I'm getting better ...

at taking a day off once in a while!

I took yesterday off and didn't work. Yipppeeee! I did, however, get my Christmas cards made and put in envelopes. I need to print out the letter yet but I feel much more relaxed now that I know that's handled.

I'm going to be signing up for Constant Contact but I haven't done it yet. I want more professional newsletters. I keep wondering what I'd put in for content. The gentleman talking about it said to copy and paste content from other places. I have issues with that as a writer. I don't mind directing people toward an article that I feel is relevant, but I'm certainly not going to post it in my newsletter. Call it the oversensitivity of a writer. Am I right?

I'm fighting with my website being a blog. While I'm starting I don't want to spend a ton of money on one, but since I will do mainly e-business I wonder if that's wise. I can get what I want on a blog but I'm not sure it looks professional enough. I love my publishing site and so far everyone else has too, except for one person. I think that may be a matter of taste since her website is one I don't like. It's too bare. SIGH. I'll figure it out eventually but it may take a while.

I want to get some work maintenance tasks done this morning so I can play with my son. I can't tell you how many self employed people are taking today off. Probably the same proportion of people employed by others. I have a friend who always seems to be in crisis or taking vacations. One or the other. Needless to say she's always frantic when working.

She makes fun of my propensity toward scheduling everything, but I think I end up with more quality free time than she does, and my evenings are my own.  I have set office hours and, by adhering to them, I get done what I need to get done so I'm not always working, working, working. While she took a four day weekend, I will work from 6:00 - 9:00 a.m. this morning then take the rest of the day. I will also work from 6:00- 8:00 a.m. tomorrow doing prep work so that when I get to my office on Monday, my tasks are lined up and I don't have to waste time figuring out where I am and what I need to do.

I'll be the first to admit that each person has their own way of working, but dang! Lack of scheduling at all would drive me insane! I don't think it's healthy. It's why most businesses have set hours and why the SBA requires them. I guess if you don't ever hire anyone you're okay. If you end up hiring staff you'll have to set hours and then adjustments to both staff and scheduling would be necessary at the same time.

At any rate, it's 9:00 dear writer friends so I'm popping into the shower and getting my house under control. Once the laundry is started, my son and I have a Wii tournament planned.

Take care and have a wonderful holiday season!
Much love and joy,
Karen

Feeling Wonky ... But Good!

Hello everyone,

We're starting to paint in the kitchen. Keep in mind that I live in a fifty year old house so I've got all the wonkiness of age working with me. Kind of funny ... poor house! I can relate. I've got fifty years too and I'm a little wonky myself.

You can see the terra cotta (Earthen Jug) color behind the stove. The walls are actually that color on the bottom and a warm candlelit color on the top. All except for the area behind the stove, of course, which I had painted the terra cotta color. Doesn't it pop?

The only problem with a project like this is that it sends my home into disarray. Perhaps disaster is a better description. As I say in my talks, my home is a symptom of where my head is and when my home is this dissembled I struggle to maintain organization. It's short term and I do okay, but I need order in which to create. So, I'm whining to you! In a little over a week it'll be a recent memory so I just need to hang in there.

I attended a meeting today on my financials. I would love to make a little extra money but I'm so realistic. It's hard to imagine a flush bank account. Am I right you other freelancers? The transition to books from magazines and newspapers was longer than I thought. I keep thinking it was a little over two years but am realizing that I started that transition back when I started homeschooling Ryan. Sheesh! That must have been more like four years ago I started phasing out customers. Then about eighteen to twenty four months ago I phased out speaking because of health issues. Now, it feels like I'm starting from scratch.

Of course, I still have my clients as contacts but who knows? The magazine world has experienced a lot of downturn. I found out recently that a speaking engagement I did each year for NWEA (Northwest Educ. Assn) is no more. Who knew? The last couple of years have been all hospitalizations and surgeries for my son and me.

So, dear writing pal, I'm beginning again. I'm excited to present Children of Light, my first nonfiction book next month, as well as launch my new publishing company, Caspara Publishing, LLC. I'm excited, a little nervous and a whole lot of happy. I can sleep at night, sure that I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing which is saying something.

