Comments on: Schedule Yourself as a Client

By: Kimberly

Kimberly — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 11:02:19 +0000

Am I ever guilty of this! I was just on a writer’s forum saying that I was now going to set aside time each week to work on my own projects or they will never get done. Right now I’m building a new website, and soon I will tackle the task of redirecting my blog from blogspot to a self-hosted wordpress site. On top of all that, I’m working on a few niche blogs and some other ideas to generate residual income.

When you’re having to market and juggle project deadlines it’s easy to let your own things slide.

By: Christina

Christina — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 18:01:56 +0000

How long it takes to write a blog post varies by the subject of the post, but yeah, it can take from 15 minutes to an hour to write one.

By: Amy

Amy — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 02:31:07 +0000

It takes me an hour to write a blog post, because I worry about the quality. I tend to write a lot, and then parse down to the essentials. Fortunately, I think part of the fix is writing less. Blog posts don’t need to be longer than 300 words.

By: Devon Ellington

Devon Ellington — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 13:30:43 +0000

I look at my primary writing blog, Ink in My Coffee, as part of my job, not as something to keep up with “when I have time.” Face it, it takes 15 minutes to write a blog post — it’s part of the gig. It’s part of my workday. I’m getting better at updating the various websites, too — because I publish under multiple names, I sometimes feel I’m juggling fire sticks. But, when you actually figure out the time it takes ONCE YOU SIT DOWN AND DO IT, rather than puttering around it, it’s not much, you don’t lose billable time, and it’s worth it.

The last few months, my fiction’s brought in more than the client writing.

By: Christina

Christina — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:02:22 +0000

Wow, Michelle. Let me know when you get it up and running, and I may have a new link for my blogroll.

By: Michelle Diane

Michelle Diane — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:13:54 +0000

Psst! I’ll tell you a secret. Lean in real close…I don’t even have a blog. There, I said it! Yup, been meaning to start one for…oh…I dunno. A year? I either don’t have time or when I do, you know what stops me? I can’t think of a good title. I could just follow your example and go with my name, but I’ve been trying to come up with something witty and clever. Yeah, we see how that’s working out.

And before you ask, I have checked on registering my name as a domain–it’s taken. Thing is, I can’t remember if I’m the one who registered it, or if I did, where I did it or how to access it now. It’s been a very weird couple of years. I have some work to do, and your post has motivated me to do it. Thanks!

By: Christina

Christina — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 03:21:59 +0000

Good for you, Erica! I hope it works out well for you.

By: Erica M

Erica M — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 00:29:30 +0000

Great advice! I actually took time out for my own project this week, and in 2 days I set up a site to explain what I do. I’ve been doing this for months, and every time I tell someone about it, or talk to a potential client they want to see my site, but I didn’t have one! Pretty bad when you’re offering web design/hosting! haha
But, now I have the site up and it feel GREAT!

By: Christina

Christina — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 00:22:04 +0000

Good point! I think even an hour a week is a good start at making yourself a priority. It doesn’t matter if you write, design, program, or what – I’m quite happy to encourage anyone to join in! Let me know how it goes, or if it’s just one big FAIL.

By: Olivier

Olivier — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 14:47:13 +0000

I think the better question is who isn’t in this boat? Any time you’re dealing with this industry you’re having trouble finding time. I worked over 10 hours a day on average last month (227 for the month) and that left ZERO time for anything other than kids, wife and sleep.
I’ll get in with you on this though. I’ll give half my lunch to personal projects and see where it takes me and for how long