...yet somehow I never manage to update my blog. Sorry 'bout that.
Well, here we are in the midst of the good ol' Memorial Day weekend. True to my word, I finished revisions on the synopsis for Egypt 2.0 (working title only, don't worry) and sent it back to Natalie "before the weekend." Alas, "before the weekend" ended up being 7:40 p.m., after she'd already left the office. Waah-waah-waaahhhhh.
Here's hoping NAL enjoys it. I am not expecting to make a sale from a partial novel and a 1900-word synopsis -- if it did happen, I'd take four poops and die -- but I am hoping for another encouraging rejection.
In the meantime, I am having a little bit of fun being dirt poor. Life is different, that's for sure. Before the recession, between my husband and myself we were making an extremely comfortable living. Now we have about sixteen dollars between the two of us (don't ask -- it's a very sore spot) and are fighting for unemployment insurance from the government. It's tiring, but it is making me resourceful. And it's making me feel awfully proud that I'm able to survive such tough times, too.
Part of my plan to survive is to put my vast collection of art supplies, amassed during my richer times, to work for me. I've begun practicing portraits and will soon be offering them on commission. Hopefully Craigslist will provide me with some cash for my art. At the same time, I'll be putting together an impromptu illustration portfolio and will begin pimping myself out to small presses to do cover art. Between portrait work and what I imagine will be an occasional job doing the odd book cover here and there, it should be enough to keep myself afloat until I can get a job at a book store again.
I'm working only about 8 hours per week at the zoo, on average, and while it's a great job, it's obviously not enough to keep me going. Unemployment insurance makes up for the rest, but just barely -- and it won't hold out forever. I've had to go without some things, too, such as health insurance. Yikes! Happily, the book store where I worked as a temp this past Christmas season has a couple of openings. It will be a week or two before I hear more about it, but it looks hopeful. Even if the openings never materialize after all, because of the way this particular company does business, openings at other store locations should form within a month or less.
So with a little luck, art will keep my head above water until I'm back at a book store. Then I'll be in the odd position of working two jobs at once again, but the zoo job is short, easy, and fun, so it doesn't really feel like work. ;)
Art won't feel like work, either. I come from a long line of artists, after all. It's in my blood.
Ohhh... Working in a bookstore would be like working in heaven. Unless it's like working in Disneyland which is fun until you realize the Happiest Place on Earth is now just work. Kind of disillusioning.
ReplyDeleteKeep your head up! Seattle is tough- the hubby and I lived there for six months a while back, but ended up moving so we could buy a house that wouldn't break the bank. It's a great place to live though!