Writing Dailey

Since last I shared about my freelance writing journey, many things have occurred, which have led me to this post about my gigs on gigs on gigs.

Freelance life is quite nebulous, aside from the deadlines, that is. It’s a balance between flow and structure. Such harmony is difficult to maintain with this dichotomy of opposites. But with the trifecta of my dry-erase board, Google Calendar, and the plethora of sticky notes, I’m hanging in there. And I haven’t missed a deadline yet–knock on wood.

Now, allow me to put these gigs on gigs on gigs into context and in a rough semblance of order.

Current Gigs

A few months ago, I was catching up with a friend over coffee at one of my Happy Places. Over my go-to North Perk Latte, I confessed that I felt like I had reached my limit of what I could handle as a freelancer while still maintaining my standard and quality of writing and my sanity. I had seemingly arrived at my personal and proverbial threshold. Well, fast-forward to now, and I’ve actually added four more projects/gigs to my regular repertoire since that admittance. I really can’t explain my decision to take on more, apart from wanting to accept the opportunities as they come to me so that I may broaden my reach, skillset, and client base, which ultimately enables me to grow my small business. And blessedly, I haven’t burnt myself out yet. #grateful

You may recall that I write for two print publications: the Traverse City Record-Eagle and Northern Express. Through these outlets, I’ve learned much about what people are working on, promoting, and contributing to within their Northern Michigan communities. For example, I’ve written about fundraisers for Studio Anatomy and Ukraine refugees, mash-up musical theater productions and operas, artist residencies, beach volleyball, hot dog joints, national cheerleading competitions, and Kilwins (2022 marks their 75th anniversary!).

And as I mentioned back in June, Haskn, a French-based marketing company, discovered me this spring–presumably through LinkedIn–and they’ve connected me with companies who need web content. Of course, that six-hour time difference makes debriefings sometimes a challenge to schedule, but we’re making do. And no, I am not required to bust out my high school/college French because, surely, in the heat of the moment, I would make un imbécile de moi-même.

Newer Gigs

Next came two public relations opportunities, one right after the other, for Petoskey’s annual C.S. Lewis Festival and a PBS documentary about the great state of Michigan. I have the pleasure of crafting social media and press releases, attending board and planning meetings, and learning even more about the Irish author than I previously had known as I work with the festival named after him. Even though they didn’t receive a mention in my post about Book Loves, The Chronicles of Narnia are some of my all-time favorite childhood reads. Puddleglum, of The Silver Chair fame, is like a humanoid Eeyore, both of whom I relate to fairly often.

As for the PBS documentary project, I first heard about it years ago when my previous boss shared some information about the endeavor (I believe Crooked Tree Arts Center has been involved in the project since its early days.). So, in June, when my phone rang, and it was a number I didn’t recognize, my intuition told me I needed to answer the call. Lo and behold, it was about handling PR for MICHIGAN: An American Portrait, which will be airing on PBS stations this fall.

I don’t know about you, but I adore PBS. I would be utterly content if that was the only television channel I had access to. From Masterpiece Classics and fascinating documentaries to those beautiful Viking River Cruise commercials–what more does an old soul need? Ah yes, a cup of tea and an afghan.

Newest Gigs

Love for PBS aside, at this time, did I say, whoa, that’s enough writing for one person to handle? Of course not. Because I got tapped to write two blogs a month for two local websites. Grandpa Shorter’s Gifts will post my first blog on Monday, September 12–it’s about bears and hugs, two of my favorite things–and I’ll also be crafting downtown Petoskey-centric business and event pieces for Downtown Petoskey’s blog.

Future Gigs?

Now, is that enough? Honestly, probably; however, there are a couple of other possibilities floating in the late summer air–regular jobs and one-time projects. When do I sleep, you may ask? Somehow I find the time. When will I get back to working on my novel that you’re all dying to read? This fall, probably when September ends (insert Green Day joke here). The following five to six weeks are going to be quite busy with the C.S. Lewis Festival, documentary premiere, Festival of the Book, and all the blogging, web content drafting, and article writing that is part of my weekly routine.

Plus, I also need to act like a human every so often and meet up with friends, hug my niece, snuggle my dog, and not look at my laptop screen for a bit. So here’s to safeguarding my soundness of mind while staying on top of these gigs on gigs on gigs!

Coming up next:

Monday, September 12: “Review of the Ring”
–my first impressions of Amazon’s The Rings of Power