I wrote All Is Vanity yesterday because something has to change.
I’m still humbled by your feedback, readership, the e-mails I can barely keep up with and endorsements from bloggers and writers I admire, since entering the blogosphere in late 2003. I’ve risen in the Ecosystem food chain, and now I’m a Mortal Human. My traffic is increasing and advertisers are lined up for a spot on my blog.
But there has to be more to it than this.
Let me explain. What I’ve accomplished in my life has been the result of risk-taking, drastic measures and leaps of faith. When I was accepted into law school, I left South Carolina for Philadelphia, broke and homeless. Everything I owned fit into my car. But somehow, I found a place to live and the student loans came through. A few years later I decided to move to D.C. With no job, no prospects and no place to live, I loaded my belongings into the car once again. Within a week, I had a job and an apartment.
Three years ago I was at a job that was stressing me out to the point where I thought I was getting an ulcer. So I decided to quit and become a writer. With no job waiting in the wings. For six months I lived off savings and wrote every day. It was during this time my first op-ed and first magazine article were published and more importantly, I’d developed the writing habit.
I had to go back to work full time, but I’m still a writer. I’m not living my dream, though. I’ve become complacent with this blog and the little writing I manage to squeeze into an already hectic day. This has led to boredom and burnout. I’m bored with blogging and burned out by the frustration of too little time to write. It’s been three years since my last drastic action, and it’s time for another.
I’ve always wanted my own business because I don’t like working for someone else. I want my time and energy to go into something I own. My father is the same way. He started an auto upholstery business 30+ years ago, and he’s still running it. The man is his own boss. Maybe it’s genetic.
Before I started writing, I talked about wanting to be a writer. Now I’m a writer. I always talk about running a writing business. It’s time to be a home-based writing business owner. I legally set up the business more than a year ago, but I’ve been busy doing other things (and dragging my feet). The lady who designed this blog is currently working on my business site. It will be a proofreading/editing/writing business. Additionally, I’ll offer typing services to book authors and assist them with formatting and preparing their manuscripts.
How can one make a living as a writer, you ask? It’s easier than it sounds. Writers are necessary. They’re all around you, but most of the time they’re unseen. Writers write the web content you scan, the billboards you drive past, the radio shows you listen to and the television shows you watch. Writers write the brochures you pick up in your dentist’s office, the annual report your company sends out and the junk mail you throw away. Scripts need to be written for the interactive CDs you buy. Companies need talented people to develop copy: advertisements, press releases, newsletters — any written material you can think of. Someone even has to write and design the menus you read in restaurants. Everywhere you look, a writer’s pen has been there.
You don’t see them most of the time because you’re not supposed to.
I want to write, I want to blog — anything that involves putting “pen to paper,” I want to do. Your task: Help me name my business. I have a name registered, but I may change it. That all depends on you. I need your creative energy. Some writers use all or part of their name for their business. Others use the city, state or area where they operate. Still others use a play on words, like The Write Help and Write to the Point.
Here are a few more examples to help you with your task: Integrity Writing (owned and operated by one of my readers), Williams Writing, Editing and Design, Edit America, The Mightier Pen, A Writer’s Eye, Writers Welcome, Threepenny Editor, Sharon Types, Bright Eyes and Coale Communications.
I’m offering a 50 percent discount on any service to the person who comes up with the coolest name, whether or not I decide to use it for my business.
By the way, this is not the drastic part I mentioned earlier. That happens in the next couple of days. (No, I’m not quitting my job.) Stay tuned…
Addendum: I forgot to add the most important part. God is good all the time, and my cup overflows…
Update: This blog isn’t going anywhere. I will continue to blog. It’s in the blood. In fact, I’ll have a blog on the business web site, which will be used to update prospective and current clients on the latest training received, classes attended, certification, software and equipment acquired, the latest news in the industry, etc.
All businesses should have a blog.
Update II: Reader Jerry M. reminded me of this: I need a tagline, too.