I'm still alive and writing online...
Thank you to all my online writing friends who've dropped me a note during my blogging hiatus ... I am still alive, immersed in a busy, full life as a mom of five (!)
While I've had to scale back my writing and internet marketing more than I anticipated, I'm still working. I don't always blog about it because, frankly, I haven't had much to share with you all that would be beneficial to you ... I've just been blogging, keeping up with social networking in my niche and the usual things we online writers do to get traffic and revenue.
Like many in the online writing field have noted, things have changed quite a bit over the past couple years (the easy days of eHow articles that made thousands are long gone!) Sometimes we're tempted to give up, as if so much has changed that there is no way to make enough money working part-time to meet your needs. I can hardly believe that only 18 months ago I made over $5,000 during a month that I worked only a few hours a week. Those were the days!
But where is the money, and the fun?
Contrast that with May, June and July of this year -- my online earnings hovered under the $1,000 mark for each month. Yes, it's an income, but not the kind of income I'd like to see ... those the five kids like to eat (and go to school)!
Recently, coming out of the fog of a month-long string of chicken pox kids and multiple overnight guests that visited one after the other, I had the chance to sit down at my computer again. And there I was, all the time in the world (at least, a few hours) and I realized my heart wasn't in it. I had the keywords ready for my next set of blog posts, I actually enjoy the subject matter, but I didn't feel the same energy and excitement that I used to.
I wanted it to be fun and enjoyable again, but I barely realized that. I worked on my articles, as my goals and plans I'd penned weeks before clearly outlined that I should, but the enjoyment wasn't there.
Maybe I'm not alone in that. Have you felt "burnout" or boredom in your online writing and marketing lately? (If you haven't, I want to know your secrets!) If you have ... are you just pushing through the pain?
10 comments:
I do not get bored unless I am writing about something that does not interest me. However, when I stop going to the computer to write every day,it gets easier NOT to write the next day. It's kind of like exercise. Make it routine, even if it is for a short bit.
Sorry for all those chicken pox! At least it is over!
I've been feeling the burnout most of this year. I could tell the quality just isn't there anymore, even though I still like writing. What I've been focusing on instead is fiction.. I've always wanted to be an author, so with the technology available through Amazon, I'm hoping to pen a book before my second baby. Nothing might come from this, but it is nice stretching my creative writing muscles.
mmm -- Good insight -- getting away form writing for too long definitely makes it harder to write productively. I'm scheduled to write for 2-3 hours a day form here out, and have a mother's helper coming next week -- hopefully writer's block will cease!
asithi -- Wow, your comment is very timely -- I was just reading the advice of one very successful Amazon kindle author who highly recommends people write fiction ebooks, whether or not they write non-fiction. I enjoyed fiction writing back in high school and college so I am eager to give it a try once more.
What resources are you using to help get yourself back in the creative writing mode?
It definitely can be a drag sometimes. But what works best for me is I have to be in the right mood. If I am psyched up about the subject matter, I have a good coffee buzz and maybe some Pandora radio rockin, the words just flow.
Conversely, if I am not in the mood and feel I have a deadline to meet, then it becomes laborious.
The other day, I was cranking out the words like wildfire, so as soon as I finished the one piece, I jumped to another and roughed out an additional topic. When your in the zone you have to ride it out!
...Dude @ MoneyintheGarage.com
Dude, I agree completely! I love it when the words just flow and it's fun and enjoyable. And really, the more frequently we write, the more often that happens.
Nice to see you "back" here as there have been a lot of blogs that I used to follow that have fallen silent. I'm sort of in the same situation and life has just gotten in the way of working as much as I would like. No real advice just a lil comment to let you know you are not alone! :)
Every now and then I burn out. And not just on writing; other projects too. I find that I have to stop and search for my motivation again. Sometimes just surfing the web, I'll find inspiration, or watching my favorite movie, or reading a favorite book will get me going again :-)
Yeah I have been completely burned out a couple times! I am not sure I would say boredom for me, I love blogging, but more or less just burned out and not able to concentrate on the words to write. I have been blogging for 5 years and it has happened a few times for me!
Glad your kiddos feel better :)
I totally agree. I still love writing "how to" articles and when I wrote for eHow... it was the best! I so miss those days. No other websites compare to eHow in regards to the money you made. I write How to articles for a website called FyiHow.com and just add my affiliate links in the resource boxes. It's no eHow but at least I can still make money from affiliate marketing.
2013 was a big burn out year for me :( I am trying to turn it all around in 2014. It is hard when you have so much on your plate. Sometimes your blogging just suffers.
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