Making Concessions

I miss blogging about any crazy thought that came to mind. I may not have always had time to write, but I used to gain all kinds of inspiration when I had a job other than writing. It would be nice to have a little bit of income too.

I think it's time I made a few concessions, surrender a little ground, and lose a personally important battle in order to win the war.

I'm not giving up though. Writing is my profession and I will make a living from it, but I'm not currently. So, in order to maintain my lifestyle and repay some of the kindness done by friends and family, I need to take a second job, preferably only very part-time. I still need time to write.

In addition to earning me a little money to get by, it will also give me things to write about. All the fantastic magic or marvellous technology won't help unless my characters are believable. Experiencing time with people will help me make my characters more real.

Being single helped with the socialising aspect, since I used to get out the house and spend time with my friends. One of my friends was also single though, and now neither of us are. I'm much happier of course, and I still like my other friends, but it feels like I have everything I need at home now, so the only real excuse I'll have to get out of the house will be to take a second job.

I don't want to work for anyone else, but it would be tactically advantageous for me to do so. Besides, I'm still working for me. I'll still be writing, and I'll gain more helpful experience that will help me write better. Who knows what will inspire the next story? It'll be like I'm getting paid to research characters and find writing prompts, which isn't a bad deal.

I'd like to be able to use my phone's QuickMemo+ app to write down any ideas that come to mind when I'm at work. If there's a strict 'no devices' policy, then I would appreciate being able to keep a notepad and pen with me instead. Trust me, I'll be able to focus on my work better if you'll let me get the ideas out of my head.

I don't really want to do retail or call-centre work anymore. I've done it all and it bored me. I'm technically qualified to be management, but a lot of the work I've had to do while being groomed for retail management was also boring. I get how it works. I want to try something different.

If I do sales again, it would have to be a product I care about. I actually enjoy working for commission if I believe in the product, but it's not necessary. I worked for a video game store for years because I loved it. I love stories, particularly fantasy and sci-fi, so video games, and tabletop hobby games are dear to my heart. Sadly, positions available with businesses that sell such products are rare because the jobs are awesome and no-one wants to quit.

I'd even settle for a shop that sells PC components, audio equipment and drones! There is one in town, but I've never seen them post a vacancy either. I may try anyway. I've already updated my CV (that's a Resume if you're an American) to apply for a part time position at the same hotel my girlfriend works at. It would be nice to see her even when I'm at work, but I'm bored of bar-work too. Maybe it'll be something I've never done before.

I'm going to take another look at my cover letter and CV with this new resolution in mind, and tweak it for some other places that I think I may like to work. If I'm lucky one of them will be hiring. I have believed for quite some time that this is the best way to get the job you want, and that businesses that always seem to have vacancies aren't worth working for. We'll see if it pays off, and that I won't have to take some think soul destroying for the sake of an income.

I'm trying to silver lining this and convince myself that taking a part-time job will be good, but I'm still hoping that someone with some cash to throw around will fall in love with my writing and finance my writing addiction. I had hoped that some of the friends I'd made while living in America would become patrons, but all of them have very good reasons why they can't even afford $1 per month.

I'm using Patreon.com to extend my reach. I got two pledges for $1 per month each from fellow writers, both of whom also have Patreon pages. I really should pledge them back, but Patreon takes a cut of each pledge, so it would be a negative sum if I did. It would work out better to sponsor me via a Paypal subscription.

Patron level:

Primary : £1.00 GBP - monthly Preferred : £5.00 GBP - monthly Premium : £10.00 GBP - monthly Posh : £25.00 GBP - monthly Preposterous : £50.00 GBP - monthly

All subscribers will (if they want to) receive a weekly email from me (not a bot) keeping you updated on everything I'd written that week. The higher patron levels entitle you to free writing, from simple personalised greetings at level 2, up to essentially hiring me to write everything for you at level 5. :)

Those of you that already follow my Wordpress page, you'll know that I'm planning on using my future success to make sure my close friends and family are taken care of financially. If I do end up with the house of my dreams, friends and family will be welcome to stay as long as they need, and I will help them get back on their feet and achieve their dreams also. So if you think about it, it's really an investment. Help me out now, and I'll be able to help you later. ;)

Like I said before, I miss being able to write about whatever comes to mind. Instead it seems like all I'm ever writing about is how badly I need to start generating an income. However, to be fair to myself I am still writing Hermes925, which is now much easier to navigate. I'm also working on a story for Project Ubi and a story I plan to submit to either SciFan magazine or Writers of Tomorrow.

I don't really have time for a second job, but since I'm sure this request for sponsorship will be just as ineffective as the others, here goes nothing.

Thanks for reading and have a good day :)