CornerScribe

Archive for the ‘Miscellaneous’ Category

In case you missed them, here are some of the most popular posts recently.

Publishing is Changing

How Real are your Characters

17 Writing Prompts

Make the most of Entrecard and StumbleUpon

Social Networking for Readers 

Well, so much for practicing what I preach.

Yes, I was ready for NaNoEdMo. I had blog ideas lined up so posting would be a breeze. I was all set, except for that little flu thing. So, no posts because I didn’t have a stockpile ready.

It just goes to show, it’s one thing to know what’s a good idea, another to do it.

I’m finally getting back to myself, and I’ll be back to a normal posting schedule too. Thanks for bearing with me.

I’m putting together a Writing Resource page. As you can see, I have a few categories in mind, but I haven’t done much with the links themselves. I’d like this to become a very comprehensive, useful resource over the next few weeks.

Here’s where you all come in. I’m accepting submissions for links to add to the page.

Send me a link to a post on your site with a brief summary of what it covers. If your entire site is writing-related, send me that link as well.

Feel free to send links to others’ sites as well. Suggest a category you’d like to see me include.

I’m not going to promise to link back to everyone; in fact, I plan on only linking to the best submissions. I’d rather have a few dozen excellent resources than a couple hundred mediocre ones.

Edited to add: Of course, leaving your links in the comments is fine. If you’d prefer, email me at cornerscribe AT cornerscribe DOT com. I don’t check my email daily, so don’t get worried if you don’t hear from me immediately. Also, if you submit multiple links, your comment will likely get caught in my spam filter. It would be better to submit each link in a separate comment (or by email).

One of my blogging goals, is to increase my RSS subscriptions this year. I’m hovering in the 20s, and have been for some time. That’s very low for the number of visitors and page views I’m seeing.

I’d like to see my subscriptions above 30 by the end of January. I know that’s more than 10 percent, but I think it’s very doable too.

Here’s where you come in. I’m asking my readers to go ahead and subscribe to my RSS feed. You can do a feed reader (like Google or Bloglines) or subscribe via e-mail.

Thanks!

As writers, we often don’t want to  think about finances. That’s too “practical” and we tend to be the artsy, creative types. Right?

Wrong. If you want to write for a living, you have some serious financial planning to do now.

Walking away from a 9 to 5 job with benefits is going to be tough when the time comes, regardless of the planning you’ve done. However, it will be impossible if you haven’t done any planning at all. Imagine it, you get your first book deal, and you still can’t afford to quit work and write! Not exactly what you’re dreaming of, is it?

Let me say that once more…. Unless you plan financially now, you’ll never be able to quit work and write for a living.

So, what are you doing about it?

Over the past year or so, we’ve been working on our finances and planning/hoping that my writing career can be my main source of income eventually. Here’s what we’ve done.

• Stop going into debt. This one really is a no-brainer. We don’t charge gas, food, clothes, etc. We don’t even charge bigger items, like furniture.
• Pay out of debt. If you’re not going INTO debt, then paying off the debt you have becomes much easier, and faster. If you’re able, add a little extra to one of your bills each month so you can see it disappear even more quickly.
• Layaway is your friend. Many stores still offer layaway plans. This is great for larger purchases you might put on a credit card otherwise. We bought a home recently, and we’ve been furnishing it with layaway. It feels great bringing a piece of furniture home knowing it’s paid for!
• Cut expenses. Sit down with your last few bank statements and track where your money is going. You don’t have to do a fancy spreadsheet, just look. Are you paying for a service you no longer need or use? I recently found a subscription I hadn’t logged in to for over a year, and it was costing me $15/month. Other easy techniques are searching online for coupons before you shop (online or in-store!) and asking for interest rate discounts from the credit cards you currently hold. If you can talk them into even a small decrease, it will make paying the balance off that much quicker.
• Save! Sign up for one of the online savings accounts and start putting something in every payday. Once you’re used to saving that amount and you no longer miss it, up the savings by a few dollars. When you get a raise, put at least half of it in the savings.
• As time goes on, put more of your paycheck into savings and practice living on your spouse’s income only, if you’re in a two-earner family. Start slow and gradually put away more and more of your income as your expenses and debt decrease.

Yes, living on an erratic source of income can be scary, but it’s also very doable! Plan on making just one financial change this month that can put you closer to that goal. What will yours be?

Note: This entry is part of a group writing contest being held at Get Rich Slowly, which happens to be a great site for finding advice on living more frugally, budgeting, getting out of debt, etc.

I’ve been at a conference for the last few days. It was a good conference, but the really fun part was getting to catch up with an old friend. We had a great time visiting.

We were at Virginia Tech, and it’s been years since I was on their campus. It’s beautiful, but it’s changed quite a lot! Unfortunately, I didn’t get many pictures, but I’ll try to post what I have later this week.

Something like this makes me get the itch to go to a writer’s conference. I got lots of good ideas and contacts (job related), so I wonder what it would be like to do the same for my writing.

Anyone regularly attend writing conferences or get-aways?

The last couple of weeks have been especially hectic at work. I’m working on a major project that’s scheduled to go into production this week, so it’s a mad house. You’ll likely see shorter posts for the next few days, until things calm down a bit.

When I have a little time (very little!) I’m working on the “Perfect Sweater.” I got the pattern on ravelry, but you can also get it on Mason Dixon’s site. If you’re a member, I’m jkay on ravelry. Drop me a note and say hello. I’m also working on the toe up socks from the summer Interweave. I’m not sure that I like the heel though. Any tips for a different toe-up heel?

I have a short story submitted, and I’m waiting to hear how that goes. I’ll keep you posted.

I’ve been away from the computer a bit (longer than I expected, actually). Can I apologize by way of an offering of vacation pictures?

These were taken at North Bend State Park in West Virginia. It was peaceful, beautiful and just what we needed.

The beginning of the hiking trail, down next to the fishing pond.

The fishing pond. I’m guessing this was artificially flooded at some point?

A very pretty rock wall above the hiking trail.

We saw this blue and black butterfly.

Another picture of the trail, on our way back down.

We also had eight (yes, eight!) deer in our back yard this morning. One buck with does and babies. Of course, I have to do the obligatory joke… he’s one lucky buck. Sorry no pics of that. I would have scared them away.

Here are some interesting links you might want to check out.

Reading Habits  I couldn’t believe how few books most people read. How many do you read a year, approximately? I’m guessing I read two to four books a month, roughly.

Here’s another blog about making money online. Oh yeah, it’s written by a 13 year old.

Freelance Switch has an article about making passive income.

I’ve been super-busy the last few days, so here are some updates.

We have fleas. Well, by “we” I mean the pets, not my husband and me (yet). This year appears to be particularly bad for them, and the usual flea treatments aren’t working very well. Tonight, my husband bathed two dogs, one rabbit and two cats. No, he didn’t need a trip to the emergency room afterward, but the cats did draw some blood. Everyone seems happier now.

I’m still reworking the novel. Things are going slowly, but they are going, thank goodness.

I finally got my invite to ravelry, and I’ve been browsing patterns. I also ordered a box of yarn from knitpicks. I promise to do better about taking photos in the future. I’ve got some socks, scarves and a lace stole on the needles right now.

Expect some more blog updates coming soon. I have several posts in the works that will be coming up shortly, including the promised one on markets.