For the last six months, this blog has been a quiet place. My last post was just after New Year, talking about my plans for the year ahead, so you could be forgiven for thinking I've lost interest or moved on to new things! But you'll be relieved (I hope!) to know that it was just a brief hiatus. So why the break, and what have I been up to?
A Tough Start to the Year
At the start of the year, I received the news that my mum was very ill with a severe lung condition. I moved away from my home town nine years ago, and the difficulties in travelling there mean I haven't seen them often, so this was a bit of a shock. My dad insisted she was improving and everything would be fine, but I could tell from his voice he was trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to reassure me. Then, sadly, at the beginning of March, mum died, and we were all devastated.
The funeral was tough, as you would expect. My dad was in pieces—they had been together for almost six decades and rarely spent a night apart in all that time. But, on the positive side, I've been speaking to dad on the phone more often than in years, and we've regained some of the closeness we had before I left town.
To make things worse, COVID came to the funeral too. My partner and I caught it, as did half of those who attended the wake. We were ill for weeks, and full recovery took the best part of three months. Obviously, this has had an impact on my freelancing work.
A Shift in Emphasis
After finding out how ill mum was, my ability to work suffered severely. I'd only been freelancing for just over two months at that point, and cold-pitching clients and looking for work became too overwhelming. Luckily, I was getting some good work through a content mill, Crowd Content. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I know these sites have a rough reputation. Still, this one has proved a real lifeline to me in terms of income and gaining experience.
Within two months, I obtained the highest rating for a writer (four stars) and was getting a decent reputation on the site. I won't say every piece I wrote was terrific because they clearly weren't, as I was still learning. I have now written over 250 articles for Crowd Content, from blog posts and web pages to product descriptions and social media posts. The feedback from clients and editors has helped me grow as a writer and really sharpened my skills. I can confidently say I'm a far better writer than I was only six months ago.
I will acknowledge that the work isn't always great, though. Sometimes client briefs are ambiguous, and some clients want a lot more than they are willing to pay for. However, by sticking to the highest-paying jobs, this is less of an issue; the low-paying clients seem to be the ones who want everything for next to nothing! I've also been editing other writers' work and have worked on over 500 pieces of writing. This has been another excellent learning experience—analysing other writers' work has given me a new perspective on my own writing and its faults.
Moving Forward
Working for Crowd Content has been beneficial to me financially and in terms of experience gained. Still, now it's time to broaden my horizons. My health is back to normal, and, along with my dad, I'm coming to terms with losing mum, so I feel ready for new challenges. Returning to blogging is a big part of my moving forward process, as is updating my website. I'm also now actively looking for new clients in the small/micro-business sector as well as manufacturing, with which I am most familiar.
My social media channels are again active on Twitter and LinkedIn, and I'm also looking into starting an Instagram account. So, if you're reading this and interested in my services, take a look at what I can offer here and contact me to discuss your requirements. I'm keen, and energised, my writing skills are sharp and I'm ready to go!