Posts Tagged "freelance writing"

What’s Stopping Me?

Posted by cafebebemama on Apr 27, 2010 in Motherhood | 27 comments

Today started out so well…a visit to the physio for new exercises to help my Mummy Tummy, a great walk with our best mates & play time for the girls in the garden under the Spring sun.  Then we came home.  I should have stayed out!  Little Miss wouldn’t go to sleep and she desperately needed it.  2 episodes of “Show Me Show Me” (thank God for BT Vision recordings) later and she still wasn’t asleep!  I was reduced to rocking her to sleep again after a bit of screaming (her…not me) and then I had quiet.

Where it all went wrong was with my email accounts and my blog.  I’m having my usual wobble…wondering where the visitors are and wondering if I’m good enough.  I’m trying to expand my freelance writing “career” and am working with some amazing people and PR companies but THEY TAKE FOREVER TO RETURN EMAILS!  I know, I know…who am I?  A stay-at-home-mummy who plays in the sandbox, makes slightly interesting meals and spends the day speaking to a nearly-2-year old.  I’m no high-flying client with needs and demands.  I’m no FREELANCE JOURNALIST with connections and power.  I’m just me.  But I’d really like to have a return email please and thank you so I can get along with my plans for world domination.

I’d like to take my freelance writing career further.  I’d like to work with PR’s and companies on blogs and posts which will promote their products and causes.  I’d like to be PAID for my work.  Is that too much to ask?  I need some advice…what is stopping me?  Am I too sensitive?  Don’t answer that, I might cry!  Am I not a good enough writer?  Am I not ruthless enough?  Do I not have the right connections?  Do I need to get a better laptop?  (GOD YES!)  I would love some advice from other freelancers and writers who have been able to MAKE IT.  Shall I give you my career goals so you can help me better?  OK then…

• Cafe Bebe- I always want to keep my lovely blog.  It’s my second baby…I spend a LOT of time on it and love it dearly even if not everyone else loves it the same.  I’d love for someone to want to advertise on it and pay me to do so.  Bidding is now open!
• Freelance Writing- I want to continue my Expat Magazine contributions (FREE) and my Parenting Page contribution to our local, monthly glossy mag (PAID).  I want to continue my sporadic reviewing for MadeForMums which has given me a great deal of experience writing reviews (PAID).  I would LOVE to continue to work with various PR companies to support clients of theirs through sponsored posts and/or special blogs.  I would LOVE to work with these PR’s to help them learn about Parent Bloggers and what we like/want/need.  I would LOVE to contribute to parenting magazine blogs.  I would LOVE to pitch stories to national parenting magazines and be commissioned to write them.  Of course, all of these things would be PAID.
• Now if I could just have a little bit of childcare to accompany all of these things then I could really get there!

I need advice on the items above.  What do you recommend?  How do I make these dreams a reality?  What’s stopping me?  What action can I take?  Do I have what it takes?  I would greatly appreciate any freelance/blogging advice that you’d like to share.  When I’m writing my memoires, I’ll be sure to thank you in the foreward!

All Change in 2010

Posted by cafebebemama on Jan 11, 2010 in Blogger Love, Judith's Room, Motherhood | 16 comments

Time for a change

Well, we are two weeks into 2010 and already I’m rearranging!  Friends and family who know me well, know that I can’t stand to look at anything the same for too long.  I frequently change the furniture arrangement in our lounge, particularly for the seasons.  In the Spring and Summer it’s all about the out of doors so the furniture shifts to the back of the lounge by the patio doors.  In the Autumn and Winter it’s all about the HEAT from the only heat source in our lounge, the fireplace.  Every three months or so, I dutifully shuffle everything to different places, reorganise and enjoy the change of view.  Hubby comes home from work and says “Oh no!”  It’s a good thing that no one in our immediate family is visually impaired; I’d be messing with their minds on a regular basis.

I started blogging in June of 2009 and quickly got involved in product reviewing in addition to blogging.  Never satisfied, I finally ended up with Café Bébé as it is today- a self-hosted, WordPress blog about my life as a Mummy and some of the brilliant things we have been fortunate enough to do and receive.  The product reviewing quickly took over as the primary focus for me which is why the main address site (www.cafebebe.co.uk) became Reviews at Café Bébé.  However, recently, I’ve begun to regret that decision.  Joining groups like Judith’s Room and focusing more on my dream of freelance writing has allowed me to see that the most important aspect of Café Bébé is the writing.  My writing has slowed down because I have overstretched myself…I need to focus on what I do best.

I’ve also seen a turn in the way that product reviewing is going in the blogging world.  I want to be seen as a Mummy Blogger and Freelance Writer, not a product reviewer.  I won’t claim to be perfect, by any means, however.  I have used my Just Ask philosophy to get a lot of things that we never would have had access to.  Little Miss’ clothing and belongings have increased dramatically this past year and that’s lovely as we are on a very limited income.  But, I’ve come to realise that if people want me to review their products, they’ll come to me (If I build it, they will come).  I shouldn’t need to be knocking down anyone else’s doors.  I don’t want to give Mummy Blogging a bad name and for me, I’ve never wanted to make a career out of product reviewing; I’ve wanted to make a career out of writing.

