Writing off the mortgage

Part_time_writer · 27 December 2018 at 11:24AM

Merry Christmas all MSE folk!

A very lovely and very busy few days with the family. Not very MSE at all (I blame the M&S nibbles!) but all paid for out of joint account suplus so no big deal.

I did manage one MSE thing, I have opened a LISA. This is basically because I have no pension provision. I don't even have that many years paid into the state pension, due to years of being a student. Until I actually start earning a regular income, I'm going to try to bung a few quid in the LISA whenever I get a chance. So LISA total is now £250. I would like to manage £1000 in it by the end of the tax year, but let's see.

Really need to make some sort of plan for getting everything done in terms of writing, will have a think.

julicorn · 27 December 2018 at 11:31AM

Is it too late to say happy new dairy?

I'm looking forward to seeing how you get on, especially with your writing! All the best for 2019

Part_time_writer · 27 December 2018 at 7:37PM

Thanks Juliecorn, I hope 2019 is an excellent money saving year for all of us!

Actually managed to get a little writing done today, have a book to finish in the next week or so, so best get to it! My aim is for 2000 words a day, but half the time I don't manage it. Hoping to be more consistent next year.

Part_time_writer · 1 January 2019 at 6:25PM

Had a lovely quiet new year and a nice walk with the family today to get some fresh air.

I've been thinking about my writing goals for this year, which are sort of seperate from the money making, although of course one influences the other. I'd like to aim for 60,000 words a month. This works out around 2k words a day, which should be doable. My problem is consistency - some days I'll do 5000 words but then I won't write for a week. Am going to try and improve on that.

More writing means more books means more profit, or so I hope!

Part_time_writer · 12 January 2019 at 11:27PM

Well, I'm already thinking the 60,000 words a month was wildly optimistic. I might have to aim for more like half that. Having a tiny baby, plus the other two kids, is really limiting my time. Not very surprising really!

I'm trying to get my head around advertising a bit more. It's pretty complex and involves lots of spreadsheets, which are not my favourite things in the world. Needs must though!

Petronisoup · 13 January 2019 at 9:51PM

Hey part time writer,

Great to read your diary, it sounds like you have your hands full and I commend you for being able to write so much!
I'm in marketing so regarding your advertising, I'd say your social media profile and content is a good place to start, especially for an author! It's free for the most part and if you did want to look at paid advertising you can try social media ads for a set budget of your choice (you even get to geo-target or narrow down your audience by age range /hobbies and interests and so on). Another way could be doing local readings in libraries and book shops or talks for local groups such as W.I's or business networking groups who are always on the lookout for female entrepreneurs! Hope this is helpful!

All the best,
Petroni x

Part_time_writer · 16 January 2019 at 2:52PM

Hi Petronisoup, thanks for popping by!

Great advice on speaking to groups like the WI, I'll definitely look into it. I'm using advertising right now, but in a bit of a haphazard way. The problem with ebooks is the margins are tight - it's hard to find cost effective advertising for something that only costs a couple of quid. I'm doing a bit of amaz0n ads right now, seems to be doing ok.

Exciting news today - £30 came in from one of the smaller ebook vendors so I get to update my signature. Most of my earnings come in at the end of the month so it's nice to have something to update before then.

Part_time_writer · 31 January 2019 at 12:32PM

Month 1 roundup!

My earnings are...£286.41 for january. Yay! Nice to meet the first target. It will be tough once I start getting into the four figure months, but I will keep on trucking.

New writing this month has been rather non-existant. Need to work on this for next month, more books means more money coming in after all.

In less MSE news, I gave the car a bash last week, blooming snow! Insurance is covering most of it, thank goodness. And no babies hurt, which is the main thing. Looking forward to spring though!

Part_time_writer · 28 February 2019 at 1:06PM

February roundup

A good month income-wise, reaping the rewards of December's advertising. Writing has been slow and not so steady. Hubby hurt his ankle and has been laid up, which hasn't helped in my ability to carve a little writing time out of my day. Hmmn, definitely need to work on this.

It's all about self discipline. I could do much more than I do, but at the same time I do need to relax. I am trying to be mindful about spending my time, and really must do better on what I call 'phone faffing', where hours can be lost to scrolling down social media. Must try harder.

Plans for March - get the hang of actually making a profit on fbook adverts. I'm pretty close to getting them to work, just need more focussed testing. And regular, consistent writing. I should try reporting my actual writing amounts on here. Will give it some thought.

Part_time_writer · 9 March 2019 at 9:57PM

March is not going so well. I've only made around £60 so far. Of course this is actually May's earnings due to amazon's pay cycle. Hmmn. Might need to rethink how and when I am advertising.

My main problem is there are just too few hours in the day. Three little 'uns mean that my time is very, very constrained. And I'm still not doing well on the whole being disciplined about my time thing. Gah!

Anyone got any self discipline going spare???

Writing off the mortgage

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