A BIT OF NEWS

I just want to thank Melissa Sugar at http://fictiontoolbox.blogspot.com for being my 100Th follower. You are awesome. Thank you. Melissa can really do with some more followers guys so please show her some support. Thanks.

Two months ago I applied for two freelance jobs. One overseas and one in South Africa. Well, last month I got offered a job by the South African company, writing articles. I immediately accepted the job. On the 4Th of October I received my first payment which made it official. I am now a Freelance Writer.

I wanted to wait till it was official first before telling you guys. I am just happy that I can now stop job hunting. I am now a full time writer, yay. I am still pursuing publication for my Paranormal Romance novel too while my freelancing job pays the bills. I am really learning so much.

My sentence structuring is improving and believe it or not it is hard work. But I get to work from the comfort of my home. So if anybody wants to pursue freelancing, it is great, but be prepared to work hard. The plus side is that you get to do that thing you love for a living, which is writing. Also be aware that the money is not so great, but I am sure things will improve in the long run.

100 FOLLOWERS!

I can not believe it! I have 100 followers! Woo! Hoo!

Thank you to all of my wonderful followers. This is a really special milestone for me.

YOU NEED SUPPORT

I think the most important thing we need as writers/aspiring writers is support. Whether it is family, friends like fellow bloggers that know what you are going through or just a friends in general that will listen to your whining and ranting. A support base is very important because those people are the ones that stop you from hitting rock bottom. They encourage you when you feel like you can no longer go on. They believe in you when you hit a weak point and don't believe in yourself.

Thank you to all my blogger friends that always show up to encourage and advise me in the best ways to proceed. You guys are invaluable to me.

I AM SATISFIED

I recently received a very nice rejection letter. It was addressed to me personally and the agent even gave me like a little pep talk, so to speak. I was really impressed and truly grateful. After so many form rejection letters I get a personal one. I don't know why but somehow it feels like mission accomplished.

What I mean by that is I wanted to try and get my book out there to be published. I wanted to really give my all and just maybe I would land my dream agent. Well I didn't do that, but somehow just trying and now getting some real feedback makes me feel that just by trying I already won most of the battle.

I know I am crazy, but this one agent really truly gave me more guts to try even harder. Yes, I might get more rejection letters but right now I am in the mindset of "GO BIG OR GO HOME."

WE'VE BEEN HIT

It has been a crazy month for me this far. No matter what I try there just does not appear to be enough hours in the day for me. It is Rugby World Cup time and two of my sibling are in New Zealand for 4 of the games where South Africa is playing. As a lover of rugby this is the one event you just can't miss. It is what we live for, regardless of the awkward hours of broadcasting.

While my two sibling are away, me, my sister and my Mom are left with guard duty. We live in a high crime neighbourhood and we constantly need to be on alert. Yesterday was a horrible day. They broke in by three of our neighbours and attempted to do so by us. I must say this whole adrenaline and feeling vulnerable thing...I am not liking it.

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE ANY GOOD?

I am ashamed to admit this but I am still extremely insecure about my writing. I don't really know why. I still worry about my writing not being good enough. So how can I expect others to like it or even love it when I am not even sure about it?

So how do you guys know if you are any good? Do you just trust that little inner voice?

Just so that I don't seem completely whiny, here is an inspirational quote, after all, we can always do with inspiration right?

A coward gets scared and quits. A hero gets scared, but still goes on.

- Anonymous

INSECURE WRITERS SUPPORT GROUP

This is such a brilliant idea! Thank you Alex J. Cavanaugh. What it is about is...that on the first Wednesday of each month you post what insecurities you have as a writer or the progress you have made with your writing or any writing problems or questions you have and then other writers who have been through the same thing or that knows the answer will leave comments. And if you just need a little encouragement, someone will help with that too.

So head over here: http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/p/insecure-writers-support-group.html to sign up or to read more about the insecure writers support group. Hope to see you all there.