Breaking Even is now in its new home at www.breakingeveninc.com/blog.
If you want to subscribe to the RSS feed, click here.
If you want to subscibe via email, click here.
I do hope you'll make the move...thanks and I look forward to seeing you on the new site!
J at Budgets are Sexy posted to Facebook today about his 500th blog post. I remember I was getting close to that number too so I just checked.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is my 507th blog post. That means I have sat down and thought of something to write over 500 different times. Very cool, I can't believe I missed it.
Thanks for reading the blog. I appreciate it. And heres to another 507 posts to come!
I subscribe to over 200 blogs and websites but you certainly wouldn't know it from my blog recently. I've basically had time to read and bookmark and that's about it. And then I get frustrated that my stuff isn't getting linked!
Yeah, I get it; it's time to pop out of my oh-my-life-is-a-whirlwind-of-change bubble and do a little aknowledgement of cool things going on elsewhere online, because there are certainly plenty.
Cool Business-y Links
Scheduling A 20 Minute Meeting with Yourself (at Unclutterer)
Time set aside every day or every week to check in with yourself and prioritize what you should be doing. Great idea, going straight into the common sense file.
Find A Need And Fill It Approach To Small Business (at Mrs. Micah)
Sometimes businesses just happen because you see a need and fill it. A business doesn't have to be a revolutionary idea that no one is doing, it just has to be something that someone is willing to pay for.
Are You Struggling Over A Small Readership (at Men With Pens)
So while my blog doesn't have this stat posted anywhere, I have 125 subscribers. After almost two years, I find moderately discouraging. Then this article showed up in my feedreader. So if you have a small following, take heart because in some ways, it's a good thing.
Freedom From Distractions (at Unclutterer)
Apparently, there is now a web program you can download to block social networking (and other time draining) sites temporarily. If you need it, it's worth checking out but personally, my timer keeps me on task.
Cool Saving Money Links
The Importance of Income Diversity (at Gather Little By Little)
Working a few different gigs to pay your bills? Market it as income diversification, and magically the hodge podge sounds pretty fantastic, not to mention responsible.
Scams: What the FTC Wants You To Know (at Wisebread)
I may have missed National Consumer Awareness Week in March but, hey, not falling for scams is always a good idea.
Frugality and Charity (at Almost Frugal)
I love that Almost Frugal posts are both about money and culture. It's nice to see our US culture from the outside, and it's important to know we can all be charitable, even on a limited budget.
Update on The Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights (at Master Your Card)
As usual Kristy is all over it. I had forgotten about this legislation but the update is so far, so good.
Cool Other Links
To All The Single Ladies (at Pulsipher Perdilections)
Why you should not take relationship advice from the show Extra. You know, in case you were going to. This woman is hilarious, and I envy the amount of comments on her site.
A Single Bag Of Trash (at Small Notebook)
Two people, one bag of trash for the year. This would be my little dream...
How To Recycle A Bunch Of Stuff (at Wisebread)
Not the actual title of the post but I'm always looking for ways to get rid of things without having to junk them. As usual, Wisebread covers a lot of ground, and well.
Ask The Fashionista: Dress For Your Body Type (at DC Goodwill Fashion)
I love the DC Goodwill Fashion blog and the Ask A Fashionista column is fun. Here's a good general post about dressing well for your body. Very important.
Meanwhile do you have a cool blog you don't think I'm reading? Do leave a comment or email and let me know. I do love new reading material, and as you see, I have some variable interests!
I 'met' Alexis online as someone promoting books on behalf of authors. My question was "Wow, you can actually make money helping authors promote books online?" Alexis agreed to elaborate for me and here are some of her answers about how she makes it work.
Promoting a book anytime soon, or wonder how social media types make money online? Read on.
1. Do you work for a company or do you work for yourself?
I work for myself (well, for my clients!) part-time (through my company, www.10thFloorPR.com), and I work for an author/public speaker/counselor/life coach part time (www.maryannelive.com). Though I guess I'm technically still self-employed because I still pay all my taxes myself :-)
2. Do you promote books full time or is that just part of your job?
I do web-based publicity and marketing - or social media strategy, whatever you want to call it! - which includes pretty much anything and everything you can think of. i publicize books, grow social media networks, facilitate blog exchanges, develop contact lists, market events through social media channels, integrate video clips, podcasts, blogs, articles, etc. etc. through multiple online venues, and pursue any number of web-based publicity opportunities to gain exposure.
Beyond that, I do a couple random things here and there: I am a content editor for a start-up travel site (www.valueweekly.com), I blog and write articles for several websites, and I (attempt to) maintain my own blog :-) (www.alexisinthecity.com).
3. How is promoting books online different then promoting other things?
I've been working with authors and promoting books for almost as long as I've been in the web publicity game, so I'm not sure how thoroughly I can answer that!
What I can say is that I've found that the ideal situation with book promotion online is to have an amazing "brand" to go along with it. Some people who aren't as tuned in to the web 2.0 world want you to do that all for them, along with promoting the book! It can be done, but it's much more difficult, with much less dazzling results - and it takes a lot longer! An author doesn't have to have an established, highly frequented online presence - that's what i'm here for! - but when the foundation is already in place it makes things a lot easier.
4. Let's say I've written a book and want to hire someone like you to promote it. What's one piece of advice you'd give me?
Find someone who actually cares about your message. I may be shooting myself in the foot by saying this - because - I'll be honest - I've had clients I've taken on just for the money! - But both people will get so much more out of a partnership where there's an understanding of the underlying work and message of the book/author/persona, etc. I can say that from experience :-)
And ... don't expect results RIGHT AWAY. I've had people start out on a shoestring budget and then cut me out altogether because they weren't selling books. Of course, as an author, the goal is to sell books, but you can't sell books without building a presence and that just takes time - in the online world and in the offline world! If you don't have the time/money/patience to invest in a long-term social media strategy, you're probably better off either saving that money or putting it toward another type of publicity.
5. How did you get started doing this?
I always tell people - what I do now wasn't even a "thing" when I was in college (and it hasn't been THAT LONG since I was in college :-). The online world has blow up FAST and I guess I was in the right place at the right time.
My degree is in journalism, my background is in TV, specifically as a news producer. I started out at network affiliates (ABC, CBS, etc), and when it was clear that industry was dying, I moved over to internet/cable TV (current.com). When that wasn't super stimulating, I went to work for myself, not really sure what I was doing, where I was going, how I wanted things to pan out - only that I was tired of having a "real job," and didnt want to punch a clock any more.
I started out taking any type of relatively related consulting work I could get. I did a lot of article writing, blogging, ghost blogging, website publicity, brand evangelizing, content management, and website content writing etc.
It just so happened I knew a guy who had a small, independent publishing company - and he also did traditional marketing - and was looking for someone to help out on the web side of things. I began working with him and his clients developing their online marketing and publicity strategy (he's one of the people I still work with!), and that helped give me the experience to land the job with Maryanne (the author whose book she is currently promoting).
Plus - I live in silicon valley and have always been pretty plugged into to web 2.0 trends - so I like to think that gives me a bit of an edge :-)
So at lunch yesterday, John said the exact thing you never want to hear at the beginning part of a relationship.
"There is something I need to tell you."
My imagination is quite active so I had some crazy stuff go through my brain in those few second that followed. I tried to keep my face blank and non-judgmental as I said, "Go ahead."
"I actually do have a blog... It's anonymous. I started it a couple years ago. I don't mind giving you the address if you want it."
I was relieved it wasn't something actually insane. It was also kind of validating, since I had also been telling him that he should have a blog several times this weekend. He's an interesting person, a gifted photographer, and a great writer.
But there is where my stance on his blog ends.
I actually don't want to read it. At all.
This isn't because I don't care about what he's thinking or don't think he is a good writer. I just know that when you write anonymously, it is noticeably different, both in style and content, then what you would write if your whole name were associated with it. (I've often envied anonymous bloggers and their ability to be candid in a way that I can't, and have toyed with the idea of starting an anonymous blog myself.)
If I had access to John's blog, all of a sudden everything he wrote would have to be passed through some kind of "Is it OK for Nicole to read this?" filter for him, completely detracting from the very reason he started the blog in the first place.
So in a humorous plot twist in my life story, I am apparently dating an anonymous blogger.
It has been agreed that he will send me text to posts he's proud of and wants to share with me via email. I have decided I am not going looking for this blog. We are both ok with this.
Meanwhile have you found yourself in this position? If you are an anonymous blogger, how (and did) you break it to your significant other?
Social bookmarking websites are one of those things that I know I grasp only add that basic level. I do know though that they can be very powerful, especially after this last weekend. Friday, I had my first stumble. I happened to look at my stats (just another exciting Friday night in my life!) and I saw huge spike in traffic.
When I look at the referrers I found a woman who'd stumbled an old post of mine. (This post in case you were curious). For the next 24 hours at my usual weekend traffic was doubled. I could have hugged this woman, I was that excited.
Social bookmarking is a great way to keep your favorite links organized and searchable not to mention give props to someone who wrote something that was enjoyable to you. So increasing knowledge and my own positive personal experience combined, I have seen the light. I heart social bookmarking! I've decided to finally get into this. For serious.
Any ideas as to why social bookmarking site I should start with? I find the "Stumble Upon" toolbar thing hasn't worked for me since I am on a couple different computers everyday...
On more than one occasion, I've been at a social gathering and people wanted to know what I do and how much I charge. It is not often easy to come up with; every Web project seems to be pretty different, but there are some common things I get asked about a lot.
I've been drafting a price list for about six months. Sometimes a look at it and I'll think "that's too expensive" or "I didn't charge enough for that". Most of the time though, I find it hard to put a price on some of my services. First of all, no one else seems to be posting their prices for these kind of things, at least not that I've found. Second of all, I feel like once I upload this PDF, I'm locked in. And that's kind of scary.
This week, I purchased an ad in the paper (50% discount, sweet!) and promised an online price list. Just the kick in the pants I needed to get myself to finally do this!
This price list also exists partially because people don't quite understand what I do. Most people think that I design websites (which if it were true would be a total conflict of interest with my day job). Really what I do is help market websites. And to help wipe that bizarre expression off peoples' faces, I have to give some examples.
So today I'm taking a deep breath and I'm posting my price list. I have no idea whether it's competitive or not but I do know how long it takes me to do some of these things and I guess that's a start. So please check it out here if you feel so inclined; I'd love opinions! (Okay, unless they're really bad in which case please soften the blow.)
Over the weekend, I had two great house guests. One is my V-have friend S. The other was her 1.5 year old daughter I.
To keep my apartment from being the potential death trap it normally is, I looked around, squatting, hoping to spot the potential hazards. I took the portable potential death traps and stored them in my car for the weekend (remember my 220 square foot apartment with no closets?). The other ones were moved to inconvenient locations after which I hoped for the best.
Of course, the kiddo was pretty chill and I had the best built in toy ever: my smallish dog. Both Sadie and I are still recovering from all that energy (we slept a lot last night) so I thought it may be a good time to talk about some fun stuff I've stumbled across recently.
1 Chicken, $17 Meals, $26 Bucks, No Mayo from Cheap Healthy Good
No one can stretch a food buck better then Cheap Healthy Good. My one beef with them is they don't like mayo, which I love.
A Story Of Sucky Roommates from Master Your Card
If anyone can write a story, it's Kristy and there are several ministories in one. Makes me feel a little less indulgent for wanting to live by myself!
Do Nigerian Scam Artists Catch More Flies With Threats Of Detainment? from Wisebread
I always thought those Nigerian scam artist things were kind of interesting...and this post by Linsey Knerl really gets into one of them.
An Amazing Video on the Relevance of Technology from Maine PR Maven
Nancy posted this video awhile back and I finally watched all five minutes tonight. Blew my mind. Well worth the five minutes it takes to watch it (and forward it to anyone who thinks this whole computer thing will pass.)
Using Google Calendar To Pay Bills On Time from Free From Broke
I've been using Google Calendar for about three weeks. It's changed my life. Seriously. And if organizing your life isn't a good enough reason, use it to remember to pay bills.
Your Logo Makes Me Barf from Give Me Back My Five Bucks
Completely unrelated to anything, this made me chuckle. (The second link on the list is funnier then the first but both will make you feel like you have serious art skills compared to some people out there.)
Happy Monday!
I noticed that my blogger friends Jennifer at Getting Ahead had a way to subscribe to her blog via e-mail using Feedburner service. I've talked at length about how RSS feeds have changed my life I realized an e-mail subscription is also a good option for people.
I e-mailed Jennifer and asked her how it worked. She said not only was she using Feedburner but that it was really easy to set up.
I finally looked it up on my lunch break Friday and was done setting everything up in about five minutes. So if you want to get Breaking Even posts by e-mail, just type in your address underneath my photograph on the left sidebar of this blog. It's that easy.
Don't you love it when things end up being easier than you thought?
Holy Technology! week continues...
One of the most technological people I know is someone who is actually doing a lot with education. Jim Burke is the Western Maine MLTI Mentor/Coach, a position he's held for the past 4 years. He blogs about technology and education at Learning In Maine. Previous to that he was a district-wide technology integrator for 2 years. And prior to that, he was in the trenches a classroom teacher for 32 years in the Oxford Hills School District.
Jim lives in the village of West Paris, within walking distance to the general store. He two grown daughters; Jessica, a physician in Chapel Hill, North Carolina; and Melissa, a stable manager at Iron Spring Farms in Pennsylvania. When not immersed in technology, he enjoy gardening, community theater, carpentry, fishing, and being a jack-of-all-trades at my local church.
