Tag Archives: wahm tips

Soft Skills of a Professional Writer

By on March 14th, 2013

I’m not going to split hairs about what makes a professional writer different from a full-time writer or different from a freelance writer or blogger or any other industry distinction. When I talk about being a professional writer, I could care less what you write – I’m referring to how you treat your clients and your business. There are two elements to being a successful writer. The first is that you can deliver what you promise. If you promise a well-written feature article, then you should be able to produce an excellent article. If you promise some short descriptions using …

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Posted in Freelance Writing Business |

3 Cardinal Rules of Working with Kids at Home

By on February 14th, 2013

There is not much easy about our job unless you compare it to something like digging ditches or building a skyscraper. But that at least wears out your body rather than your mind. At the end of a day wrestling obligations to kids and careers, my brain is tired. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels mentally split almost constantly throughout the day. There is no question that working at home with kids underfoot is challenging. But it’s possible…if you follow a few ironclad rules of the trade. Never take on more than you can handle. For most …

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Posted in Work at Home Parents |

What We Can Learn from WAHM Writers

By on January 31st, 2013

We all know that the work-at-home-mom (WAHM) writers aren’t considered the upper echelon of the writing community. If you didn’t know that, you’ve never read about the cost-savings to be had by tricking desperate WAHMs into providing ultra cheap articles in a particular forum’s Special Offers. Well, as a few of us here can tell you, having children and enjoying a professional writing career are certainly not exclusive entities, and even when you stop to consider the penny-pinching, low-cost WAHM writers mentioned in those special offers and “tricks of the trade” forum posts we can learn quite a bit from their experiences. Focus on Making What …

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Posted in Work at Home Parents |

Is Freelance Writing Wasting Your Time?

By on June 21st, 2012

I was browsing through a popular working mom forum recently and found a popular thread that was both interesting and disturbing. In the thread, moms were discussing their work schedule – a popular topic I like to discuss as well. On the forum, the moms were describing how much of their day they spend dedicated to writing part-time and it disturbed me. A lot. The Ten-Hour Work Day The biggest trend I saw for most of these work-at-home moms was that they were working over about ten hours per day. They would do a bit here and a bit there …

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Posted in Work at Home Parents |

When Working Conditions Are Never Right

By on June 7th, 2012

There are those among us who can only work when the conditions are just right. They must have the right music or show on in the background. They must have their ergonomic chair positioned just so and their office door opened exactly three inches to allow for cross ventilation while blocking 93 percent of all regular household noises. I’m not that person. Nor is any parent working at home – if they choose to work while the kids are around. Working in Chaos While I wouldn’t call life with two kiddos chaos, it can reach that point quickly enough. For …

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Posted in Work at Home Parents |

So, You’re a Working Mom?

By on January 5th, 2012

There was an interesting comment in a recent article of mine that made me think. Another mom-who-happens-to-work-at-home mentioned that she “just can’t call herself a WAHM.” It made me smile for a couple of reasons. One – I smiled because I suspect I know exactly why that particular title makes her uncomfortable. And – Two –  because I use that particular term on purpose here on the blog. (Even if it’s not one that I am ready to march for waving my own little flag necessarily, and she probably already knows that, too.) WAHM Baggage Okay, here’s the scoop. If …

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Posted in Work at Home Parents |

New Business, New You

By on December 22nd, 2011

I’m not sure how much of a mother’s personality comes from her career, her children, her life perspective or her own personality traits that have been recessed since everything else came along. I have plenty of friends who don’t have a career inside or outside of the home. I have ample friends who are highly educated professionals in their fields as they work for “the man” and then there are those of us who cross all the lines and seem to do everything all at once. I’m thinking back about seven years trying to get a grasp of who I …

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Posted in Work at Home Parents |

Go Ahead, Take the Day Off!

By on November 24th, 2011

Happy Holidays to everyone out there (who celebrates the American Thanksgiving)! I sincerely hope that you’re not working right now. Hopefully you’re stuffed to the gills (as we say in the South) with plenty of delicious food items and maybe a few glasses of wine. I’m sure you’re reading this as a way to end your Thanksgiving day, because you’re surely not reading in anticipation of settling down to work on a holiday – unless you want to, that is. Working 9 – 5 has Perks I’ve never worked “9 to 5.” I’ve work 7 to 4 and right now …

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Posted in Work at Home Parents |

Working with Kids: Boosting Productivity

By on November 10th, 2011

I’m split at times about how kids affect my working life. In many – okay most – cases I feel very limited by having kids underfoot or in the house when I’m working. But other times I wonder if I’d be as effective as I am if my children didn’t already have me so well trained. It takes a lot of dedication and discipline to freelance from home. As I sit here, a book I started and the newest episode of Glee are calling my name. But I won’t stop writing to give in to the temptation. I can’t. I …

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Posted in Work at Home Parents |

If You Worked for Free…

By on October 13th, 2011

If I were going to list some favorite movies, Princess Bride would be near the top. Forrest Gump would be up there, too. But the movie that really defined where I am now is Office Space. I spent my time in a cubicle with a boss who would peek in over our heads to see what we were up to. I even had a consultant named Bob – no really, I swear. But the biggest lesson I learned from Office Space was to find something I’d do for free. “So I was sitting in my cubicle today, and I realized, …

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Posted in Work at Home Parents |