Am desperately sick of spending freezing weekends in dingy newsroom earning $12.36 per hour as news editor. Too much time spent away from spouse and children, and it’s minus 20 F. when I finish work. Want to resign from job and freelance, and earn lots of money while ensconced in the warmth of my home, with two daughters playing merrily near feet. Want a job that will allow me to travel to visit family in Australia at least once a year — preferably during Minnesotan winter.

Have ordered Secrets of a Freelance Writer: How to Make $85,000 a Year by Robert W. Bly from Amazon.com. I believe I can live on this annual income and support my travel habit.

March 2000:

Devour Bly’s book and believe all he says. Resign from job with spousal approval, with enough money to cover bills for a couple of months.

Enthusiastically design and print all my own business cards, letterheads and stationary. Buy thousands of stamps from post office for thousands of query letters. Have noticed, however, that the minute I sit down to write a query letter, something urgent, like changing baby’s diaper, needs utmost attention. Organize myself by stacking newly printed stationary tidily into filing cabinet. Spent time cleaning desk, and buying pens and paperclips. Also buy tons of women’s magazines — official market research.

April 2000:

Decide I must get serious about writing career with no income gained in March. Enthusiastically join hundreds of online writing lists. Become scared with professionalism of some groups so spend hours and days in more social groups. Feel panic-stricken at decreasing bank balance and spousal concern at lack of writing work. Treble efforts patroling online job markets.

May 2000:

Hurrah! Success – respond to online job for writers and editors, pass editing test and receive assignments: $ 700 per article and $30 per hour as editor.

June 2000:

Hurrah! Defy query guidelines listed in Writer’s Market for regional magazine such as querying by snail mail and waiting six weeks for response. Send e-mail query to editor asking if she wants to see travel piece. Editor replies immediately via e-mail. Sell article for for $400 first rights, payment on acceptance.

July 2000:

Wait for checks to arrive in the mail having earned over $2,500 last month. Wait some more and put account into overdraft, paying large sums in overdraft fees. Learn that cash flow is very important to fledgling small business. Also learn that it is very important to keep querying instead of resting on laurels, admiring achievements.

August 2000:

Checks begin to dribble in slowly. Articles get published online. Feel inspired to keep going, however no work. Children are home for the summer and time is limited for writing. Head lice breaks out in house, efforts to control infestation that will not quit consumes more time. Finally overcome problem, and sell article on beating Nix-resistant nits. Decide life’s little dramas are good writing fodder.

September 2000:

Children return to school, hurrah. House gets sold. No time to be a freelance writer as we pack and try to find somewhere to live. Hurrah, magazine with travel appears — my first “glossy”. Am immensely thrilled and feel famous.

October 2000:

Settle into new abode — children are lice-free; toddler is at childcare, recommence freelance writing career. Cold and flu season begins — children take turns at being ill over three-week period. Just as they are well, I get sick.

November 2000:

Hurrah! Magazine editor that published travel article calls and asks me to write monthly articles — only small piece but feel like a very minor celebrity, however a poor one.

December 2000:

No time for writing! Consumed with making arty-crafty gifts for arty-crafty inlaws. Seriously weigh up if freelancing is viable venture. Feeling very homesick and isolated as a work-at-home mother -- missing festive activities of work life. Decide, however, that working fulltime, and coordinating offspring between school and childcare, would be too difficult. Decide to get REALLY serious about writing as soon as new year rolls around. Heartened at year-end to discover I made a very small profit from writing endeavors.

January 2001:

Have lots and lots of ideas for queries and meticulously list them, research them, but seem to have no time to write actual queries. Realize I spend far too much time thinking about being a writer than actually writing. Realize that motivation is the only way to achieve writing success. Realize at times I am sadly lacking. However, do have regular magazine contribution and editing work so at least feel like I’m achieving something.

February 2001:

Dot.com editing gig folds in current economic climate. Sigh! Back to the resume, and trawling online job sites, and piles of query letters. Anxiously checking mailbox each day for checks owing from aforementioned dot.com to appear.

Realize I will have to work a lot harder if I want to travel to Australia this year. However, at least freezing cold nights are spent at home with offspring safely ensconced at feet.

Decide to make last-ditch attempt at writing. Set achievable goals — both writing and financial, and resolve to find a cure for procrastination — self discipline.