So, hopefully, as of Tuesday 12 January (if my host technical support team can sort me out), Café Bébé will become a solo blog with a few pages, multiple categories and will primarily be about the writing.  I have integrated my product reviews into the blog under the PRODUCT REVIEWS category (strangely enough) so they are still there in their original form.  I have a few reviews yet to publish for products that I have received in the last few months and I will continue to review products if I am approached or if something happens to fall in my lap.  I have the joy of continuing to review products at The Great Toy Guide , Living with Kids, and Mummy Reviews in addition to my commissioned reviews for MadeForMums website (as long as all of them continue to have me).  Let me know your thoughts about product reviews?  Do you do them?  Are you regularly approached?  If you don’t do them, why not?  I’ve really enjoyed the fun of receiving products and the challenge of writing about them in a constructive way but I really think it’s time for a fresh start in 2010.

I welcome your comments as well as critiques.  And of course, please let me know if you have any problems accessing anything on Café Bébé.  Thank you for your support and here’s to a brilliant year!

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The Cafe Bebe Year in Review

Posted by cafebebemama on Dec 30, 2009 in American Mum Me, Blogger Love, Little Miss Adventures, Motherhood | 18 comments

Look what I can do Mummy!

2009 has been a pretty amazing year for our family so it’s time for the Cafe Bebe Year in Review.  Little Miss turned 1, Hubby got a promotion, pay rise and company car at his work and Mummy has accomplished a fair few things as well.  As everyone and their sister are doing Year in Review montages, I thought I would join the fray with my own.  I feel a bit weird about bragging but what the hell…it’s ok once a year, isn’t it?

• Little Miss managed to start crawling in March (9 months) and walking in April (10 months)- she doesn’t waste time.  Mummy was instantly catapulted to a newfound sense of panic and worry as I could no longer leave her in one place and count on her being there a few seconds later.  Along with the massive physical achievements, Little Miss has become ridiculously verbal using words like “tasty”, “delicious” and “amazing” (thank you Cbeebies) in addition to other not as acceptable words like “crap”, “stop it”, “naughty” and “silly” and my personal favourite, “No Mummy”.  However, she is extremely adept at using “please”, “thank you” and ” ‘cuse me” in addition to “pardon me” after she toots!  What a delightful girl we have in our lives.
• Daddy/Hubby has managed to thoroughly win over his daughter to the extent that I now readily hear “No Mummy” from Little Miss when it comes time for baths or if I manage to get a lie in and then enter the lounge some time later.  Unfortunately, Mummy is still the only one who will do in the middle of the night.  It really is wonderful, though, to see Little Miss loving her Daddy and how much he adores her.  I even let them out together, WITHOUT ME, once in a while!  How brave am I?  On the work front, Hubby has continued to slog away at a job he doesn’t love so that I can stay home and raise our daughter and for that I am eternally grateful.  We are hoping, in the new year, that things calm down a bit with work so that Hubby can get some of his own personal time.  We both need to get our asses in gear for 2010.
• My family is lovely and wonderful and have accomplished a lot in their own right!  My Dad and Step-Mum travelled with my Grandmother (who, at the age of 83, had never been out of the US) to visit us here in England.  It was a wonderful, albeit short, visit which was inspiring on many levels.  My Mum travelled to spend Little Miss’ birthday with us in June and had a great time bonding with her granddaughter.  She misses her a lot…thank you Skype!  My brother managed to get married, FINALLY, to a lovely girl who can properly kick his ass as she’s a black belt in Tae-Kwon Do!  You go girl.  They have a very blended and loving family and it was amazing to share their wedding and celebrations with them in America in October.  My youngest Stepbrother is engaged to his long-time love and they’ve set a date for August 2010 at our family cottage…I am very jealous but excessively happy for them.  My sister-in-law and her family have moved from Singapore to Melbourne, Australia…as if Singapore wasn’t far enough?!  We’d love to visit but I doubt budget will ever allow for it.  Still, we miss you and love that you’re loving where you live.  Now if I could just get Qantas to sponsor a travel blog post…  Otherwise, on the whole everyone in my family is healthy and mostly happy so what more could you wish for?

Now for a little bit about my year…I don’t think you’ll need a bucket but you might…it’s been a rather good year for me!

