Ah, the life of a writer.
Okay, actually it's the life of an underwriter, but in this heart there beats the same need for words and story as Poe, Hemingway, and Alcott.
By day, I work in the insurance business analyzing and underwriting risk.
Each night, I come home to pen blogs, stories, novels, and random bits while I devise a reasonably unreasonable plan for my escape from the corporate job.
After years of lavish devotion to crafting believable characters, titillating plots, page-turning story arcs, and unforgettable settings, there was still more I needed to study to earn a paycheck from the pen.
It was time to begin honing my skills for non-fiction and promotional work.
The way out of a daytime cubicle would require a portfolio of writing projects bigger than my former accomplishments.
With a goal to be self-employed within one to two years, I knew that I had to learn new skills fast while expanding my repertoire into non-fiction and the kinds of writing businesses would pay for.
It was necessary to get up to speed not only with different formats such as press/media releases, blogs, articles, and e-books, but I would have to know as much as possible about how technology is affecting the industry.
I've never been much of a techie, but to be able to compete in the areas I felt inclined toward, I'd have to know about traditional publishing, social networking, and Internet trends.
Over the course of a year, I studied then implemented multiple techniques, but still felt that what I really needed was a mentor.
A teacher to show me the ropes would shorten the learning curve drastically.
And who better to give that sage advice than a working writer who has earned her income and built her business around writing? Through an informal network of local writers, I found a mentor who wanted to work with "Newbies" in a portfolio-building program where basic and critical skills are practiced and feedback is given each step of the way.
It took two years to find a mentor that fit my approach.
It was important to me that my mentor was not just teaching, but an active writer.
Most of the assignments involve working on skills a freelancer or self-publisher needs to know such as media releases, article marketing, back cover blurb, book summary, bio sketch, press release, and interviewing.
These types of projects in addition to having a deadline each week means staying on track-no time for angst or rabbit trails.
Whether you want to write magazine articles or white papers, novels or op-eds, blogs or SEO-optimized content, finding a mentor will speed up the journey to working at home in your PJs.
And in the end, you will have a basic portfolio to show clients and editors.
You'll be able to say, "Hey, I've done that before!"