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How once woman went from being a SAHM of four to a published freelance science journalist |
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I'm revising this intro after more than 15 years to better reflect my intention When I started this blog in 2004, I was a stay at home mom to two small children, a college graduate with a degree in English and Astrophysics. By 2007, I had four small children, ages newborn, 2, 4, and 6. For several years, Writing.com was how I kept my sanity. This blog began, first as a way of staying connected. Later, when I worked on a novel, I used it to stoke the writing fires as I plotted out short stories and the next step of my novel. Ultimately, I moved my writing preparation to "Invalid Item"  In 2010, I became a single mom who had homeschooled her children for several years. I had a 2, 4, 6 and 8 year old and had never had a "real" full time job, since I was married while in college. Everyone told me that I would have to buckle down and take on a "real" job. Instead, I decided to attempt to live my dream: to make it as a writer. I knew that if I didn't try then, I would never really dive in. I counted my money and set a deadline. If I hadn't began making a decent (defined) amount of money after so many months, I would suck it up and get a J-O-B. After some thought, I decided to play to my strengths. I served an internship at Sky & Telescope magazine while in college and enjoyed writing about space and astronomy. With an astrophysics degree, I thought I would be able to sell myself more easily, and a small niche should be easier to penetrate. It's been about ten years since I was first paid for an article on Space.com. In that time, writing - journalism - has been my primary moneymaker. I've often thought about setting up a blog on my website - www.astrowriter.com - but just haven't gotten around to it. There are a few things I would like to share for those who are interested in scientific journalism in general. Now that I'm back on WDC, there's no reason not to combine the two and use the site blog for that sort of interaction. There are certainly plenty of folks on this site interested in the publication process. So while I'll probably meander around some, that's the intention of of this blog: to share some of my struggles as a published journalist and to help answer oft-asked questions. |
| This day rocks! After a week of no - none - zilch -zero sales, I made 3 THREE sales today, with a total profit of $39. Sold one $29.99 book, one $19.99 books, and one $4.99 book. (Profit = selling price - initial payment - FEES which will *kill* you!) Before today, the most expensive book sold was $9.99, and the biggest transaction was $15 for a bunch of "firewood" I really didn't expect to sell. So I sold my two most expensive books today! Tomorrow (5/9) is my birthday, so I'll be off site. Other than, you know, checking my email with the hopes that the universe will conspire to make my b-day an even better day than today! (I can hope, right?)  Hope everyone has an awesome day! |
| I'm on a hiatus, but I thought I'd let you know. I think I mentioned earlier that I'm one of the judges for the monthly WDC contest, so I'm trying to get all the judging done for it. I'm only about halfway through. Add to that the fact that, today I and um, at least one (out of four) of our kids are sick, and blech. (I'm not sure how many, sad as it is, because dh has been taking care of them. I'm trying not to breathe on them, and laying in bed all day, eating toast.) Oh, yes, and since this month is prime bookbuying time, I am working myself to death trying to acquire inventory. The goal is to have 1000 books by the end of May. Some days I think I'll make it, some days I don't. The going rumor is that 1000 books averages 1 sale/day, which is where I'd like to get to. But I'm also worn out - I was so tired yesterday - which is probably a big part of the reason I got sick today; not all of it, though, since I'm suffering from a stomach virus. Ugh. Okay, gotta get some toast, just wanted to give you the head's up. |