I continue to be interested in education and to think about how technology is changing it.
Your blog Learning In Maine really tackles technology in education in such a community way that I don't often run into online. How much time do you spend keeping it going?
I think community is important, Nicole, and physical community has certainly taken a hit during my lifetime. I'm not sure online communities replace that, but they seem to be what is available and certainly do open up the world in ways that I couldn't have imagined 20 years ago. The concept of the LIM blog was to have a place where many writers would share their thoughts and suggestions on learning, with a focus on Maine. While passionate writers like yourself and several others have made wonderful contributions, I've been hoping many more would jump in. Be that as it may, I've certainly enjoyed testing my own ideas and finding connections with so many others.
I think you would agree that to grow a site, you have to post often. I average about a post a day. Sometimes that translates into several a day. Sometimes when very busy with other work, I might miss several days. Nevertheless, it is important to try to keep it current. Again, the idea is to connect people with what is happening statewide and beyond.
What's one technology that teachers you work with seem to be really embracing?
I firmly believe that a tool used by busy teachers needs to be simple and user-friendly. There are many of them out there! When the tool gets in the way of learning, then it should be reconsidered. Many teachers are now using wikis to open an online presence. Many are using online web 2.0 apps such as Voicethread. I encourage the use of Google apps even though many schools still block those sites.Teachers are pragmatic . . . they'll use tools that they can depend on.
If you could make every teacher and student try something out, technologywise, something that you think would change their lives, what would it be?
Gosh, Nicole, there are so many possibilities. There are some extremely powerful tools on the MLTI laptops, such as GarageBand, Sketch-Up Pro, and iMovie. As far as online tools, my personal favorite at this moment is the Ning make-your-own social network. I think it could be a "killer-app" for the classroom! I certainly would be making use of it if I were still a classroom teacher.
Some older teachers must be reluctant to use technology in their classrooms. What are some ways you help them come around?
There has to be a good reason to use a new technology. It has to serve a purpose, be dependable and engage the teacher and students. Like just about anything else in education, it is important to connect at a personal level. In my work with teachers, that is what I try to do.
What do you see as the next big thing in technology and education?
I'm not much of a prognosticator, Nicole. Lots of magic out there. I see incredible developments almost every day. I see the multi-touch tablet notebook/netbook to have great possibilities. Imagine being able to sculpt the screen. Seems to me that adds a whole new level of participation. The semantic web, what some call web 3.0, will certainly take us to a new level as well.
Will we become enslaved by technology or empowered by it?
This question occupies my thoughts perhaps more than it should. Perhaps it is because of my age, but I have a love/hate relationship with technology. Where is it taking us? I think we all need to keep asking questions and not just accept blindly what comes down the road. Neil Postman explained better than I can in "Informing Ourselves to Death" http://www.frostbytes.com/~jimf/informing.html and Jason Ohler gives us some sub-questions to ask http://www.jasonohler.com/resources/handouts.cfm.
My fourth post in this week's special Holy Technology! series.
Ah, long weekends. They sure do sound like fun but they involve a lot of preparation.
I'm headed northward skiing with a few friends (and seeing some family and friends at the same time) and since I am headed out tomorrow, I've had lots to do tonight (in addition to my usual French class). So pardon me while I have a glass of wine and share a few cool technology-related links in a relaxed fashion:
"I Married The Eiffel Tower"
Got to love the top ten Google search terms. I don't usually lead with the random but I couldn't resist this time. I saw this was the top term earlier this week and had to click on it. I was preparing for something lame but it was an interesting article about why people feel attachments to and have relationships with inanimate objects.
Some Funny Software Development Quotes
One of my coworkers found this site and it's actually pretty funny, even if you're lowish tech like me. Among my favorites: “A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any other invention in human history, with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila.” - Mitch Ratcliffe
(Don't just read the thirteen quotes, the comments are pretty great too.)
How To Build Your Own Treadmill Desk for $40
If I didn't live in 220 square feet of space, I would totally consider doing this. Actually, I obsessively researched it for a couple days but couldn't figure out a way to make it work. Here's the best link I found for those of us who can't pay $1,000+ for a desk. And interesting idea at the very least!
Unclutterer reminds us all of RSS readers
If you don't know what an RSS reader is and you have to keep track of more then a couple websites, you should give them a shot. Seriously. They'll change your life if you let them.
Leave it to the New York Times to give everyone something to talk about, this time...
Managing your email and Sex, Lies, and Photoshop (ladies, watch this video. You'll feel a lot better about fashion magazines!)
And in case you really want to feel behind the ball, Maine second graders know how to Twitter. *Gulp*
Stay tuned tomorrow and Saturday from some cool insights into the world of digital art and online dating from some of my very smart friends...
The second post of my Holy Technology! series this week only.
I'm always happy when I hear from far-flung friends and they say that visiting my blog is like talking to me. They feel they are able to keep up with my life through it, which is also really nice to hear. I like that my blog is something that people who know me or don't know me can enjoy and that it does seem really personal. You'd think my life is quite an open book right? Well, not exactly.
Here are some things I never write about, which you may or may not have noticed before:
1) My job. Sure I work at a newspaper website but I bet you would be hard pressed to think of anything else you know about it. Interactions with coworkers, clients, and even my feelings about my job are all privately held, and rightly so. The same goes for my online business.
2) My friends. All friends and photos of friends on this blog are used with their permission only. I respect people's right to privacy and just because I live a public life doesn't make my friend's lives automatically public. This is why sometimes only initials are mentioned.
3) My romantic life. Details about my relationships are my business only. I did mention moving out of my boyfriend's house six months ago because that really shifted my personal finances (which is the general subject of this blog). As a single person maintaining a professional online presence, I am barely comfortable discussing this subject with my friends and family, let alone the world.
4) Negativity. Other then an occasional post last year about dealing with death (which I still struggle with), you don't hear about my personal problems on this blog. We all have issues to deal with and those are for conversations with friends or a paid shrink.
That said, I have used this blog to talk a bit about death and mental health because I think our culture is so insular about both these subjects. I hope I have shown that dealing with death is an ongoing process and that perfectly sane people can seek mental help.
5) The Grandmother-Boss Rule. Anything I'm not sure of posting, I think of my grandmother and my boss reading it. If it passes both tests, I put it online.
So while my communication style is open, there are some things that I draw the line at talking about.
What lines do you draw?
The first post of my Holy Technology series this week only!
I heard on one my favorite blogs Nerve's Scanner that Skittles has fully jumped on board with this whole social networking thing. On the "chatter" portion of their website for example, there is a feed that displays every time someone twitters (or tweets) with the word "skittles" in it. (To get past liabilities of potentially racy content, you have to enter your birthdate and aknowledge Skittles' lack of responsibility for content before entering the website.)
I mean the landing page for skittles.com is a Wikipedia page. At first I thought I typed it wrong but then I realized that they did this on purpose. Interesting. You can read all the social networking details here.
So on one hand it's a great idea. Skittles gets a bunch of overly connected people like myself to mention this on blogs and websites and gets me to tweet to my network of followers. But aside from being an interesting concept...Will anyone visit the site more than once? Will this translate into increased sales or is this just a brand building project for Skittles? And is anyone even going to be talking about this next week?
It's certainly hard to tell. Mars is a privately held company so we can't look at the stock ticker to see if Skittle's value has gone up or down recently. Evidence would be purely anecdotal.
So what do you think of this marketing plan? Great idea or just something that'll pass? As socially networked as I am, I find myself moderately annoyed with this campaign.
I'm home tonight preparing for the last two French classes of my adult education session.
On one hand, le temps passe vite, but on the other, every time I teach a new class I rediscover how much work teaching really is, especially when you want to do a good job.
The people in my class (this time in particular) are hard workers. I mean I don't have anything like a grade that I can hold over their heads and still, they do the outside classwork anyway. You've got to respect that!
So while I try to find out how to make direct and indirect object pronouns interesting, a few fun links I've been reading:
Frugal Upstate: Web-based Calendars For Organization And Planning
After paying my $.90 liber a fine last week I realized the Post-it on my Google homepage was no longer going to cut it for timely reminders. Frugal upstate reminded me of web-based calendars. My new Google calendar system has already made me more productive.
Northern Cheapskate: Can You Fix The Economy?
For all you control freaks and or finance nerds, you can hop online and see if you can save the US and global economies with a computer simulation. If you succeed, you should probably take a screenshot of the winning screen and e-mail it to Obama. You might score yourself a cool cabinet seat or something.
Freakonomics: The New Six Word Motto For The US
The winner was "Our worst critics prefer to stay." but check out the other entries for some equally funny stuff.
Master Your Card: The Rule of 72
If you want to actually understand financial stuff, subscribe to this blog. Kristy is great at explaining, in this case how to calculate how long it will take for an investment to double at a given interest rate. Seriously, she can even make this interesting.
The Simple Dollar: Using Twitter To Save Money
And you thought Twitter was just for fun and profit (well, indirect profit anyway). Trent has a list of people with deals that you can follow. It's how I found out about Redbox having free movies on Mondays. I was then able to tell the editor of our paper about it (he has a movie review column) and now he thinks I'm smart.
The Screaming room: Often Misheard Lyrics
Completely unrelated to anything, I've always thought that CCR song said "There's a bathroom on the right" and I guess I'm not alone. I'm having the French class try to figure out song lyrics this week... maybe this post is where I indirectly got the idea!
So Bonsoir and Happy Middle of the Week!
I realized that there have been a few things going in my life that people may or may not be updated on. Not the most compelling post but sometimes a little housekeeping is in order!
Last week, I got a promotion and a raise.
I was really debating whether or not to write about this. We live in crazy times and I didn't want it to seem like I was rubbing my good fortune in anyone's face. The more I think about it though, the more I thought most everyone would be happy for me.
I've been promoted to the editor position on the new website our newspaper is launching in April. That means less copying and pasting what other people write and more editing and writing my own stuff. My boss thinks it would be a better use of my talents.
Interestingly, when he called me to the back room on last Friday afternoon to tell me this, I thought I might be getting fired. You can read my play by play account of the situation here on my Myspace blog.
My new website is actually happening, and soon!
Part of my job these last six months was selling the commercial web design services of our company. Since I've been doing a pretty good job selling (who knew I could sell stuff?), guess whose website got put on the backburner? Mine.
I now have a logo and the template is getting put together. It looks sharp but for those who want a little inside look, I'm including the logo in this post. You may remember I do like hot pink but hopefully it's not too in-your-face. I'm working on transferring the content off Typepad and onto this new site. What a pain, but I know in the end I'll be glad I have it all on my own site.
My dog had surgery on a possibly cancerous growth.
Some noticed Sadie's absence from the Too Cute Tuesday party this week (and me cozying up to another dog). I love that people were concerned enough to email me about it!
I took Sadie to the vet last week to have a weird growth examined. The vet said it is a 50/50 chance it is cancer (given her age and the growth's location) so I decided to get it removed and find out. Her surgery was on Tuesday and she was a little too zonked to hang out with three other dogs and craft so I left her home.
She now seems to be feeling fine but the growth is being biopsied so I won't know for a couple more days whether I have to make a difficult decision or not. To be honest, I knew what I was getting into adopting an older dog (Sadie was 11 four years ago when I got her) but it's still hard. Keep her in your thoughts!
I've lost 15 pounds...and am still going.
I got a little fat a couple years ago and have been fighting to get back to a healthy weight for awhile. It helps to go to the gym with friends and do a little Wii Fit too.
I stepped on the scale at the gym yesterday and had to slide the pointer down further then I was expecting...I don't want to get into numbers but let's say I haven't been in that "decade" in awhile! I'm down 15 pounds from my highest weight last December, and I feel good!
So consider yourselves updated on pretty much everything in my life unrelated to money. How are you doing?
For the next few Wednesdays, I'll be featuring writers I like and how they hone their craft, use the internet, get writing ideas from life, and rake in the dough.
Kristy is a twentysomething personal finance blogger who has been writing with Master Your Card since May of 2008. During her free time from blogging she works for a credit union in Austin, Texas where she helps clients manage their financial picture.
Though I haven't met Kristy in the real world, I can tell you from her posts and comments, we'd be great friends.
You're a contributor at Master Your Card. I've noticed a trend of other sites recently that are launching with multiple bloggers. How did you find out about Master Your Card and become part of it?
Well, Jonathan posted an ad over at Freelance Writing Gigs (www.freelancewritinggigs.com) looking for a personal finance blogger. Because of my experience in banking, I figured it would be a good opportunity, so I applied. Initially there was another candidate that had applied and Jonathan was torn between the two of us, so we were both writing on a trial basis until Jonathan had an idea of who would be the best fit for the blog.
How do you work with the other contributors at Master Your Card? Do you work with them? There is only Jonathan and myself at this point, though Jonathan has mentioned the possibility of another writer. He and I work independently of each other for the most part, but remain in constant contact for updates on various goings on with the blog. While Jonathan does write and comment on the blog, he handles the administrative stuff and is currently working on our 'ace in the hole,' as it were. He's got a few things in mind for the site that we're both pretty excited about. My job is to write content, keep up with comments, and generally be a presence in the blogosphere.
Do you get assigned topics by the site owner? I'm thinking the more people are involved in a blog the harder it may be to stay on message.
No, I pretty much have free rein to write about what I want to write about. I do ask Jonathan for his input and topics he'd like to see me discuss, but overall he's pretty good at letting me have creative control. He doesn't even do a lot of editing, which is nice. Occasionally I run out of things to talk about and he's always there with some ideas that prod me along and generate other ideas...he's awesome to work with.
