Focus, focus, focus!

Hi!

I've recently handed in an article about Bossa Nova to d/visible ezine. I'm also in talks with the editor-in-chief for another article about music. 
Meanwhile, I've been juggling with more ideas about articles to submit to several other publications and websites, while I'm waiting for the answers to the questionnaire (see How European Are You?).

At the same time, I've also joined the ranks of Constant Content, as an opportunity to showcase my work and sell it through this website. It's possible that I might start directing 80% of my writings towards CC, as it seems a place with potential for me to sell my works. Nevertheless, I keep on doing what I've been doing since I started this process: bid on Elance and pitch articles to magazines I find online that sound interesting.

Apart from the obvious difficulties associated with freelancing, that are more than covered around in different articles throughout the World Wide Web, I'm finding it extremely hard to focus sometimes; hence, the title for this post.
Working from home is hard. It may be even harder sometimes than to work in an office, or generally speaking, outside your house. For starters, managing your own schedule and dealing with the autonomy of being your own boss is a challenge. I find myself oscillating between laxism and authoritarism: on the one hand, I get up early in the morning and plant myself in front of the computer and do research, write, and look for business opportunities. On the other, I freak out because I have to walk the dogs, do the laundry and the dishes, or shop for groceries. Oh, and the red-tape stuff you always tend to leave to the last day and then, bam! in your face it blows!
Some days, I just let it slide a bit and oversleep. And, of course, time has no complacency for late-sleepers: you still have a million stuff to do, but less hours to do it.

Something else I tend to find complicated, and that's part of the job I guess, is managing a bunch of ideas all at the same time.
Writing is like exercising a muscle, in my opinion: the more you write, the more ideas you have, and the more you want to write. Speaking for myself, a month ago I had no idea what I should write about. Now, I have an idea every five minutes. I write everything down in a notebook, as in raw notes about stuff, and I use those notes as a reference for articles. If one day, for some reason, the well seems to dry out, I can always come back and pick something off the notebook.
But still, I can't seem to actually focus on one specific theme.

So, instead of going insane with this thought, I've decided to dedicate my time to a topic at a time, and move on to the next one when I have a satisfactory article written. Otherwise, I don't think I can be productive: sure, my mind is working full-time, but not my writing.
I mean, come on! I'm a good researcher, and I'm confident in my writing capabilities. All I need to do now is to consubstanciate that into paper!

By the way: this weekend, there is a strong possibility that this blog will change. I think we are ready to move into our new address www.thehouseofwords.com. I'm going to have a new website!!!!!!

My illustrations, stolen and published in new book

My illustrations, stolen and published in new book

Posted using ShareThis

Keep'em coming!

Hi,

I've been sort of off this week, as ideas have been maturing, and I spent all my connects on Elance...

Here are some more topics I'm interested in writing about:

• Yoga
  
• Tai Chi
• Meditation
• Martial Arts
• Vegetarianism
• Neo - Paganism
• New Religious Movements
• Occult
• Astrology
• Tarot
• Men, Women and human relationships (...oh yeah, this one is going to give me enough to write for about 20 years!)

If you'd like to see more topics I want to write about, have a look at the first post "Introduction", so you can have the full picture.

I'm also expecting the returned questionnaires for the article "How European Are You?", which I hope, will start arriving next week. Then, when it's all done, I'll be anxious to see who will want to buy it. Maybe my mom will...

How European are you?

Hello!

I decided to move forward with one of the article projects I've quoted in the previous post
So, in order to write this, I'm going to need your help. I've set up a questionnaire that includes some interesting questions I'd like you to answer to... if you are a EU-resident, of course!

My feeling is that there is a lot of talk all the time about the European Union, and you do have to admit it is exotic to have a currency called Euro, from Portugal to Austria (hey Sonja!), but I'm not sure if the talk includes the our opinion: the commoners. Eh eh, love that word, it's so snob!

Anyway, I'll be sending this questionnaire to my Facebook list, but if you come across this blog, and would like to have your opinions voiced, send me an email, and I'll send you the questionnaire.

I don't know yet where the article will be published, nor when it will be finished and in which language I'm writing it. But every time something comes up about it, I'll let you know by posting about it.

Thanks for helping out just another freelancer!

Some doors slam shut, but this brain keeps on working!

Hi.

I must admit: I haven't been struggling in the freelancing jungle for a very long time. I had tried before, but I think this is the first time I actually plunged into it with the right mindset.
And what mindset is that? The one that doesn't take no for an answer.

One thing is to have a loose relationship with a couple of magazines and websites for some free articles every month, while you're living with your parents. Being proactive, pitching texts and articles for a living, now, that's something entirely different...and hard.
It's like moving onto the next level of a platform game, and getting stuck with the first boss you find when you cross the line. Or, more down-to-earth, like going to endless job interviews, and getting the enlightened "We'll call you." answer.
I can say the later example is also a reality in my life, as we speak.

