This Thing Called Pinterest

I admit it.  I am an Online Dinosaur.

I am so behind with the times when it comes to setting up my online accounts.  After returning to my blog, I realized how much has changed in the layout.  I have not begun to make changes.  Most of the time, I don't understand most of this stuff.  But, the kids certainly do.

But what I find interesting is Pinterest.  I actually signed up for it because I could not resist all of the big, colorful photographs.  I can look at these photographs and get ideas for stories.  Very colorful and entertaining.  Today, I actually got a follower, and I don't even have anything posted.  I know people would tell me that they "pinned" some of my stuff, but I never followed up on it.  So I followed this guy just to see what he was all about.  He calls himself an "aging hippie."  I thought that was interesting because I missed becoming a hippie by a few years.

Don't laugh, but I signed up for Twitter, but I don't even Tweet.  My phone is a basic.  I don't think you can use it to Tweet.  Could it be safe to say that when it comes to Twitter, I've remained a Twit?

LOL!

Anyway, this is where I am at right now.  I will take advantage of getting to know Pinterest a little better.  Why not?

Since my HubPages account is dumping, I've been deleting files or tweaking stories to republish or move somewhere else.  I've been doing this since last weekend, and I think I'll be done by the end of the week.  It's not that I have completely given up, but since I have reached my goals as far as HubPages goes, I am free to pursue other online sites.  Their new Zzz program makes it easy for writers to wander because it puts our Hubs on autopilot.  All I need to do is check in and make changes to any Zzz.

I can't stick to just one site.  HubPages is not the only game in town.  I began with Helium and quit that.  HubPages, I'm leaving open, but I don't give it much in terms of life right now.  I'm not here to analyze Google like a lot of these writers do.  I am not willing to waste my time.

Let's just say that in that department, ignorance is bliss.  At the same time, I'm not putting all of my efforts into HubPages.  That is just not common sense.

Sooooooo, let's learn about Pinterest and take advantage of its goodies.  Why not?  It's a start!  Even for an Online Dinosaur like me!
     

Oh, Help Me! I'm Melting on HubPages!

Despite all the changes, I still have my HubPages account.  According to my stats, I have been with this site for 15 months.

Okay, so I received my first payout in March.  Let me tell you.  Things looked so promising. 

"Things will look better after the Labor Day holiday.  This is when all the kids go back to school."

I suppose.  Being childless, that would not apply to me.  I am always looking for a good read.  If I don't find it online, I'm going to Barnes and Noble to support the publishing industry.  I cannot wait on Amazon.  I buy magazines and books.  I give my permission to buy anything I want because I am retired. 

I am Maxine.  I don't kiss ass, and I don't have the time to take crap.  I have come to a point in my life where all I want is a good read.  And may with some photographs and videos thrown in.  I'm not that hard to please.

Anyway, I have done everything to my Hubs.  Sure, I've complained and dug my heels in.  I've joined their Forums and had tantrums with all the others who decided to complain.  But I complain because I have done everything.  I even updated my profile.  Do I like my new profile?  Yes, I do.  I love my new profile.  I also look at my account every morning for the Zzz's.  So far, only two.  Fixed one and unpublished the other.

As I watch my HubPages flock, I realize that this in not what you call earning passive income because you are still working on your Hubs.

So what is a girl to do?  I decided to write a WTI each week because the titles are already there and search engine friendly.  Isn't that a no-brainer?  I can go for that because I am so lazy!

Unfortunately, there is no sign of a WTI this week, so I guess I will be waiting for next Monday or Tuesday for a new topic.  When I write a WTI, I need to complete and publish one by Wednesday.  Thursday at the latest.  Otherwise, I'm off to do something else.

I check in on my flock because it seems like the new Zzz program allows me to keep my account on autopilot.  I can wander off, but still check in.  There has been a lot of complaints about Zzz, but like all the changes and upcoming changes, there's nothing I can do about it.  My traffic stays at a constant 130 most of the time.  It goes up.  It goes down.  I get little red Christmas trees and upside down blue ones. 

