Set up a schedule

You will not be able to accomplish anything unless you set up a schedule and stick to it. Professionalism means - working when you don't feel like it. People who are employed outside the home know what *that* is like - most people are 9 to 5-ers and have to go into work and produce whether they feel like it or not. Freelance writers, on the other hand, or anyone who works from home - sometimes feel like if they're not in the mood, they'll just put off their work until they are in the mood...then two days later they find themselves with deadlines they can't meet and an unhappy client. And then there's that old adage, don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today. This is particularly true if you have a client who is himself a procrastinator...and will put off doing work with you (for example, if he gives you dictation every day via Skype, except on those days when he doesn't feel like doing it... then one day he wants to get allllll caught up and that's the day you were going to work on some other work that you'd been putting off... it can turn into a vicious circle! So be a professional - work every day whether you feel like it or not.

Video Marketing

I am a fan of the detective novels of Georgette Heyer. (I have to admit I've never gotten into her regency romances - her main body of work and what she is celebrated for - but then I don't read romances as a rule.).

I've been exploring ways of how to create videos on YouTube to help build up my portfolio (and also to market some of my income-stream projects.

Here's an example of video annotation.

Footsteps in the Dark, Heyer's first detective novel, was published in 1932. As such, there's about 80 years worth of slang and mores that separate that novel from today.

What's an approach course, for example? What is stamp paper? What are Holyrood (as opposed to Holy Rood) and Hampton Court?

If you like mysteries, if you like learning about the past, check out what I call Dated Death: Footsteps in the Dark (Chapter 1).

Make little videos to drive people to your website

I've started a videozine to help people learn Scrabble words, and the first two issues are up at YouTube.

In future posts I'll show you how to make videos of this nature - they are really easy.
Issue 1: Introducing three expert researchers, Amber, Shimako and Trelane, and their adventures solving the Counterfeit Coin Caper.

And their adventures continue in Issue 2: