I am finding the life of a freelance writer is full of peaks and valleys which I suppose can be said of any job. However, unlike my last career in education, it is full of way more uncertainties. Since I am new to the world of freelance, I am definitely open to different writing opportunities. When you enjoy writing, you can write confidently on just about any subject. The trick is finding the avenues.
Recently, I landed what I thought was going to turn out to be a weekly thing for me and I was even more thrilled that I was going to be able to write something besides sports. Now, don't get me wrong. I do enjoy writing hockey pieces, but the chance to put together some travel features was right up my alley. If I get reincarnated, I want to come back as a travel writer. And the bonus here was I was actually getting paid for each piece.
Unfortunately, payment for the rest of my gigs involves how much revenue my posts get or the number of reader votes and this doesn't even include the freebies I write. For once, I was looking at a fairly steady weekly job.
Until the dreaded e-mail arrived. My new post ideas were great, but they were on hold until some issues could be worked out for the new website. Sure, it's not completely ominous, just close. I suppose the issues could be worked out quickly and I will be able to write my European castle piece and then some, but I won't hold my breath.
I will keep plugging and applying for new jobs because that is the life of a writer or a fisherman. I haven't decided because sometimes you hook you, but most of the time you don't.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Egg Roll Please
Well,I didn't get picked for the Down the Shore trip on the Munchmobile, but I did get my second choice which was Chinese food. As I said, I am completely excited about this one because my children hate to try anything different and the only thing they will touch from a Chinese menu is the fortune cookies. Yet, only two of them will eat them. The middle one just ponders the fortunes and tries to ascertain if they are true or not.
My trip is scheduled for July 20th and I am looking forward to it, but still don't know how I am going to manage to eat food in so many different places. It will be a challenge. The hubby loves the show Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. I'm just amused at how much that guy can eat.
Not something I really want to aspire to, so I will probably just do the girl thing and taste a little bit of this and a little bit of that. My mother used to say that is how you don't gain weight. You just pick and don't eat a whole plate. Don't know about that, but I do know that if I eat a full meal in every place we visit, I will need a really big barf bag.
Peter Genovese the mastermind, driver and writer behind the Jersey icon has graciously agreed to be interviewed by yours truly for a freelance piece I was hoping to sell to New Jersey Monthly. Genovese is a wonderfully funny writer for the Star Ledger and is also the author of over ten books. He is a foodie with a real knack with words.
I'm almost looking forward to the interview more than the trip, but sadly NJ Monthly didn't bite. They declined my query since Genovese is already a household name in much of the Garden State and because the magazine competes with Inside New Jersey which is connected to the Ledger. Really, but okay. Since rejection is often my middle name, I will keep looking for a taker.
I have decided to set my sights on a food magazine with a broader appeal to hopefully get the Munchmobile a little more notice out of state.
The Munchmobile's first trip of the season is this week and it will be a little more fun following along this year knowing that I will be one of the munchers.
My trip is scheduled for July 20th and I am looking forward to it, but still don't know how I am going to manage to eat food in so many different places. It will be a challenge. The hubby loves the show Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. I'm just amused at how much that guy can eat.
Not something I really want to aspire to, so I will probably just do the girl thing and taste a little bit of this and a little bit of that. My mother used to say that is how you don't gain weight. You just pick and don't eat a whole plate. Don't know about that, but I do know that if I eat a full meal in every place we visit, I will need a really big barf bag.
Peter Genovese the mastermind, driver and writer behind the Jersey icon has graciously agreed to be interviewed by yours truly for a freelance piece I was hoping to sell to New Jersey Monthly. Genovese is a wonderfully funny writer for the Star Ledger and is also the author of over ten books. He is a foodie with a real knack with words.
I'm almost looking forward to the interview more than the trip, but sadly NJ Monthly didn't bite. They declined my query since Genovese is already a household name in much of the Garden State and because the magazine competes with Inside New Jersey which is connected to the Ledger. Really, but okay. Since rejection is often my middle name, I will keep looking for a taker.
I have decided to set my sights on a food magazine with a broader appeal to hopefully get the Munchmobile a little more notice out of state.