God bless all that you do and write today.

Much love and joy,

Karen

My mini talk at SBA/Western Dairyland

... went okay. I really smoked through the material. It's so funny! People are soooo resistant to the idea of cell phones or multitasking being the enemy of effective time management. The thing is, sooner or later, they'll get overwhelmed and give some of the tips a try. For some people it will be an "aha" moment, for others it won't be a good fit.

Western Dairyland taped about five minutes of it to put on their U-Tube site. They wanted to tape the entire thing but I just can't give permission for that. That's like giving away an entire talk for free! I'd have to be nuts to allow that and give away copyright. I told both the supervisor and the gal taping that only five minutes of taping was allowed. Hopefully they understood that it didn't mean they could tape the entire talk. It's so hard to get that across to people. They don't get it if they don't write and speak for a living.

I'm running through the layout of my book this week and I've got my column due at some point. I'd love to relax tomorrow since my son is going to his grandmother's house for the day, but it seems like when he leaves, I work. <sigh> Ah, well.

It's Saturday evening and my movie comes on soon so I'll take off.
Much love and joy,
Karen

Constant Contact Seminar

I spent the day in a Constant Contact seminar and the biggest lesson I took away was that I need to have a social media plan instead of running all over the Internet willy nilly. I also need to figure out some type of e-mail notification system. I'm not at the point of going with Constant Contact but it's certainly a thought for the future when I move from start up to growth. Right now I just need to get my books out, you know?

I haven't written assignments in about a week because I've been so concerned with the business start up for Caspara Publishing LLC, but the rubber meets the road next week. I have both my column and various assignments due plus content for my website. I need to get things prioritized. I'm an organized person but start ups are always huge amounts of hours and work that you don't see coming. Well, you see it coming you just lie to yourself and think you can get it all done. You know the hours are long, even so you're surprised that you're up at 5:00 a.m. working and still working at 10:00 that night ..... hellloooooo blog!

I like talking to you all though. It helps me process the day I think. As a writer, I need to verbally process and this does it for me. I recently moved my blogging from a.m. to p.m. for that reason. It's a better fit for me.

If you're thinking about it check out our website at www.casparapublishing.com or our facebook page for caspara publishing ... we'd love to have you follow. ;-)

If you're dancing around a deadline tonight, know that you're not alone. I'm dancing too! We'll buckle down first thing in the morning. Set out your sharpened pencils and a fresh notebook. Tomorrow we conquer the blank page.

Have a great night and sleep sweet,
Much love and joy,
Karen

Do you have a business plan for success?

hey writers ...

how you doin'? (Think Joey Tribiani on Friends). Did you have a productive day?

Monday is a day of organization for me. I have housekeeping tasks that consist of record keeping, prioritizing assignments, getting deposits ready and the like. By the end of Monday morning I'm usually feeling ready for the week.

If I don't schedule those rotten housekeeping tasks like filing and the like I lose big. There are no spare moments to do them in and I lose time looking for things. So, when I schedule them, they get done and I'm more settled all week. Trust me, if you don't schedule all those pesky maintenance tasks you'll pay for it.

I'm writing a business plan for my publishing business. I thought I had one in place until a gentleman who listened to me said, "You've planned for every foreseeable disaster, which is great. What is your plan if you experience success?"

"What?"

"What does your business plan look like if your company takes off and does well? What if someone wants to invest money with you? What if you suddenly need to go public with your stock? What if you need a loan for your business and the banker wants to see your business plan to understand what the risk is?"

I gaped at him. I had bupkiss. Nada. Zip.

It's not that I don't believe in myself. I do or I wouldn't have started this endeavor. But dang. I'm a Midwesterner. I plan for tornadoes, floods, blizzards ... I don't plan for sunny days. It made sense though. If business is that good I'll be busy. I won't have anything in place to help me make decisions if I don't have a plan in place. So, I'm working on one.

Do you have a business plan? For that matter, do you have a mission statement that helps you decide what you're doing from day to day? Check out the poll to the right and ring in.

Take care and have a great week,
Much love and joy,

Karen