How are bloggers like you compensated on these multi-blogger sites? You for example seem to post a ton and it wouldn't seem fair to get compensated the same amount as someone who posts less frequently.
Well, Jonathan and I have a payment arrangement that has changed somewhat since I started writing for him because my role has changed. But, this will vary from one blog to the next. I'm not sure how Jonathan came to his amount initially, but it was fair and I accepted. When we discussed the changes in my role, he asked for my input and I gave him an estimate based on an amount per word. So, it really depends on the writer and the employer as to how the compensation works.
I've asked this question of all the writers in the series. What is the craziest thing you've done to get a story right?
Hmmm. I don't really have anything witty to say here, lol. I'm not usually the "go crazy" type. If a story isn't working, it isn't working and I don't force the issue. This doesn't happen to me much in terms of writing for MYC; however, in my screenwriting this happens quite a bit. If I can't find the story, or make it work, I shelve it and give it some breathing room. I'll come back to it eventually, but I don't try to force it.
I know you do other freelancing work as well. Is it finance related?
I was invited to write with Wisebread, so I'll be sending over my first article probably sometime this weekend. But, for the most part MYC is currently the only freelancing I'm doing. I was working with a site called First 30 Days, which is neat because it helps walk people through the first 30 days of a change. I wrote for the finance channel and I think some of my work is still posted there. For the most part I stick with finance because it's what I know; however, I will occasionally venture out into different things. I've done some ghostwriting on all manner of topics from the mundane to the weird...I once wrote an article on how to solve a Rubik's cube, which was interesting as I've never actually solved one. I've also written some pretty risque "guides" that I won't go into detail on here, but that was a learning experience as well.
I may be interested in contributing to a site like Master Your Card so that I get to write a blog but the site wouldn't have to be my baby. How would I go about finding a gig like this? What general advice to you have to someone considering contributing to a blog like this?
If you're interested in writing for a blog, I'd start with FWG where I found Jonathan and MYC. But, you can also check Craigslist and jobs.problogger.net for a listing of blogs seeking writers. As for general advice, I'd recommend keeping a running list of ideas. I know sometimes I get so busy with other things that I think of really good topics and then lose them in the hustle and bustle that is my day. I rely on Jonathan for those times with his great ideas. But sometimes you don't get as lucky as I have been with Jonathan there to offer ideas, so keep a running list. Add often. Other than that, try to make the writing fit you and not the other way around. If you look at the successful blogs out there, you'll notice that they're all pretty unique in their voice. Find yours early and let it shine in your work. When I first started writing with Master Your Card, I was pretty stiff because I was adjusting, but I think I've let my personality come out a little more and that's what draws people in. Sure, the content is important too, but the delivery makes all the difference.
Read Kristy's writing on the Master Your Card Blog or subscribe to the Master Your Card feed so you don't miss a thing.
Wednesday Writer Spotlight with Mark Laflamme...
Wednesday Writer Spotlight with Melanie Brooks...
Wednesday Writer Spotlight with Carrie Jones...
Wednesday Writer Spotlight with Rhea Cote-Robbins...
Wednesday Writer Spotlight with Tom Walsh...
In Maine, we often hear things like "predicting 10-15 inches of snow" or "wind gusts up to 60 mph" and in general, we shrug it off. It is often not as bad as predicted and other then having to clean snow off the car and shovel a bit, we're fine.
I woke up this morning and saw a downed line (either power or phone) in my driveway and about six inches of snow. Hmph. Then I checked my email and see every school district in a 50 mile radius is closed. Crud.
I began sending out text messages (part of my newspaper job is maintaining our emergency texting service) and made some coffee that I forgot to drink. Meanwhile school-working friends on Facebook posted about how happy they were for a snow day, and I tried not to be bitter.
It was proven once again: never underestimate the collective power of little kids (and probably their teachers) praying for an extra day of vacation. I myself once caused a fluke snowstorm because I hadn't finished my book report book and prayed really really hard for some divine intervention, and it worked. Well, at least that's how it worked in my head.
So maybe you are snowbound somewhere or just bored. Here are some links to keep you entertained:
Mel at What Mimi Read blogged about NonSociety, a blog which a few pretty girls are lifecasting. The best thing about the post is the photo contrast between the NonSociety girl (blogging in perfect lighting with a cute little dress on) and Mel. Not to disappoint you all but I am not lying around being pretty and perfect while blogging... I mean, talk about carpal tunnel!
Mark Laflamme had an interesting post about welfare and the people who should and shouldn't be using it. It's interesting discussion and makes me wonder if there is a better system we could come up with.
Kristy at Master Your Card asks should you get a part-time job, as in is a part-time job better then no job at all. It's an interesting question philosphically but also she has a list of part-time jobs that are currently hiring right now.
And what would link suggestions be without something from the New York Times? Low tech fixes for technology. Works for me!
In other blogging news from me (in case you care about things I write other then personal finance), I wrote about parents visiting classrooms on Learning in Maine (and got just a little snarky) and on my French blog, I posted about reading cheezy authors like Danielle Steel in French and how fun it is to read things like cheezy romance novels. Talk about a vocab lesson!
Enjoy the weather, wherever you are!
It's going around the blogosphere and Facebook and since it's Friday and I'm zonked, I thought I'd go for it. For those of you who know me on Facebook, I've changed a few of these...
1. I own about ten cashmere sweaters and love and wear them all.
2. I never had a nightmare until after my father died. Now I do fairly regularly… and I hate it.
3. If I had one power, I wish I could help everyone I meet see their potential, myself included . Sounds corny but I honestly think people don’t understand what they are capable of doing. I feel like shaking people sometimes and saying “You are not stuck in your life!”
4. My thesis research looked at long chained fatty acids indicative of plant life in a sediment core from a lake in Russia. Believe it or not, this doesn't always come up in conversation.
5. If I could afford it, I’d have a massage and a therapy session every week.
6. I am so right handed I can barely drink a glass of water with my left hand.
7. I love vintage jewelry. Among my favorites are my great grandmother’s rhinestone earrings and my grandmother’s engagement ring.
8. My “Frenchness” is a key part of who I am, and the second I pull into the city limits of my hometown, my accent comes right back.
9. Being pleasant has gotten me further in my life then I ever thought possible, far more then any other quality or qualifications I have.
10. I have long ago embraced my imperfection and market it to people as endearing.
11. If I meet you and learn your birthday, I will look you up in my birthday “personology” dictionary and see if we’re going to get along.
12. People feel really comfortable talking to me and tell me a lot of secrets… then I forget them. That’s probably why they tell me!
13. My host mother in France taught me to cook Mediterranean cuisine, and I am ever grateful because it’s my favorite thing to make!
14. Sushi is my favorite thing to eat and I can eat a lot of it if the opportunity presents itself.
15. I have now reached a point in my life where there are some things I’d redo if I could…large parts of the last year included…
16. but since I can’t I won’t dwell on them…or will I?
17. I got a dog four days after I got my first full time job, and I’ve never regretted it. I knew I was a dog person.
18. As liberated as I am, I wish someone would want to marry me. I’d be fun to marry, right?
19. Someday, I hope to work from home, which is why I’m spending a lot of time and energy building this online business now.
20. I really like quotations and have them posted all around my apartment, sometimes in unexpected places.
21. If I was naturally skinny, I’d eat ice cream all day and never work out.
22. I may love technology but I keep my notes and my journals the old fashioned way.
23. My blog is about money/personal finance because when I took my latest job, I took a $8000 salary cut and had to learn to do without. I’m still learning!
24. I want to be famous.
25. My favorite color is hot pink.
For the next few Wednesdays, I'll be featuring writers I like and how they hone their craft, use the internet, get writing ideas from life, and rake in the dough.
During a journalism career that has spanned 40 years, Tom Walsh has worked as a front-lines reporter for newspapers and magazines in Chicago, New York, Dallas, Washington D.C. and, most recently, rural Maine. As an educator, he has taught journalism to both undergraduate and graduate students at colleges and universities in the United States and in Ireland, where he earned a master’s degree in science communications from Dublin City University in 2002. He's won numerous awards (34 actually) including some for his Ellsworth American investigative report series "Hard Look".
A native of the Midwest, Tom Wash now lives on the Maine seacoast, where he pursues his interests in astronomy, photography, sailing, kayaking, snow-shoeing, cross-country skiing, cooking and fiction writing.
You've been a journalist, a freelance writer, and now a communications person at a nonprofit. If people are considering any of these three careers (and the differences between them), what are the perfect traits/experiences of the kind of person who can work happily in these jobs?
All three fields require the basic skills of a journalist, including an ability to write clearly, concisely and correctly. These “three Cs” are the gold standard by which your work will be judged in any of these fields.
Front-lines community journalism requires two very different skills, and the best reporters do both of them well. First, you need to know how and where to collect information, which may involve research, interviews with knowledgeable sources, or, more typically, both. The second involves knowing what to do with the information once you have it, which includes mastery of grammar, spelling, punctuation and syntax (Can you name the parts of speech? Hint: there are eight.).
All three of these career fields also require you to work under deadlines, sometimes very short deadlines. The best reporters do their best work under time pressure. A freelancer won’t get another assignment if s/he fails to meet an editor’s deadline (I always submitted my freelance assignments weeks or months before they were due). A public information officer at a non-profit often has to work to meet a reporter’s deadline.
All three career paths require the ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously. What appeals to me most about the work I do is that no two days are alike. As a news reporter, there are days (and nights) when no two hours are alike, as events (a plane crash, a drowning, a school board meeting) often dictate what you write and when you write it.
We're talked before about freelancing not being a steady job. How were you able to ride the waves of varying income?
Freelancing is a tough gig until you’ve endeared yourself as a writer to a few clients with deep pockets and an endless supply of assignments. I would suggest that, in getting started, you work a “real” job part-time and freelance part-time. Or, work a “real” job full-time and freelance as you can find the time before or after work.
As you build a client base, you can jettison your “real” job and freelance full-time, which I did for about three years, mostly writing health and travel pieces for a number of different magazines that paid very well -- $1,000/story. T
he key to getting assignments is having great story ideas and presenting those ideas in queries that reflect your enthusiasm for the topic and your understanding of the publication’s needs (Don’t suggest a feature on growing roses if that topic was covered in last month’s magazine). Queries are bait, and, if the editor bites, you need to agree to an editorial approach that meets his or her needs.
Once you get buy-in, get to work. Do not write one word without reaching this consensus and agreeing to a deadline and the amount of compensation you can expect. Ultimately, the key to getting subsequent assignments is writing great stories and delivering them on time. As for the income roller coaster, it can be a scary ride. One year I made $18,000. The next year I made $135,000, which included $31,000 for one major project that required 250 hours of research an writing.
If $125 an hour sounds like a lot, it’s not. The U.S. income tax system does not provide any incentives to be self-employed (as most freelancers are). In fact, it penalizes the self-employed. Your basic federal income tax rate goes up by 15 percent, as you, not an employer, are required to make quarterly Social Security payments. When prospective clients would balk at my hourly rate, I would explain that only half of that money winds up in my wallet. The other half is consumed by federal and state income taxes.
What's the craziest thing you've ever done to get a story right?
Not only was it crazy, it was illegal. I did a five-year stint as a bureau chief for a daily newspaper in a college town. The University of Iowa in Iowa City was deeply involved in space physics research and had been since the early 1950s. When the space shuttle Columbia was brand new, this team of UI scientists built a payload that would be flown into orbit by Columbia.
I wrote quite a few stories about their work with NASA, and they invited me to tag along for the launch and the real-time data collection they would be doing at Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The paper agreed to foot the bill, and I flew to Houston the morning of the afternoon launch. I stashed my bags at a nearby hotel, grabbed a camera and my notebook and arrived at Mission Control within an hour of the scheduled launch.
I went up to the security desk and told the armed guard there that I was a reporter who needed to link up with the University of Iowa team. Not a chance, he said. Reporters are not allowed within Mission Control, he said, pointing on a map where the press center was located. I was pissed. I had just flown 1,000 miles to be with these Iowa scientists and report on their reactions to the launch and the performance of their instrument, and I couldn’t do that from a half-mile away. I also couldn’t call my editor and say “Guess what? I don’t have a story. They wouldn’t let me in.” With about 10 minutes until liftoff, I went into the men’s room, took off my dress shirt and went back to the same security area in a T-shirt, this time wearing sunglasses. “Hi,” I said to the same guard. “I’m with the University of Iowa team. Can you point me in their direction?” Amazingly, he did.
I arrived in their pod within two minutes of the launch. I had, in effect, snuck into one of the most sensitive government buildings in America under false pretenses. Wrote some great stories, too.
You've had quite a rich work experience. What life experience has most enriched your ability to write well?
Two things, really. I suffer from a chronic mental illness that I call “terminal curiosity,” which is essential to being a journalist. Everything interests me (except math). And I’m a voracious reader of all things non-fiction. Over time, journalists and other writers become generalists; they know a little bit about a lot of things. The trick is knowing enough not to be dangerous, in terms of writing pieces that are shallow or, worse yet, down-right wrong.
The other experience involved a very solid grounding in two of the three R’s (I don’t do ‘rithmatic). I attended an elementary school that was language-centric. I spent years diagramming sentences and learning the endless nuances of the English language. Like golf or tennis or playing the piano (I do none of those things, by the way), writing is one of those skills that gets easier over time. The longer you do it, the better you get. As they say, there’s only one way to get to Carnegie Hall. Practice. Practice. Practice.