The Munchmobile's first trip of the season is this week and it will be a little more fun following along this year knowing that I will be one of the munchers.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Let Them Eat Cake!
Sadly, I had to pass on choosing the cake trip as my top preference on this summer's Munchmobile. My children have a busier schedule than I do and I just couldn't stick the hubby with all of the duties on a June Saturday. Therefore, my top four choices had to wait until the bulk of the spring sports were done.
Cake would have been right up my alley. I admit to having a weakness for the sweet stuff which is one of the reasons I run. However, after some deliberation and soul searching, I came up with my top four.
The second Down the Shore run to experience some of the tastiest places the Jersey Shore has to offer was of course my top pick. I am a Jersey girl born and bred and my heart and soul are tied to the shore. It was heartbreaking to see one of my favorite boardwalks devastated by Hurricane Sandy. Most of the Spring Lake boardwalk was reduced to ruins, but it along with the shore will be back.
I'm hoping for the shore trip because residents have to lend a hand to get businesses back on track.
My next pick went for the trip to find the best Chinese food. My kids won't eat it and they won't be coming, so that was a no-brainer.
Went with the healthy food quest next. I'd be a vegetarian if the hubby wasn't such a meat lover!
The final choice was a tough one. I kind of wanted to go with the everything weird, wild and wonderful run, but the hubby reminded me I'm not exactly the most adventurous eater on the block. Had to admit he was right, so settled on the bacon run.
Not the biggest fan of it, but put it on for the hubby who is the true foodie in the family and would love to take my seat on the Munchmobile.
Sorry, honey, but I will bring you something back!
Cake would have been right up my alley. I admit to having a weakness for the sweet stuff which is one of the reasons I run. However, after some deliberation and soul searching, I came up with my top four.
The second Down the Shore run to experience some of the tastiest places the Jersey Shore has to offer was of course my top pick. I am a Jersey girl born and bred and my heart and soul are tied to the shore. It was heartbreaking to see one of my favorite boardwalks devastated by Hurricane Sandy. Most of the Spring Lake boardwalk was reduced to ruins, but it along with the shore will be back.
I'm hoping for the shore trip because residents have to lend a hand to get businesses back on track.
My next pick went for the trip to find the best Chinese food. My kids won't eat it and they won't be coming, so that was a no-brainer.
Went with the healthy food quest next. I'd be a vegetarian if the hubby wasn't such a meat lover!
The final choice was a tough one. I kind of wanted to go with the everything weird, wild and wonderful run, but the hubby reminded me I'm not exactly the most adventurous eater on the block. Had to admit he was right, so settled on the bacon run.
Not the biggest fan of it, but put it on for the hubby who is the true foodie in the family and would love to take my seat on the Munchmobile.
Sorry, honey, but I will bring you something back!
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Murder on the Munchmobile
Murder on the Munchmobile? Is that anything like Murder on the Orient Express? Well, no not really, but it is definitely tastier!
If you aren't from New Jersey, you probably do not have any idea what in the world a Munchmobile is. The Munchmobile was the brainchild of Star Ledger reporter and author, Pete Genovese. Genovese commissions fellow foodies to accompany him on various jaunts in a van with a humongous hot dog on the roof throughout the Garden State in search of the best foods New Jersey has to offer.
It has become a summer phenomenon and this year will be its Sweet Sixteen. The Munchmobile has scoured the state in search of the tastiest pizza, cakes and well, you name it and they've eaten it or would like to sample it.
This year 500 applicants campaigned for the chance to ride along on one of the delicious excursions and yours truly was one of the chosen!
As a mystery writer, the plot lines are many. I mean what is better than putting together five strangers in a van with a hot dog on top and eating foods from all over New Jersey in one day. It really is better than fiction!
I don't know yet what trip I will be going out on, but I am hoping it will have something to do with cookies or maybe Italian food. Either way, I am really looking forward to blogging about my experiences as well as doing research for a Munchmobile mystery. So stay tuned for some tasty blog posts!
