Photo courtesy of Stock.xchng

The last two months have really gotten me thinking about what direction I want to take my professional life.  Right now I work for a large insurance company in a cubicle; your typical corporate America nine to five.  I didn’t set out on any kind of path to get to where I’m at, things just kind of fell into place.  Actually, I probably did more to try and avoid the cube life than anything else.  I’ve never really known what it is I want to be when I grow up but I’ve always known the things that I love to do, writing being one of them.  So two months ago when Latina came knocking looking for a Latina mom blogger, I felt like some cosmic force was at work telling me to wake up and get going.

I’ve always loved to write but never sought out how to turn it into a career.  I had dreamed for a long time of writing a book but was always too scatterbrained to develop characters fully or a solid storyline; fiction was not my thing.  I stepped away from writing for a long time, not consciously but just because life was happening and I wasn’t paying attention.  When Dessa came around I had to get back to the things that I love and blogging let me connect back to my love for writing.  I’m incredibly lucky to have been given the opportunity to blog for Latina.  For someone with zero professional writing experience, this is the chance of a lifetime.  I’m feeling more and more each day that I have to seize the moment or it’ll pass me by.

I’ve been mulling over exactly what seizing this moment  means; I’m afraid I won’t know how to use this great opportunity to benefit me in the long run.  So in an effort to avoid missing out on this opp, I’ve put myself out there.  I’ve applied for several blogging positions and have gone from two little blogs to a whopping four (I start at BabySwags and Blissfully Domestic this month)!  I listed myself in a directory of moms looking to help one another out and I’m now writing a press release and have gotten great connections from the moms on there.  I was bold enough to even put myself out there as a social media consultant.  I lined up a busy month in February with 4 giveaways and 4 interviews (yikes!).  I’m not getting paid for any of this and I don’t mind; I just know there’s something in this jumble of assignments that I’m really hungry for.  And I’ve never been hungry for anything professionally.  It’s invigorating and exciting and kick ass!

I have so much brewing I can barely think straight sometimes.  I’m working on a posting schedule and trying to prioritize the things that matter.  I will keep writing at the various blogs and taking on freelance work as it comes and for as long as everything is working towards building a solid portfolio of work in my area of expertise.  But I also want to make sure I have enough time to start developing both an ebook and a full length book.   I’m considering attending a blogging/social media conference.  I want to continue to educate myself on this new field I’m venturing into.  As you can see, my mind has a lot to think about these days.

I’m reading a ton of different blogs right now and am considering signing up for a marketing course.  I also just downloaded a great eWorkbook which might help me get to one of those conferences I’m dreaming about.  I’ll follow up this post later week when I sort through all the info.  I’m hoping to find some really great info that might help out other freelance newbies.  Heck not to mention put it all in one handy place for myself!

If any of my readers just up and took a leap with freelancing, I’d love to know how you did it and where you’re at now.  Where did you find the best work?  How long were you willing to work for free?  How did you define being successful?  Any input would be great!