Getting a new computer and a new operating system is quite a chore!

I actually like Vista so far, though it had some compatibility issues with my printer. Here’s the story.

I plugged in the USB cable for my Minolta printer, and things seemed fine. I tried to print, but it wanted to print to file! No problem. I just changed the port to USB.

It didn’t work.

So I went to the Minolta website, read their instructions for working with Vista, and tried their first ‘fix.’ No luck. I took a nap.

Waking up a little more clear headed, I re-read the Minolta website’s instructions, tried their first and second fixes, and maybe a third. I had a big project, so I really needed to print!

Still no luck.

Finally, at the end of the instructions, it said something like, “If nothing has worked and your printer still won’t print, uncheck the UAC box in the Users Panel.” Something like that. Something that simple.

And it worked.

I was livid! I had spent hours trying their long, drawn out ‘fixes.’ I uninstalled and reinstalled drivers and USB hubs. I restarted the computer and printer numerous times. I even shed a tear or two. All of this between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m. (when my toddler was asleep).

And all I had to do was uncheck a simple little box???!! They really should have put that ‘fix’ at the top of the list.

My computer crashed today. I think it’s gone.

I wish I could say that I diligently backed up everything, especially my Outlook and my Word documents. I didn’t. I never believed it could happen to me.

The only thing that’s helping me is that I knew it was dying, so I went out today and bought a new laptop.

Suffering from buyer’s remorse, I knew I had to research laptops and see if I could find a better price. I came home to start searching the Net. Only to find that my old computer had taken its last breath. Guess it was waiting until I bought a new one?

Of course, I’ll try to resuscitate it. It’s been a faithful companion for a while now, and it has much to teach me (in the form of old files I need to recover). I’ll locate a recovery disk somewhere, and give it a go. It’s supposed to be my daughter’s…so she’ll stop throwing tantrums whenever she wants my laptop. Now she can have her own (I hope).

Happier news: I got Vista! I’ll let you know what I think about it later. And I got a laptop with the touchpad…I wondered why the screen kept scrolling up and down on its own. I may not like this thing, but I have a few days to decide. My hand likes to rest on the area where the touchpad is. Also, the keys require a bit more pressure than my old laptop. My poor hands are getting tired. Or maybe the keys are spaced differently…closer together. Can they do that? Shouldn’t keyboards all be the same? For someone who loves to type, and who types for a living, this may be a very bad thing.

I also got Office 2007 and Quickbooks. Another new adventure! I’ll be busy this week figuring out the new system, trying to recover the old, and working on new projects.

Oh, and I’ll be backing up regularly! I wonder what’s the best method…saving files onto a flash drive, or getting a zip drive?

Having a website for my copywriting business seems to have added a touch of class. It’s given me just the boost of confidence that I needed to effectively market myself.

I have to thank Peter Bowerman, author of “The Well-Fed Writer” and “Back for Seconds.” I didn’t really dive in head first with his suggestions, but now that I’m finally taking his awesome advice, I’m swimming in the deep end.

Having a website with samples from your portfolio allows prospective clients to instantly see what you can do. There’s no, “Send us some samples,” and all the back and forth correspondence that can entail.

Plus, having a website showcases your ability to, well, write! Prospects get an immediate idea of what you’ll do for them.

I launched my website a few weeks ago, mentioned it in my cold emails earlier this week, and I’ve already increased my clientele by leaps and bounds. It’s truly amazing. Not sure if it’s the website itself, or the confidence it gives me. Positive thinking can net results too.

I decided to move my blog to a new host. Eventually I will transfer this to my own domain, but for now I like the feel of WordPress (rather than Blogger, which I was using before). With Blogger, being able to login was hit or miss. Not fun.

So now I get to check out all of WordPress’s features. I can’t believe how much I’ve learned in the past few days about blogging, the Internet, and copywriting. One thing’s for sure…all three are interrelated.

I learned another thing in the past couple of weeks. Having a website for your copywriting business is a good thing. I don’t know why it took me so long! I’m going to be very busy pretty soon. I can’t wait!

This is the motto I try to follow for my business. When nothing seems to be going smoothly, I need to focus on keeping things moving.

With my motto in mind, Monday and Tuesday were very productive. I finished a couple of large projects last week, got through a tough weekend, and I’m happy to have started the week so well.

My daughter was at the sitters’ (yes, plural) for good lengths of time. I sent out some cold emails, ran some errands, and researched the meaning of blogs (another topic for another day).