| I'm not going to expand, just going to do the whole writing-out-of-the-funk thing. I was trying to help someone today, and it turned around and bit me in the backside. I don't want to go into the how or why, except to say I was trying to be helpful and apparently I wasn't. Actually, that is not true. I still feel like I said what needed to be said, and that I did it in a tactful and loving way. I hope that I made her think about it. She may never talk to me again, and she may never come to church again, but that is her decision. What I said, that was so offensive, was that I didn't think she was happy. I still don't think that. She insists that she is, that she has just had some bad days, but I don't think she is truly happy. I didn't mean that like, you are screwing up your life or you are a lousy mom, which is probably how she took it. I meant that like, I am worried about you. Frankly, if she thinks she is happy, I think she is deluding herself. She is in a holding pattern - she said so herself - she thinks that one day a husband will drop out of the sky and take care of her and her four kids and make everything perfect. I was trying to help her see that she needs to make some changes and then things will fall into place. But apparently I did that wrong. I should have remembered that this is someone who doesn't want help; she wants unconditional love. But how do you not help someone you care about? She is below poverty level, on welfare, struggling financially, and yet last year she had a job opp making 2.5 xs as much money (a whopping $17/hr) working a set 40 hours in the day (as opposed to the night shift she frequently works) and all she had to do was one thing...and she didn't do it. I did everything in my power to help her achieve this, but had to realize that ultimately, it is up to her. It is depressing to realize that she probably won't come to church at all (not, frankly, that she came often anyway), and to know that *I* was the breaking point. I honestly don't believe I was being critical or judgemental, I was only trying to help her see that people care and worry about her, and so I don't think I did anything wrong other than maybe trying to help someone who doesn't want to be helped. But still, it is painful. Maybe the situation will improve. As someone pointed out, she just had a baby (I was visiting her in the hospital, so this is very literal). That's all I have to hope for. <sigh> |
| This is the story of my life. My husband just told me that he knows how hard it is to stay home with four kids all day. No, I said, you do not. You've never done it. He says, I did it last Saturday, when you had something for church and didn't get home until 4:45. (As a side note, the house was trashed and dinner wasn't even a dream.) You've never done it day in and day out, I said. Mind you, he left last week on Monday and got home at noon on Saturday. He has never had to deal with the kids by himself that long. And this is the crap I get back... Most people say it would be harder to do something one day than do it every day. Physical violence crossed my mind. I smiled, said, you are probably right, and left the room. Then he wonders why I tell him that he is selfish and self-centered. Because, yeah, sure, it is way harder to lay on the couch until noon, do nothing, clean nothing, feed nothing, let the kids run around in PJs, take a nap, then have your wife come home and make dinner than it is to get up, clean up, shop, make meals, homeschool, skip adult conversation, take the kids to their activities, and do it every day for six days while your husband is gone. If I didn't think the house would implode, I would totally take off and get a job, and let him stay home. (Plus, frankly, I don't think the kids would survive - or him.) |
| Finally got Excel to work on this computer (my laptop is still virused and is desperately awaiting for DH to wipe and reload it, ha ha ha). Thus far, since starting, I have spent $153 on books. After shipping and packaging costs (and excluding gas costs), I have made (hold your breath)...$7.74 on the 7 books I have sold (went negative on that one I told you about that got over-feed). So I am thus far $145.26 in the hole. Not great...but not bad in terms of start-up costs, I suppose. I'm hitting a book sale tomorrow on my way FAR OUT to pick up a freecycle bed for someone from church. Not sure how big it will be, since further research reveals they have a sale literally every month, but what the heck, right? You never know til you try, and maybe they have a ton of books to support said sale, plus it isn't well advertised. I also have a sitter coming over on Saturday...gag...at 6 a.m. I am heading down to a booksale with 75-80 THOUSAND books. That should give me some good searching! I have prepped a list of "most favorite" books with a high used resale value ($10+) so I know to snatch them up if I see them. We'll see how THAT goes. I also prepped a list of several ongoing library sales in the area to hit, so I can maximize the trip. We'll see how well that goes. I am also trying to find a sitter - wanna volunteer? - for Wednesday at 9 a.m. For some reason, dh doesn't want to stay home an extra 2 hours. Wimp. Maybe after I post finds from this sale, we will suddenly be rolling in the