It’s that time of year, where people reflect over the past 12 months and set goals for the future. As freelancers, this is always a revealing and empowering experience.
What? You haven’t set your goals yet? Go ahead, do that. I’ll wait.
Okay. Since Freedom Writing and my freelance writing career haven’t even been in existence for a full twelve months, I’ll do an overall “Year in Review” for you.
January 2008 – I was waitressing full-time, in a job environment I could not cope with. While most of the people I encountered on a daily basis were friendly enough, there were enough naysayers to make me question what on earth I was doing there.
April 2008 – I had the blessing of celebrating my 3 year old and 1 year old daughters’ birthdays! I was also planning a move that I wasn’t even sure about.
June 2008 – We arrive in Iowa, where I’m still waitressing with the same company, commuting 45 minutes, and struggling to make ends meet.
August 2008 – I quit my serving job due to high amounts of stress, car trouble, and high gas prices. I decide to find a different job nearby. I also start investigating Helium.com, a great community for writers to get their start.
September 2008 – After learning about blogging, and a few false starts, I begin Freedom Writing with this post: Writing Without A Niche.
October 2008 – I’m laid off from my new waitressing job. I decide to give full-time freelance writing a try. I also participate in Blog Action Day, with the post that has attracted the most attention here, Poverty in America.
November 2008 – I spent a lot more time working for newfound writing clients, and sadly neglected the blog. I did write The Power of Words – Election 2008, to remind people to be kind before they speak.
December 2008 – I revived the blog, and made lots of new connections at Twitter (@kimferrell.) I also announced the release of the Sincere Online Community Building e-book.
In short, I have made great strides over the past twelve months, and ended up on an entirely new path. I am grateful that I am not stuck in a minimum wage job for the rest of my life, and that I can share my thoughts with my community.
What’s in store for 2009? Here are my goals:
- Write 1 new e-book per month
- Try 1 new social media tool per month
- Redesign Freedom Writing and switch to my own domain
- Start a blog newsletter
- Write 1 new Squidoo page per month
Will I achieve them all? I believe so! If not, then life has better plans for me.
What direction would you like to see Freedom Writing take? What would make your blog experience here better? Let me know in the comments!
