Since freelancing first popped into my head in 2008, I’ve had 4 major areas of writing vying for my attention. You read that right. I said FOUR. These are they:
- Magazine publishing
- Copywriting
- Blogging
- Fiction
Now, I have a love for every one of these areas, but I sometimes question my decision to take on all four in my business at once. I imagine this is what it’s like to raise four children (as my parents did). Each one demands a unique type of attention—and a ton of it—and I’m afraid that in my attempt to raise all four to a healthy adulthood, I will end up ruining all of them, and myself, in the process.
The good news is (and this is where you forget the child comparison), I have one area that has won my heart completely: magazine publishing. This is what I’ve wanted to do since my senior year in college. This is what I dreamed about obsessively during my 3-year stint in the corporate world. This is where I want to belong.
With magazine writing as my supreme goal, I figured it would be easier to line up my other areas accordingly. But I confess, it’s been more challenging than that. Every day, these writing areas fight for the spotlight, and they make really great arguments for why they should be there. Copywriting bellows that he holds the key to all my professional experience and can bring me a more profitable business more quickly. Then Blogging chimes in and mentions that she could potentially provide a great platform to market my writing, focus on topics that really interest me, and meet loads of interesting people. Then there’s Fiction, who whispers at the back of the class that he has also been my dream from the beginning and might provide me with a medium for creative ideas, readership, and royalties. And of course it circles back to Magazine Writing, who puts me in my place and reminds me that if I’d just GO FOR IT, I could make it in her world.
And at this point, I’m screaming inside and wishing they would all just shut up and leave me alone. And I’m almost tempted to throw in the towel and get another day job in copywriting. Almost.
So why haven’t I dropped one of these Masters of mine? First, because I really do have one area that I’m most interested in, and I’m counting on that to focus me as I get further down the freelancing road. Second, because I feel like every one of these areas is helping me to become a better writer in the other areas—and magazine writing is no exception. And third, because I KNOW I can find my place in this big writing world if I can just figure it all out.
And I think I’m figuring it out, very slowly. Take today, for example. Yes, I have done a ton of writing in my blog—in place of my novel writing, and my copywriting projects, and my journalism research—and these blog posts are taking so long to write that it is frustrating. Yet, I can tell that I am getting better and faster at putting my own ideas on paper and finding my unique voice. The more I write, the more I like it and the more certain I am that I can get somewhere. Better yet, every blog post I write, every query letter I submit, every chapter I write in my novel is helping me venture away from copywriting—or at least not feel so dependent upon it.
I know there are people out there who would suggest that you should focus on one thing at a time in your business, and they are probably right. I wish it were that simple for me. But for whatever reason, I can’t let go of these Masters that have me bound. I don’t expect to give equal time and attention to each of them forever. In fact, I’m not really intending to give equal time to them now. But having them all there makes it possible for me to figure out what really matters to me, and what is truly the desire of my heart.
That desire may lie in magazines, or it may lie in something else. Heck, it may even be copywriting, though I doubt it. And once I’ve figured out a specific area for me (if I ever get to that point), I’ll most likely need to go through the same process again to figure out what my platform will be. It’s all part of the same journey, and every piece of knowledge I gain will surely help me in the future.
Have you ever taken on more than you could handle? At what point did you figure out that it was too much? How did you manage to cut things out of your life? Share your thoughts below!
photo by eduardomineo, under a creative commons license
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Rachel, I moseyed over here to thank you for leaving a comment on My Cheatin’ Heart. But then I read your post, and now I want to mother you.
Yes, I have taken on too much. And I figured it out after I developed an ulcer, lost too much weight, and had no choice but to cut out a few things in my life. This happened many years ago when my children were young (they are grown now).
Throughout the years, my barometer for doing too much had been my body. It screams at me to slow down. But I don’t always listen. If you can handle four masters, I say go for it. But if your body hollers at you, please listen.
Good luck with your writing endeavors. And thank you for the comment.
What a surprise! Thank you for your comment, Darrelyn. And you gave some great advice. I will certainly store that away as I work on this juggling act I’ve undertaken.