At one point in your career, you taught journalism in Dublin. Out of everywhere you could have gone, why did you choose Ireland?
Ireland chose me, in effect. I was over there researching a historical novel in old dusty courthouses and library archives in Northern Ireland and stopped in Colraine to visit an old college friend who taught graphic design at a university there. He and I later took the train to Dublin, where he introduced me to a friend of his who, at the time, was the only PhD journalist in Ireland. He ran a journalism school at a new university, Dublin City University. We had a few pints at his local pub and compared career notes.
Before I left Dublin, he asked me if I would be interested in a teaching position. I had taught journalism at the University of Iowa some years earlier, as adjunct faculty, and really enjoyed teaching students how to write. It took a while to work out the logistics, but I taught at DCU for a semester, teaching an introduction to journalistic writing course to freshmen and sophomores and a news writing course to graduate students. When the term was over, I was offered a tenured position on the faculty, but turned it down.
Dublin has its many charms, but it’s a city of more than 1 million souls. It’s crowded, noisy, polluted, expensive and hard to get around – all the things big cities can be. By then, I had lived and worked in Chicago, Dallas, New York and Washington, D.C. I had had my fill of cities. I subsequently spent two years earning a master’s degree in communications from DCU on a full-tuition scholarship – 30 years after receiving my bachelor’s degree.
I know you've been working on a historical novel for a while. Do you see it being published in the future?
No, but who knows? Stranger things have happened. I naively thought writing this book would be the hard part, not getting it into print. Wrong. Researching and writing it wound up being the fun part. Getting published proved to be the impossible part. There seems to be a Catch 22 in publishing: You can’t publish a novel unless you’ve published a novel.
I’ve learned that it’s very much a who-you-know network, even to hook up with a skilled literary agent, much less an enthused publishing house. I had an agent for a while, but he turned out to be an idiot. I haven’t given up, but the book’s been gathering dust now 12 years now. I’ll get back to it eventually. I’ve invested too much time and effort to just walk away from it.
Got any advice for the people out there who want to be writers but don't know how or where to start?
Get grounded in language. Read and re-read the writers whose work you admire. Take courses that require you to do a lot of writing, either in college or adult education. Ask the editor of your local newspaper (if you have one) if there’s anything you can do for him/her, and mention that the first one’s free.
Wednesday Writer Spotlight with Mark Laflamme...
Wednesday Writer Spotlight with Melanie Brooks...
Wednesday Writer Spotlight with Carrie Jones...
Wednesday Writer Spotlight with Rhea Cote-Robbins...
I bought myself a small organic chicken earlier this week thinking I'd roast it up and ave tons of leftovers for fun things like soup and enchiladas.
I turned on my oven at 5:45 last night immediately after getting home from work and took the chicken out of the fridge. 20-25 minutes per pound at 350 F. Works for me.
Then I looked at the weight of the chicken, which I assumed to be a couple pounds. Nope, it was 4.5 pounds. Ugh.
So the roasting began and I looked for things to do around my apartment besides cleaning. Trying to ignore the awesome smell of the roasting chicken (I covered it in butter... yum.), I started to gather up some of the cool things I've been reading. Enjoy!
The Washington Post made up a pretty graphic about the stimulus bill (from Grow Smart Maine). The military circle looks pretty small compared to the health/education circle. No matter how you feel about it, at least there is a plan for where the money is going, right?
And the girl who came to the office selling Girl Scout cookies reminded me, it seems to be the time of year for school fundraising. If you can't buy one more tub of cookie dough or tacky jewelry without screaming, check out this post from Frugal Upstate about her school fundraising philosophy. It has the potential to be quite liberating for those of you who have kids or just feel pressure to buy things from them.
Got seven hours to dedicate to your finances? Check out this fabulous series of posts at No Credit Needed.
An interesting question posed at Get Rich Slowly this week: Is it unethical to work a second job? I clicked on it because I thought it may be written from the primary employer's point of view (as in lower productivity) but it was about taking jobs away from people who could really use them. As usual with GRS, the comments are as interesting as the post.
And a reminder from Kristy at Master Your Card we can't do it all and there are some ways we don't set an example. I buy $6 juice, she eats out a lot. It happens.
As you can see lots of good reading out there in InternetLand.
Update: The chicken was finished and cool enough to deal with around 9:00 pm. My dinner last night turned into lunch today.
For the next few Wednesdays, I'll be featuring writers I like and how they hone their craft, use the internet, get writing ideas from life, and rake in the dough.
Rhea Côté-Robbins is a Maine author and Franco-American activist. Her first book, Wednesday's Child, chronicles the life of a young woman growing up in a mill town. She has since edited an anthology of early Franco-American women writers' translations, Canuck and Other Stories, and written a sequel to Wednesday's Child titled, 'down the Plains. Cote Robbins is a professor at the University of Maine in Franco-American Women's, Maine and University Studies. She's the Founder and Executive Director of the Franco-American Women's Institute and publishes the Franco-American News and Events blog (to which I occasionally contribute).
Your first book Wednesday's Child is a creative nonfiction memoir about what it was like growing up in a milltown. How does this straddle the divide of fiction and nonfiction? It seems like this would be a challenging first book to write in many ways.
I believe that there exists a Franco-American women's literary tradition, and whether we, as Franco-American women, know this or not, I believe that we participate in this written tradition. My own book, Wednesday's Child, came out of an event which happened in my girl days, 1969 to be exact, and at the moment of insight I decided to write my story so that others could understand what it was like growing up in the South End of Waterville. I was sixteen at the time and I knew that the story I wanted to tell was an important one and that the story deserved to be told. Now, many years passed before I did write the story, but the story only got better as a result of the wait. Like any art form, whatever life happens in the between times becomes a part of the ongoing, creative process.
The book was challenging because there is a myth that there is not a Franco-American literary tradition, and as a result, each and every Franco-American begins at square one. We are always having to re-tell the story, each and every one of us, of how we were discriminated against, and the story stays stuck there for many people. My idea is to create a literary movement so that more and more Franco-Americans come out of their writing/writer's closet and proclaim their independence to be artists in their own right/write.
The classic scenario is to isolate and create a feeling of the writer being all alone in their art. When, in reality, the opposite is the true state of affairs. If anything is difficult, I find getting past the barriers created by the myth of Maine that the only literature happening here is based in "yankee" ingenuity. Well, I believe there is so much more to the whole story than that, and I would like to see the story expanded and enlarged to encompass the Franco-American literary voices--which includes mine.
Wednesday's Child is taught at several universities and colleges as well as read in the community. I think this is an indication that the story remains important, alive and vital to the larger story plane of the continent.
How did you decide that the Franco-American female experience was the most powerful thing you could write about and ultimately dedicate your life to? I'm sure you could have written about a number of things.
The Franco-American culture workers over the past century and more have done much to contribute to our treasure trove of life experiences--something like an Everything in the Whole Wide World of Franco-American Interpretation Center...I was going to say museum, but museum connotes past tense. The Franco-Americans are not past tense. We do need interpretation, although. My thought on writing about the Franco-American female experience has to do with going deep into the meaning of the culture and what is usually hidden, kept from the public eye, secret, or overlooked is the definition of what does it mean to be Franco-American and female and living in the state of Maine. That, in fact, was my working question for my book. The working question kept me focused on what I wanted to examine in depth and write about. I am absolutely enthralled with the common, everyday aspects of our lives as Franco-American women. I take some of my inspiration of Laura Thatcher Ulrich and her examination of ordinary women's lives. She has studied the life of a dish towel--from growing flax to its final weaving and use, which takes over a year to make a dish towel from scratch by the way, and then she writes about this. I find that inspiring and fascinating. What I want told as an art form, not simply as stories about the good old days, and told in such a way that elevates the Franco-American story to the level of great literature. I think what it takes is attitude. And a good computer. And an agent. And a publisher. And book sales. And major prizes won. I want that for myself and for the Franco-American story about Franco-American women telling her own story.
You've had the Franco-American News and Events blog since before blogging got really big. How has the blogosphere and your audience changed over time?
Sometimes blogging feels like you are suspended in outer space talking out loud to yourself...you feel deliciously alone. And then, someone leaves a comment. Or, sends you an email suggesting a story I might have missed. And then they send more suggestions. And then they send links and stories. You realize someone is reading the material. Oh, oh, I'm not alone. I was hoping I was the stealth blogger and that no one was paying attention.
Jacques Boudreau who blogs/blogues from QC on the FA News and Events blog, was one of those folks who took notice of this little event happening in the blogosphere. So, I invited Jacques to go ahead and join the blogue and put up the pieces he was finding. He wanted to know, what about French articles? Sounds good to me. What happens is that the blogs capture the attention of folks from all over the world. So, lots of people have lots of time on their hands, I'm thinking, or, they resist
other temptations by cruising the internet blogs.
My first blog happened in March of 2003. A friend put me onto blogging. I think I suffer from a condition knows as loquaciousness; I have a surfeit of words and if I don't let them out somehow, I combust internally. My maman used to call me "the talking machine." I used to really bother people back in the day when letter writing was the way to chat and send them 10-page letters. It was very embarrassing. So, I found the joy of journaling and I am on my 130th+ volume; write everyday, and
that does not count the emails, blogs, etc. I don't watch much TV, although. But I do read many books in the course of a month. I think I am a word addict. Blogs are the proof that there are many like me out there; they may or may not know from what they suffer, but they are practicing their addictions with fervor and a writer's religion.
Blogs, to me, are proof that we are all story makers.
Does your teaching inform your writing? Another UMO professor I interviewed has said that teaching has not necessarily helped her writing but has really helped her editing.
Teaching and writing are like editing and writing, for me. Two different worlds. And anything that is not me writing, or my writing, frankly, interferes with my writing. Keeps me from the act of writing. Now, above I said that all things feed into the act of creativity. But, at some point, you have to sit down and do the deed. I also find I don't necessarily want my student's writing voice in my head. Nor, do I want to be in the position to point out grammar errors. But that is part of the job and I do it, but I am very aware that I am not doing my own writing when I am teaching. I believe that time off from the teaching is a time when I don't want anyone else's voice in my head. I think because I am so "slayed in the soul" from someone else's work, that I take on their voice, etc. I don't just read a book; I live the book I'm reading. Comes from being a shy child perhaps?
What do you think most people misunderstand about Franco-Americans? How do you try to change this view with your writing and teaching?
Oh, boy. Big questions. One, I don't think Franco-Americans are dead, gone anywhere too far, nor out of touch with their culture. I think, if asked, or pushed, the surface scratched, the living blood proof of Franco-American is alive and present.
Two, I don't think Franco-Americans speak a bad French. They don't speak slang French. They don't speak a dialect. The Franco-Americans speak French. Just French without any adjectives. Trying to erase that myth might take a word bomb of sizable proportions. Some cataclysmic event equal to tip the linguistic universe on its ear to create a space for Franco-American French as a living language of a living people. To hear some folks say that they never hear French spoken in towns in
Maine must mean they have their ipods on or something. I hear French everywhere.
Three, Franco-Americans don't know their own stories, histories, writers, etc. They need to be more self-aware of the power of their stories.
Four, Franco-Americans love their priests and their nuns--religious and otherwise. They are used to being led and told what to do. I would like to see them aware of their "follower" status and change it to refusing to be led, especially when it comes to non-Francos telling Francos who the Francos are. Sounds harsh, but I think there needs to be a reckoning of the days when Franco-Americans could not speak for themselves, were spoken for, and we need to lose that habit fast. Especially the women. It is good to have the validation, we all need to support one another, but I do think that non-Francos could listen more to Francos instead of talk for them.
Five, since this is wish list time, to go with the above, Franco-American artists creating till we all fall down from the sheer weight of the outcome. And in some kind of concerted act of committing political act on behalf of all Franco-Americans.
I think the arts are the answer to what does it mean to be Franco-American because the arts are a language that many can understand.
Want to be a part of this series? If you get paid to write, you qualify! Email me and we'll talk!
Wednesday Writer Spotlight with Mark Laflamme...
Wednesday Writer Spotlight with Melanie Brooks...
Wednesday Writer Spotlight with Carrie Jones...
My blog friend J. asked some of us to send in random and crazy jobs we had. And then it gets picked up by MSN Money! Wohoo!
So if you've clicked my link off of J's post, welcome to Breaking Even and I do hope you decide to stay awhile.
For the next few Wednesdays, I'll be featuring writers I like and how they hone their craft, use the internet, get writing ideas from life, and rake in the dough.
Currently an editor at Bangor Metro magazine, Melanie Brooks has worked at newspapers, magazines, and as a freelancer in New York, Boston, and Baltimore...and those are the ones I know about. In addition to her job at Metro, she's also a writer and professor of journalism at the University of Maine. Her blog What Mimi Read, is a fun commentary on media and pop culture. As a fellow blogger and writer (and friend), I asked her a few questions about her craft and, of course, money.
I was talking to my friend Randy yesterday and he mentioned this book he was reading about being super productive. "What's it called?" I asked. "How To Get Things Done Fast." I would have never picked out a book like this in a million years; I'd rather get things done well then fast plus the whole thing sounds really gimicky, at least at first glance.
The basic idea is that initially (usually in a few seperate sessions) you write down everything that is preoccupying you and eventually empty your brain. After having things down on paper, you divide things logically into tasks and projects. Things that take less then two minutes, you do right away and you organize everything else in order of importance.
Randy realized that all the ideas he had been thinking of over and over that seemed really kind of random and unrelated were actually all working towards the larger goal of making money back to pay his student loans.
