A Typical Day in the Life of an Internet Writer
So what is a typical day like for a successful Internet writer? It must be all about the hammocks and boat drinks, right? Think again. Here’s a rundown of how my day went yesterday, which was a fairly typical day for me:
AM
5:25. The alarm goes off, and I hit snooze once. By 5:36, I’m in the bathroom brushing my teeth. By 5:43, the coffeepot is brewing the first of its two pots for the day.
5:45. I go to wake up my eldest daughter, the middle schooler, then I go to get my coffee. By 5:50, I’m sitting in front of the computer, and the work day has begun. I start out by taking about fifteen minutes to proofread the five blog posts I’ve got scheduled for today. I find a couple of grammatical errors, and a spelling error that the checker didn’t get the first time around.
6:05. Time to look for work. I get on scriptlance.com, guru.com, and a couple of other writing freelance web sites. I’m skimming these sites, looking mainly for high-volume content requests in one of my niche areas. I pass by anything that I’ll bid less than $150 on.
6:30. See Katie out the door. Stare for a minute, and think about how lucky I am to have such an awesome family. Pour my second cup of coffee. Spend about 15 more minutes looking for work. I put in 3 bids today, for a total of $2,500. I am guessing I’ll get the one (a $700 project) guaranteed, but the other two ($200 and $1,400) might be a stretch.
6:50. Time to do some writing. If I’ve got client work on my desk (which I do today) I dive in. I write 1200 words before…
7:45. Time to wake up Angie and The Littles. Help them get dressed, brush their hair (not Angie’s), and push them all out the door. Start the second pot of coffee, hop in the shower.
8:05. Clean, tanned, rested, and ready. I decide I’d like to work off-site today. I pack up the laptop, and head to the local community college. On the way, I call my Big Client, let him know I’m ahead on the timeline, and intend to move his delivery date up by a week, to this afternoon. He is pleased. I pat myself on the back for overestimating the timeline in the first place. Almost hit a deer, hands were on my back.
8:22. Arrive at the local community college. Swing by my Math Professor buddy’s office for a coffee refill.
8:30. Plugged in, Wi-Fi’ed up. Bang out the last of the Big Client work (another 1200 words). Glad to be done with that topic.
9:38. Wonder if I turned off the coffee pot. Call Angie, it’s all good, she got it. Begin working on afternoon post for DnD blog. Complete remaining blog posts for today and start on tomorrow’s.
11:36. Walk to the campus cafeteria for $5.62 worth of salad, plus a Diet Coke. Enjoy rabbit food.
PM
12:01. I am back to work, this time in the Library. I finish off tomorrow’s blog posts.
12:53. Re-read communication channels section of Blog Profits Blueprint. make a couple of notes about ideas for approaching a big DnD blog site to get noticed.
1:02. Begin marketing work. Post 4 comments and 2 message board posts for DnD blog, 6 comments for novel blog. Browse through 2 more forums, nothing I’m into today. Insert Trackback into tomorrow’s DnD post.
1:50. Novel writing. I get a bit stuck. Only 300 words, far short of my goal for the day. CRAP.
2:50. Pity party.
2:51. Time to go! Pick up The Littles at school. Bring them home, get them started on chores and homework. Help the Littlest Younce with changing her sheets.
3:46. Spend some time with Angie on her blog, taking pics, brainstorming, inserting product links. Talk with her about a contest at The Pioneer Woman, and dream about how nice it would be to live somewhere there was less friggin snow.
4:30. Work on super-secret “Pillar project.” Ooooooh.
5:15. Family time. Help kids with homework. Play Guitar Hero II. Lose badly to a 9 year-old. I hang my head in shame. I do a load of laundry, replace a light bulb in the hallway. Jot down a few notes about an idea for a blog post.
6:30. Dinner with the family. Angie’s made her version of the apricot chicken that we had at Olive Garden a couple of weeks ago. It’s better than OG, I think.
7:00. Family time. Help Katie with her web site. Help Littles with their baths. Read a bedtime story. After the kids are in bed, catch up with Angie on how her day went.
8:30. Answer e-mails, business and personal, and answer blog comments. Send a note to the guys about the GenCon hotel rooms.
9:30. Watching TV with Angie. We watch the American Idol from last Thursday, plus the Sarah Connor Chronicles. I love DVR.
11:30. Check today’s stats, and then off to bed.
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3 Responses to “A Typical Day in the Life of an Internet Writer”
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seems like you’re set, bob! LOL!
way to go!
roberts last blog post..How to write an SEO optimized article for the mortgage industry
Very solid day. No exercise? Exercise makes me work way more quickly, google a post called the ‘tiem paradox of exercise,’ for details.
Genuine Chris Johnsons last blog post..Tension in the Creative Act.
Grueling.
Bamboo Forests last blog post..Sparkles of the City