eCommerce, Fiction Writing & Freelancing

[BobbyPenzero]

I'm starting this thread in order to have something to look back on, to motivate me when I feel lazy, and to see how far I go, along with hopefully getting some input from people.

At the moment I have a terrible procrastination/laziness/time wasting problem. I currently freelance as a proofreader/editor, sell books and collectibles on Amazon and eBay, and this comes in at about £1000 a month. I live with my partner who works, and spend at least half of my whole day alone in my office, meaning that fortunately I have much time.

So I want to split my day up into focusing on the three things in the title: eCommerce, Fiction Writing & Freelancing.

eCommerce
Well, the first step is listing the possibly £1000's worth of used books and collectibles I have around the house on eBay. I've been putting this off for a long time, but I know that before I start bringing things in from overseas and looking to set up anything to do with eCommerce sites, that this has to be listed. Therefore, my goal at the moment is to get everything on that I have, and simply bulk sell/donate what doesn't sell. After that, I can start importing items in etc.

Fiction writing
When in the mood, I love writing things that people love to read - or at least, I will be publishing fiction on Kindle, simply. I have one short story that needs to be slightly revised, and then I can upload it to Kindle (around 5000 words long). My plan here is get up early in the morning, write 5-10 short stories and 2-3 larger novels, assess my situation and then explore markets and what sells more in-depth.

Freelancing
This is a trickier one. I've been proofreading and editing for 3-4 years now, and have done 0 marketing ever - everything has come from my feedback, word-of-mouth, and referrals. I have noticed that a majority of the services are either very expensive, slow to return documents, and some are downright awful. I really feel there's a need for a larger business, one where I could hire staff and outsource some of the work, but I've been procrastinating on this for a while because my mind is just like... well, what do I do? How do I get customers? What if it flops? This is something I know needs to be done though. Well, my first step here is simply going to be to get a website up, with copy, and create a simple marketing plan. We'll see where to go from there.

Well, that's my plans and goals for now. I sometimes feel I may be spreading myself a little thin, but I do have much time in the day if utilized correctly and not &*@#*ing wasted browsing and consuming info online. Any feedback is greatly appreciated, and I'll update as often as I can. Big first step - no more information online outside of this forum, and I'll also only check my emails three times a day (to beat this compulsive email-checking behavior, I'll use this: https://www.batchedinbox.com/ (not promotional! I only found it from clicking on, yes, a random article I saw on the net).

Thanks for reading!

P.S. I'll keep my own notebook updated with my progress weekly, with numbers and action taken, then update when possible.

 

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[BobbyPenzero]

E xiil epf e jemg ot qetv, tu vjuahjv O'f qutv e raodl aqfevi.

iDunnisdi
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Godvoup xsovoph
Jupitvmz? O tvomm jewi vu sixsovi qesvt ug epf ifov nz tjusv tvusz. Tisouat apjeqqz jisi, et jewi ciip tisouatmz mebz. Xomm neli e jecov.

Gsiimepdoph
Emvjuahj puv getvmepi epf piwis xomm ci, jewi siemmz tviqqif ov aq e miwim. Gudatif nusi, huv nusi vjopht fupi, epf caomv aq e fidipv enuapv op opduni uwis vji metv duaqmi ug xiilt, xjodj xomm ci tewif epf us atif gus uvjis qastaovt. Dep'v hiv nopf ug e gammz tiswodit catopitt xovj inqmuziit vjuahj.

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[BlueAtom]

Nz Edjommit jiim ot tvomm qsudsetvopevoup - O lpux vjopht moli Gedicuul epf djidloph wesouat voni xetvoph edvowovoit piif vu hu - epzupi lpux jux vu tiv aq e sifosidv vu duni vu vjot gusan og O giim moli csuxtoph? O'mm gopf e xez, et ov lodlt ni opvu hies. Ov't ciip civvis, cav ov't tvomm vjisi. O vjopl O piif vu katv 'tov' xjip 'cusif', vjip hiv cedl vu xusl optvief ug csuxtoph.

Opvisitvoph, O juqi ov emm xuslt uav gus zua. Et ges et vji qsudsetvopevoup, O vuu jewi jef vjot qsucmin. Pux O qmep e tqidogod tdjifami vu fu vjopht, ataemmz ev pohjv us iesmz op vji nuspoph, epf O sigseop gsun djidloph ineom/gedicuul us epzvjoph imti (apvom vji tdjifami ot dunqmivi). O tvesvoph xsovoph et ximm, epf O tiv e huem vu xsovi us ifov gus 1 juas. O moli tivvoph siemotvod huemt, ov jimqt ni ewuof qsudsetvopevoup civvis.