The idea of emptying your mind and working everyday with a clean slate allows you to (apparently) be superproductive. And organizing ideas as they happen takes discipline but keeps you from mentally spinning your wheels about the same old stuff.
I have a sticky note on my Google homepage for those exact thoughts during the day (library books due January 27, pay cell phone bill) but I think a great cleaning out of my brain and an organizing of these thoughts would be pretty fantastic. Despite seeming organized and carefree, I actually spend a lot of time spinning my wheels mentally about money and other matters as I keep revisiting thoughts.
So the book is "How To Get Things Done Fast" by David Allen if you are interested but if you want to dip your toe into the pond of this organizational system before diving in:
Visit David Allen's website...
Do some David Allen brain cleaning out exercises...
I have a new client who is a local restaurant owner and while we were meeting today, he offered me a free sandwich. At first, I was going to turn him down and politely drink my coffee but sitting there for over an hour and smelling all the good smells, I broke down.
"The Italian Job" is a restaurant favorite that has got high quality salami, roasted red peppers, fresh baked bread trucked in from a Boston bakery...I know enough with the temptation, right? I said yes to a sandwich that was both free and looked fantastic.
And you know what? It was fantastic. It may be among the best sandwiches I've ever had in my life.
This got me thinking about doing something to get something free and how common this actually is. Zagats sends you a free guide for a review, bloggers get paid for posts (not me but some bloggers do it for extra income), and publishers and record companies send out free stuff to the press to review all the time.
Now I'm not getting paid to say I like this sandwich, but was getting a free sandwich going to taint my review? I'd like to think that I'm impartial, as I have said unfavorable things about some books that have been sent to me to review on this blog. Hmm...
What do you think: If you walked by a restaurant and they were offering a free sandwich for a review, would you take it? And when you did write the review, would you feel like you had to say something good about it since it was a "free"?
Do you ever feel those times in your life where work starts creeping in places you weren't expecting? Things are getting that way in my case. It's great from the standpoint of making more money and growing my business but from a personal health standpoint, I could definitely improve. Case in point: I forgot to wear a coat this morning...and it was 20 degrees out. Talk about having my brain elsewhere!
I have decided to put some practices firmly in place before things get any busier, and before I forget to put on any other article of clothing before leaving the house.
I'm taking one day off a week, completely.
I need a day of rest and if God can have one, so can I. It feels much more sane to have a day off. I'm not going to blog or do anything else on Sundays starting this week.
I'm using my spare time during the day to deal with correspondence right away.
I'm keeping my inbox cleaned out and returning calls promptly using breaks and parts of lunch hours to get these little but critical things done.
I step away from the computer.
Proposals can be sketched out on notebook paper with tea on the couch, ideas can be written while hanging out with a friend at a coffee shop. I no longer have a laptop so anytime away from my desk is now away from a computer. This is a good development in my case.
I set a timer.
When I get on my computer to check Facebook or Twitter, I set a timer. I keep one on my desk just for this purpose. Social networking while fun can be a big time sink and I need to be pulled away. I recommended this to a group o people I talked to and they seemed to think it was a good idea too, otherwise family and friends get mad at you for spending too much time on the computer.
It appears that tonight my brain is back, and just in time for Too Cute Tuesday tomorrow! Hope one of my little tips out there helps you with your personal sanity...
*Speaking of making money, do you have a cool way you make money on the side? I'd love to interview you for an upcoming series. Just email nicole at breakingeveninc.com and tell me about it.*
Today's Presentation at The Maine Grind's Winter Lecture Series
Today, I gave an afternoon presentation about web promotion at the Maine Grind in Ellsworth, a local coffee shop/gathering place.
The people who came were just as interesting as what I presented. We had good interaction and lots of discussion between group members. I came out if it really energized about what is going on and what is possible, both with their businesses and with mine. After, as if to continue the good momentum, I got to go to a good party with food and friends. I walked back home tonight thinking how lucky I am and how things really do seem to be coming together. I hope you had a similarly great day!
If you want a copy of the Powerpoint presentation I gave, I'm more then happy to send it if you email me. (I think I could probably post it here, I just can't seem to figure out how.)
Otherwise, I linked to some additional resources to those who want more information about social bookmarking, microblogging, social networking, blogging and search engine optimization. It's pretty general but can give a good jumping off point if you are considering promoting your site. I even included some good blogs to read if you are interested in internet marketing/internet PR in general.
List of Resources: As a PDF As a Word Document
I have been sucking down fluids, alternating between coffee and Emergence-C for days. Sure I've been going to bed too late and working/playing hard but now is not the time to be getting sick. It never is, right?
I seem to be coming across a lot of interesting health articles (probably because I'm paying close attention to them subconsciously, looking for an edge), though some I've been saving for awhile.
Uncluttering as a way to a healthful life, well, in part. This article has some ideas I've been trying to get at for awhile about freeing yourself of stuff and only surrounding yourself with things you love (from Unclutterer)
College kids eat less food in the caf without trays. Makes sense to me. This is why I don't keep a lot of junk food in the house and eat off of small plates (from Freakonomics)
Don't work harder, work smarter with interval training. Because if you're anything like me, you'd just as soon work out less. (from No Calories Needed)
Cheap Healthy Good is one of the most rocking healthy food blogs, right up there with Cookbooks 101 and Almost Frugal Food. If you think healthy food is boring, read any of these. (Lots of recipes in addition to fun reading).
Are you trying to go paraben free in 2009? Me too. It's healthier without them and thanks to some research, there are actually some affordable parbaen-free beauty products. (from Wisebread)
And of course what would we all blog about without the New York Times? Love drug (and its counterpart) discovered and a new way to stretch.
Best wishes for you and your health!
Other health-related posts:
Will The Recession Make Us Fatter or Skinnier?
Nine Things You Can Do For Your Health That Cost Less Then $1
My Saturdays have become full in the last few weeks, which is good from the standpoint that I am making more money and in general growing my little business. On the other hand, by Sunday I am completely exhausted and ready for my day of rest.
And if you're wondering why the heck bloggers like myself do lists of cool links about once a weekish, check this out. It pretty much explains the logic, and I did write it so I think it's good!
At Breaking Even
This week, I participated in the Carnival of Personal Finance hosted by CleverDude. (And if you are wondering what the heck carnivals are check out this post.)
Some Great Links
For those of you like me who need their protein, it's getting harder to find cheap sources isn't it? (Not to mention that eating a lot of meat is not good for our planet either.) Enter imitation crab meat, which you can actually do a ton with. (via Wisebread)
Hard times give people new insights. Blunt Money lets us in a little on her personal life and reminds us that in life's difficulties are opportunities. At least, I hope so...
Could you live without spending any money for a year? This guy is trying to. I'm not hardcore thrifty enough to ever try anything like this but it's always interesting to live vicariously through people who are. (from Give Me Back My Five Bucks)
On the same note, these people are eating on $1 a day. (from Portland Psst!)
And I feel let in on a big secret: how you know Sam's Club pricing is as low as it'll go. And it's not even complicated or hard to remember. (from Spending Less 101)
This woman is living one of those crazy exciting lives those with dogs and cherished kitchen gadgets can only dream of (that would be me folks). I'd like to travel more but could I ever travel this much? The adventures and costs of full time travel. (from Wisebread)
Free Stuff
Suze Orman's latest book- Oprah's queen of personal finance. I'm not a huge fan (something about her I can't quite put my finger on) but, hey, if it'll help you make better financial decisions in 2009, that's great? (from BudgetsAreSexy)
Vowed to manage your money better in the new year? Quicken is now free but so is Mint.com. (from Mrs. Micah)
Ordering your credit reports yearly is a good idea, and free. And how to do it online. (from CleverDude)
Weight loss podcasts that could keep you motivated. My fat-looking Wii will only do so much for that I suppose! (from No Credit Needed)
Captain Obvious Links
Common sense, sure, but some links to back up the statements.
Library use is going up.
United States living standards still among best in the world.
Walking like a penguin will help you walk on ice. (Check out the animation...hilarious!)
Greyhound has lowered their fares to get people to travel.
People who are in jail for embezelling will try to get rid of anything they have of worth rather then have it get taken by the government.
Happy Sunday! And if you have any good links, feel free to let me know about them. I'm always on the lookout!
What a lovely year it's been, 2008, but I must say, I'm happy to see a new year come. Here's a look back:
In Februrary (on the 17th actually), Breaking Even became a daily blog. A commitment yes but one I've never regretted.
In April, I turned 27, three days after my father would have turned 52. I celebrated both of our birthdays.
In May, I met my friend Mel at a small business conference. She's been so encouraging abut my writing and web projects that we eventually teamed up for our own, which is still in progress.
In June I launched Too Cute Tuesday, my midweek craft and cocktail. I realized that people liked series because then they knew what to expect at least once a week. Ah-ha! While the crafts tend to be a little girly, a couple of men have admitted to me they secretly enjoy TCT. Ah-ha again!
In July, I had a popular couple of posts: Lame Things That Your Friends Do That Cost You Money in Part I and Part II. I realize that I don't have to talk about just intellectual things or just personal things... I can do both! Cool!
In August, Sean had an emergency operation and I developed carpal tunnel. J Money at Kelly stepped up with guest posts to keep my blog going. To them, I'm ever grateful. It is at this time I realize that I have actual friends in the blogosphere. Oh, and I start my very long term project to connect Maine-based bloggers.
In October, I went to Las Vegas and thought about life. I broke up with Sean and moved out of his house. I slept on a friend's couch for two weeks until I found my current apartment. And Breaking Even turned one year old. Sarah C. stepped in with a couple of guest posts to get me through a terrible weekend.
In November, I moved into my new apartment and it was the one year anniversary of my father's death. There was a lot of crying and a big cell phone bill but I got through.
In December, my freelance work and personal happiness have ramped up. Coincidence? Probably not. And my Small Business Series was the most popular set of posts I've had besides my fashion series, the highest single day traffic I ever got. As of this evening, I have 99 subscribers, so close to my year end goal of 100. What a great note to end on.
And what's up with the champagne and corndogs headline? Well that was my dinner this New Year's Eve. I'm perfectly happy with it and realize just now that the metaphor is what I'm trying to do on this blog which is have it both ways: personal and personal finance, freelance and fun, long posts and short quips. I love the big and little things of life and I hope you do too.
So I raise a glass and a corndog to your health and mine. Best wishes in 2009 and thanks for reading this blog, for commenting, for passing around a link. I wish you could know how much I love writing Breaking Even. Happy New Year, and may you more then break even in all your projects!
So it's back to the grind today. I had such a nice Christmas and got the super-popular Wii (with Wii Fit) from my family. We had such fun playing it that I went to bed last night with the step aerobics music in my head. You know you have a problem when...
This week despite being busy-ish, I participated in the Carnival of Personal Finance. It was hosted by Andy at Saving to Invest. If you ever want to see a bunch of blogs related to a single topic together, checking out the posts at a carnival is a good way to do it.
Here are some other posts I liked:
A website that's good if you're shopping for a new credit card (via Give Me Back My Five Bucks).
How to work lentils, yum (via Wisebread).
Readers share their top three money saving tips (via Squawkfox).
When you shop, do you love the object or the experience (via Almost Frugal).
A Quiz: Are You The Entreprenurial Type? (via Get Rich Slowly)
Confess you shopping sins at Spendster.org (via GRS)
Some of these links are a couple months old, I know. But I move a little slow; did I mention my Wii age is 8 years above my actual age? My goal is by the end of these next few months to not have my little Mii (that's a Wii character that represents me) have a little spare tire around the midsection (the program does that automatically if you are overweight—D'oh!).
Don't worry, I'm not about to give up my internet career for ski jumping (which I am a pro at in Wii-land). But it is a nice way to move a little more and play with family and friends.
You can check out my soul-bearing post here. It came out more personal but also better then I thought. So get your Breaking Even fix at Blunt Money today and I'll be back here tomorrow!
The week began crappy enough but seems to be finishing strong. Among the good developments: 1) I found a rocking t-shirt at a thrift shop and crafted with it.
2) I got an article published in a newspaper (unrelated to personal finance but related to my French heritage).
3) Gina from Best Buy refunded my money and apparently mailed me a $50 gift card for my Best Buy fiasco. (Ah the power of the internet...and if you want to read another story about using the internet to get what is rightly yours, check this out.)
4) Last night at 7:30, I got home internet access for the first time in over a month.
5) I've been hearing from lots of far flung friends words of encouragement both in writing and life.
I've been bookmarking great online blogs and articles for the past month for future reading. Here are some of the things that made me smile:
Today while Googling someone, I came across this article about three guys being stabbed outside a strip club. The premise is ridiculous enough but the comments are the hilarious part. One of them: "... I am sick and tired of seeing naked women with stretch marks, bullet holes, and C-section scars..." Bullet holes?!? (from Victoria Advocate)
Did you know our nation needs a haircut? Apparently it's Nancy Pelosi's new favorite metaphor. (from WSJ)
Spanx came out with a male version of their shapewear product. It's about time men worked as hard as women to look hot! (from Give Me Back My Five Bucks)
A cute picture of a puppy. Need I say more? If dogs aren't your thing, just scroll. There are lots of small animals, like a pygmy hippo. I know, random. (from Holy Cuteness)
An imaginary conversation between "The Big Three". Funny stuff, because everyone needs a laugh about the automotive bailout, right? (from Master Your Card)
Can Men Be Trained To Understand Women? I love these gender issues and interesting research and this post has both. (from Wise Bread)
Do You Say "Soda" Or "Pop"? I've always had this secret ambition of mapping the country linguistically. Where is the line dividing where people say "really good" and "wicked good"? How about "pop" and "soda"? Apparently, someone has beat me to the punch (and put in the hard work and mapping skills) to do the latter. (from My Corner of Maine)
So whether you have a soft spot for cute animals, search economic humor, or just have a sick twisted mind, I hope I made you smile with a link. Happy Almost Friday!
