Last month I applied for a Phillips Foundation Journalism Fellowship. I was fed up with the 9-5, so I figured I’d take a chance and compete with professionals for a career-making fellowship that would support me while I wrote a book and added credibility to my role as a blogger aspiring to be a full time writer.
I was confident but realistic. When the rejection letter came, it wasn’t a big disappointment. I was a semifinalist, which is some consolation, considering I was up against actual journalists with years of professional experience.
I haven’t had time to dwell on it because for the next two-and-a-half weeks, my schedule is full. This week I’m working on a presentation for the World Journalism Institute conference in Atlanta this weekend. I’ll be speaking to a group of college students and journalists about Christians, journalism and blogging. Most of the other speakers are professional journalists, so I was honored to be invited.
The following weekend I’ll be in Nashville leading a faith-blogging session at BlogNashville, which is modeled after BloggerCon. I’m still thinking about the set-up, but I anticipate that it will be a roundtable discussion. Two days after that, I’m speaking at a blog consulting workshop about…you guessed it: blogging! At the same time, I’m running my editing business. Without advertising I managed to snag a client (who’s keeping me busy). Later this month I’ll work on the web site and start advertising for more clients.
I’m self-employed now. 
