Well, I do not know about you, but I am ready to show 2011 the way to the curb. Money-wise, it has been the worst year ever for me. My business has tanked in 2011, due to a drop in freelancing gigs, changes on the pageview sites, the Panda Farmer Google update set, and the general lack of money among my readers. Combine this with the fact that higher education funding has been cut to the max here in Colorado and I am so close to finishing my degree that I must finish it, and you end up with me being the poorest I have ever been...at least, as an adult (my childhood may have been worse---my father did go bankrupt once).
On the bright note, I did finally break down and start creating ebooks---both under this pen-name and some others (the stuff under the other pen-names I am not sure I want to be associated with me, but I really need the income). I am still working on formating issues.
Looking ahead to 2012, it looks like I will be doing some more ebooks. It also looks like I will finally graduate from the University of Colorado at Denver (I do have to talk to two advisors to make sure of that), not that it will matter all that much---I plan on applying to the literature and history Master programs. And I might be doing an Honors Thesis (it is not completely sure yet). And I am really hoping that I figure a way out of the giant debt trap that I am stuck in.
Happy New Year everyone!
May you never be ignorant; may you never be cold; may you never hunger; may you never thirst; may you always be thankful. So mote it be.
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Monday, December 26, 2011
Friday, October 12, 2007
Short term vs long term goals
Occasionally, I notice that I am out of step with the rest of the world. Whether it is a result of my viewing the world differently or just not giving two hoots, I am not sure.
For instance, one of my friends has given up completely on Helium. He also refuses to join any write-to-paid site that pays as low as Helium does. Or that remind him of Helium.
I understand his distaste of Helium and if I didn't take the long view, I would probably share it.
But I don't. I think it is because I have the option of taking the long view of the potential of Helium and its effect on my bottom line.
Yes, Helium is low paying for the most part. After all, it is royalty based (ad revenue share). But that is only the short view.
Let's say that I write an article that earns ten cents a month on Helium. Ten cents a month will not make a dent in my bills. Yet over the course of a year, that will be an additional dollar and twenty cents of income in my pocket. Mulitply that amount by a dozen articles and it becomes fourteen dollars.
It does not sound like a lot. But that is exactly how the best writers on Helium are approaching Helium--by writing a lot of articles in the right categories (some subjects pay better than others there).
At the moment, I have fifty articles on Helium. That is earning me twenty-five dollars a year. It is not a lot of money, but then again it is only fifty articles. Several of them I should not have bothered writing--they had a really short shelf life.
That is one thing that you do not want to write on Helium is an article with a short shelf life. One wants to aim for subject matter that a lot of people are interested in which has a long shelf life. Ideally, one should aim for articles that will still be useful (making revenue) twenty years from now.
That same ten cents a month article if it has a shelf life of twenty years will net you twenty-four dollars. And do not worry about inflation--ad revenue shares are based on advertising rates; as they go up, so will your share.
Now, I do know why my friend has a hard time taking the long view of that site and all others that are built around the same premise. He has been unemployed for awhile and is desperately looking for a way to make up for lost income.
I understand his needs. It is just that I chose to take the long view when faced with the same problem. After almost a year of unemployment, I rolled up my sleeves and decided to go to college. Basically, I am living off of student loans and what little I make as a writer.
And for me, anything that brings in a tickle of money is a good thing. Especially things that I can do around my school schedule.
After all, I am playing the long game. If I build up enough stock, the tickle will become a river.
It is the same game when one is working on a novel or any other project. You do a lot of work upfront in hopes of cashing in later. It is not quick or easy. Yet it is the way that all people who make their living from royalties started out.
To see my Helium profile, click here.
For instance, one of my friends has given up completely on Helium. He also refuses to join any write-to-paid site that pays as low as Helium does. Or that remind him of Helium.
I understand his distaste of Helium and if I didn't take the long view, I would probably share it.
But I don't. I think it is because I have the option of taking the long view of the potential of Helium and its effect on my bottom line.
Yes, Helium is low paying for the most part. After all, it is royalty based (ad revenue share). But that is only the short view.
