The first quarter of the year is done and dusted. How did we just get through three months of the year? I’m not ready for quarter two yet. The fact that we’re in April already is a scary thought for more than one reason, it’s birthday month, which means I’m year older and my son turns two. We share a birthday. It’s pretty awesome and annoying at the same time.

Did March go according to plan? Not exactly.

One of my goals was to send out pitches. And I did. Whilst I haven’t earned any money from them this month, April is looking good, so hopefully I’ll have more to report on the financial front then.

I applied for some writing jobs through Problogger and was surprised to get responses from a couple of them. I’ve written an article for one on health and fitness and am waiting for a response – feedback or payment would be nice. Another health & fitness site offered me a writing position but after responding to them for some clarification they went silent on me. I’ll follow up to ensure my email didn’t get lost in their junk mail.

One of my pitches was to a personal finance site, I received a response that at present they don’t pay writers but are happy to exchange guest posts. I’m definitely up for that. A little bit of cross promotion and writing for a different audience. Then, I never got a message back. Another follow up is in order. If I don’t get a response I’ll be moving on.

Why didn’t Lethal Aftershock get published you ask? Hmmm, well, in part budgetary constraints may have played a factor, exhaustion, a busy social calendar and mixing up priorities. Shit happens. I’m still on track to publishing 6 books this year. One down, five to go.

Freelancing By The Numbers

Queries sent: 21
Responses: 9 (38% response rate!)
Accepted: 4 (19% success rate!)
Follow ups: 0
Income: $0
Books sold: 3 (USA) – I haven’t done any promotion.
Free Books: 0
Income: $3.42
Total writing income: AUD$3.42

April Goals

April, my favourite month of the year. If things don’t happen in April then there’s a good chance I might slack off for the rest of the year. That’s not allowed. It’s time to shift gears and work smarter.

A) Publish Lethal Aftershock
B) Enter Lethal Instincts into KDP for a 90 day trial – use free promo on day 2 (2 days), and day 30 (1 day) and day 60 (2 days). The purpose of this is to get sign ups for my email list.
C) Send out as many pitches as possible – really push myself (I’d love it if writing paid for my Hawaii trip in September)
D) Clean up one of my blogs and figure out how to monetise it
E) Strike a balance between working and living. I spend way too much time working, really I do. My family is starting to notice. So in April I need to start being more present, more active. It’s about finding a balance and working smarter not harder.

I have a goal to sell/giveaway 10,000 books this year (my dream is to sell 100,000!). Want to help me out? Lethal Instincts is available for $1.99 and Lethal Disposal for $2.99. Buy Lethal Instincts, sign up for my reader email list and receive Lethal Disposal FREE! Plus regular updates and future freebies. Interested in being a beta read? I’ve currently got an opening for 5 beta readers – you need to enjoy the crime/thriller/mystery genre. Shoot me an email if you’re interested!

How did March treat you? Any big plans for April?