Well, it's been an interesting two weeks of Passover vacation. I've spent it trying to simulate two solid full weeks (yep, didn't take one day off) of freelance writing. This meant, going through endlesss wedsites for educational publishing, writing query and cover letters, updated numerous times my resume, marketing myself, sending letters, spring cleaning files, updating my files, making sure the links of my writing blog worked, subscribing to newsletters and forums, reading ebooks, asking for information, reading (how to's)more websites, sending off my resume for freelance work-for-hire jobs...well - you get the idea.
And I thought freelance writing was just writing!
Actually, I did a bit of writing too - revised and sent two more short stories, a bunch of articles for suite and associated content as well one abstract to TESOL journal and the Dabbling Mum.(links to the side of this blog)
I also started out my two week hiatus writing a book proposal but that seemed too concentrated and intense for the beginning so I let the two weeks subside and yesterday I found a sample proposal letter that gave me an idea of what should be in a book proposal. It seemed easy enough. I wrote my book proposal and letter and sent them out. whew! I amazed even myself.
What truly amazed me was the process I went through.
It started yesterday when one ESL teacher living in Germany made it sound so easy - He suggested to compile all the work I've designed, turn them into an ebook and send them to language schools and advertise them on forums. (that sounds easy enough)
He also was the trigger for unleashing some dormant voice to go through the remedial reading files and take all the reading passages and vocabulary work I've designed over the years and there it was - a potential published file of the journey I've been on.
The idea of what I would write in that proposal was quite clear to me, and came very quickly and naturally. The moment I sent them out, was when I built my a little dream corner in my study last night. I finally emailed a book proposal for EFL/ESL teachers. I sent it to the main publishers of language learning (yep, didn't compromise) - Cambridge University press, McGraw-Hill, Houghton Mifflin, Heinemann, Scholastic,Carson-Dellosa, Delta, Corwin.
Even if this book proposal doesn't get accepted, it will be the start of a new journey, full of promise and purpose knowing that there are other options besides teaching, and I am enjoying it! Plus,I learned some important skills for jumpstarting my writing career way before I start my sabbatical.
On that note, I am grateful for a slew of modest yet giving writers who constantly share their publishing resources and ideas and whose blogs I constantly reread in order to understand what it was I needed to do at every step of the way. Here's to Heidi's blog and JoAnne's website! (links to the right)
The journey is far from over, but at least I gave myself a mini course in a freelancing writing career.
Come Wednesday, I WILL be again in the classroom, but this time it will be full of purpose.
I am blessed and grateful to be able to do all this while still receiving a teacher's salary. (not the greatest, but it's what I have)
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