It's been almost a month since I signed up for Elance, Get a Freelancer and similar websites, and what have I gotten so far? Well, lots of no’s, some maybes and a yes.
For an impatient person like me, this is horrible but I’m into this personal project with the right mindset. I know very well that it is hard to get paid jobs as a writer, especially if you are writing in a language that isn’t your own. I mean, I could write all I wanted in Portuguese, that I’d get the same amount of negative answers as I get right now and I don’t really think it happens because I suck at it.
It’s the way things are: it’s more realistic to expect that more doors will slam shut on you, than doors will open wide for you to go through.

When I'm feeling really down, and almost to the point of giving up and taking a full-time job, I think about J. K. Rowling.
Her personal story is an inspiration to me, because it's the story of a life of an ordinary one-of-us who kept going, and look at what she has acomplished.
In a few words, Harry Potter was "born" when she was unemployed - or doing odd jobs, I'm not sure -, a character she wrote about in notebooks, while sitting in cafes and in public transportation.
He wasn't meant to be the most famous wizard from Hogwarts - he, and his adventures, were a means for J.K. Rowling to do what she loved to do, and to forget the hardships she was living in.
When she sent it to a publisher, she got refused. She received at least 10 letters saying that her story wasn't good enough, until someone thought otherwise and gave her a chance.
Right now, when a Harry Potter book is about to be published, there are literally riots the bookstores; people spend the night in the street, wanting to be the first to buy the first edition of her books.
And I think to myself, damn! she must be really happy!
It's not just about the money - it's about the love you have for words. I understand that completely...

So, what's in my mind right now? Many things...

•  An investigation article about depression: I've been thinking about this for a very long time, as I've suffered from depression for a very long time; it impaired my life for almost three years and maybe if people around me knew more about this illness, things out have worked out differently for me, as a person. I'm interviewing a psychologist and a psychiatrist; I want to interview patients as well, and do some research on statistics. 

• A reportage about Murcia: this is a simple task. I live here, and I like travelling. So, the angle is very simple: If I was coming to Murcia for the first time, what would I like to see?

• An investigation article about the immigrants' situation in Spain: As we all know very well, in recent years, Spain became the destination for many emigrants from Europe and other countries around the world. And, as we unfortunately know, there is an economic crisis happening as we speak. I'd like to interview some immigrants, to tell their stories; past present and future.

• How European are you?: This idea stemmed from a conversation I had six years ago with an Austrian friend, while we were in the Netherlands doing an exchange program. I'm not really revealing much about it, because I think the result is going to be really cool :-)

• The Jukebox Kids: This is something else. It's an idea for an autobiographical novel, based upon my personal experiences as a teenager in the 90's Lisbon. God, I miss those years... I'll be shedding some tears writing this one.
  

Other than this, I'll be waiting to see if the maybes become positive answers, and I'm always available for project proposals. And for knocking on every door to see what happens too.

• 
  

Just another freelancer - Introduction

Starting is always the hardest part, eh?

Well then, hello potential clients. My name is Mariana, and I'm a Portuguese journalist.
I guess that, throughout all my professional life, I've been a freelancer. Since I started university, I began pitching ideas and articles to newspapers and magazines in Portugal, and did all my work for free. The constant working and my academic studies molded my writing, and I think I became a good professional, with a plus: I'm fluent in Spanish, English and French.
Nevertheless, the media world in Portugal is quite chaotic, and it's very hard to get a full-time job as a journalist in a newspaper or magazine. Let's not even mention the online press, an area in which I really like working, but it is as fluctuating as the Web itself...

So, I moved to the south of Spain nearly two years ago, looking for new opportunities and perspectives. As with all beginnings, I have been working in jobs that have nothing to do with journalism or writing, because I need to settle in before I can make an actual move in my area.
But I really never stopped writing; I've always had a blog, and I got a few jobs as a freelancer, writing in Spanish and English.

Recently, I began thinking that it was time to move on to the next phase, and start trying harder to become a freelancer. It's OK if you happen to land on a project and do it; but if you're not seriously into it, then you really can't call yourself a freelancer, and advertise yourself as such, right?

Therefore, it's time to take the next step. I'm openly looking for clients who may be interested in my expertises, and I'll be fighting hard in the freelance jungle to get my message across.

How can I write?

• In several languages: English, French, Spanish and Portuguese
  
• In different formats: articles, editorials, reportages, fiction, non-fiction, press releases, reports, academic, translations, shopping lists...
  

I'm a writer with quality and experience. I'm available to learn from clients and, most importantly, able to provide them with they need.

What can I write about?

• Music
• Society
• Cultural topics
• Religion
• Spanish lifestyle
• Literature
• International and current affairs
• Any topic: open to suggestions

I'll be using this blog to post writing samples and information about current projects and ideas.

I'll keep you posted, if you keep me posted too!