Work From Home Numbers Grow

Yet another article about the growing number of people who are working from home, this time in the Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703819904574555710881471416.html.

The article tackles more at-home employment rather than home-based businesses. Kind of interesting the amount of telephone-answering type work there is out there, as well as medical-field work.

As always, be extra careful of scams, which are proliferating like bunnies. Ignore any email, ad, Internet site or phone calls that ask for money or personal information in order to receive job information or employment.

It looks like more and more companies will be exploring at-home employment options, so sharpen those skills and keep your eyes and ears open.

For more tips, check out my July 2009 At Home News that explores how to become a contract worker.

Until next time,

Sarah

Progress Report

So it's day nine in my quest to write a 50,000 word article and the writing bug has bitten me good. I have typed 15,000 words thus far, which is a great start.

But as I get into the writing, I find that I do not want to do other things. All I want to do is hole up downstairs in the office and write. It's hard not to be annoyed when the kids want or need something. But I have to be disciplined to make the most of every minute in order to accomplish my goal, which is what most of us have to do on a daily or weekly or monthly basis in order for our at-home businesses to succeed.

So I'm off to write a few more words before getting dinner on the table, that if my 16-month-old and three-year-old will stop grabbing my arms and wanting to be in my lap!

Until next time,

Sarah

Another November, Another Novel

Once again, November is nearly upon us and that means it's time for another National Novel Writing Month contest (http://www.nanowrimo.org/). I have my idea and I'm raring to go! Here's to writing 50,000 words in 30 days.

Until next time,

Sarah

Chicken Soup for a Rainy Day, or a Shameless Plug

So it’s a cold, rainy day, the third consecutive such day, and the children have been going a little stir crazy. It seems like the sunny days, they don’t want to play outside (not that they have a choice) and on the rainy days, all they want to do is play outside. Ah, the fickleness of children.

But all this rain has made me crave a cup of hot tea, a bowl of steaming chicken noodle soup, and a good book to curl up with, perferrably with one of my cats to warm my lap. Currently, I’m reading Charlotte Bronte’s The Professor for my next book club meeting.

If you’re looking for a little light reading, the Chicken Soup for the Soul series has two new books coming out this fall that feature a story from yours truly. Chicken Soup for the Soul: All in the Family (Oct. 20 release date) has heartwarming and humorous stories about families, while Chicken Soup for the Soul: Count Your Blessings (Nov. 3 release date) has stories about thankfulness in the face of adversity.

My family story centered around my experiences as a foster sister to the many foster children my parents took in over the years. I also shared our thankfulness for God’s provision after a huge tree nearly bisected our house during Hurricane Isabel.

So pull up a chair, pick up your favorite book, and sit back to enjoy a nice rainy day.

Death of a Book

I just received news from my publisher that they will not be reprinting Hired @ Home, which essentially means the book will officially go out of print and not be available for purchasing online or in bookstores.

Naturally, this news is very distressing to me, as writing a book is akin to giving birth. We plant the words on the page and water them sometimes with our tears, sometimes with our sweat. We carefully craft the flow of the book and send it off to the publisher to be transformed into something magical. We await with eager expectation the arrival of the book in printed form with high hopes that it will find its place in the world, that it will make many friends and find a good home in many lives. We follow its progress through the outside world. Will it find an audience? Will it succeed? Will those who read it find it inspiring and worthwhile?

Then the crushing news that, a mere 15 months after its arrival into the published world, the book is dead, a victim of rapid changes in Christian publishing and the retail world (according to the publisher). And you as the author are left with a choice: purchase the inventory and hope to somehow sell the copies yourself or let it pass into obscurity.

As of this post, I have no answers. I cherish the readers who have contacted me to say the book has made a difference in their lives. I still believe in Hired @ Home, but am mourning its death, at least as far as my publisher is concerned.

So I'm left with passing along the sad news to family and friends.

Until next time,

Sarah