If you aren't from New Jersey, you probably do not have any idea what in the world a Munchmobile is. The Munchmobile was the brainchild of Star Ledger reporter and author, Pete Genovese. Genovese commissions fellow foodies to accompany him on various jaunts in a van with a humongous hot dog on the roof throughout the Garden State in search of the best foods New Jersey has to offer.
It has become a summer phenomenon and this year will be its Sweet Sixteen. The Munchmobile has scoured the state in search of the tastiest pizza, cakes and well, you name it and they've eaten it or would like to sample it.
This year 500 applicants campaigned for the chance to ride along on one of the delicious excursions and yours truly was one of the chosen!
As a mystery writer, the plot lines are many. I mean what is better than putting together five strangers in a van with a hot dog on top and eating foods from all over New Jersey in one day. It really is better than fiction!
I don't know yet what trip I will be going out on, but I am hoping it will have something to do with cookies or maybe Italian food. Either way, I am really looking forward to blogging about my experiences as well as doing research for a Munchmobile mystery. So stay tuned for some tasty blog posts!
Friday, May 3, 2013
Wanderlust
Hindsight is twenty/twenty and it is like armchair quarterbacking, there is little point to looking back because you need to look forward.
However, if I could do as Cher sang, Turn Back Time, there are definitely two things that I would have done differently.
First and foremost is that I would have stuck with journalism. Sure, I may not have had the most outgoing personality in the world, but teaching forced me to come out of my shell just as writing would have.
Now, I am not saying that I did not enjoy my years in the classroom because they did serve me well. The district where I taught gave me a truck load of story ideas and a cast of characters that Dickens would have loved. It is just that writing has always been my passion and you shouldn't turn your back on your passion. That is a lesson I will always remember and pass on to my children.
The second thing I would love to change is travel. If there is such as reincarnation, I hope I come back as a travel writer.
Recently, I read a quote where the writer basically compared life to a book. A book is more than a page, so why would you spend your whole life on the same one.
Very profound and true. The world is full of so many beautiful places to see and explore. I definitely regret letting my shyness get in the way of doing a year abroad in college. That would have been a wonderful opportunity to stretch my wings and explore Europe.
I'm not sure that I get the point of Pinterest, but one thing I do enjoy is all of the incredible travel pictures. I've also seen that I am certainly not the only one who has a little wanderlust and yearns to see greener pastures.
A recent writing opportunity may allow me to contribute travel pieces, a position I would relish. My bucket list is already full of spots and this is another piece of hindsight I will pass on to my little ones. Life is like the Dr. Seuss book The Places You'll Go and you should take that thought with you as you navigate the many paths you will travel along the way!
While you can't turn back time, you can learn from it and pass that lesson on.
However, if I could do as Cher sang, Turn Back Time, there are definitely two things that I would have done differently.
First and foremost is that I would have stuck with journalism. Sure, I may not have had the most outgoing personality in the world, but teaching forced me to come out of my shell just as writing would have.
Now, I am not saying that I did not enjoy my years in the classroom because they did serve me well. The district where I taught gave me a truck load of story ideas and a cast of characters that Dickens would have loved. It is just that writing has always been my passion and you shouldn't turn your back on your passion. That is a lesson I will always remember and pass on to my children.
The second thing I would love to change is travel. If there is such as reincarnation, I hope I come back as a travel writer.
Recently, I read a quote where the writer basically compared life to a book. A book is more than a page, so why would you spend your whole life on the same one.
Very profound and true. The world is full of so many beautiful places to see and explore. I definitely regret letting my shyness get in the way of doing a year abroad in college. That would have been a wonderful opportunity to stretch my wings and explore Europe.
I'm not sure that I get the point of Pinterest, but one thing I do enjoy is all of the incredible travel pictures. I've also seen that I am certainly not the only one who has a little wanderlust and yearns to see greener pastures.
A recent writing opportunity may allow me to contribute travel pieces, a position I would relish. My bucket list is already full of spots and this is another piece of hindsight I will pass on to my little ones. Life is like the Dr. Seuss book The Places You'll Go and you should take that thought with you as you navigate the many paths you will travel along the way!
While you can't turn back time, you can learn from it and pass that lesson on.
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