Listen to the fabulous song "Silver Lining" by Rilo Kiley...
Image from free-background-wallpaper.com
While work on my hat project has slowed due to a lack of Internet, work on the Maine Blog Network moves forward.
I'm finding new blogs all the time, which is great (if you are a Maine-based blogger, please e-mail or comment on this blog post so that I can include you!).
What I’ve found in talking to a more tech savvy person about my idea that one piece of technology that the project needs doesn't exactly exist...yet. I'm in talks with a few programmers to try to narrow down a price to develop the component I need. One person has told me it will take a week (!) to develop.
At this point, I'm waiting for project estimates to come in. So keep those blog suggestions coming and I'll continue working on my end. I'm starting to get really excited about this!
This weekend, I found myself completely without internet, which is a small scale nightmare for a daily blogger like myself.
I've been mooching off my friend Jen's internet for the last two weeks. She's away for three weeks so it wasn't rude to get my posts written, photos ready, etc. at my apartment then piling on my winter gear to head the 1/4 mile to her house and quickly post my blogs around 10 pm. A pain yes, but my only option.
This weekend, however, her internet stopped working. Usually when a wireless router doesn't work, turning it on and off can be enough to get things moving again. Only I don't know where Jen's router is, and I'm not the kind of person who's comfortable snooping in someone else's apartment. I restarted my computer twice, ran a virus scan, and defragged. I gave up yesterday and watched Ratatouille to cheer myself up, vowing not to drive to Ellsworth on a non-commuting day for five minutes of internet time.
I literally drove around the other night looking for any unsecured wireless signal I could find, refreshing my available network list at almost every block. Nothing within Bar Harbor proper that didn't require a password. (And if you're thinking of all the cute little internet cafes you saw when you were last in Bar Harbor during some pleasant summer day, know that those cafes are boarded up until spring.)
So today, I'm calling the Bar Harbor Public Library and seeing what information they can give me. Look for me getting back to a daily schedule hopefully later today, even if it does involve some extra driving on my end.
I (finally!) get internet at my house Friday afternoon. Can't wait!
Just wanted to let you know I was still alive and writing, just haven't been able to do much about getting it on the web. Happy Monday!
So like many cubicle types, I have Thanksgiving proper off but I'm working the day after. I was going to do a slightly snarky post but have decided to improve my mood but rounding up some links to cute things, thereby improving my mood. I've bookmarked over 300 great articles since my lack of internet and her are just a few cute ones.
My newest favorite blog that I like to check on my afternoon break is Holy Cuteness. Some links are from this wonderful animal blog which you should totally check out. Here are some things to make you (and me) smile.
http://holy-cuteness.blogspot.com/2008/11/kittens-discover-toilet-paper.html
Kittens Discover Toilet Paper (need I say more?)
http://frugalupstate.blogspot.com/2008/11/best-of-refrigerator-bread.html
Refrigerator Bread from Frugal Upstate. Mmmmm...bread!
http://getting-ahead.blogspot.com/2008/11/little-snipets-of-time.html
Little Snippets of Time from Getting Ahead. Sure you have only five minutes but there are plenty of fun, creative ways to use them!
http://getting-ahead.blogspot.com/2008/11/voting-for-dinner.html
Oh and Getting Ahead also had the cute idea of voting for dinner. Makes sense to me, though since it's just me, I guess I run a dictatorship over Sadie the dog!
http://almostfrugal.com/2008/11/18/holidays-by-hand-ribbons-and-thread/
If you want to get into the holiday spirit, do some crafts. Kelly at Almost Frugal and other bloggers have organized a "Holidays By Hand" series so if you just need some new ideas for holiday crafts, I guarentee you will find them here! (One of my Too Cute Tuesday crafts is almost on her post even!)
http://allthingsmaine.blogspot.com/2008/11/maines-bizarre-foods.html
Maine gets its time in the spotlight on the Travel Channel's Bizarre Foods show.
http://dcgoodwillfashions.blogspot.com/2008/11/announcing-mrs-goodbee.html
An interactive doll house with a social conscience?
http://holy-cuteness.blogspot.com/2008/11/more-monifa-footage.html
Video of a pygmy (ie little) hippo. So cute!
http://cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com/2008/10/cheap-healthy-sick-10-easy-nutritious.html
Cheap, Healthy, Sick: 10 Easy, Nutritious Foods for When You've Contracted the Plague is great because no doubt your immune system is running low like mine this time of year.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Welcome to my week-long women's series. It's no secret that one issue that I'm passionate about is female empowerment. I used to answer a domestic violence hotline, coach cheerleading, lead a girls technology club in my local middle school, and met with a monthly girls book club. I'm currently on the board of our county's domestic violence program and doing some writing for the Maine Women's Fund. My point is it's certainly been a common thread in my life no matter where I am or what I'm doing.
So this week, it's about the ladies, and of course money (as usual). Enjoy!
You often hear people talking about making money while blogging. It's interesting because when I tell people that I make money off my blog, they are confused as to how I do it. When I say that one way to make money off of a blog is advertising, they half expect to go home, set up a blog, and begin making money immediately. Like many professions, blogging doesn't start to pay off until after you do it awhile.
I have found a way to jump start the money making process a little: affiliate advertising.
Blogher is a community of female bloggers (or bloggers who write for a female audience). They not only offer a forum for female bloggers to interact but also have found a way to have their members generate advertising revenue on their websites without any work on their part (well, besides writing a blog anyway).
Your blog must meet certain criteria to be considered: blog content, posting frequency, potential audience, age of the blog, and other factors determine your acceptance. After your blog meets the criteria, there is a contract agreement to be signed. (The reason I'm saying this is that you're entering into a contract with the company when you set up something like this, so it's important to know what you're signing.)
How does Blogher work? What happens is your blog is packaged with other blogs and sold to potential advertisers. In Blogher's case, they have a lot of big name advertisers, many national brands you would recognize. Point is, these companies are not interested in the relatively small amount of traffic I generate on my blog but are interested in the amount of traffic thousands of bloggers collectively generate. Power in numbers.
Blogher does the legwork out of finding the advertisers and keeping them current and Blogher members provide a sort of bulletin board space for them to use on their blogs. They take a large cut for this work but my reasoning is that the space wasn't making any money for me anyway so I have nothing to lose. Plus it makes me look a little bit legitimate to have advertising on my site.
To be honest I haven't talked about this before because I wasn't sure how legitimate this was. Then last month came a check in the mail for $35. $35 in four months is not a lot of money but it does pay for my hosting and then some. As my blog gets more traffic, I have the potential to earn more money.
The important thing to mention about Blogher is you can say what kind of advertisements you do not want on your site. I find Google Adwords and programs like it can generate some pretty random advertising that you may not necessarily agree with on your blog. But with Blogher, you can rule out types of companies or specific companies that you don't want to be associated with and to me that's pretty cool. And the other bloggers I have connected with thorough BlogHer have been a great resource to me.
Networking and making money? Now that's what I call a win-win.
While Blogher is not accepting new affiliates right now, they say on their site to stay tuned.
So I wrote a blog last night (and by wrote, I mean dictated to my new voice recognition software...amazing!) and was ready to post. My first post from my new apartment, which I was quite excited about.
The town I now live in (Bar Harbor) apparently has a free Wi-Fi network and since I'm right in the middle of it all, I figured it would work. As I went to connect to the internet, I saw no evidence of this network. Oh come on!
At 10 pm (and about 30 degrees outside), I didn't have the energy to put on warm clothes and drive around looking for a signal.
Just had to vent my frustration, and my annoyance of probably having to pony up for internet services.
Look for the post later tonight, when I'll probably go to my friend's house to mooch of her internet while I figure out the local hotspots. Have a good day!
Welcome to my week-long women's series. It's no secret that one issue that I'm passionate about is female empowerment. I used to answer a domestic violence hotline, coach cheerleading, lead a girls technology club in my local middle school, and meet with a monthly girls book club. I'm currently on the board of our county's domestic violence program and doing some writing for the Maine Women's Fund. My point is it's certainly been a common thread in my life no matter where I am or what I'm doing.
So this week, it's about the ladies, and of course money (as usual). Enjoy!
I was drawn to this book at my local library while looking for something new to read. "The Boss of You: What Every Woman Needs To Know To Start, Run, and Maintain Her Own Business" definitely caught my eye with it's fun, sensible cover and complete title. As a woman trying to run my own part-time business, I thought this might me some great professional development information.
I find books like this tend to be one of two things: 1) a little scatterbrained with lots of tips and tricks but a lack of cohesiveness or 2) dense with information and a little on the boring side.
This book was a good balance of case studies of other female run businesses (tips and tricks) but was also well outlined with cohesion throughout.
Sure you can get lots of books about how to write a business plan but there is lots of information in here that works whether you are before or after the BP stage. I enjoyed the exercises where you figure out what you're good at and how that translates to your business as well as the you-can't-do-everything-and-that's-ok attitude.
Emira and Lauren (the authors) are the kind of smart women you want to be friends with and their advice is clearly from the trenches. I know most business people who'd write a book like this would use it to talk about everything they did right but it's more helpful (not to mention realistic) to hear the not-so-ideal parts too. And if I had a business for years, I could still see myself getting something out of the book.
Since the librarians won't speak to me if I renew this one more time, I guess I'll have to surrender this copy next week and ask for my own copy for Christmas to keep as a reference. Oh and if you're more the abbreviated info type, check out the back index full of useable resources (with websites, yay for authors who get the 21st century).
Anyway if you're a woman wanting to start your own business who refuses to buy a book that implies that she's a "dummy" (a little personal bias there), this one is fabulous. I even took it on vacation which means it was worth lugging on a plane in my carry-on.
So learn and enjoy! I continue to myself.
Check out Lauren and Emira's blog here, where you can also order the book.
A good article about self employment taxes from Moolanomy.
Some helpful links for women starting their own businesses via USA Today
I am a keeper of those fortune cookie fortunes, if only to remind me of universal truths and because I think they are so gosh darn cute. I have a few posted by my desk and some links to share so I thought I'd combine the two.
Be mischevious and you'll never be lonesome. Wisebread has an awesome guide about doing your own Halloween makeup. Even if you don't get around to sewing a costume, you can at least do crazy makeup. Warning: this post has sound when you open it.
The world is ready to recieve talent with open arms.
Almost Frugal has some serious talent for making homemade gift bags. And stay tuned for a series of holiday craft posts from Kelly and other crafty bloggers (myself included).
You will have good luck and overcome many hardships.
Sadly, I missed Blogger Action Day on October 15 due to the sheer bad timing of my vacation. A lot of bloggers did take part though, and Wisebread's entry about poverty fighting superheroes was fantastic. There are also links in the post if you want to get involved with helping others (and possibly yourself) overcome some hardships.
The joyful energy of the day will have a positive effect on you.
Sense to Save sees the positive sides of this recession, mainly the fact that it's putting into question some American values that aren't the best. Could agree more, Kacie.
Your mentality is alert, practical, and analytical.
A Dollar A Day posted a Declaration of Financial Independence posted on her bank ING's website (called We, The Savers). I feel like printing out and posting it, even if it's from a bank.
Smile when you are ready.
I have this one framed, typed up in a large font. Since I've been in kind of a funk lately, one of my coworkers suggested today I get a mantra. Something to recite whenever I'm scared or nervous about life that'll calm me. I was wracking my brain all day for one and when I started writing this post, I remembered my framed copy of this phrase was once in a fortune cookie. I think I refound my mantra. I love happy coincidences!
So may good fortune find you tonight, and check out some of these great articles that "spoke" to me if you want some good reading.
Photo from Wikipedia
Well I did what I thought was a fabulous audio podcast from the road today but of course it's not uploading so I'm coming to you in my usual written format.
I flew back east yesterday (into the cold, yikes!) and spent the day driving to my hometown of Fort Kent for the weekend to celebrate my grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary tomorrow. Needless to say, a lot of traveling.
I got to thinking today about my wrists. Mainly driving long distances tweaks my wrists similar to blogging so I have to wear my guards when I drive as well (people who pass me must think I'm a total punk!).
I've learned a few other things on this trip about ergonomics from my friends who have had similar issues and I thought I'd share.
1) Try braces. You already know about mine. Here are some pictures of me with my skater-looking blog braces here and here. I got mine at Rite Aid for about $20 each and they have more then paid for themselves. ($40 for both wrists)
2) Get voice recognition software. Frugal Fergie had a review of Dragon NaturallySpeaking software recently. My friend Sarah's fiancee Jeremy is a blogger who is currently traveling across the country. This software is allowing him to blog on the road while he's driving. I'm definitely investing! ($200)
3) Get a seperate keyboard for your laptop. My friends both do this and along with a wireless mouse, this is an ergonomic and inexpensive way to turn your laptop into a desktop computer. Bonus is that you can make your laptop sit higher, making the screen more ergonomically correct as well. ($30)
So throwing a little money at this carpal tunnel problem may help me even more. If you have any tips that make your computer use more comfortable, do share!
Another great article: How to Avoid the Physical Hazards of Blogging from Problogger
On this day last year, I decided I was going to blog. I had brainstormed a list of potential blog names over the course of a few days and as I thought more about the potential names, I kept really liking "Breaking Even".