The best thing I can do right now is check in.  Check out.  I am retired.  I don't rely on payouts so that I can eat and pay bills.

What a sad, sad situation if I did!

I still value my account, but since I got my 230 Hubs down to about 101, I won't write as much as I used to. I'll write and unpublish to keep my Hubs down to less than about 120.  I don't want to reach the 230 point again.  I don't envy anyone with a lot of Hubs.  It is so hard to keep track of the flock, and when you have to hack and tweak, you're better off with a manageable number.

Also, the Zzz program allows me to work on other writing projects because it gives me the heads up to check in.  I like writing fresh articles.  I have yet to rewrite my unpublished Hubs so that they can be used elsewhere.  To be honest, all of them put me to sleep, and I'm not motivated to do anything with them.

Zzzzzz.        

Kinda Late Update

I finished my goal with HubPages.  I actually lasted one year and received my first payout in March.

I'm testing Wizzley right now.

So my goal is to spend a year on Wizzley and see what it's all about.  But I do like the site because I don't have to deal with the noise at HubPages.  By noise, I mean that HubPages spends a lot of time as a social networking site, and wants participation.

I don't want to participate.  I just want to write without distractions.  Many back-to-back changes at HubPages.  And now, I have no interest in Hub Hopping because they changed that, too.  So what I plan to do is write a weekly WTI (Weekly Topic Inspiration), but only if the theme interests me.  HubPages pushes beginning writers.  I'm no beginning writer, so as a friend told me, "I've outgrown HubPages."  Which is true for her because she now writes full-time.

My situation is different.  I am retired and have other interests.  I like to write, but don't necessarily need to make money at it.  Being retired and a writer frees me from the stress of having to make money so that I can eat and pay my bills.

So, after taking a break from the writing for three months (I only published three articles in that time period), I am back to writing.  I am looking at an article published before Wednesday.  Possibly two or three more by the time the week is over.  I think that's a fair schedule for me.

I am looking at surgery next month, and I will probably be spending about two months at home.  I can't make any excuses when it comes to the writing.  Sticking close to home, I'd better do some writing.

And maybe clean house a little better???  

Here and There

I have been away from my blog for so long that I forgot how to post!

I have been writing for HubPages for 9 months, now.  I received my first payout, and am very excited about it.  I am still slowly learning the ropes when it comes to online writing.  I will be a student for a very long time.

January 2012, I was given an assignment as a CBS Channel 13 Blogger and interviewed 10 people that I know.  I also photographed them for this assignment.  The last of my interviews, “Greg” will end this coming Monday.  Don’t tell anyone, but I enjoyed interviewing Greg because he loved talking about his Harley Davidson Trike.  I would have taken him up on his offer to ride it, but I was wearing slides that day.  If I were wearing boots, I would have gladly jumped on for a ride.  Check out cbssacramento.com/autos.  You may catch Greg and the nine others who were kind enough to be interviewed.

My article, “My Dear Watson,” has been published online.  Check out: www.thriveinlife.ca/thrive/index.php/my-dear-watson/ 

 

Watson is about 11 years old, now.  He is our rescue beagle, and we are so glad that he is part of our family.  He is still stubborn and usually has his way.  They say dogs reflect their masters, so it looks like I’ve been in trouble since the get-go.

While learning about online writing, I am avoiding putting all my eggs in one basket when it comes to writing.  I am back to writing my novel.  And since I am retired, I have made a vow to just right and not follow some deadline.  I also bought a 2012 Writer’s Market and have been reading the magazines which deal with writing. 

February 2012 marks my 10^th year of retirement.  I’m hoping to spend more of my retirement getting focused on my writing.  It is my #1 passion.

I also started making YouTube videos under ThenSheRetired.  I love making them and have no problem getting in front of the camera.  Yes, I am a ham from way back.

No problema!

Why I Don't Make Fun of Basket Weavers

Why I Don't Make Fun of Basket Weavers

Escape to HubPages

I've been writing for HubPages and have been putting most of my efforts into learning more about online writing. On September 1, 2011, I set a goal to write 30 Hubs in 30 Days.  I completed this challenge on September 15, 2011, but continue to write.  On the average, I've been writing about 2,000+ words a day, so I have no excuse but to start my novel.  I can do it.