Let's say that I write an article that earns ten cents a month on Helium. Ten cents a month will not make a dent in my bills. Yet over the course of a year, that will be an additional dollar and twenty cents of income in my pocket. Mulitply that amount by a dozen articles and it becomes fourteen dollars.
It does not sound like a lot. But that is exactly how the best writers on Helium are approaching Helium--by writing a lot of articles in the right categories (some subjects pay better than others there).
At the moment, I have fifty articles on Helium. That is earning me twenty-five dollars a year. It is not a lot of money, but then again it is only fifty articles. Several of them I should not have bothered writing--they had a really short shelf life.
That is one thing that you do not want to write on Helium is an article with a short shelf life. One wants to aim for subject matter that a lot of people are interested in which has a long shelf life. Ideally, one should aim for articles that will still be useful (making revenue) twenty years from now.
That same ten cents a month article if it has a shelf life of twenty years will net you twenty-four dollars. And do not worry about inflation--ad revenue shares are based on advertising rates; as they go up, so will your share.
Now, I do know why my friend has a hard time taking the long view of that site and all others that are built around the same premise. He has been unemployed for awhile and is desperately looking for a way to make up for lost income.
I understand his needs. It is just that I chose to take the long view when faced with the same problem. After almost a year of unemployment, I rolled up my sleeves and decided to go to college. Basically, I am living off of student loans and what little I make as a writer.
And for me, anything that brings in a tickle of money is a good thing. Especially things that I can do around my school schedule.
After all, I am playing the long game. If I build up enough stock, the tickle will become a river.
It is the same game when one is working on a novel or any other project. You do a lot of work upfront in hopes of cashing in later. It is not quick or easy. Yet it is the way that all people who make their living from royalties started out.
To see my Helium profile, click here.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
My Plans for August
One of the things that I find useful to do as a writer is to make a list of the projects I intend to do at the start of the month.
This month, I am not planning on getting a lot of writing done. A couple of articles for Helium is pretty much all I intend to do.
Why?
Because 1: I have a major amount of work to do on the behalf of the Golden Dawn lodge I belong to; and 2: College resumes on the 20th, so I have a lot of stuff to do around the house and on the web before college starts.
The Golden Dawn stuff (mainly) involves typing in the documents I currently have for the Theoricus Grade, and making a list of all the apparent holes in the documention. This list in turn will become my work list for the next several months as far as my local lodge work is concerned. Plus I have my normal Adept Minor subgrade work, the maintaining of the websites and blogs, and the bimonthly meetings to attend to.
I have to pick up books, and do at least one bank run to get my ducks in a row for college. It is just too bad that I can't find a row of ducks to actually take my classes for me.
The housework is mainly gardening and repair work.
The web stuff is primarily finishing the base necessary to do my writing in the fall while attending classes. It is part of the burden of being a forty-one, about to turn forty-two, year old college student. I have got to finish setting up my promo page, and complete the market research I need to do.
The goal is to have all the really time consuming stuff out of the way before classes start. This is very important because I have to make a living as a writer inbetween classes.
Wish me luck--I am going to need it.
This month, I am not planning on getting a lot of writing done. A couple of articles for Helium is pretty much all I intend to do.
Why?
Because 1: I have a major amount of work to do on the behalf of the Golden Dawn lodge I belong to; and 2: College resumes on the 20th, so I have a lot of stuff to do around the house and on the web before college starts.
The Golden Dawn stuff (mainly) involves typing in the documents I currently have for the Theoricus Grade, and making a list of all the apparent holes in the documention. This list in turn will become my work list for the next several months as far as my local lodge work is concerned. Plus I have my normal Adept Minor subgrade work, the maintaining of the websites and blogs, and the bimonthly meetings to attend to.
I have to pick up books, and do at least one bank run to get my ducks in a row for college. It is just too bad that I can't find a row of ducks to actually take my classes for me.
The housework is mainly gardening and repair work.
The web stuff is primarily finishing the base necessary to do my writing in the fall while attending classes. It is part of the burden of being a forty-one, about to turn forty-two, year old college student. I have got to finish setting up my promo page, and complete the market research I need to do.
The goal is to have all the really time consuming stuff out of the way before classes start. This is very important because I have to make a living as a writer inbetween classes.
Wish me luck--I am going to need it.
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