A couple of weeks ago I started my Well-Fed Challenge. My goal is to make 400 cold calls to local businesses in 20 work days, letting them know I’m a freelance writer and finding out what their needs are. August 20 is my deadline.

So how am I doing?

So far I’ve made 103 calls! Yay!

Of those 103 calls, about 58 agreed I could send them my online commercial writing portfolio. Mind you, many of them were secretaries who were probably trying to get me off the phone, but it counts. I can now add them to my snail-mailing list of potential clients.

Of the 58 who gave me their email addresses, 18 were “hot” prospects. Either they use freelancer writers or they were very interested in seeing my portfolio. One of them even wants to interview me for a part-time position teaching copywriting at their college. I have the interview next week!

The companies I targeted for this first round all have a website, and were listed as having 25-250 employees in my library’s database. They are also all local. I made sure to have a few website designers, graphic designers, and advertising agencies in there too (so I wouldn’t get a million no’s).

One of my tactics is to be sure to ask for an email address every time, even if the secretary agreed to send me to voicemail. This is something Peter Bowerman suggests in The Well-Fed Writer. I figure that once I have an email address I can send future correspondence by snail mail (postcards, letters, etc.). I’ll start my snail mail follow-up campaign in a week or two.

Now for the downside.

I had to alter my plans a bit. I wanted to make 20-25 calls every day, but child care wasn’t available every day. So several days had to be skipped. On days when I did have child care, I sometimes would only have 2 hours to make my calls (and research each company a little bit before each call).

Also, when I did make my calls for the day, I still had to find time to go back and send emails with a link to my portfolio. With limited child care, and with a limited amount of steam (I fall asleep at about 10pm, shortly after my daughter goes to bed), I found that I needed to create time to send those emails. Sometimes I had to take time away from calling to do that.

After all, making the calls doesn’t get my information in front of people. Most of my calls are for information gathering only.

Next week will be a challenge. I have that interview, a doctor’s appointment, and I’m going to investigate another childcare provider. I will probably only be able to make calls and send emails on just 2 or 3 days (I hope).

Even if I don’t make my goal, I’ll keep reaching for it. Stay tuned!

Do you give up when you realize you can’t make your goal, do you keep trying, or do you alter your goal?

When you need help staying motivated and on-task, it makes sense to issue yourself a challenge. And what better way than to publicly challenge yourself. If you’re game, join me and we can have a mini-contest.

The other day I started reading The Well-Fed Writer (I’m reading the ebook version until the hard copy arrives). So now I have a plan of action.

I started out with my local library’s business database. I did a search for companies in my local area with more than 20 employees. I also made sure they had web addresses, so I can do a little research while I make my cold calls.

Using a free database like this, though, I could only print/download up to 25 records per search. So that meant searching repeatedly. Anyway, I have a list of about 200 businesses now.

My goal is to make 400 calls in the next 20 workdays, starting tomorrow. That gives me until August 20, 2009. When I’m not able to call, I’ll send out cold emails at least, and I’ll follow-up with a phone call.

So that’s the first step in my quest to becoming a “well-fed” writer.

Reading the book re-motivated me, and it reminded me that cold calls aren’t really that scary. You just have to make yourself do it. I’ll report back next week.

Would you like to join me on my Well-Fed Challenge? How do you approach cold calling?

Now that I’ve decided to make my freelance writing business really work, I realize it’s time to make some serious moves.

First thing’s first. I need powerful ammunition to stay on-task and motivated. The first book I read on freelance commercial writing was The Well-Fed Writer, by Peter Bowerman. His book laid out an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, and when I followed directions I really did make money. I had clients, a decent income, and I was on my way.

I do tend to get side-tracked (as you know), and Peter’s book was written mostly from his point-of-view. But he just published a new, updated, expanded edition. There are lots of anecdotes from other successful commercial writers, and I’m just so impressed with what he’s accomplished with this edition.

And his book came at just the right time. Right after I made my decision to get serious with my business, I got an email from him alerting me to his newest book. Serendipitous!

I’m also impressed with Peter’s willingness to answer questions. I’ve had several replies from him, though I’m careful not to overdo asking him stuff. Being personable has won me over as a fan. I’d buy and promote almost anything he writes since he takes the time to respond to inquiries.