First off, Breaking Even is the initial modest goal I had for the blog and for myself. First, I wanted to break even with this blog: have enough advertising and other revenue to pay for my web hosting, software, and maintaining/enhancing my computer. After a year, I'm very close to doing that thanks to Blogher and have surpassed that if you count the blog consulting I do (no regular writing gigs yet). For my second break even goal, I also wanted to break even with my own budget (after spending a few months in the red getting used to my smaller salary). I am now breaking even in my personal budget and putting aside more money then I ever have.
Breaking Even also means I don't want to get rich (though if that happens, I wouldn't mind!) I just want enough in my life, enough money to pay for a modest lifestyle, save a little for my old age, andhave a yearly trip to somewhere I've never been. I don't want to worry about money but I don't want to obsess about acquiring it either. Breaking Even is a balanced life.
And finally Breaking Even is above all being positive. I didn't call this blog "I'm a Loser with Debt" or "Struggling Penny Pincher". Breaking Even is moving forward, it's "making it". It's for everyone who thinks or wants to think about how to positively look at saving money and spending less. It's a positive look at life and what you can do with it.
Ok enough with the misty eyed talk on my blogiversary! To celebrate, I'm making my own cheese for my Too Cute Tuesday post this afternoon. (I know what you're thinking, I sure do know how to party!) I wish I could buy you all a cupcake to celebrate but funny pictures of me making cheese and a round-up of my most favorite posts at the end of the week will have to do!
I love the viral marketing possibilities of the internet. The fact that a great idea with little to no funding can get the exposure it deserves with a little hard work is one that I completely agree with.
As I'm nearing the end of finishing a few web projects, I can't help but wonder what the best ways of promoting them are.
I've learned a lot with this blog, mostly through trial and error.
Off internet promotion
First, I would have never thought to write a press release when I started my blog. And I think it's fun how many people I know in real life actually read my blog regularly. Just adding my blog address to my email signature and telling people about my blog has given me more traffic then I ever thought.
Blog Giveaways
I've had a few blog giveaways to increase traffic but neither were super successful. Maybe it's the hassle of having to do a little extra work (like commenting on a post) but this is something I will only do when I have something really cool and worth a substantial amount of money to give away.
Social Networking
I also found that some social networking is worth the effort but easily get out of hand. (I literally set a timer or I get sucked in.) The key though is not to use social networking entirely for self promotion. Those people are annoying; who wants a one-sided friendship, online or off? So I selectively promote posts on social networking sites and the rest of the time work on being friends with people.
Microblogging
Twitter was slow to start as far as driving web traffic my way but the lack of time commitment it took made me stick it out. It's a nice way to passively keep in touch and forces me to think "clever and brief" which is something very helpful to have in the back of my mind when blogging. Have you noticed I talk a lot?
Paid Advertising
I did buy a web advertisment with the newspaper I work for. I can see from the stats that my profile gets a lot of views (over 1,000) but this has only translated to a few clicks to my website. Could it be that people don't quite understand what an online communications person does? Could it be the economy? Sure, but at least now when I mention to locals what I do, they are moderately familiar with the idea, and that's worth something. Even big companies have to remind people that they exist.
Free Advertising
I still do Entrecard but I refuse to spend more then about five minutes a week on it. The traffic it does drive my way is random and brief but it's helped me find a few interesting blogs. I also love to browse Craigs List and other free online listings. Why not put my name in that directory? Or trade links with that other website I like?
SEO
Thinking of what search engines look for when I'm writing has taken some work. Links into my blog, links out of my blog, key words, it all helps people find me (and me find them). Asking myself "How can I make this something people are looking for?" is a little annoying but a lot of my traffic is search engine driven so it's worth it. It's not quite marketing to people but marketing to a search engine. Interesting concept.
So what I want to know from all you internet savy people is what has worked for you? How do you hear about cool things online? How do you promote any work that you're doing online? I'd love some new fun ideas that have worked for other people! I can get ideas I could try anywhere but I'd love some testimonials. Can I get a witness?
The Maine Blog Network has been progressing nicely. I spent yesterday on this project and another cool, top-secret-for-now project I'll let you know about soon.
Thanks to those of you who wrote or commented with your own (or your favorite) Maine blogs. I've added them and the list is now at one hundred Maine blogs! But I'm sure I'm still missing some good ones so if you are a Maine blogger or know one, let them know about this project. Here is the updated list:
A Blog About Beer http://www.blogaboutbeer.com/
A New Yorker Talks To Herself About Maine http://ouracadia.wordpress.com/
Acadia Blogs From Acadia National Park http://www.nps.gov/acad/photosmultimedia/blogs.htm
Adventures In Life http://mainemommaof3.blogspot.com/
Adventures In Vactionland www.adventures-in-vacationland.blogspot.com
All Things Maine www.allthingsmaine.blogspot.com
Another Maine www.anothermaine.blogspot.com
Art Night Out http://www.artnightout.blogspot.com/
Becoming Whole www.becomingwhole.typepad.com
Birding In Maine www.birdingmaine.com
Black Fly Blog www.laughmaine.com/Black_Fly_Blog.html
BogBlog www.edgeofmaine.blogspot.com
B's Travel Log http://www.mainelife.net/
Charting Maine's Future http://www.growsmartmaine.org/blog/
Chikblog www.chikblog.blogspot.com
China Lake Life www.chinalakelife.blogspot.com
Compass Rose Review www.compassrosereview.blogspot.com
Condalmo http://condalmo.wordpress.com/
Early Maine www.earlymaine.org
Equality Matters http://mainewomensfund.typepad.com/equality_matters/
Fiddlehedz www.fiddlehedz@blogspot.com
Franco-American News and Events http://fanset8.blogspot.com/
From Away http://blogs.trcmaine.org/fromaway/
Frugal C http://frugalc.wordpress.com/
Full Fantom Five www.mlcoe.typepad.com/Full_Fantom_Five
Gardenpath www.gardenpath.wordpress.com
Grain Surf Boards Blog www.grainsurfboards.com/blog
Growin Up Maine www.mainestories.blogspot.com
GrowSmart Maine: Charting Maine's Future http://www.growsmartmaine.org/
Gulf Of Maine Books http://gulfofmainebooks.blogspot.com/
h2oboro lib blog www.waterborolibrary.org/blog.htm
Henbogle www.henbogle.blogspot.com
In Maine What Now www.inmainewhatnow.blogspot.com
It's A Maine Thing www.itsamainething.com/blog-wp
K-Seas www.k-seas.com
Leave The Lights On http://www.leavethelightson.info/
Life In The Maine Woods http://outdoorwriter.wordpress.com/
Life On Penobscot Bay http://searsportshores.wordpress.com/
Living Downeast www.livingdowneast.wordpress.com
Living The Road Less Traveled http://livingtheroadlesstraveled.blogspot.com/
Maine www.maineu.com
Maine ASCD Weblog http://maineascd.blogs.com/maine_ascd_weblog/
Maine Beerwriters Guild http://www.mainebeerwriters.org/
Maine Birds www.mainebirds.blogspot.com
Maine Dezign http://mainedezign.wordpress.com/
Maine Food and Lifestyle www.blog.mainefoodandlifestyle.com
Maine Ghost Hunters www.maineghosthunters.blogspot.com
Maine Life www.mainelife.typepad.com
Maine Lives Large www.maineliveslarge.blogspot.com
Maine Moves Real Estate Blog http://www.mainemoves.com/blog/
Maine Mysteries www.mainemysteries.blogspot.com
Maine Nature Photos http://mainenaturephotos.blogspot.com/
Maine Network Partners http://www.mainenetworkpartners.org/blog/
Maine Outdoors Today www.maineoutdoorstoday.com/blog/
Maine Owl www.maineowl.net/blog
Maine Politics www.mainepolitics.net
Maine PR Maven www.maineprmaven.com
Maine Public Health http://mainepublichealth.blogspot.com/
Maine Real Estate News http://www.mainerealestatenews.com/
Maine Safety and Security News Blog http://mainesecurity.blogspot.com/
Maine Today Blogs (Network http://blogs.mainetoday.com/
Maine Vacation and Travel Info http://travel-maine.blogspot.com/
Maine Web Report http://www.mainewebreport.com/
Marie In Maine's Whoopie Pies and Lobster http://marieinmaine.com/whoopiepiesandlobster
My Corner Of Maine www.maineliving.blogspot.com
My Maine Cottage http://mymainecottage.blogspot.com/
News from Hawkhill Acres http://lillhawkins.com/
Pemaquid Blog http://www.pemaquidbeach.com/Maine-Coast-Vacation-Rental-blog.html
Portland Psst www.portlandpsst.blogspot.com
Pursue Business Advisors http://pursuebusiness.com/index.php
Realtor Andrew Mooers' Northern Maine Realty Blog http://mooersrealty.blogspot.com/
Red Sox State Of Maine www.redsoxstateofmaine.typepad.com
Sea Coast Eat Local www.blog.seacoasteatlocal.org
Season's Eatings Farm http://seasonseatingsfarm.wordpress.com/
SeevsPlave http://mcseavey.org/blog
Skinny Moose (Network) www.skinnymoose.com/network
Sometimes I Think http://journals.aol.com/fisherkristina/SometimesIThink
Strange Maine www.strangemaine.blogspot.com
The 5 Moores www.thefivemoores.blogspot.com
The Jack Mountain Bushcraft Blog http://www.jackmtn.com/simplog/
The Laundry Is Never Finished www.thelaundryisneverfinished.wordpress.com
The Maine Race http://themainerace.com/
The Mind Dance System Blog www.mainehypnocoach.blogspot.com
The Parish Of Saint Andrew and Saint John http://standrewstjohn.blogspot.com/
The Screaming Room www.marklaflamme.com/blog/
The Vigorous North http://vigorousnorth.blogspot.com/index.html
Turn Maine Blue www.turnmaineblue.com
Two Cents And A Thousand Words http://www.justinrussell.com/blog/
Unsweetened Tea www.homeness.blogspot.com
Useless Nexus http://uselessnexus.com/
Vacationland www.vacationlandmaine.blogspot.com
Wampum http://wampum.wabanaki.net/
Westbrook Diarist http://www.westbrookdiarist.blogspot.com/
Words Matter www.findingwords.blogspot.com
So thanks for your continued help with this project. I'm having a lot of fun with this because I do love a project!
The following blog was inspired by Craft Therapy, a crafting blog by Barb, who uses crafting to keep her sane. (It’s funny because I often get a little insane when I craft!) I finally did Barb’s craft she blogged about almost a month ago. You can read the Craft Therapy blog here or subscribe to it here. I should also say the cocktail is Barb-selected…and delicious! So you’ve seen those cute little magazine folders at Target but at $13 apiece, who wants to pay that? Not us! We’re making our own, right now!
You can get uniform and perfect size boxes at your local post office for free Barb recommends the flat rate boxes and to make sure whatever you get will be tall enough for whatever magazines you want to stash.
Other kinds of boxes that work well? Boxes used to ship books or small items of clothing. I used a box from a care package my mom sent me. (I know, I’m lucky to still even be getting those!)
Materials: Box (a box with thinner cardboard will look classier…you’ll see what I mean)
Packaging tape (if I had an arch nemesis, it would be packing tape. But I’ve faced my rival for this project because it really does work best)
Scissors
Scotch tape
Blade/straight edge to cut the box
Ruler
Pen/pencil
Paper to cover it (optional)
Spray paint (optional) Cocktail: Pomegranate Martini from Rachel Ray via Oprah (for a trendy two servings)
1 1/2 cups pomegranate juice
2 ounces Absolute Citron vodka (I use Sky Vodka)
1 ounce Cointreau liquor (I used Grand Manier)
Cup of ice
Squeeze of lemon (optional)
Shake ingredients in a shaker and strain into chilled martini glasses. Put pomegranate fruit into glass as garnish.
Step 1: Make your Pom Martini. Yum. (Don’t sip too quickly or your blade skills may be compromised, causing a crafting-related injury.)
Step 2: Close your box and then tape it completely shut with packaging tape. It sounds silly but all you're doing right now is taping up an empty box, making sure to line up the closing parts well to give yourself a uniform and square box to work on.Though it is evil and flimsy, you too will master it.
Step 3 : Make sure your magazines will fit inside by putting a sample magazine alongside the box. Make sure it's deep enough for your magazines and catalogs will fit (you can always cut off the top if your magazines are taller then the box). After your ordeal with the packaging tape, you deserve a little martini break.
Step 4: If you’re not good at cutting straight (I must have blown kindergarden), mark using a straight edge how you want to cut along the box. (See the photo of my drawn in lines. I measured so the lines would be the exact same on the other side.)
| Step 5: Cut along your lines with the straight edge. Make sure you are cutting through all the layers of cardboard. You should see your project shaping up!
Step 6: Now time to reinforce your cardboard creation. Take your packing tape and tape the inside of the seams that you taped the outside of when we began to firm it up. Basically tape everything down inside that needs taping down too. You don’t want the magazines to get caught on anything when you slide them in and out of the holder.
Step 7: By now your magazine rack should be done and ready to decorate! I covered mine in newspaper but I think decoupage, wrapping paper, or spray paint would have looked a lot cooler (unfortunately, I didn’t have any of these materials). Finish your martini while you decorate.
So thanks to Barb for the idea and now it’s your turn. If you want to craft and cocktail with Too Cute Tuesday, do drop me a line! Also, feel free to send photos of projects that have been successful for you. I’d love to see them
Happy Crafting!!!