There is it there!  It's in writing, so I can't back down!

Hubpages: Deadlines, Distractions and Hub #101

Hubpages: Deadlines, Distractions and Hub #101

Whatcha Doing Right Now? Vote for SheRetired!

Whoop, whoop, whoop!!!  WooHoo!!!

My blog, SheRetired.blogspot.com, been nominated as a finalist for this year's CBS Sacramento Most Valuable Blogger Award.

So what are you doing every day until the September 9, 2011 deadline?  Voting for SheRetired, of course! 

Here's where you can vote:

http://sacramento.blogger.cbslocal.com/most-valuable-blogger/vote/misc 

SheRetired is listed under the Miscellaneous Blog Section.

Many, many thanks!

Arlene

Vote for SheRetired!

Sacramento Historic Rose Garden: Deadheading at Dusk

As a retiree, the Historic Rose Garden is my most favorite place in Sacramento.  This piece of unlikely Sacramento paradise is a rewarding way to put in some volunteer hours.

   

Why should one volunteer for this place?  Well, it’s not just your average cemetery.  As part of the Sacramento Historic Cemetery, the Historic Rose Garden serves as a museum, a park and a place to socialize.  I’ve seen people meet for a date, eat bagged lunches, look for long lost relatives, and tend to gravesites.  Birders, tourists, bicyclists, and walkers also find a way to enjoy this popular location. 

The Historic Rose Garden dates back to the California Gold Rush and attracts visitors from all over the world.  A recent cover story, “Sacramento’s Bucket List, 99 Ways to Embrace the City’s Retro Roots,” appears in the Sacramento News & Review and lists the cemetery and rose garden as the #18 must see place in Sacramento to visit.  In the years I have volunteered here, I’ve been attracted to the roses, headstones, architecture, its history, and the Sacramento movers and shakers (well, they no longer moving and shaking if you ask me) who are buried here.  As a Farm Girl, I appreciate the rich soil, and since I like playing in the good, fertile dirt, I will volunteer to plant roses whenever they are available.

The all-volunteer Historic Rose Garden crew is led by manager and Master Gardener Anita Clevenger and rosarian Barbara Oliva.  The two women are a wealth of information when it comes to the Historic Rose Garden and the subject of gardening.   

Anita and Barbara can also tell you stories about the roses, rose rustling and how these particular roses ended up at the cemetery.  There’s the Broadway bed, other beds and acres of antique roses.    Anita and Barbara can give you the common and scientific names of each rose.  Ask Anita where a specific rose is, and she can tell you.  Barbara can point you to the plots.  Barbara tells you that if you can figure out which direction North faces, you won’t have any problems navigating the cemetery.

Even with a map, verbal directions and sunlight or a flashlight to guide me, I still get lost.

The mild summer weather has allowed volunteers to meet over the summer in the form of an event called “Deadheading at Dusk”.  Anyone is welcome to help out with deadheading roses, weeding and other tasks.  No skills are required.  If you have basic gardening tools like clippers, gloves and a common 5-gallon plastic bucket, bring them.  Wear comfortable shoes and clothing that you would wear for gardening.  Anita trains volunteers on the art of deadheading roses and provides gardening tools as needed.

If you are new to gardening or want to know more about roses, the Historic Rose Garden is a wonderful place for socializing with people who share the same interests.  As a group, the volunteers freely share their knowledge and love for roses.

The next and last “Deadheading at Dusk” event is scheduled for August 8 and begins at 6 p.m.  Volunteers are encouraged to slide into other events and fundraisers (www.oldcitycemetery.com or www.cemeteryrose.org) for the remainder of the year.

The popular “Lantern Tours” is the cemetery’s major annual fundraiser and will be held October 21, 22, 28, and 29.         