money... ha ha ha. Earlier Kåre Enga in Montana  listed all the reasons why this was good for me. Ha ha, I'm organized! I am only organized when I sit down and type out my plans to be organized; I am not quite so good on the followthrough. I am still learning from my mistakes, which is good, and this is definitely flexible (although not as flexible as I'd like, what with those 6 a.m. babysitters! I felt so bad calling and asking them to come over so early!). It is nice to have all those books (I've found lots of books I'd like to read!) and I love walking into my used-to-be-personal-library-now-an-office and smelling all the books (weird, huh?). Now, I just have to figure out how to make more than $7.74 a month! I dunno why dh isn't more excited! |
| So this is a little different from - albeit related to - my bookselling blog posts of late. I need some suggestions on what library to drive to. Situation: If you don't know, I homeschool my older two kids (and intend to HS the younger two, but, um, my one year old is still a bit young...). The library is our primary curriculum source. It is not shocking for us to have around 100 books checked out at a time (usually it's a bit more gradual over the course of a month, since there is a limit of 10 holds per card). I use the Internet to place holds to the majority of the books we check out are already behind the desk when we get to the library (learned this years ago, with just two small kids). There are two libraries closest to us that do not have a county-wide system, so they aren't even in the running. The two contending libraries *do* have a county-wide system, so I can reserve books from any place in the county from the comfort of home. So, the case for each library: Library A: We have been patrons there for about a year. The librarians are friendly, and are used to us. We have our very own bin where they keep our numerous holds, and since we visit during storytime, they usually go ahead and check our books out while the kids are listening/crafting, saving us wait time. And (don't tell anyone) sometimes when I put a more popular book or movie on hold, and am sitting down at #50, I visit the library and find it in my bin. (I try to especially return those quickly, sometimes making dh go a bit out of his way to return it so the next reader can have it sooner.) That is a definite perk. The librarians are sweet, even bought overpriced Girl Scout cookies from us (and I later learned one of them didn't eat them!) and offer us raspberries from their garden. The ONLY downside is that they are a good 30 mts away, not really around anything else that I can combine the trip with, oh, and I HATE the narrow streets of the downtown NE. Library B: Just found them, because they run a homeschooling group. In fact, one of the librarians leads said group. So we are already driving there once or twice a month for the meeting. They have an awesome children's section, with a Thomas the Tank Engine train (not sure if this is a plus or minus; it distracts my kids from the books!) and several coloring pages set out. I also like the way they have seperated the early-reading books by stages, which makes it easier for me to browse for books for my just-starting-to-read 5 yo. (He has tapped the smallish selection at Lib A, but in truth would probably tap out this selection in a year, as well.) They also have an ongoing booksale, which I plan on hitting once every two weeks at least, so I'll be driving there 2xs/month (I'll hit it on one of the meeting days). If I switch, it means that I'd only add 2 more trips (we go once a week) if I visit this library rather than 4 more at the other. (Oh, yes, that makes my trips down for book scouting a business expense, too!) The librarian is nice and friendly to homeschoolers and, interestingly, she bumped me up to teacher status this week so dh & I can now reserve 20 books at a time rather than 10. (It would have been nice if *my* librarians had thought of it, given we reserve so much, but I honestly believe it just didn't occur to them, not that they were intentionally not suggesting it.) They, too, are 30 mts away, but it's more of a straight shot (turn out of my driveway and onto a rd in our subdivision, turn onto BIG road, turn off that road and onto little road by the library), and I pass the best place for purchasing milk around here ($6.75 for 2 gallons of whole, cheaper for that water-milk garbage), so I'll be stopping THERE when I make my twice-a-month visits. Honestly, it's only "brand loyalty" that keeps me at Lib A. Circulation is related to budgets at both libraries, and I hate to pull that from them. Lib B already has several HSers, so I'm sure a higher circulation... So, what do you think I should do? I can't decide! |
