About the Working Writer
I’ve been there -- feeling stuck, needing direction and not having the budget or time for an expensive course or for reading all the books, frustrated because the free stuff only tells you enough to teach you how much you don’t know. How I longed for someone with knowledge and experience to just give me a break and share what they know. If that’s where you are, I hope this newsletter is the break you need.
I want to provide affordable and accessible knowledge, guidance and resources to entrepreneurial-minded writers so that they can launch and build successful lives and careers around their writing.
The Working Writer is about more than simply getting paid to write. It’s about discovering creative ways to generate multiple streams of income around your writing, with a view toward gaining financial independence and complete creative freedom.
While we’ll be drilling down to the basics and learning the steps to launch and grow your own writing business, whatever that looks like to you, we’ll also be taking the holistic view of how all of this fits into your life, practical steps you can take to make room for it all, and offering advice and encouragement to combat the problems specific to the life of a full-time, work-at-home writer -- work-life balance, mental health, physical health, feeling unsupported and discouraged, battling imposter syndrome, boredom and burnout, and much, much more.
I promise no BS, no shame, no brow-beating, no supposed magic formulas to success. I only promise knowledge, resources, encouragement, and guidance based on my years of experience, to give you the tools and resources to forge your own path to a fulfilling writing career that matches YOUR dreams, YOUR goals, YOUR temperament, YOUR capacity and energy level, YOUR level of ambition or aspiration, YOUR financial goals, etc. None of this is “Follow in my footsteps and be like me.” It’s simply, “Here’s what I’ve figured out so far. Take what you can use to help you get where you want to be.”
I intend to keep the meat and potatoes -- that is, the weekly newsletter -- free for everyone. For a contribution of $7 a month or just $70 a year (that’s more than 15% off the monthly price), you’ll get access to these delicious sides and desserts:
A complimentary copy of Self-Publishing for the Broke Author in your choice of epub, mobi or PDF
Access to community features and subscriber-only discussion threads -- my hope is that this will grow into a supportive community of like-minded writers who can help each other reach our goals
An extra monthly motivation letter
Exclusive Q&As
The satisfaction of supporting a platform that hopes to serve as a catalyst for successful writing careers
That’s just for now. As the subscriber community grows, my hope is that this newsletter will grow with it. Eventually, I hope to be able to increase the posting schedule to at least twice weekly, and also possibly add a subscriber-only podcast. But whether we get there or not is up to the collective you.
If you sign up before the end of February, you’ll get a special lifetime 15% discount — sign up now for only $5.95 a month or $59.50 a year forever!
Whether you opt to become a paying supporter or not, you’ll continue to get these e-mails delivered weekly to your inbox, providing you with the knowledge and encouragement you need to forge your own path to a satisfying career as a working writer.
About Jean
I’m Jean Marie Bauhaus -- you can call me Jean. I’m a multi-passionate freelance writer, hybrid fiction author, and indie non-fiction author of Self-Publishing for the Broke Author. I’ve been making a full-time living with my writing for about six and a half years now. I’ve also worked as an editor, a book marketing and self-publishing assistant and coach, and have recently trained as a life coach.
As a freelancer, my current niche is writing business-to-consumer (i.e., website) content for large corporations primarily in the pet industry. My clients include Hill’s Pet (the maker of Science Diet and Prescription Diet pet food brands) and the American Kennel Club, among others.
As an author, I have a traditionally published paranormal fantasy series called Restless Spirits, as well as several self-published titles. To be honest, my trad-pub experiences taught me that I prefer self-publishing, and definitely recommend it as a side gig even if it’s not your main thing.
As a person, I’m in my mid-forties, married to my husband of 13 years, and a pet mom (yes, mom-- if you hate that term you can fight me) to an elderly Chihuahua, a cat and two box turtles. Writing is my hobby as well as my job, but I also love spending time in a good book or listening to a fun podcast while I work on my latest knitting or crochet project. Come say hi to me on Twitter or Instagram @jmbauhaus, and keep up with the Working Writer companion Twitter feed @WriterJean.
A Final Word
You should know I’m coming at this from a very anti-hustle mindset. When it comes to entrepreneurial gurus I lean much more Tim Ferris than Rachel Hollis. I’m all about working smarter, not harder, for doing the least amount for the greatest returns so we’re not working all the time and burning ourselves out but actually enjoying our lives and having time for the things and people that matter most.
One of my favorite Internet people is Kendra Adachi, aka The Lazy Genius, host of the podcast by the same name and blogger at the Lazy Genius Collective. Her whole deal is about being a genius about the things that matter so you can be lazy about the things that don’t. Her focus is on adulting, parenting and running a household, but I’m very much about applying that philosophy to the practice and business of writing.
If all that sounds good to you, sign up so you don’t miss a single issue, and if you can swing it, consider supporting this newsletter’s mission with a paid subscription.
