I’m Back-ish: Updates and Other Things

February 28, 2008 – 12:24 am

You may have noticed that I’ve been rather absent here at AFW during the month of February. While that started off for some good reasons, I’ve continued to be absent for some not so good ones. Here’s a quick rundown of the month that I can’t wait to end… and some other writing-related updates.

  • I started this month completely overloaded with client work. (Yay!)
  • I then took some time off for my birthday - the 9th. (Yay!)
  • I remained rather overloaded with clients through mid-month, and even now. (Yay!)
  • My boyfriend’s grandmother died. I was reasonably close to her, loved her, and wanted to be there to support him, so I was away for a week for the funeral and other such things. (Not so yay.)
  •  We had our one year anniversary on the 23rd. It was actually pretty wonderful. (Yay!)
  • He called me from work the very next day to tell me he’s ditching me because he apparently can’t live without his ex in his life (and not just a casual ex… one with a very complicated back-story, and one that’s caused problems for us in the past). (Not so yay.)

So right now I’m still a bit depressed about his grandmother’s passing (which I had a hard time grieving, because I was too busy trying to keep the “strong” face on for him), and extremely depressed about the breakup (which came at the worst time - as in we were in the middle of moving my furniture into his place, were house-hunting for quite a while, and he’d even very recently told me to soon expect a ring - too much personal info, yes, but you can imagine the shock value I’m still under because of those things). I’ve been steering pretty clear of my own projects, because I barely have the energy to get through the neverending supply of client projects right now (this month usually isn’t quite this busy).

Despite wherever I am mentally at the moment, I’m trying to ease back into the blogging. Starting in March (just a day or two away now), I’ll be doing my best to get back to daily posting over here, and we’ll really dive into some site basics (HTML, etc.) for writers wanting to launch their own website or blog.

And now for some updates….

E-book

How awful is this? I, of all people, still never got around to finishing my own 14 day e-book challenge project. The thing was written, but I needed to do the sales letter. Then I decided to break it up into reports, get its own site, and release it as the start of a series instead (still have to write that sales letter and now I have to setup a whole site instead of just the sales page). The series is going to be called the “Web Writers’ Guide,” and it’s going to eventually be found at WebWritersGuide.com. I’ll post more about it when the site’s up. Then, after I finish my other half-written e-book, I’ll do another one religiously following the 14-day plan (or quicker again).

Business Blog

One of my big things this year is getting more focus on my own sites and publishing projects. One of the biggest sites, and biggest earners, is BizAmmo.com - my small business blog.  While I still have a lot of editing, summary-writing, SEO work, and feature additions to do there, I at least got the new theme up and functioning, and some new posts going.

Other than that, it’s same old - same old here. How has everyone been doing, especially regarding any goals they set for themselves this year so far?

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  1. 14 Responses to “I’m Back-ish: Updates and Other Things”

  2. Jennifer,

    I’m an aspiring freelance writer, and came across this blog of yours this morning. Upon refreshing the page, I noticed you have just updated.

    I wanted to thank you for putting together this fabulous resource, and wish you all the best over this coming year. It sounds like February has been a rocky month for you; so I hope you’re able to take some time to look after you.

    Best wishes,

    Adam

    By Adam on Feb 28, 2008

  3. Jen,

    I’m SO GLAD to “hear” from you - I’ve been checking your blog almost daily, and noticed the absence. I’ve missed you! I’m sorry this month has seemed kind of rock for you. E-mail me some time; we’ll catch up. *Lots of hugs*

    By Denise on Feb 28, 2008

  4. Ugh… I meant seemed kind of ROCKY, not rock. Typos suck.

    By Denise on Feb 28, 2008

  5. Oh man, I can’t believe he broke up with you the way that he did. That’s some horror story!

    I’m glad you’re back, though. Maybe blogging with your friends, us, will make you feel a bit better. We’ll see.

    By Trisha on Feb 28, 2008

  6. WOW — I’m so sorry about the bad things that have happened to you this month! I can relate, I got dumped one year the day after christmas after spending the holiday with him, getting a framed photo of us from him for xmas, and right in the middle of making plans to move to a different city with him. I was totally, WHAT THE HELL!

    All you can do is try and focus on the future — I read your blog daily and you have a great resource here. Sounds like you can bury yourself in your client work and try not to think about the idiots that men are!

    Hugs, you’re not alone!

    By Leslie Raymond on Feb 28, 2008

  7. I hate to hear your having so many problems this month, and I do hope things get better for you soon. Whatever you do, don’t give up on your dreams. If you need to talk to relieve the stress or whatever, don’t hesitate to e-mail me.