| I need a sitter. Who wants to volunteer? I am trying to figure out who can babysit my kids during the daytime next Wednesday. I also have to call the girl next door about e-a-r-l-y Saturday morning, ugh. The preview starts at 8, and I'm pretty sure it is close to 2 hrs away. I am sure she will be excited to come babysit. Actually, it may be closer to one hour, I'd better doublecheck that. Good thing I did: 59 miles, most of it on the highway. That is good news. Okay, so only bright an early at seven a.m. to leave. I should probably shower first - then again, who would be so desperate to crowd me if I don't? NO ONE! <evil laugh> I can keep competitors away with B.O.! <sigh> Maybe dh will be home by Saturday. Anyway, since I've been emailing libraries - my new breadwinner - there are a couple of little sales I can hit while I am there! I know, my dh will be ecstatic. Right now, I have 141 books listed on Amazon.com - that's what I consider my "good" books. I have 284 listed on Half.com, which has much lower sell cost (and less exposure, of course). According to my software, I have a whopping total of 308 books listed for sale, because some of the books listed on Amazon didn't have a catalog listing for Half.com. So more than 50% of my books are NOT "good". Bad numbers. But I suppose they will work for my present count, I'll use 'em to fudge. Today's treasure brags: I found an autographed "biography" by a now-deceased author. I took my pricing cues from the other person listing a signed copy and posted it at $34.99; I paid a whopping .50. I found a book in awesome condition EXCEPT for the torn dust jacket (DJ). If it weren't torn, it would fetch around $40; with a tear, it's listed at $19.99. We'll see if it sells. Paid .50. What else? Two kids books that I paid $1 for are now listed at $19.99, which is the lowest price; next highest, I believe, is $24.99. I also paid $1 and .50, respectively, for a book with a chunk of pages falling out (oops!) and writing all through it; those are no-sells. Lesson learned: flip through the book and look at the spine, don't just check the outside. This custodial guy was watching me, and I was feeling self-concious, though....Lesson #2: don't feel self-concious. (isn't there another 's' in there?) I have created a two-week itenerary that allows me to hit a few of the libraries once every two weeks, rather than once a week. Did I mention that already? Doesn't look like it. Since we are way-rural, my sources rely on donations, and they are far away, so making a trip more than once every two weeks is something of a waste. That said, I also gave myself Monday off most of the time, because that is our "housecleaning day," took it easy on Tuesday (one Tues visit locals, one stay home) because for the next 5 weeks (and maybe next year) I am teaching a youth group on Tues night, and grouped the Wed sales around our regular library, which we visit for storytime on Wednesday. There is a method to my madness, as well; I am planning to hit larger book sales as found (May is already filled up!) on Fri/Sat and so I anticipate spending Mon and maybe part of Tues listing said books. So I am alleviating pressure. We will see how dh does with keeping the kids virtually every weekend. Yeah, he'll be thrilled. I'll just keep reminding him that the goal is to get him home more, and/or have some more 'fun' money. Right now's goal: we are supposed to go to Disneyworld in the fall to celebrate being debt free! but the house (we are debating what to do with the motorhome, sell it, keep renting it [having some problems there, not rented enough], etc). So I figure that in the next few months, if I can average 1 sale a day (ie with 1000 books listed), that puts me bringing in a little money for the trip. (1 sale a day, call it a minimum profit of $1/book, is a whopping $30/month. Ha ha ha! But I'm hoping for more of the $20-$50/book profit, with the larger listings, we'll see how that goes; that would more like $600-$1500/month; they probably won't all be that big, though. Most of them probably won't be. Can I get some more data [ie sales?!] so I can extrapolate better?!) Anyway, if I have 300 books for sale now, and I pick up another 300/month, then I should be close to 1000 listed by the end of May. Actually, I'm anticipating more books picked up in May, because there are, like, three booksales every weekend of the month. And I will hit those suckers. I'm sure dh would love me to buy 700 books next month, but there you go. Actually, it may be closer to 500, if I can pick up another 200 at the next two booksales (possibility!). So, everyone hope for good sales for me! Alright, bedtime, gotta go. (Kids, not mine.) |
