is still one of my favorite pieces.
Unfortunately, short fiction does not generate a lot of pageviews. There is also the little fact that it involves my family...it is semi-fiction; there is a grain of truth in there somewhere. It is that last part that promises always to get me into trouble. Comedy about one's family is not the way to go if you want peaceful familial relationships. It is time like this (when I have written pieces that I like, but know other people will be upset by) that I find myself wondering if other writers and entertainers also have this problem.
Oh well, odds are (if I am being honest) that none of my family will ever read the stories in the first place. Which is even more depressing than them being upset with me. But I suspect that is true of half the writers in the world. I have this theory that as a writer you have a fifty/fifty chance of your family loving everything you write or absolutely hating everything you write. The universe is balanced---I just got the pillar of severity section in this particular regard.
Nevertheless, for some reason (well beyond my ability to reason it out) I had the urge to write a semi-fictionized piece about my family around the holiday season---again. I think I see a pattern forming here.
Happy holidays!
Last week, while I was supposed to be studying for finals, I had a couple of evenings where my brain absolutely refused to do any more schoolwork. I find myself cruising the internet, looking for distraction. While on Facebook one night, a friend of a friend joked about giving someone a lump of coal for Christmas. I seconded the notion, then found myself wondering how much a lump of coal actually would cost. So I googled it.
What I discovered was that a lot of companies were selling lump of coal themed products. Looking at the date, I decided that it was way too late in the season to write a Christmas shopping article. Ha! The idea and one other just stuck in my head.
Today, I broke down and wrote the artiicles. The shopping piece might do me some good next Christmas season. I never actually have time to write Christmas articles during the time that internet writers are uploading them; a pesty thing called the University of Colorado at Denver gets in the way and takes up most (if not all) of my writing time during the height of that season. As a result, I have no Christmas test articles out there---I know a lot of writers have a big stock of Christmas articles online, but I have no idea how many pageviews they are getting. Are Christmas articles (or any holiday articles) worth the time and effort necessary to write them? I don't know. I need to find out. So I now have a test Christmas shopping article up on Associated Content---oh wait, it is now the Yahoo Contributer Network.
The other piece I wrote was simply to get it out of my head. It was a short semi-fictional piece about my mother playing Christmas music in July. My mom playing Christmas music in July is not the fictional part. That is some god's honest truth; she actually plays Christmas music in July. Don't ask why---I never figured it out. I have also never figured out why I get the urge to play Christmas music in July either.
This is not the first semi-fictional piece I have done about my family. The first one I did was actually done for an Introduction to Fictional Writing class I took at the Community College of Denver. It was a piece about the time I fell down the stairs at school and said a few choice words. The assignment was to fictionize a real memory; in my case, it was already partially fictionized (because my memories of it consisted of my father telling me the story). I never published that piece; maybe someday I will (mainly because I like the story).
The first semi-fictional family piece I actually published to the web (first on Helium, then on AC) was a piece about recieving a fruitcake for Christmas. (Lump of coal---fruitcake---there seems to be a pattern there.) It is definitely fiction. For one thing, I actually like fruitcake. The second thing is...well, I took liberties with how I depicted one of my relatives. It is still one of my favorite pieces.
Unfortunately, short fiction does not generate a lot of pageviews. There is also the little fact that it involves my family...it is semi-fiction; there is a grain of truth in there somewhere. It is that last part that promises always to get me into trouble. Comedy about one's family is not the way to go if you want peaceful familial relationships. It is time like this (when I have written pieces that I like, but know other people will be upset by) that I find myself wondering if other writers and entertainers also have this problem.
Oh well, odds are (if I am being honest) that none of my family will ever read the stories in the first place. Which is even more depressing than them being upset with me. But I suspect that is true of half the writers in the world. I have this theory that as a writer you have a fifty/fifty chance of your family loving everything you write or absolutely hating everything you write. The universe is balanced---I just got the pillar of severity section in this particular regard.
Nevertheless, for some reason (well beyond my ability to reason it out) I had the urge to write a semi-fictionized piece about my family around the holiday season---again. I think I see a pattern forming here.
Happy holidays!
Monday, December 13, 2010
Motivation malfunction
The last few days, I have noticed a definite lack of motivation on my part. Or at least, a lack of motivation geared towards what I was supposed to be doing---studying for finals and working on last minute papers.
But what I found interesting is the fact that I would catch myself researching articles to write. I guess it has been awhile since I wrote anything and my mind is itching to go. We will see how long and strong the motivation to write is in a few days when I will actually have time to practice my trade.
For those who are curious, one final is done, two to go, and one I don't have to take (taking the final adds nothing to the grade I already have---I already have an A).
But what I found interesting is the fact that I would catch myself researching articles to write. I guess it has been awhile since I wrote anything and my mind is itching to go. We will see how long and strong the motivation to write is in a few days when I will actually have time to practice my trade.
For those who are curious, one final is done, two to go, and one I don't have to take (taking the final adds nothing to the grade I already have---I already have an A).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
