Comments on: Question: When does an apparently fun way to earn income become a “job”? http://www.marialanger.com/2007/10/05/question-when-does-an-apparently-fun-way-to-earn-income-become-a-job/ Web site and blog for Maria Langer, freelance writer, commercial helicopter pilot, and serious amateur photographer Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:42:06 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Mark S. Jungmann aka Laffingbuddha http://www.marialanger.com/2007/10/05/question-when-does-an-apparently-fun-way-to-earn-income-become-a-job/#comment-67028 Mark S. Jungmann aka Laffingbuddha Fri, 05 Oct 2007 19:19:26 +0000 http://www.marialanger.com/2007/10/05/question-when-does-an-apparently-fun-way-to-earn-income-become-a-job/#comment-67028 This is great advice Maria. I love when synchronicty strikes. I lust found this comic and thought I'd share. http://www.tmcm.com/comics/webcomics/tmcm071001 I also have a writing assignment for next week. It's for "free" but like you said I guess you need to start somewhere. This is great advice Maria. I love when synchronicty strikes. I lust found this comic and thought I’d share.

http://www.tmcm.com/comics/webcomics/tmcm071001

I also have a writing assignment for next week. It’s for “free” but like you said I guess you need to start somewhere.

]]> By: Maria Langer http://www.marialanger.com/2007/10/05/question-when-does-an-apparently-fun-way-to-earn-income-become-a-job/#comment-67012 Maria Langer Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:17:46 +0000 http://www.marialanger.com/2007/10/05/question-when-does-an-apparently-fun-way-to-earn-income-become-a-job/#comment-67012 I always wanted to be a writer, from the time I was a kid. But my parents pressured me into a more "practical" career. I got a BBA in Accounting and became and auditor and financial analyst for 8 years. I didn't like it. In fact, sometimes I hated it. The move to a writing career came with lots of preparation. I began by writing a lot of freebie articles about the things I knew about from work. My first published piece was about auditing construction project budgets. (Still can't believe I did THAT for a living.) I became a part-time trainer with the Institute of Internal Auditors through a special arrangement with my employer. I knew how to use computers. My big break was a $10K contract to write a 4-1/2 day course about using computers for auditing. That was in 1990. In those days, laptops weighed 20 lbs (if you were lucky) and everyone used Lotus 1-2-3. I left my full-time job to work on that project and filled in the income gaps as a freelance computer applications instructor teaching Lotus macros (I really was a Lotus whiz in those days), and various Macintosh topics. My first book proposal, which was about Macintosh telecommunications, was turned down because the topic didn't have a big enough market. (Truth is, I was ahead of my time by about 2 years.) But I eventually got a ghostwriting assignment that led to a co-authorship assignment that led to my own book. That was 68 books ago. (You can read more about this at http://www.marialanger.com/2004/12/06/freebies/.) The point is, if you want something bad enough -- for example, to earn your living by doing the things you love -- you need to work hard to set yourself up as someone who can do that thing for pay. That means getting your work out there for people to see and coming up with ways to market yourself. It's a long, hard road sometimes -- especially with creative endeavors like writing or photography or art. But if you're good and you're patient and you work your butt off to find buyers for your work, you CAN succeed. Really. I always wanted to be a writer, from the time I was a kid. But my parents pressured me into a more “practical” career. I got a BBA in Accounting and became and auditor and financial analyst for 8 years. I didn’t like it. In fact, sometimes I hated it.

The move to a writing career came with lots of preparation. I began by writing a lot of freebie articles about the things I knew about from work. My first published piece was about auditing construction project budgets. (Still can’t believe I did THAT for a living.) I became a part-time trainer with the Institute of Internal Auditors through a special arrangement with my employer. I knew how to use computers. My big break was a $10K contract to write a 4-1/2 day course about using computers for auditing. That was in 1990. In those days, laptops weighed 20 lbs (if you were lucky) and everyone used Lotus 1-2-3. I left my full-time job to work on that project and filled in the income gaps as a freelance computer applications instructor teaching Lotus macros (I really was a Lotus whiz in those days), and various Macintosh topics.

My first book proposal, which was about Macintosh telecommunications, was turned down because the topic didn’t have a big enough market. (Truth is, I was ahead of my time by about 2 years.) But I eventually got a ghostwriting assignment that led to a co-authorship assignment that led to my own book. That was 68 books ago. (You can read more about this at http://www.marialanger.com/2004/12/06/freebies/.)

The point is, if you want something bad enough — for example, to earn your living by doing the things you love — you need to work hard to set yourself up as someone who can do that thing for pay. That means getting your work out there for people to see and coming up with ways to market yourself. It’s a long, hard road sometimes — especially with creative endeavors like writing or photography or art. But if you’re good and you’re patient and you work your butt off to find buyers for your work, you CAN succeed.

Really.

]]> By: Mark S. Jungmann aka Laffingbuddha http://www.marialanger.com/2007/10/05/question-when-does-an-apparently-fun-way-to-earn-income-become-a-job/#comment-67007 Mark S. Jungmann aka Laffingbuddha Fri, 05 Oct 2007 14:25:54 +0000 http://www.marialanger.com/2007/10/05/question-when-does-an-apparently-fun-way-to-earn-income-become-a-job/#comment-67007 I think people who have jobs often think that the grass is always greener on the other side. Speaking as someone who has a job, I often think that wouldn't it be cool if I were a writer or had my own business. Then I realize just how much work that would be and I become overwhelmed. I think if I did write or have my own business it would have to be at something that I felt so passionate about that the chance of me regretting the decision would be almost nil. I also think that our ideas of "work" and jobs in our culture is shifting. I like to think of what I do to pay my mortgage as "work". I also think of my creative pursuits of writing, photography and radio production as my work also. What I'd really like to see is some income come from those creative pursuits and that's where I become hung-up. I think people who have jobs often think that the grass is always greener on the other side. Speaking as someone who has a job, I often think that wouldn’t it be cool if I were a writer or had my own business. Then I realize just how much work that would be and I become overwhelmed. I think if I did write or have my own business it would have to be at something that I felt so passionate about that the chance of me regretting the decision would be almost nil. I also think that our ideas of “work” and jobs in our culture is shifting. I like to think of what I do to pay my mortgage as “work”. I also think of my creative pursuits of writing, photography and radio production as my work also. What I’d really like to see is some income come from those creative pursuits and that’s where I become hung-up.

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