I write a lot about blog carnivals here because I participate in them regularly and also because I think that they are a great way to easily find links to new blogs on topics that are of interest to you. Usually I don’t write about my contributions to freelance writing blog carnivals on this blog because I post that information on my blog about writing, Real Words, instead.

However, I’m choosing to include one of those here because the blog carnival is a smart blog carnival called Cerebral Barbed Wire which covers a wide range of different topics like I do here on Diary of a Smart Chick. one of those topics is freelance writing which is where my post on 10 places to look for freelance writing jobs was included. The other post in this section was on Digg Tools.

The other topics covered in this blog carnival were:

• Business and Personal Finance (particularly on penny stocks and remarkability)
• The technology of solar power
• Food
• Health and wellness – including overcoming fear

Interesting range of topics here!

Tags: best blogs, blog carnival, blogs, business, freelance, freelance writing, kathryn vercillo, real words, writing

This isn’t the only blog that I write. I also write a few other blogs including Real Words which is my blog all about freelance writing and what it’s like being a web writer for a living. I recently added a post over there that’s all about the things that I do as a web writer that ultimately probably end up being a waste of money. For example, I often over-pay postage on things that I’m mailing out so that I don’t have to go to the post office and weigh out my packages.

You may be thinking that it’s not possible that I waste all that much money on extra stamps. You’re right. I don’t mail things out for work all that often and I probably waste less than a dollar each time. But isn’t it these little things that ultimately end up leading to a whole lot of wasted money in our lives?

A great example of small bits of wasted money that add up quickly is the grocery store trip. I often purchase a pack of gum or a bottle of water that I don’t need or a snack for the walk home when I could just wait and actually eat what I went to the store to buy. Again, I’m only spending one or two dollars on these things but I go to the grocery store four or five times a week which means I’m wasting $20 or more on these little things each month which would add up to a nice chunk of change if I saved it all over the course of a year.

And that’s just one area of a bit of wasted money here and there. There are a lot of other little ways in which I waste amounts of money that seem trivial at the time but then they add up. These are the things we need to be aware of if we want to have a savings at the end of the year!

Tags: Frugal Living, kathryn vercillo, money tips, Personal Finance, real words, save money, spend money, spending, waste money

I just finished penning a post over at Real Words about how difficult it can sometimes be to figure out how to work time for personal creative writing projects into your work day when you’re already a full time writer. This got me thinking about the bigger issue of time management for writers and freelancers.

People often think that I have a cushy job which allows me to work from home kind of puttering around and playing on my computer. While it is true that I have a cushy job that lets me work from home on my computer, the reality is that I do anything but putter around. In fact, I’m fairly certain that I put in far more hours of actual work time than do my counterparts in cubicles who have coffee breaks and time to surf the web for reasons that aren’t related to work.

As a freelance web writer, I am always online and every single minute that I spend online is related to my work. Even when I’m just on one of my social networking sites, I’m usually promoting some of my writing or connecting with other web writers or otherwise doing something that’s somewhat related to my writing work. Sometimes I really can’t even tell when my work day ends and the rest of my life begins. It just kind of blends.

For the most part, I like this blending. But there are days when I feel like I’m always at work. It helps to take full days off each week and to make one of those days a computer-free day. This allows me downtime to actually just be with myself and to think about where my time goes and where I want it to go in the week to come. I think freelance writers are always struggling a bit with their time and time management. What do you think?

Tags: creative projects, kathryn vercillo, real words, time management, web writing, writing

People who are concerned about green issues may wonder if there is any area of their life which they haven’t gotten green enough with yet. Even if you’re really eco-friendly in your home, you can probably find new areas for green improvements. Maybe one of those areas is in your reading. Are you a green reader?

Here are some tips for getting greener with your reading:

• Buy or borrow used books instead of buying new books.
• Recycle or re-gift your or books instead of throwing them away.
• Treat all books kindly so that they last a long time.
• Use damaged books to create cool book art.
• Support writers and publishers who are green in their work.
• Always use recycled wrapping paper and shipping materials when sending books as gifts.
• Purchase eco-friendly reading glasses if reading glasses are something you need.
• Use low-energy reading lights with eco-friendly light bulbs in them.
• Always use eco-friendly transportation when going to bookstores or literary events.
• Read more about green issues so that you’re on top of being green.