| Thought I'd drop a few words, the goal being to be out of here (and headed towards bed, LOL) in ten minutes, or thereabouts. I had one pathetic sale this weekend, and I'm feeling discouraged. Mind you, I know why I had only one sale, despite expanding where I was posting; once I weeded out the 'junk' books, my 270 listings dropped down to closer to 130! The going average, or so I've been told, is one sale per day for every 1000 books listed. So if I had 1000 books listed (good books, not junk ones), I'd sale on average one book a day. If I had 5000, then five a day. So right now, my average oughta be about 1 book every 10 days, give or take. (And, because I neglected to account for seller fees, the book I did sell went like this: I bought it for $1, sold it for $1.99, paid $1 in fees [listing + credit card], recieved $3 to ship it, shipped it for $2.40. So I did manage to make .60...if you don't count what I paid in bubble wrap (expensive!) and packing tape. Another reason to feel discouraged. (Mind you, I went through and removed all the junk books from that site, as well; nothing listed there that is now under $3.99. So hopefully that won't happen again.) I am trying to remain positive; I made a plan that actually doesn't involve me scouting for books every day (just most of them, and the weekends). Figuring an average of 5 books purchased per library, and 50 per big booksale, I should be able to hit somewhere around 250 books/month purchased, so in four months I should be selling one a day. I'd like to get up to 5000 books in my inventory (gasp, five sales a day!), but that's going to take time. Right now, I have a couple sleepers; books I purchased cheap that are probably going to take 12-18 mos to sell. BUT they make good money (like the one I bought this weekend for .66 and have listed for $99.99; we'll see how that sells, but it is definitely NOT the highest price book!). I just have to work on my patience. Anyway, I bought a whole 8 books today, and will be hitting two book sales at libraries tomorrow, so we'll see how it goes. Bragging area: I can't do this with dh, because he has no patience. He, for instance, would rather list the $99 book at $45 and get the money faster. I argue that it costs me nothing to let it sit on the shelf for another few months and make the extra $55! I have lots and lots of the "junk" books, books I paid $1 for that are selling for less than $1, books that I bought for $1 that are selling for $5. I have a decent amount of "okay" books, paid $1 or less and are selling for close to $10. But here are my fun brags (I'll brag more when they sell!). Mind you, I am neither the highest nor the lowest price, about midrange for my condition: There was the aforementioned .66 book listed for $99.99 Today's book, bought for $1, listing for $99.99 A college text bought for .50, listing for $74.99 Absolutely random book I never expected to be so high, paid .20 for, listing for $29.99 Another book bought today for $1, listed for $29.99 Paid .50 for one now posted at $24.99 I think this one is actually lowballing it, but I paid $1 and am listing for $24.99 Okay, I won't keep going, but given the fact that I have never paid over $1 for any book, I have two more listed at $24.99, 4 at $19.99, one at $15.99, 7 at $14.99, 1 at $13.99, 2 at $12.99, two at $11.99, and two at $10. I am highly looking forward to seeing a couple of those suckers get sold, and will most likely be more energized at that point. Ten minutes is now up! I will try to write less about the details of the bookbuying, although at present it is all consuming. My hope is to get it up high enough where dh won't have to work quite so hard; to use it to help pay our house off faster (our goal right now is 8 years, but we'll see), and to use it to "relax" some more and have a little more fun. This is still a great PT job for me as a SAHM because, well, I love books! |
| I added three more accounts, plus more books, and alas, I have no sales this weekend. Sharp dive. I purchased 15 more books, but I think I am going to have to make some changes in how I do things. I'm just not sure what those changes are. Different books? More books? Give up? Hmm. |
| This is not working. I made a list of #1 and #2. But, um, I keep checking my inbox for sales. I am supremely lacking in patience. I think I need to kick myself off the computer. The good news is, most of the libraries give their email address, so rather than calling, I have been sending out mass inquiries. I think I can go ahead and do the other counties today, as well. So that gets me my information faster! Must. Stop. Checking. Inbox. |
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