I like cold emails even when I could cold call because I feel like I’m not intruding. And with the Internet becoming more and more important, it just seems natural to connect with people this way. It also lets prospects know that I am web-savvy…another bonus if they choose to use my services.

So things are moving along.

As I get more familiar with blogging, I will begin to make my posts stick to a topic, rather than just chronicle my growing business. If there’s a method you prefer, by all means let me know.

Time to catch up on some sleep before the little one awakens. Tomorrow is going to be Mommy and Daughter time. The zoo or the children’s museum sounds like a plan. I may even limit my computer time to just twice…during nap time and when she goes to sleep for the night (a Herculean effort).

It’s time for a little background about my writing.

I started writing at an early age (my 2nd grade teacher, and every teacher thereafter, complimented my writing.) In high school I wrote and edited for the yearbook.

But I’ve been copywriting professionally, off and on, since I was a student at the University of Michigan. I began by editing my friends’ papers. Then I started working for the Michigan Daily as a copyeditor and volunteered on a couple of smaller publications. My first job after graduating over 10 years ago was as an assistant editor for a department at the university.

I dreamed of going to New York to be a book editor, but I don’t really like big cities. So I took my bachelor’s degree in biology and did a host of other things (unrelated to writing or biology).

But writing was always there. Looking at my bookshelf (with The Chicago Manual of Style, several books on writing, how to start a magazine, how to be a freelance writer, how to be a desktop publisher, etc.) I realized I had to keep writing.

So I started my own company in 2002 as sort of a hobby. I did some big projects, but never really pursued new business.

Obviously, having a baby changed my mindset. The hobby had to turn serious. And so it has. And here it is.

This was one of those days!

While I got a few cold emails sent out yesterday, I usually do even more work after my daughter’s gone to bed. We co-sleep, but I just couldn’t keep my eyes open while getting her to sleep.

I woke up hours later, changed into proper sleeping attire, and she started waking up! Suffice it to say that I didn’t get much sleep the rest of the night.

To top it all off, she only took a half-hour nap today.

I mentioned that I can’t really get anything accomplished while she’s awake, right? My little girl discovered long ago that the laptop is cool since Mommy uses it so much. So I wind up having to let her type away or play a computer game if I use it at all.

Thanks to another Work-At-Home-Mom (or WAHM, as we call ourselves), I’ve realized that I must spend my days entertaining and taking care of my daughter and chores. Otherwise both my business and my daughter will suffer.

Oh well. I did get some research done (I’m new to the world of blogging, and sometimes I can read stuff online without too much of a problem.) Tonight my plan was to use the library’s database…was. The database is down for some reason.

One of those days. Maybe I should just call it a night and start fresh in the morning.

Which is better? Sending cold emails to prospective clients, or calling them on the phone?

I prefer cold calling to ask for the best email address possible, and then warm emailing the contact.

But wait! Cold calls with a not-so-quiet toddler at home?

Here’s my solution:

When my daughter’s sleeping or occupied, or on weekends when I can’t call anyway, I target an industry and use the library database “Reference USA” to get web addresses. Then I look for email addresses on the websites and send them my cold email.

On days when she’s at the babysitters, I make as many cold calls as I can in an allotted amount of time. Then I take care of errands (like grocery shopping, housecleaning, and sleeping!)

Today’s Saturday and I’ve got about two hours before she wakes up. Time to cold email!

Welcome to my blog!

I’m really excited to share my new world of being a work-at-home-mom. Even more exciting, I’m a single mom too. In fact, my daughter is the reason I’m putting my heart and soul into working at home. I’ve wanted to be a mother since I can remember, and the thought of not being with my daughter during her formative years is something I can’t bear.

Don’t get me wrong. When I first decided to have a baby as a single woman (yes,I’m a single mother by choice), I thought I’d be back at work happily when she was 6 weeks old. But now that I think about it, I also thought I’d complete my first year of law school while pregnant; and that didn’t work out.

My priorities were obvious from the start. I wanted, more than anything, to be a mother. And after putting my daughter in daycare when she wasn’t quite 8 weeks old (sob!) and trying to work 5, then 3, then 2 days a week, I realized that I had to be a full-time mother. Thank goodness my parents have been supportive (figuratively and literally).

Twenty months after my dream became a reality, I’m still at home with my sweetie.

But I’ve gotta make a living too, right? And be a stay-at-home mom. And make a living. Hard to do one while the other is going on. But I have no choice. I want to be with my daughter AND make a living.

So sit back, relax, buckle your seatbelts (or 5 point harness buckles), and come along for the ride. Comment, compliment, converse. Ciao!