The future's so bright...!

I haven't been getting much sleep lately, but I feel that sleep is sometimes overrated. I have been too busy trying to find a way to kick my writing career into high gear that sleep has gone by the wayside.

I still have a job that pays the bills, but I feel like it's sucking the creative essence out of me and I need to get going on writing as a profession instead of a hobby if I am truly going to live my dream. Also, I feel the writing is on the wall, so to speak and I am expendable there. It's also no fun anymore! I need challenges, variety, and a schedule where I can see my family more than just the 2-day weekend catch-up! More money wouldn't be bad either!

So, I have been doing a lot of homework, reading up on my options and the one option that seems to make sense is for me to go into the copywriting business. I started taking a course through American Artists and Writers Institute (AWAI) a year ago, but I stopped because life was getting in the way of me completing it. Last year we had 2 weddings in the family, my sister Kelley's in June and my brother Andy's in October. Plus, I was working weekends and then dayshift, then back to weekends, then to second shift, then...well, you get the picture. I also hadn't considered that it would actually be something I could do, until I learned about Beth Ann Erickson.

Who is Beth Ann Erickson? She is a writer who lives in Kandiyohi, Minnesota, which is basically just down the road from me. She is a copywriter and she OWNS HER OWN PUBLISHING COMPANY!! Yes, she owns and operates Filbert Publishing. She writes books geared to help writers in the business or wanting to start in the business, and as she puts it, the copywriting and the publishing help pay for her fiction addiction. She is able to make a living in a small town in Minnesota as a writer AND write what she wants and gets it published too!! I have read/devoured both of her books on writing and a huge light bulb went on over my head!! Where was she in 1987 when I graduated from high school and I really didn't know what I wanted to do when I grew up? Ok, I secretly wanted to become a writer, a successful writer, live in New York, marry John Taylor of DuranDuran, live happily ever after...sigh. I guess it's true, "Life happens while your making other plans".

My homework also revealed a gentleman by the name of Peter Bowerman who has written a couple of successful books on copywriting and the business entitled "The Well-Fed Writer" and "Back for Seconds". I finished TWFW and I am almost done with Back for Seconds. I am eagerly anticipating is new book entitled, "The Well-Fed Publisher" which is to be released soon. These books have opened my eyes to the fact that writers are needed everywhere, and they should be paid well for their skills and that this is a career that anyone can do anywhere. Possibilities, possibilities.

But this has become more than just a possibility for me. This WILL BE a reality! I am already making plans to begin this business venture and I also plan to document my rise to success and write a book about it. I want the world to know that it is possible to make your dreams come true if you do your homework, work towards that goal and let nothing stop you! I am in a perfect position to be a case study for both Beth Ann Erickson and Peter Bowerman and the AWAI school. I want to be their poster child. I will be the one wearing the sunglasses because the future's so bright...I gotta wear shades!!