The deep, dark grey of winter depression has finally given way to the chilly, but inspired, blue skies of spring (and, of course, as I write this bit of poetry, the sidewalk is suddenly melting outside!). I’m writing again after a terrible round of self-doubt, and as temperatures at last creep above 40 degrees, business is starting to pick up. In more ways than one.
In The Writing Center, I am beginning to see more and more of the finals-inspired panic in the eyes of my students. Yet as the semester is grinding down to an end, development for next year is spinning round and round. It is a dizzy time of year, trying to accommodate the needs of this semester’s students while actively anticipating their needs next year. That is one of the reasons I have been amassing data, to spot trends and areas for improvement.
At the end of March, I attended the Mid-Atlantic Writing Center Association’s annual conference in Newark, Delaware. My poster presentation, entitled “Cultivating Success: Working With Students Who Have Developmental Needs,” was well received, and I learned a great deal from the various sessions I attended, gathering ideas and strategies. I also picked up 18 free books. Not too shabby. It was my first professional conference, which was in itself exciting, but it was also a chance to acquire new skills to make myself more marketable.
I am quickly realizing that, in this miserable economic climate, if I want a job, I have to create it myself. Finding a traditional job seems almost impossible for a wide variety of reasons. So I must become an entrepreneurial, freelancing, freewheeling, money-making kinda gal. Er, woman.
Nevertheless, self-marketing can be a real drain, especially if you have some time devoted to a traditional part-time job. The constant pressure to make sound marketing decisions (not to mention the very real threat of starvation) can become overwhelming. Additionally, the lack of stability that comes with freelancing can lead to depression and worry. Staying up nights worrying if that $80 newspaper ad will net you any new clients doesn’t make more people call, but it is hard not to do. Another challenge can be fear. I think fear is actually my greatest challenge, more so that my new worry of paying car insurance every month. Fear of failure, fear of success, lack of confidence and self-sabotage can be debilitating. I won’t say I’ve overcome all of these obstacles by a long shot, but here are a few of the things I have been working on since my last blog entry so many months ago.
Working the Corner
Thanks to a college friend, Mary Patton, my website is up and running at cranberryjade.com, mind the ongoing construction dust. This site becomes my central hub, my own street corner from which to work. Eventually, from this site, you can read this blog, look at pictures of my travels, see a calendar of my upcoming performances, checkout what classes I will be teaching next, and so much more. With the solid base of a business site under my heels, I can branch out into other neighborhoods.
Moving into the Neighborhood
I have also been working on networking with other people in my area and on-line, so I have spread out into all the major forms of social media: Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn. Several different areas of writing have also opened up such as freelance ghost writing and corporate/legal writing and editing. New projects are also in the works such as teaching creative writing this fall for the new Tri-State Community School of the Arts and sponsoring a scholarship for a student. The three classes I will be offering are Eastern Literary Aesthetics, How to Write a Vampire Story, and Expressing Cultural Ideas through Fairytales, putting that snazzy St. Mary’s education to work! Soon, I will be offering a series of free local sessions on discovering your learning style and how to personalize study tips to meet your learning needs. Additionally, Allegany Arts Council members will soon be able to receive a 10% discount on all of my writing and tutoring services. Look for my upcoming new ads on Craigslist, in the Cumberland Times News, and in area phone books.
So basically, I have combined the three parts necessary (hopefully) for success: what I like doing anyway, what I can do that no one else can do as well, and what people need now. That trifecta is what I am offering (and betting on)!
In a few weeks, I will have more time to focus on my writing and personal business endeavors (interspersed with developing new, integrated yet separate English and writing curricula for the Regional Math Science Center’s Upward Bound summer program, which will have me teaching six classes in June/July). I am looking forward to it. Almost as much as not having to drive a scooter in thunderstorms anymore!
*Note: This blog is meant for edutainment purposes only, and to that end, I may occasionally use some literary license. Moreover, the use of the word prostitute is not meant in a derogatory sense. The author understands sex work is a difficult job, particularly if you have a latex allergy.
Living on the Green Edge 