• I found an amazing group of Mummies and Babies with whom we did classes, coffee mornings, play dates and Mummies-Nites-Off.  We haven’t been able to get together as much in December but I’m hoping that will get better in 2010.
• I began blogging in June 2009 on Blogger and joined British Mummy Bloggers at the same time.  Wow…what a difference a GROUP makes!  My Blogger Cafe Bebe, transfered into a Webs.com Cafe Bebe and finally a self-hosted Cafe Bebe in August…I’m never satisfied.  In addition to Blogging and BMB, I joined Twitter in August and thus began a new addiction, many new contacts and ways to promote my blog and many hours of support and distraction.  I love my Twitter mates!
• I had the opporunity, in July, to test the EA Sports Active Personal Trainer Programme thanks to Kim Hong and Fleishman-Hillard PR.  What a brilliant programme!  I plan on getting my bum in gear with it beginning next week.  But the connection with Kim has been fantastic and allowed me opportunities that I’d never dreamed of.  I’ve been on board the Pampers/UNICEF campaign for Tetanus Vaccines along with an amazing group of Bloggers from England and Ireland.  We got to meet the actress Natascha McElhone and were treated to a presentation and meal that made all of us feel rather special.  Thanks Kim & Fleishman-Hillard (and Pampers/UNICEF).  I’m looking forward to other fab campaigns in 2010 and more trips to London!  Little Miss and I are becoming very adept at tackling London Transport.
• My first chance to receive, test and review products came thanks to BMB & Silver Cross when I was gifted with the Silver Cross Halo pushchair and Doodle highchair.  What magnificent products!  Thanks Silver Cross…we quite love you.  This opportunity lit a fire and I went on a flurry of testing and reviewing products.  I was able to get “on the books” of MadeForMums as a PAID reviewer and have finally settled on the specialty of PUSHCHAIRS!  I love pushchairs…I can spot and identify them from a mile away!  Then came the brilliant The Great Toy Guide where I have been able to review some lovely items AND attend a special launch of The WotWots at London Zoo.  Amazing!  We got to meet the Milkshake presenters, WotWots creator Martyn Bainton and UK Television legend Nicholas Parsons in addition to seeing fabulous animals.  The lovely Liz at Living with Kids has also taken me into her ranks for The Mums Test where we review more brilliant products and share our opinion.  I’ve also made a great blogging friend in Claire at Mummy Reviews who has graciously added me to her team of Mummy Reviewers.  Watch this site for some great reviews in 2010.  Thanks to these opportunities and my blog being noticed by a few more people, I have had a few PR’s contact me directly to review products.  It’s been interesting for certain and has allowed Little Miss to have some pretty lovely items.  Thanks so much to everyone who’s added to our family life!
• I’ve been wanting to embark on a Freelance Writing career for some time now.  I don’t want to be some power-hungry, world-travelling freelance journalist with a bullet-proof vest and submissions sent from the Middle East but I would like the chance to share a bit of what I know:  being a Mummy and being an American Expat (sometimes the two go together!).  After some amazingly successful coaching from the delightful Peggy at Perfectly Happy Mum (blog post to follow early in 2010) I have managed to write 2 articles about being an American Mum in the UK for The American and American in Britain.  The first, for American in Britain, will appear in the January issue and the article for The American will appear in the February issue.  These assignments were for free but hey, you have to start somewhere.  On a high from that achievement, I have successfully been COMMISSIONED (i.e. PAY) to write at least 3 months of Parenting Pages for Stamford Living magazine beginning with the February issue.  It’s a monthy, local glossy magazine but, again, is a START!  I’m now planning to conquer some form of American media with my American Expat-ness.  I’ll keep you posted on my progress.  Peggy showed me that there’s no reason why I can’t make it happen!  I’ve just got to break it down into bite size pieces and whammo…you might just achieve your dreams.  Watch this space, in other words.  Feel free to contact me if you’d like to commission me to write an article for you!

Enough about me!  It’s been a rather good year with the exception of a massive lack of funds to do what we’d like to do but here’s hoping that some better budgeting and potential additional income from my writing will make 2010 that much better on that front.  I’d like to thank a few people who have made my blogging, writing and online presence possible:

• Claire at The Bump Wear Project, Liz at Violet Posy and Natalie at Bambino Goodies were instrumental in helping me to get my blog(s) up and running and looking gorgeous (if I do say so myself).  They are all lovely ladies and very inspirational to me as well.
• Bloggers who inspire and amaze me:  Claire at Being a Mummy, Sandy at Baby Baby, Amy at And 1 More Means Four, Josie at Sleep is for the Weak, Sally at Who’s the Mummy, Sian at Yummy Mummy Tips, Peggy at Perfectly Happy Mum, Emily at Maternal Tales from the South Coast and Susanna at A Modern Mother.  You ladies blog with consistent brilliance and I have learned a great deal from you.  Thanks for blazing a trail.
• My husband.  I’ve become increasingly unavailable to him in the evenings as it’s my one chance to write uninterrupted.  He avoids computers like the plague and had never once read my blog but he indulges me my new passion and encourages me to find what I need to be ME.  Thank you sweetheart, for letting me find my inner writer.  It’s brought us a lot of great things…here’s to even more in 2010
• My readers…I know some of you and don’t know more of you but thank you for tuning in regularly to my little tales and funnies.  I hope that I keep your interest any maybe even inspire you once in a great while.  I hope I will continue to provide you with good reading material in the new year.

And so comes the end of 2009.  I wish health, happiness, success and wealth for all of you in the new year.  Please share your successes with me…you know I’ll share mine!  Thanks for tuning in regularly.  See you next year!