I heard a funny saying today. I received a targeted piece of political email (unsolicited of course) with the following bold statement in the subject line: They Say 99% of Life is Just Showing Up. Well, I don't happen to agree. In the freelance world, in my writing life, "just showing up" is roughly 1% of the whole game. Just 1%. The other 99%, or on most days, the other 300%, is hard, hard work. Anyone agreeing with that?



I'd like to know what profession dictates success merely from… Continue

I found myself at a networking event marveling aloud to a male colleague, a fellow writer, about the busy schedule of writing tasks I've had recently. He was mildly annoyed. He had been working for free, barely making it. He was shocked by my revelation and, perhaps, a bit put off by my confidence. He suggested that I was quite lucky. I wondered am I really? Do I work harder? Network better? Do I need the money more desperately? Do I enjoy writing? Do I sell myself better? Am I always… Continue

I've always been a reckless girl. I learned to walk before learning to crawl. When I noticed that everyone else was crawling, I learned to crawl. My mom was afraid I would never walk again. At 17, I drove my flashy red Mustang off a bridge: small, one-lane, flooded. The police officer did not find me to be reckless, for once. When I went to college, I flunked out my freshman year. "You cannot be so reckless," my mother said. She wondered what I would do without an education. So did I frankly. I… Continue