No I don't have throngs of fans writing me emails constantly but I do have the occasional Breaking Even question. I thought I'd take the time to answer a few questions I've gotten.
Are you really that poor?
Yes and no. I make $10 and have some health insurance, which is a lot more than many people have. In addition, I have a working car, an adequate computer, and a college education. More then what I have is who I have: family and friends that could help me get out of situation (financial or otherwise) should I need help. If it's one thing I've learned from doing this blog, it's that I'm very fortunate.
That said, the $7,000 pay cut I took last year in my move to Downeast Maine really made me feel poor in a way I hadn't in awhile. I've made adjustments which I continue to chronicle here at the Breaking Even blog and I'm doing fine. And while I do have people who can help me, I've never asked anyone for money and don't intend to start now. I live within my means, which means that while I can't do whatever I want whenever I want, I can still have a pretty great life.
You live with your boyfriend Sean in his house so do you pay rent?
When I moved in, Sean and I agreed that I would pay what his old roommate used to pay. This works out to be about 1/3 of the morgage and about 1/4 of my salary. Since Sean makes more money then I do and also technically owns the house, this makes sense for us.
I'm a firm believer in coming up with your own agreement, whether you live with a partner or roommates or your family. All parties should think the arrangement is equitable, otherwise it's just one more thing to fight about.
What's your policy for advertisers on your site?
I only advertise products which I'm not opposed to. I've had advertising offers for casinos, gambling websites, paid posts, and payday loan companies. I would rather not have any advertising on my site then have links that could potentially get a reader in a bad situation.
Currently, I use Google Adsense and Blogher Ads to generate a small amount of revenue. I find the links not at all offensive or dangerous. I am, however, always looking for options that make good sense to my readers financially and otherwise. So advertising folks can pitch away.
What kind of dog is Sadie? I adopted Sadie in middle age (hers, not mine) from the Coastal Humane Society in Brunswick Maine. The only info the adoption people knew was that Sadie is a beagle mix. (I could have figured that out the way she gets into the trash if left unattended!)
My first vet thought Sadie was a beagle-corgi mix while my second vet thought she was a beagle-Jack Russell terrier mix. The microchip put into her neck by a previous owner can't be read so without blood tests, Sadie remains a genetic mystery. An underwear eating, ear raising, stuffed animal ripping genetic mystery.
Who are your frequent commenters? Robby and Laura are my two childhood best friends who I continue to be friends with to this day.
Kim is my cousin who is a lot like me but ten years older (among other things). My Aunt Paula ("matante") is also super supportive with her comments. Go family!
Justin is my brother-in-law. He is a businessman and hardware expert so I always hope he'll pipe in with DIY advice in particular.
Jennifer is a fellow Maine blogger who I finally made a connection with through an exchange of mix CDs. We've been online friends ever since.
Nancy Marshall is a fellow communications person based in Augusta with her own blog.
Kelly is a personal finance blogger based in France. We've bonded over French and finance, both subjects we love.
The Sarahs are college friends, one in San Fran the other in New Hampshire.
Robby is my most commenting friend and I get frequent telephone feedback about the blog from my friend Michaela.
How many readers does Breaking Even have?
The blog has around 75 subscribers (which is steadily growing, yay!) and 100-150 people visiting the blog everyday. That may not sound like much but that is way more then I had when I started!
How many websites do you read?
I subscribe to about 150 sites. I get the headlines delivered into my Google Reader as the blogs and websites are updated and I just skim through most of them. I do this for a few reasons 1) to keep on top of what's going on in personal finance, Maine blogs, and other topics I love 2) to not copy what other people are doing and, if I do cover a topic, to properly give credit to others and 3) because I love to read. I comment on five to ten articles per day and save links to articles I like in a list for future post ideas.
Some of my favorite sites are in my blogrolls if you want to check them out. (And if you have any to recommend, send them my way!)
If you have any questions about the blog, don't be shy. I'm certainly not!
Images: Me and Sadie at our first Christmas together, Robby Laura and I at a party last weekend (for the first time in five years!)
Yesterday I began seeking feedback on a Maine Blog Network logo. Today, I'm ready with a rough draft list of Maine bloggers.
From combing Technorati, my feed subscriptions, and email suggestions, I've compiled a starter list of Maine bloggers. I cut myself off at 75 for sanity reasons but I'm sure there's more of you out there. Here's who I have so far. If you (or a friend of yours) aren't on this list and want to be, email me or comment below. (Also email me if your contact info is not featured prominently on your page. It's helpful to have an email address rather then filling out a contact form.) Thanks! Things are well on their way...
A Blog About Beer http://www.blogaboutbeer.com/
Acadia Blogs From Acadia National Park http://www.nps.gov/acad/photosmultimedia/blogs.htm
Adventures In Vactionland www.adventures-in-vacationland.blogspot.com
All Things Maine www.allthingsmaine.blogspot.com
Another Maine www.anothermaine.blogspot.com
Art Night Out http://www.artnightout.blogspot.com/
Becoming Whole www.becomingwhole.typepad.com
Birding In Maine www.birdingmaine.com
Black Fly Blog www.laughmaine.com/Black_Fly_Blog.html
BogBlog www.edgeofmaine.blogspot.com
Breaking Even www.breakingeven.typepad.com
B's Travel Log http://www.mainelife.net/
Charting Maine's Future http://www.growsmartmaine.org/blog/
Chikblog www.chikblog.blogspot.com
China Lake Life www.chinalakelife.blogspot.com
Compass Rose Review www.compassrosereview.blogspot.com
Early Maine www.earlymaine.org
Fiddlehedz www.fiddlehedz@blogspot.com
Franco-American News and Events http://fanset8.blogspot.com/
Frugal C http://frugalc.wordpress.com/
Full Fantom Five www.mlcoe.typepad.com/Full_Fantom_Five
Gardenpath www.gardenpath.wordpress.com
Grain Surf Boards Blog www.grainsurfboards.com/blog
Growin Up Maine www.mainestories.blogspot.com
h2oboro lib blog www.waterborolibrary.org/blog.htm
Henbogle www.henbogle.blogspot.com
In Maine What Now www.inmainewhatnow.blogspot.com
It's A Maine Thing www.itsamainething.com/blog-wp
K-Seas www.k-seas.com
Leave The Lights On http://www.leavethelightson.info/
Life In The Maine Woods http://outdoorwriter.wordpress.com/
Life On Penobscot Bay http://searsportshores.wordpress.com/
Living Downeast www.livingdowneast.wordpress.com
Maine www.maineu.com
Maine ASCD Weblog http://maineascd.blogs.com/maine_ascd_weblog/
Maine Beerwriters Guild http://www.mainebeerwriters.org/
Maine Birds www.mainebirds.blogspot.com
Maine Food and Lifestyle www.blog.mainefoodandlifestyle.com
Maine Ghost Hunters www.maineghosthunters.blogspot.com
Maine Life www.mainelife.typepad.com
Maine Lives Large www.maineliveslarge.blogspot.com
Maine Nature Photos http://mainenaturephotos.blogspot.com/
Maine Outdoors Today www.maineoutdoorstoday.com/blog/
Maine Owl www.maineowl.net/blog
Maine Politics www.mainepolitics.net
Maine PR Maven www.maineprmaven.com
Maine Today Blogs (Network http://blogs.mainetoday.com/
Maine Web Report http://www.mainewebreport.com/
Marie In Maine's Whoopie Pies and Lobster http://marieinmaine.com/whoopiepiesandlobster
My Corner Of Maine www.maineliving.blogspot.com
News from Hawkhill Acres http://lillhawkins.com/
Portland Psst www.portlandpsst.blogspot.com
Red Sox State Of Maine www.redsoxstateofmaine.typepad.com
Sea Coast Eat Local www.blog.seacoasteatlocal.org
Season's Eatings Farm http://seasonseatingsfarm.wordpress.com/
SeevsPlave http://mcseavey.org/blog
Skinny Moose (Network) www.skinnymoose.com/network
Sometimes I Think http://journals.aol.com/fisherkristina/SometimesIThink
Strange Maine www.strangemaine.blogspot.com
The 5 Moores www.thefivemoores.blogspot.com
The Jack Mountain Bushcraft Blog http://www.jackmtn.com/simplog/
The Laundry Is Never Finished www.thelaundryisneverfinished.wordpress.com
The Mind Dance System Blog www.mainehypnocoach.blogspot.com
The Screaming Room www.marklaflamme.com/blog/
The Vigorous North http://vigorousnorth.blogspot.com/index.html
Turn Maine Blue www.turnmaineblue.com
Two Cents And A Thousand Words http://www.justinrussell.com/blog/
Unsweetened Tea www.homeness.blogspot.com
Useless Nexus http://uselessnexus.com/
Vacationland www.vacationlandmaine.blogspot.com
Wampum http://wampum.wabanaki.net/
Westbrook Diarist http://www.westbrookdiarist.blogspot.com/
Words Matter www.findingwords.blogspot.com
You may remember a month or so ago when I first proposed a Maine Blog Network. I thank those of you who helped pass the word around and those who wrote me to send me links. Some people even stepped forward to offer to work on it.
I have been working on this a little. I changed the DNS on www.maineblognetwork.com to my hosting company so I'll have hosting on the site in 24-48 hours. Until that happens, there isn't a whole lot I can do (plus I'm still deciding with those working with me what software to use). I have, however, started two sub-projects that I'd like feedback on. Today, logo, tomorrow the first draft list of Maine bloggers (this is taking me waaaay longer then I thought, holy cow are there a lot of Maine bloggers!).
Logo
Don't worry, I don't think that just because I have Photoshop means that I'm a graphic designer. But I think a symbol of the network that's simple, easy to reproduce, and looks good small or large is key. I was thinking key elements would be the state of Maine itself, symbols of conversation, maybe something that implies the internet or blogs or computers.
Since I had a little insomnia this morning, I finally tried to do something in really simple as a jumping off point. I'm putting it in this post at 500 pixels not because I think it's fabulous but I figured you artistic types could play with a higher resolution image (an art credit on the site for your trouble). But even if you just have verbal ideas, please comment below. All I know is this needs to look less lame.
So come back tomorrow for the list of bloggers I have so far and make sure I have your name or the names of your favorite Maine blogs. I've spent most of today compiling around one hundred blogs and I'll put them in a nice format for tomorrow.
I'll be emailing those of you on my email list about all this too so if you want to be on that list, email me so I have your contact info. Thanks!
Yes, I look about two rollerskates and a tattoo away from becoming part of a roller derby and most of you commenters liked my tough look. Here's another pose and a continuation of yesterday's link love having loosely to do with the twelve steps of recovery.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
How Big Is Your Halo?
According to a Freakonomics guest poster, we judge strangers on fairness more harshly then our friends and ourselves.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
Eva Longoria's Short Hair - And Weight Gain- Explained
I think People magazine needs to apologize to me and every other non-skinny person out there for this article (I linked it with its original title). Because Fat Eva Longoria (for a character who has "let herself go") looks an awful lot like Normal Nicole. Perhaps People can make amends with an America Ferrera article.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
Ten Steps To Financial Success For A Minimum Wage Earner
Trent at The Simple Dollar directly targets advice that few personal finance bloggers touch on: the minimum wage earner. The comments are as interesting as the post, some a little heated (clearly a compelling discussion).
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
21 Ways To Make Your Blog Or Website Sticky
I'm taking constant inventory of my site and tweaking but good ol' Problogger challenges us to inventory things we haven't even thought about.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
Surround Yourself With Constant Reminders
Gather Little By Little is a God-based personal finance blog. I really liked this post from a few months ago about surrounding yourself with constant reminders as to why you are saving money (or I guess the operative action would be not spending money anyway). If you need a little boost, God-based or otherwise to improve your attempts at financial goals, check this out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
I really enjoy this blog for the exact reason I get to interact with people who enjoy life without feeling the need to spend money they don't have. Check out the blog roll for some excellent examples of other people trying to pass on positive messages to others!
So it turns out I have a touch of carpal tunnel (which is apparently reversible) and a combination of my own and the doctor's solutions, I am on the mend. (Though it could be the 800 mg of pain reliever talking.)
In any case, my fabulous link list is getting long so tonight, I'm working it... Here are the links that helped heal me, or at least made were worth tweaking my wrist to read, organized with the help of the twelve steps to recovery.
1. We admitted we were powerless--that our lives had become unmanageable.
Given A Shovel, Americans Dig Deeper Into Debt (NYT)
A fabulous article about debt in America. If you can identify with any of these problems, step up and admit your life has become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
For Some Products, Prices Have Been Falling
Carpe Diem reminds us of the bright side and restores those of us in hysteria over the economy to our senses.
3. Made a decision to turn our will, and our lives, over to the care of God as we understood Him.
Top Five Conspiracies of Science
A fellow Maine blogger at Leave The Lights On has some pretty interesting stuff to say about scientific theories. I don't necessarily agree but thought enough of the article to put it on my list of things to mull over.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
Are Your PR Efforts Working?
Kiplingers challenges us to take an inventory of our PR efforts. Hopefully you are doing things like setting measurable goals and objectives but it doesn't hurt to have a remind.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
Carnival of Money Stories
Hosted at Stop the Ride, a bunch of us shared our money stories, some of which involved our wrongs.
6. We entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
I am certainly ready for the massage I scheduled next week to remove all my defects!
So since my arm is going numb, shameless promotion continues tomorrow with the other six steps and more fun links. Plus a special bonus post... Freaky Friday: The Bad Date Mini-Series continues.
Stay healthy!
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