And, so I am turning to you, if indeed you are out there!  What do you want to know about freelance writing?  Do you want to know about freelance writing?  Do you want to know more about my daily life?  Do you want to know more of my thoughts on motherhood?  Do you want to see more faith-based posts?  What have you enjoyed that I’ve written about in the past?  What have you NOT enjoyed that I’ve written about in the past?

One thing I have preached in teaching and in this blog is to know  your audience.  With that in mind, I am reaching out to you, my audience, for some feedback.  Let me know what you’re thinking.  Post here, e-mail or send smoke signals — whatever works for you.  On second, thought, avoid smoke signals.  I don’t know how to read them and I’m not outside all that much.

I hope to hear from you!

The first time this happened was a couple of years ago when I was covering a very small town suburb of my mid-sized city.  And when I say small town, I mean it.  This area has no restaurants or anything.  However, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  The community welcomed me.  I learned so much about the people who lived there.  They shared their stories with me.  Every week was something new for the three articles I wrote.  When I mentioned it to a relative, she immediately replied with, “Well, that sounds boring.”  I sincerely thought she was joking at first.  Boring?  To me, nothing is boring about learning people’s stories.  I loved what I was writing.

I’ve had these things happen a couple of other times since then with other stories and projects and I still don’t understand how people can think boring.  I throw myself into everything I work on.  I am a passionate person.  I am passionate about my work.  The only boring part of it to me is the bookkeeping and business tasks.  I’m not crazy about updating my clips online.  I’m not crazy about tracking my income and expenses.  THOSE things are boring to me.  But, my writing, editing and designing are far from boring to me.

If you enjoy what you do, then it’s not boring.  I know some folks are out there who enjoy the tasks I find boring.  More power to them!  And, I suppose, other folks really do find what I do boring.  I don’t understand it more than just to acknowledge that we are all different with different likes, dislikes and passions.

What do you enjoy?

While I have used spreadsheets to keep track of sources in the past, many times I end up going old school with a pencil and piece of paper to start with.  No matter what I use, I track the same information.

First I put the name of the source.  Usually this is the organization I am contacting.  For example, one contact made for the aforementioned article was the East West Institute.  So, I write East West Institute.  Beside that goes the URL for the group.

Below that I write the contact information that I found on their website.  Finding such contact information could be an entire other blog post!  When possible (and oftentimes it is possible), I look for a press room area on websites.  Then I keep track of e-mail addresses and phone numbers for media contacts.  Sometimes I find a specific contact, like in this example, and other times it is a general media inquiry e-mail address.

Finally, beneath that is where I start tracking when I’ve contacted the source and what happened.  For example, the first entry for my example of the East West Institute look like this:

• 6/14: E-mailed him at 3:05 p.m.

Simple enough, but then if I need to follow up, I can make sure to let enough time pass (they need time to respond) and I can also reference the date of my first message.  In certain situations, I’ll even go into my “Sent Items” folder and pull up the original message and forward it to the same person as a reference.

Finally, I also track what deadline I’ve given them to have the information completed by.  Usually this is the same for all sources I’m talking to.  Sometimes it can vary, though, if I am making a contact later in the writing process and need to offer the source more time to respond.

Tracking sources can get tedious, but not tracking sources just spells trouble.  For large articles, especially, knowing who you’ve contacted and when is the only way to stay organized.

But, I would daresay that truly objective reporting is not possible.  Every writer has his or her own set of circumstances that have shaped his or her worldview.  Those creep into coverage on even the most mundane articles.  I am incredibly wary of anyone who claims to be 100 percent objective.  We all have opinions.  They tend to make an appearance, even in small ways.  Of course, we can guard against this and should do so to the best of our ability.

Journalists must first recognize their biases before they can overcome them.  For example, I personally don’t drink alcohol for various reasons, including religious ones.  A few years ago, I was writing a section for the newspaper that required me to cover food at some local bars.  This was way out of my comfort zone.  I checked myself often to make sure that I was staying objective and giving them the coverage they deserved, which was focusing on their food.  I knew that I had a predisposition that needed to be examined.  I knew that I needed to be just as fair to these establishments as I was to the family restaurants I was covering for the same section.  That said, I do have limits.  I know where my objectivity would no longer be able to function.  And I would not cover those topics.

I have to know my biases to be a better writer.  And while I don’t consider commentators like Nancy Grace to be journalists, I do at least respect that she makes no bones about not being objective.  Objectivity is possible, but only to a certain degree.  Because no one lives in a bubble with no life experiences, true objectivity is not possible.

My husband most often calls me on it.  We were having lunch on Father’s Day when I popped an interview question on him.

“So, what’s surprised you most about being a father?” I asked, thinking it made perfect sense to discuss since it was his first Father’s Day.

“Really?  I”m getting interviewed today?” was his response.

I can’t help it.  Fortunately he’s patient with me.  Other times asking questions can come in handy.  I’m a stereotypical introverted writer.  So for times when I need to make small talk or talk with people I don’t know well, I often call on my interview skills to get me through.  I don’t grill people or follow a set line of questions like I do for work, but I have realized that people love to answer questions about themselves.  In the end, it works well because I love learning about other people.

So, tell me about you.  What’s your life like?  What do you do a typical day?  What has surprised you most about life?  What do you look forward to in the future?  I could keep going and going.

If you’ve been “interviewed” by me in real life, feel free to chime in.  Asking questions is what I do!

Three weeks ago, I wrote about how the end of a big project was bittersweet for me.  Then I wrote about how attitude makes a difference.  Last week I wrote about how I learned from my dog to just trust that God knows where we’re going.  So, yesterday when I got the news that a regular section I’ve been writing is ceasing to exist after this week, I had my own advice to fall back on!