Did I miss any important green reading tips here? What would you do to be a greener reader?

Tags: books, eco-friendly, environment, green, green issues, green reading, kathryn vercillo, readers, real words, writers

I wrote an article earlier today over at my Real Words blog all about how I’ve seen a recent shift in the way that my online social networking communication is taking place. In the past, I’ve had two types of connections online. First, there were my friends in real life who I chatted about normal stuff with on sites like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter. And then there were people who I know only from online who would add me to those sites just to send me links to their online work.

What I’ve noticed recently is that more and more people on these sites are truly interested in starting real conversations. The line between my real life friends and my online friends is starting to blur. People I don’t know are asking me how my day is going and responding to my general status updates. They are inviting me to meet them in the real world or at least expressing an interest in knowing what my real world is like.

At the same time, my real world friendships are getting closer as a result of staying more frequently updated with everyone’s activities online. I know that this revelation isn’t new – many people have experienced this with online social networking. But I still sense an even greater shift in this going on right now, at least in my own life, and I’m excited to see how it develops.

Tags: communication, friendship, kathryn vercillo, online networking, real words, Social Networking, writing

Diary of a Smart Chick is certainly a diary of sorts. It’s a place where I think about my writing that I’m doing elsewhere on the web and add some insight to it and share it with others. But it’s not the only diary that I keep. I also keep a daily diary (or journal, rather) in my personal life. I’ve kept a diary off and on since I was about ten and it’s something that I do consistently now because I think it’s a really important part of my life.

For me, the journal is a place where I can get every single thought out of my head. I write in it every morning whether I am feeling happy or sad, sick or well. I write down what I’m feeling and what I’m thinking and what I’m going to do that day and what I’m worried about and what I’m excited about and what I don’t want to really write about.

Doing this allows that stuff to get on to the page where it can be processed. This means it’s not bouncing around inside of my brain anymore. The fact that it clears some peace of mind for me means that I can then go about my day without so much worry about those thoughts. I can make smart choices about how to handle problems. I can relax. I can be creative.

I believe that keeping a journal is something that is particularly important for writers. However, I think it’s a tool that anyone can (and should) use to get some peace of mind in their daily lives. It’s a way to understand yourself better. Plus keeping the commitment to write down your thoughts daily shows yourself that you value those thoughts and emotions which can go a long way towards living an emotionally healthy life.

Tags: diary, journal, kathryn vercillo, real words, writing

I believe that it’s important for every single person who does freelance work to be intelligent. Specifically, it is important for freelancers to develop their knowledge in all areas of business and marketing. Those people who are good at a creative craft like (writing or graphic design) but who don’t develop their smarts in business aren’t going to make it long in their freelance careers. But those who do develop both their creativity and their business sense can have long-lasting creative careers that are fulfilling both emotionally and financially.

One of the things that freelancers have to figure out in terms of their business is how to set the rates for their work. Some of this is depended by the market but a lot of it really depends upon your own ability as a freelancer to do some research, set some goals and work towards making the kind of income that you want to make while doing what you love. You can learn more about my recent thoughts on this from my post on Figuring Out Your Writing Rates which includes links to some other smart blogs on the same topic.

Tags: business, freelance, freelance rates, freelance writing, kathryn vercillo, money, Personal Finance, real words, self-employment

Have you ever seen that old movie Threesome from the 1990′s? There are a few things that stand out in my memory about that movie, the most notable of which is the way that the girl in that movie got completely turned on by big words. She liked to have big words read to her in a sexy voice so she could get all hot and bothered. Now, that’s not everyone’s thing, but it’s something that comes to mind every now and then when I think of the romance of libraries and old books.

I wouldn’t say that I get turned on by old books. But they definitely conjure up something romantic. That smell of browsing through a bookstore just brings so many stories into your mind, stories about the people who have been in that bookstore before you and the books that they read and the passions that they explored in their lives.

A lot of people feel this way which is probably why there is a library-scented perfume on the market. Again, not for everyone, but certainly for some people. Don’t you think?

Tags: books, kathryn vercillo, library, perfume, real words, writer, writing