Do you have dreams of becoming a successful commercial writer? Maybe we could start a writer’s group to motivate each other. Or if you already have a freelance writing business, maybe you need a good kick in the rear too.

Click on this link to check out the new edition of The Well-Fed Writer. You can buy it in ebook or hardcopy formats (or both), and there are a few other ebooks you should consider as well. I also got the Toolbox and Timeline, both of which are well-worth it.

When you buy it, let me know. I’d love to have others to discuss it with, and you can feel free to leave a mini-review in the comments.

What are you waiting for? Check out the 2009 The Well-Fed Writer and let me know if you’re as impressed with it as I am. His site also has a bunch of free things too, so if you’re even a little bit interested you should head over to The Well-Fed Writer.

Have you been bitten by the commercial writing bug?

Sometimes it makes sense to follow your instincts. In my case, working outside of the home while my daughter went to preschool just wasn’t feeling right. Besides, I was only working part-time (not near my house). And my brilliant 4-year-old figured out how to get sent home every other day or so (if she acts up, they send her home…great incentive to misbehave, don’t you think?)

So it’s back to working from home, which is where my heart is anyway.

I’ve got a few plans and ideas to make this work this time.

Blogging is a great way to make a little income, and for some it can be more than just a little. I’m going to get back to blogging basics, which includes article marketing, affiliate programs, and flat out advertising. I have to regain my PageRank so I can be more competitive. I will also take advantage of the various blogging classes offered online, some for free, and some not. I can figure it out all by myself, but it makes sense to also learn from others’ mistakes and successes.

My writing/editing business will be transformed into a marketing consultant business. And of course that means more cold calls, cold emails, and networking.

Speaking of networking, I’ll continue to enhance my brand using Twitter, and I’ll consider using Facebook and LinkedIn as well.

I’m also considering doing some in-home childcare, but that will take careful thought and planning. Babies are pretty easy, but they still require full-time attention. There’s an after-school crowd in my neighborhood, though, so maybe some latch-key babysitting and tutoring will work better.

Lots of work ahead of me, but being home for my daughter is worth it. Homeschooling is my ultimate goal, and with determination I know we can do it. Wish us luck, check back here often, follow us on Twitter, and tell your friends/colleagues to visit too.

What is your heart’s desire? Are you working toward that goal?

Blogging is something I enjoy, especially when I get to hear feedback from my readers.

But as a blogger, when you’re not sure what to write about, it makes sense to find out who your readers are.

First, let me remind you about who I am: mother, freelance business writer, business owner, blogger, wannabe computer geek, and social networker. I’ve been juggling and struggling with being the single mother of a now four-year-old girl while trying to have a successful freelance writing business. I’ve stopped my dream while working at part-time and full-time jobs, I’ve been a stay-at-home/work-at-home mother, and who knows what’ll happen next.

Now it’s your turn! In the comments, tell me a bit about who you are. Besides telling me who you are, let me know why you read my blog, how you found me, and how often you visit.

I’d like to get to know my readers so you know the other readers you’re talking with, and so I can get a better idea of what you might like to read when you visit Crayon Writer.

And if you’re a blogger or Twitterer too, feel free to leave a link to your blog and/or Twitter username. You might make a few friends while you’re here too!

So introduce yourself and talk amongst yourselves. And welcome (back)!

Yaro Starak and Gideon Shalwick sent me an urgent note to let you know they are very briefly opening up their powerful blogging coaching program again.

Why?

Well, they said that they got HEAPS of people that missed out because of the Independence Day Holiday in the United States last week.

And they wanted to give us another opportunity to join their amazing program, along with all the other 420 students who’ve already signed up this time round.

If you missed out last week for whatever reason, this is your chance to get in.

They’re opening doors on Tuesday, July 7th at 2pm EST Daylight Savings Time, and they said they’ll shut the doors again 24 hrs after that.

Here is the page where you can sign up:

Become A Blogger

Let me know if you sign up! Enjoy!

Thanks to Twitter, I’ve been reading a ton of wonderful articles these days. Now I want to share some with you in this Monday Minute. And if you haven’t joined Twitter yet, you really should. And you can start by following Crayon Writer.