    One last thing, I’d like to refer you to a blog post I wrote here while back, because it sounds as if you just may need it ;) The title is “Writing Through the Distractions…” Maybe you’ll find some useful information in that post to help you along, and from my own personal experience, the first piece of advice in the post works wonders for me. In fact, it’s the first one I do every time something personal gets in the way of my writing. The link to “Writing Through the Distractions” is: http://mistisandefur.blogspot.com/2008/01/writing-through-distractions.html

    Take care of yourself, and I’ll be praying for you.

    By Misti Sandefur on Feb 28, 2008

  8. Thanks guys. Denise got to hear all the details, so I think I’ve at least vented it out a bit (thanks Denise). :) It’s rough, but I’m picking up and doing what I can to move on… that’s all you can do, right? :)

    Thanks for pointing me to the post Misti. :) I definitely “wrote” through the distraction… just not blogging unfortunately (or at least not public blogs). Private blogs, journals, and emails to friends really are where that time went, and boy did it help. :)

    And Leslie… as awful as it is to delight in someone else’s misfortune, I’m glad to hear about yours. lol It’s definitely nice to know that others have gone through similar things and pulled through. I’m going to do my best to get back to a normal schedule on my sites soon, and without becoming my old workaholic self. This girl really needs to get a life. lol :)

    By Jennifer Mattern on Feb 28, 2008

  9. Jen, so glad you’re back!!!

    I’ve been trying to get into portfolio-building mode to try and be faithful to the February challenge, but it’s been a very, very bad month for me as well. I haven’t been able to keep up with work because I’ve been quite sick the whole month.

    Hope March will be better for all of us!

    By Mariella on Feb 29, 2008

  10. I’m glad to help Jen! I’m here if you need me :) Keep on keepin’ on girl. I know it’s tough, but you’ve got a great support team it seems!

    By Denise on Feb 29, 2008

  11. Hi Jen! Sorry to hear about all the painful things you’ve been through recently. I hope you can start mending your emotions soon. :)

    It’s good to hear about all the progress you’ve been making professionally. I saw the new BizAmmo design just the other day and thought it was wonderful. Great job and good luck on all your projects.

    Oh, and Happy Belated Birthday!! :)

    By latoya on Feb 29, 2008

  12. Thanks Latoya.

    I really can’t take any credit for the design… just a great theme from a great Wordpress designer. :)

    By Jennifer Mattern on Feb 29, 2008

  13. Hi Jen,
    My heartfelt sympathy goes out to you. Doesn’t seem to matter how often it happens, or to whom, it never fails to appal me that some men can be so completely selfish and heartless. The betrayal is the worst thing, I think. I’m with Misti about writing through it, and clearly your writing has helped you a lot. I know the only reason I’ve kept my sanity in similar situations is through ‘obsessing’ in my private journal but it really does help to make the emotional impact manageable. Looking on the bright side, things can only get better. Thanks for a great e/newsletter, lots of helpful articles and challenges and such an open, honest blog. You are wonderful.

    By SRRyan on Mar 5, 2008

  14. Hi Jenn,

    So sorry to hear about the breakup (I wish I could say I’m surprised, but nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to men/relationships). I do know how difficult it can be to work through the pain, so kudos to you for not letting this bring you down.

    By Diana on Mar 8, 2008

  15. Thanks for the well-wishes folks. :)

    I’m actually feeling much better about the breakup now. A few days ago he called me to rattle off a list of my faults again, so I could “improve myself” before another relationship. Wanna know what’s wrong with me? I’m too smart and “too good at PR,” which made him feel like he was always wrong (and for the record, when I am wrong, I do admit it). I was more shocked than I should have been at the lack of respect for me… essentially telling me I need to dumb myself down if I want to be with a man. lol This honestly started months ago… he talked to his parents when we had a fight at one point, and I don’t know who said what, but he came back to me suddenly having this solidified stereotypical spin doctor image in his head, saying that my PR skills meant I was manipulating him. So because I can make a convincing argument, and can actually back up my opinions with facts and solid reasoning other than “I believe this because my daddy says it’s true,” that makes me a manipulative bitch. So yeah… I’ll get right on that. lol Lesson learned… only date guys who can think for themselves (and no more mama’s boys lol).

    Overall things are looking very much up. :) The extra time on my hands is allowing me to get done a lot of things I had procrastinated about at home, and it’s allowing me to have more time to meet new people and take on more work. March is actually shaping up to potentially be my highest writing income month ever, so I’m crossing my fingers, working my ass off, and hoping for the best. :)

    By Jennifer Mattern on Mar 8, 2008

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