I have enjoyed writing this particular section.  The articles have been fun.  The steady income has been nice.  But, I was starting to feel a bit like it was time to move on.  Now I know for sure that it is.  When I got the news, my initial reaction wasn’t sadness.  Instead I thought, “OK, God.  Where are we going now?”  That is progress!

I feel like I’m standing at the precipice of something big.  I don’t know what it is.  I don’t know where we’re going, but I’m going to continue doing what I love — researching, writing and editing — and see where it takes me.

But, beyond just looking for an excuse to show off my cute pooch, I have a point.  While being Buckles’ mom I have learned lessons.  Earlier this week, I learned a big one from him.

I had just put his human sister down for a nap and needed to go and get the mail.  Buckles loves traipsing out front with me on his leash to get the mail.  I didn’t want to wake up his sister.  So, as I was letting him in from the backyard, I picked up his leash nearby without saying a word.  He saw the leash and knew we were going somewhere.  He didn’t know where.  I didn’t even ask him if he wanted to go get the mail, which is the phrase he knows.  He was just excited to go with me.

So that got me thinking about my relationship with God.  I have many times bemoaned the fact that I didn’t know what God had planned for me.  I have said time and again that I wish He’d just send a note so I’d know what the plan was.  But God and faith don’t work that way.  Instead, I need to be more like Buckles.  He was up for going anywhere with me.  He trusted me completely because I’ve never led him astray.  God has never led me astray.  He’s led me through some dark times and deep valleys, but He’s never let me go.

As my life shifts once again with change, I’m ready to be harnessed to God and follow His lead.  Just like my dog, I may not know where I’m going, but I know Who is taking me and that’s all that matters.

I have learned throughout my life that attitude makes such a big difference.  While I think of it more on a personal level, I realize that attitude also affects my professional life as well.  On days when I wake up and think how much I don’t want to do work or how tired I am, then I’m not productive.  On days when I wake up and am excited to start researching a new project or don’t even consider my energy level, then I’m productive.  Everything gets marked off my to-do list.

Figuring out how to always have the right attitude is a challenge.  I’ve found a few things lately that have helped me.

• Listening to the right kind of music.  I enjoy all types of music, but lately contemporary Christian music has gotten me going the most.  Southern/country gospel can do the same.
• Adhering to a schedule.  While schedules may interfere with creativity for some, they help me to stay on track and be productive.  This is even more true now with caring for a baby.  I know when she goes down for her morning nap that I usually have two hours of uninterrupted work time and I need to make the best of it.  The same is true for her hour-long afternoon nap.
• Finding projects that inspire and uplift me.  I’m fortunate in that I get to chose my work.  However, not all articles are super exciting topics if I am to be completely honest.  If I balance with enough that are exciting to me, then it works really well.
• Remembering that I’m doing what I love.  Writing and editing have long been my passions.  Being a mother is a newer passion of mine.  Working from home as a freelancer combines both so well.  It may be hectic, stressful and crazy sometimes, but I get to do what I love.

What helps you maintain a good attitude?

However, other projects are longer term.  For a few months I have been working with a new Christian writer on his novel.  I’ve edited it for him and we’ve discussed his ideas and plans.  And we are almost completely finished.  In fact, with just a few minor edits, we will be finished.  And it’s bittersweet.

I’ve enjoyed reading the book a couple of times, even though I was working on it as I went.  I’ve enjoyed getting to know this person better.  I’ve been challenged and encouraged by him.  I’m guessing that we will keep in touch after the project finishes.  But, I find it’s a bittersweet ending.

I love the sense of accomplishment that comes at the end of a project.  Nothing is more satisfying.  I would honestly say this sense of accomplishment is even greater since this has been my first huge project since the birth of my daughter.  I have figured out how to work while still be a mom.

However, after working on a project for so long and having it end, it can be like saying goodbye to a friend.  I often feel that way with the end of reading a good book.  Currently I’m reading the last book in the “Legend of Drizzt” series, and I keep putting it off.  I don’t want it to be over.

While I won’t put my work off, I do feel a bit bittersweet about this large project winding down.  Yet, at the same time, I also look forward to a new pr0ject on the horizon that will challenge me in different ways!

I was hit by this realization yet again this afternoon. I was washing baby stuff and having a bit of a pity party.  My line of thinking quickly went down the path of the past.  I started thinking that last year I didn’t have to interrupt my lunch to move someone from her bouncy seat to the floor because she was bored.  I didn’t have to scramble and try to unload the dishwasher before someone started fussing in her jumperoo.  I didn’t have to try to organize bags of breast milk in the freezer in the house and the chest freezer in the garage.  I didn’t have to wash baby dishes while listening to someone fuss because she was tired in her jumperoo and ready for her afternoon nap.  I didn’t have to try and hasten to get my work done during said nap time.  Last year, my baby was easy to take care of.  I was just starting to feel her move around in my belly.  Last year, I could have spent the afternoon in my office working.  Or even schedule time for a nap if I wanted.  This year, I would consider giving my right arm for a nap.

Then I finished the dishes and took her out of the jumperoo.  We headed to her rocker where I held her for a few moments before putting her down for the nap.  Last year I didn’t have a baby girl in my arms.  Last year I didn’t have a sweetheart snuggling into my neck.  Last year I didn’t have little fingers playing with the collar of my shirt.

It hit me once again that last year may have been easier, but it was nowhere near as good.  Balancing work and a baby may be a struggle.  And I may fall short some days, but the pay off is beyond worth it.