Spinning into Retirement

My article, "Spinning into Retirement," appears in the Fall 2011 issue of the Conference of Northern California Handweavers (www.cnch.org) online newsletter known as CNCH.net.  The piece is about my retirement and the art of spinning.  CNCH represents the guilds of Northern California, and I am a member of the Sacramento Weavers and Spinners Guild.  

The Sacramento News and Review Newsstand Art Project

I am your classic Red Personality and find beauty in almost anything.  I love the bright, tropical colors found in Hawaii, the scenery, Hawaiian shirts, pineapples, and that all-around happy feeling you get when visiting Hawaii.  The natives are friendly, and I'm usually called "Island Girl" or "Princess" whenever I'm there.  Paradise!

It all began with crushing aluminum cans and attending a recycling seminar when I was in junior high.  I have been recycling items for 35 years.

So, fast forward to 2011.  For months, the Sacramento News & Review  (SN&R) has been putting ads in their publication picturing their Newsstand Art Project.  Their goal is “Making News Beautiful”.   They have 600 newsstands available for local artists to design.  After completion, the newsstands will be put to work somewhere in the Sacramento area.

More than anything else, I consider myself a writer.  After decades of Writer’s Block, I’ve returned to writing as my #1 passion in life.  I have always been a highly creative person, but in order to create, I need to pursue activities other than writing.  I love to draw and paint.  As a photographer, I’ve been told that I have “the eye”.  These days, I’m trying spinning and weaving, but failed miserably at basket weaving.  I’ve been creating my own greeting cards using different mediums.  So far, I like picking up a different kind of gun—a heat gun to put permanent designs on paper.

The SN&R has been a free, alternative newspaper for Sacramento and has other similar newspapers published in Chico and Reno.  The newspaper comes out every Thursday and provides interesting reading which includes local politics, entertainment, reviews, interviews, etc.

It took me a little over a month to design and paint my newsstand.  At the time, I had Hawaii on my mind and set a goal to save for airline, cruise tickets and expenses for me and Jack.  I have no patience with people who cry and whine that they don’t have any money to go places.  Since I am retired and don’t have any money coming in as someone who works for a living, it will take almost a year to save for our travel expenses.  But if you stick to a schedule,  stagger your savings and stretch them out over a year’s time,  travel goals become reachable.

Some people write down their goals and tape the piece of paper it’s written on to a place where they’ll see it every day.  I only know that by painting big red flowers and turtles on my newsstand, it’s a vow for me to get the two of us to Hawaii next year for a cruise of the islands.  We’ve cruised the Hawaiian Islands before, and we’ll do it again.  I have finally found someone I can travel with.

I have nothing against recycling things and giving them a new life.  But I am thankful to SN&R for allowing me to participate in their Newsstand Art Project.  I don’t know where my newsstand will be located, but somewhere in Sacramento, it will be holding issues of the SN&R and will be considered a work of public art.  At the same time, it will be a reminder and a promise for one of my travel goals which will most likely take place next fall.

My newsstand is #248.  I signed my work and have shamelessly plugged SheRetired.blogspot.com and ArleneVPoma.hubpages.com.

 

Soap, Travel and Maybe You

My mom ran a lid sorting machine at Campbell Soup in Sacramento for about 13 years, and she worked a lot of overtime during the tomato season.  Everyone at the cannery worked overtime when tomatoes were harvested full force, and I could imagine all of these people walking around like zombies from lack of sleep. 

There were also periods of unemployment, and that was the nature of the beast.  During the slow months, when my mom was home, the TV was on, playing back-to-back soap operas.  But in my family, we watched the soap operas in big blocks.  We didn’t stick to watching just one show.  I grew up watching soap operas, and they came and went.

No one will really admit to watching soap operas.  I’ve had women at work calling them, “my stories”.  But to me, that’s what they were—televised stories in a serial form.  Depending on the soap and its writers, you usually got a story which kept your attention anywhere from half an hour to an hour.  To me, if the writing was good, the soap would carry your interest from day to day, week to week and year to year.

