Writing Feb 10-12

I managed to write 3 articles for Textbroker, 2 of them quite long. Incidentally, I have decided on a new way of determining how I am doing as far as making enough money to cover my bills and my obsessions. Back when I had one very good client and some smaller accounts I had a contract that basically worked out to $20 a day. This, plus the small accounts, provided me with enough money that I wasn't just scrambling from payment to payment.

So, I've started keeping track of whatever I bring in by writing, blogging, and my remaining web accounts. I am aiming for that goal of $20 a day. It's a little goofy, because some of them I count when I do the work, and some when the cash actually comes in, but at least I know that it will eventually work out to nearly my previous income. Certain venues that pay by the article are easy to count when the money is earned. Others are silly to count until they actually come in since they build by pennies a day.

I've been tracking it for almost a month. It's too early for the long-term benefit to kick in because some of those venues have a 60-day time lag for payment (nice for them...). And I haven't really been able to achieve that level of work product. It's amazing. I used to earn my $20 in an hour in the morning, and the rest of the day was free to do other things- lots of volunteering, more goofing off, planning and accomplishing hikes, etc. Now, I'm on the computer for hours and hours every day, and not even making that much.

Meanwhile, just for this month, I have to make another $160 on TB before the 20th so I can cash it out in time to pay my credit card bill. That means I have to write $20 worth of stuff every day whether it takes me 2 hours or 5. Fortunately they just posted a bunch of new assignments.

I'm sure this all comes under the heading of Too Much Information, but I really can't keep living this tight. It's killing me that I can't volunteer with the trail hardly at all any more. I don't have time to do creative projects. I can't drive to maintain my section of trail, or hike hardly anywhere except out my back door. My one splurge has been to continue to hike the North Country Trail, and I won't give that up. I am owed $100 by someone and they don't think they can pay me till next month. I can understand that, but it doesn't help me. I found out that Josh, on his Bridge Card (food stamps) gets $200 a month for food. Sheesh. I wish I could spend $200 a month just on food! OK, I'm done. Now I'll get out the pictures, and share the fun stuff.

None of this was really shared in a complaining mode, I just need to make some things happen.