Tag: writer’s life

December 2018 Writer’s Life: Burnout month & yearly totals [#yearofwriting]

December 2018 Writer’s Life: Burnout month & yearly totals [#yearofwriting]

Please subscribe to my newsletter: Self-Care For Writers. Well… Here I am. It’s the end of the year and I need to tell you about how my writing goals and financial goals went for 2018. But first, I want to address something else: I have been feeling 

April 2018 Writer’s Life: Shoulder surgery means less work [#yearofwriting]

April 2018 Writer’s Life: Shoulder surgery means less work [#yearofwriting]

Please subscribe to my newsletter: Self-Care For Writers. Well, where should I start with my April blog post? Let’s see… Oh right! I had a major thing happen this month: I finally got shoulder surgery after my 15th dislocation last fall. That’s right, since I turned 18 

August Writer’s Life: New gig, letting go & mental health [#yearofwriting]

August Writer’s Life: New gig, letting go & mental health [#yearofwriting]

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I don’t know how to say this other than to say it: August has been a very, very difficult month for me. It’s not because I didn’t have any work and was suffering financially (thank goodness) but because there were some changes and adjustments at Romper that seriously affected my mental health.

Without going into too many details and completely acknowledging that it is nobody’s fault, my life became extremely stressful this month. Not only was Romper completely overwhelming me, but there were other things in my life that were weighing heavily on me and seriously impacting my work. Not only was my workload basically unmanageable, but my health began to suffer too.

What I am finding out is that my mental health suffers greatly when I am feeling overwhelmed by work and it leaves my general health in shambles. Whenever I am stressing out, the first thing I reach for is soda and candy… so there was a LOT of unhealthy eating this month. After much deliberation, reconnecting with my therapist and support from Adam, I decided to let go of my PT writing gig at Romper (for now?).

What was published: 

Romper, specifically: 

Clearly, I still enjoyed writing for Romper. There were so many fun articles that I got to do this month, so quitting was a difficult decision. But, as I had predicted, the minute that I did, I felt a huge relief off of my shoulders. Romper was great for my career and I loved my time there… But, ultimately, it’s important to do what’s best for me and what is best for my mental health. I’m proud of this decision.

How much I wrote: 24,237 words

How much I made: $1,545

Because I was so overwhelmed with my Romper work this month, I didn’t freelance much and I basically didn’t pitch… Except one.

Pitches sent out in August: 1*
Pitch rejections: 0
Pitch non-replies: 0
Pitch acceptances: 1
Pitch reply with question: 0

Follow-ups with previous pitches: 0
Pitch rejections: 0
Pitch non-replies: 0
Pitch acceptances: 0

*This editor received 8 pitches, accepted them all, and then asked me to write for them regularly, so…. Pretty good start, I think!

In other MUCH more exciting news, I managed to send one pitch out this month (or, rather, eight pitches to one editor), they were ALL accepted and I am now going to start being a regular contributor to the site in question: HipLatina!

I couldn’t possibly be more thrilled about this, to be honest. I have really missed writing personal essays during my time at Romper and I have also missed doing more cultural identity pieces, both of which are going to be very welcome at HipLatina. Hopefully, you’ve already seen some of my first pieces above—but get ready for more.

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July Writer’s Life: Why I write about alcoholism recovery [#yearofwriting]

July Writer’s Life: Why I write about alcoholism recovery [#yearofwriting]

Please subscribe to my newsletter to get writing news and updates. Well, after a very successful first six months of the year in terms of pitching, I am flailing a little bit (as you will see later). Predictably, most of my time these days is taken up 

Confession: My biggest shame in life is that I’m a writer who doesn’t read

Confession: My biggest shame in life is that I’m a writer who doesn’t read

Please subscribe to my newsletter to get writing news and updates. This is my absolute deepest, most secret shame… I don’t read. I know that might be a funny or surprising thing to say considering that I am in recovery and could probably shock even the closest