Last couple of days the routine has been the same. Check my phone. Sit down to write. Check Amazon, save some books I would like to buy. Check GoodReads for more book ideas to put on the list. Check my email, received some job posts, read it through, you need at least two years of experience. Apply anyway. Get an email that the job post from yesterday, besides liking my resume decided to not move forward on the hiring process. Get up, check my phone again. Sit down to write.
My last couple of weeks after Creative Writing School has not been the greatest. I’ve been taking time to learn different things that could land me a job. A paying one. Nothing from real life was taught at school, subjects like business, how to marketing your books, or whatever you write(short stories, scripts, comic books), or finances in terms of, if you want to be a freelancer; which is probably going to happen with most of most us anyway, you have to know how to organize yourself and your time. Be precise and know your worth. Otherwise, people will pay you nothing to write a 300 page book, because they assume all it takes is for you to just sit down and write.
In my research about where do I go after online school, I was hit with the cruel reality of the lack of networking, the absence of experience, and lack of a mentor. The school told us, all along that we should have a mentor for difficult times, to get some kind of guidance. Yet they never guided us to one, and I have yet to find one. It’s not like I’m Creed or something, but I would like to have someone to train me. I reached out to the school career department, the advisor was nice and gave me a lot of links and tips on how to improve my resume. Very helpful, but I’m not the kind of person who waits around. After an empty day, thats what I like to call the day I don’t do anything at all, I decided to apply for some unpaid internships. At least I would spend my time learning something useful. Last week I got an email from GenM, offering me an opportunity for an apprenticeship, not paid, but I would learn a lot and be able to put those insights on my resume. I say, why not?
It usually takes a week for the placement positions, you choose what you would like to learn and work with, then they place you with a matching company. While you are waiting on a position, you can take small courses to get familiar with how writing marketing content works. A few days after applying, I received a call from my mentor and set up the hours I’m available to dedicate to my apprenticeship. We video chatted and talked about the business I would be helping with for a good 9 hours a week, I felt as excited as when I started school a couple of years ago. I don’t care about getting paid or not. I want to learn, I want someone to guide me, so I can follow the necessary steps. After all, I’m starting over, in a different career, after fourteen years of working in hotels.
The idea here is : You have to keep paddling, no matter how difficult it gets. It is easier said than done, but this time off working, I am able to pursue something other than the service industry. It has shown me that the struggle is real, that social media is not what it is cracked up to be. There are a lot of people who want to take advantage of you and your work. Some people want to teach you, and you have to be available to learn. I would rather work for free for a little while, learning, rather than spend another 60 grand on a masters school, and not be able to get a job because I don’t have experience outside the bubble. It is just like you have to keep coming back to the hamster wheel.
I also applied for Writers Work website. I’m still getting familiar with it and also taking some classes on how the site works. There is a list of website submissions, that you can send your work, and I’m going to start working on some pieces now. I’ll post an update on my progress next week.
Keep writing!
J.
