This feast-or-famine life I lead as a writer-for-hire isn’t for the faint-of-heart. But I simply can’t imagine living any other way, having survived it for 16 years now.
The holiday season and tax time in Feb-April are the deadly-slowest times of each year for me
Work slows during the holiday season slightly before Thanksgiving and on through to New Year’s Day. That’s because people’s available income after essentials — and often even before, due to credit cards — goes to loved ones in the form of gifts, large family gatherings and communal meals, and special adventure excursions.
Work slows prior to tax season because people are on edge, knowing that a financial reckoning with Uncle Sam is imminent.
As a self-employed individual, I’m mandated to pay estimated taxes quarterly, so tax season isn’t usually a knuckle-biter for me. But every year I do fret (some) wondering if I estimated well enough quarterly to break even, or if I’ll owe considerably more than I estimated. That’s always fun.
Usually I come pretty darn close to right on, but usually I do have to pay a remaining balance that isn’t crushing. And I have my taxes done early so I have two and a half months before the filing deadline to pay whatever remains. Last year I underestimated by almost $3K. I haven’t made as much this year and I have paid in more, so I expect I may even be getting some back, but I won’t know until the tax preparer gives me the bottom line… So I stress (a little) every year.
Christmas Time is NOT the Best Time for a Financial Famine
Because of this twice-a-year famine routine, I never have enough “disposable income” to be able to give much in the way of gifts. I get stocking stuffer stuff for my loved ones, and perhaps a few gift cards — but again, only when I can truly afford them, because putting stuff on my credit card is NOT a good thing to do, knowing what I know about the feast-or-famine lifestyle.
WILL ANYONE EVER CALL AGAIN?
Those of us who are Creatives share a common fear, no matter how successful we are. I remember DeForest Kelley saying, “As soon as one job is over, you can’t help but sit and wonder if the phone will ever ring again (wanting what you offer to the world).” He told me one time, “You just have to have faith that it will all work out as long as you keep putting one foot in front of the other. You have everything it takes to be a success, so don’t surrender to the fear.”
That particular fear never goes away. So, holiday time and tax time aren’t my favorite times of year, but only for that reason. I simply get too much “veg” time during those times, so I sit and fret about whether I will ever land work again!
THIS TIME I USED MY DOWN TIME TO WRITE ANOTHER BOOK!
Writing another book recently kept me busy for about a week and a half. Now, if it will just SELL and add to the trickle of passive income I get as an author, that would be TERRIFIC!
But there are never any guarantees there, either. I’m not the best “pusher” of my own stuff, even though I push other clients’ products and services in my line of work as a copywriter.
I can readily and enthusiastically do that for other people, but it feels too self-serving, or egotistical or something, when I do it for myself! I need to remember that what’s inside the book is valuable and is worthy of the push. I need to divorce myself from the idea that I wrote it, so I can get out of my own way.
I always hope the reviews on Amazon will sell my books, because that way sales happen organically and I don’t have to push myself to keep my books top of mind all by myself. I’m a shy introvert; the pushy look at my new creation part is HARD for me!
GREAT REVIEWS HELP
That’s why I soooo appreciate it when readers elect to write reviews of my books, as my German friend Ilonka Liska did this morning when she reviewed DeForest Kelley Up Close and Personal on the German Amazon site.
She wrote, “I read this book in 2 nights. I was captivated by the story and the writing style from the start. The book is very humorous in places, but also thoughtful and serious here and there. Especially towards the end, the tone becomes a little calmer and more thoughtful. You learn a lot about the private individual DeForest Kelley, but rather less about his professional career. His wife Carolyn is also regularly involved in the story. All in all, a very amusing and very emotional book.”
My cousin has three books for me to edit after the first of the year
Robert Brantner, a Delta pilot — and my far-flung cousin — has three new books for me to edit soon. I have read his three earlier books and found them wonderful reads except for their lack of professional editing. I despaired because he was let down by the people who tackled that job before they were released, so I wrote to him essentially saying, “Please don’t do that again!” So, he reached out to me to do the editing for these next three.
Two of them are science fiction. They started out as one humungous book, but the word count is exactly twice what mainstream sci fi publishers look for in a title, so I suggested he find a cliffhanger near the middle and call the first half Book I and the second half Book II. That way, it’s far more likely he will land a mainstream publisher, plus he’ll be able to charge for Book II, too, doubling the revenue he’d otherwise get from it.
He hasn’t sent the manuscripts yet. He says he wants me to get underway with the editing after the first of the year.
500 FEET ABOVE ALASKA
An earlier one of his that I read and enjoyed immensely was a fictionalized story based on his knowledge and experience as a small aircraft pilot in Alaska before he landed the career at Delta piloting international flights. It’s called 500 Feet Above Alaska and, again, except for the lackluster editing, it is a real page-turner.
Alas, poorly edited manscripts eject the readers right out of the story, utterly spoiling the illusion that they are strapped in with the pilot, which is a terrible shame for a book as otherwise riveting as this one is. He deserved better, and he will get it from me!
Yes, he’s paying me. It’s gonna take probably 175 to 200 hours to review and edit/enhance upward of a quarter million words, all told! I will definitely be out of my feast-or-famine routine for tax season in 2024, as a result. I feel better already.
Now, to just get from here to there without going backward financially or dipping into my meager savings account so I have sufficient mad money to spend in New Zealand in March!!! That’s the major goal right now.
I NEED MORE WORK, MORE BOOK SALES, OR SUM’PIN’!!! ACK!!
So… do you have people on your holiday shopping list who would enjoy any of my books? Check them out at https://amzn.to/3uJpMjY and help support one of your favorite local (or more far-flung) Creatives this holiday season!
Or do you have anyone on your list who could use the services of a crackerjack NON-AI-USING writer of copy/sales, content or features? If you do, please let them know about me!
WORD-OF-MOUTH IS MY BREAD AND BUTTER BECAUSE MY OWN MOUTH DOESN’T LIKE SAYING WHAT NEEDS TO BE SAID!
(“Writing is show business for shy people.”)
GREAT THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!