Without further ado:

1. While you wait for tomorrow’s announcement, learn a bit about how to make a banging blog with 10 Ways to Launch a  New Blog with a ‘Bang’
2. You can price your services using 2 of the 3: fast, cheap, or good.
3. Interested in magazine writing? Here’s a short video with some great advice on writing for magazines.
4. We all get stuck from time to time. This article talks about the most powerful way to get unstuck.
5. Finally, one of my favorites. As a web writer, it’s key to know how to write effective web content.

I hope you enjoyed this Monday Minute! Let us know what you found useful.

Blogging hasn’t died, as many predicted it would have by now. People are still starting new blogs, and some of us maintain our old ones. Blogging still makes money for people and companies, and it’s still a fun way to self-publish.

I just received an email from a reader of mine who said she’s been sitting on the blogging fence for some time now. I asked her, “What are you waiting for?” I also recently setup a blog/website for a relative of mine who needed to have an online presence for an upcoming play (if you’re in the D.C. area, check out TalesByOne).

So no, blogging is alive and well.

But what are you going to do about it?

If I had a little extra money, I’d sign up for a course on becoming a blogger. Why, when there’s tons of information online about how to start and run a blog already? Time is the simple answer. It takes time to research it all, and you’re bound to make some avoidable mistakes.

An online course can help you get your blog started physically, and then help you run and grow it successfully. The research will have already been done for you, so all you have to do is pay attention and follow through.

Stay tuned. Tomorrow at 11:00 a.m.  pacific I’ll be announcing a program that will help you start your own blog from scratch.

A few days ago I decided to upgrade Crayon Writer to WordPress 2.8. No problem, right?

Well something went drastically wrong, and in an attempt to “fix” things, I lost my entire blog! Every post, every comment, every page. Two years’ worth of blogging were gone in a flash.

Amazingly, I didn’t panic. A blog is nothing in the larger scheme of things (Michael Jackson died the day before I lost the blog, and my little corner of the blogosphere pales in comparison to the death of such a wonderful human being). But it still hurt to lose it.

Luckily I had done a backup before the installation using my host’s (AN Hosting) backup wizard on the Cpanel. Not that I knew what I was doing. I still needed a ton of help from them to do a recovery.

Just in case that didn’t work, I found out that my mother keeps every post I write (she’s subscribed to my blog…are you?) so I could’ve re-written my whole blog if necessary.

As you can see, things are back up. I lost some plugins and a recent post (which I just re-posted), and I lost my entire theme (it was time for a new one anyway…what do you think of the new theme?) But it was a harrowing and eye-opening experience.

My plan now is to learn how to do a backup to my own computer or a disk, and then I’ll learn how to recover said backup. And I’ll try to keep my hands out of the Cpanel (or at least not click anything that has a pop-up that says, “Warning”). And I will not click anything that says, “Remove” or “Delete” unless I know for sure what’s really going to happen.

What’s the best method to backup a blog, though? In my case, the Cpanel saved the MySql database, but I had no clue how to use that for a recovery. I’ve heard of a WordPress Plugin for backing up, but I’ve also read suggestions that you should do your own backups with an FTP client. Then you can setup a domain that’s just for testing your recovery skills. I’ll admit, though, that I’m a little confused about the whole thing.

Do you backup your blog? How often, and what method do you use? Do you know how to do a recovery, or will your web host help you out?

Internet security is getting so complex that we have to remember a zillion different passwords…or risk using just one and having it stolen.

It’s not a huge deal if the websites you frequent allow you to click on the “forgot password” link, and then they just email you a new one. But it can get quite annoying, especially if your main computer goes down (and you, therefore, have limited access to your email (and just hope you didn’t forget your email’s password too)).

Recently I had to call my hosting company to get a lost password, but I didn’t remember the email address I’d used to sign up! It was a mess, but I finally got it.

So what’s a frequent computer-user to do?

I just read an article that suggested having a base password that you use most places, and then using some form of the place you’re visiting in the password. For instance, if your base password is your street name, and you’re making a password for your Ebay site, you might use “MainEbay”.

Another site suggests using a computer program (which probably requires another password…aack!) I’ve tried making a list of all my sites, as I go to them, and writing down my usernames and passwords for each. But if I were really paranoid, I would only write clues about the passwords, just in case a password thief breaks into my home.

What do you do to keep track of your 101 passwords (and the associated usernames)? Or do you just throw caution to the wind and use the same one whenever you can?