When it comes to retirement, the television can become your worst enemy.  If you don’t have anything planned to do when you retire, you can easily grow old in front of the television.  The television programs provide the American public with a great distraction.  At the same time, we all know what a great baby-sitting service it can provide for kids and people of all ages.  In retirement, it can turn into an addiction or an obsession.

“Gotta run home and catch my soap.”

Not anymore.  You can tape it and watch your favorite television show anytime you like.  To me, I like watching my favorite soap around midnight, when the house is quiet and everyone is asleep.  All is well in the world while I watch my soap and rip my newest knitting project.

Soap operas are packed with stereotypes and all kinds episodes based on modern day problems.  Soap opera characters would be a gold mine for therapists, psychologists and shrinks.  All of these soap opera characters are co-dependents, enablers, passive-aggressive personalities, and much, much more.  They tend to get into other peoples’ business.  They “fix” and “rescue”.  And, they never learn from their mistakes.  If they do learn from their mistakes, then other characters pick up the ball and repeat the same mistakes.  How many times has a character suffered from amnesia or ran away to another town?  How many times the same couple has broke up, had multiple spouses, but got back together because they were really meant for each other?

Problems?  Yes, people on soap operas have all kinds of problems.  In fact, you feel so much better when you watch them struggling.  Sometimes, it takes plenty of episodes for them to figure what they’re going to do in order to solve their problems.  But the audience has all the answers and will coach the characters from the privacy of our own homes.

 “Dump him!”

“She’s a cheat, so let her go!”

“Divorce him!  He was never good enough for you.”

My husband used to watch soap operas when he was a kid.  While staying at his grandma’s, she had her favorite soaps.  Although more and more soaps are being taken off the air, he understands why I still watch soaps.  He claims you don’t have to be an avid viewer to understand what’s going on.

Once a month, he’ll say something like, “Wasn’t she going to prison for killing her husband’s ex-wife by letting her fall into the volcano in Maui?”

“No, Silly.  She has now going to prison for killing his ex-wife, but we all know she didn’t do it because her husband threw the evidence into the same running water where her first ex-husband and their son just threw the ashes of the woman who hi-jacked her car from her when she had run away to New Mexico.  Those ashes weren’t hers.  The woman who stole her car crashed it and burned to death.  She was wearing her stolen engagement ring at the time, so everyone back home in Wisconsin thought that the woman who didn’t kill the woman in Maui was dead from the crash.” 

“Oooooookay.”  This is his cue to zone out, turn on his laptop and get with His People on the Internet.  When I say, His People, I mean his group of Internet people on his Facebook game who build cities, then rob and pillage other alliances within the game.  When Jack is with His People, I leave him alone.

Since I am in my 50s and don’t plan on doing anything other than staying married, I do like to watch attractive people on television and the movies.  On HD, everyone has perfect skin or immaculate makeup.  On soaps, everyone is fashionably dressed.  I like to see what the women are wearing.  I like to see the jewelry around their wrists and necks.  I like to see someone else walking around in high heels while I comfortably walk around in flats. 

In June, I started writing my own version of a soap opera for Hubpages.com called Two Rivers Rising, and I’m having a lot of fun with it.  I like writing about travel, so I throw in photographs of places in and around Sacramento.  This gives me an excuse to visit the tourist attractions.  You know how it is.  You can live in the same place for years and don’t explore.  It is sad to learn that tourists from as far away as Europe or Japan know more about California and the rest of the United States than you do.

  

Years ago, I was a plaintiff in a lawsuit.  About a year later, I hired another attorney to represent me in my divorce.

I am allergic to attorneys and lawsuits.  Can you blame me?  I know what it’s like to hand over a chunk of money each month to pay an attorney until the case is settled.

So, with this soap, I am practicing the twists and turns of writing about me and my experiences with retirement.  At the same time, I am doling out pseudonyms and switching things around so that you may not recognize yourself in my writing.  Whether you like it or not, the people I have kept around me inspire me.  Whether it’s their actions, their stories or their words, I get ideas all of the time.  Some of them slip away because I don’t have my writer’s journal handy.  

Anyway, if you see anything familiar in my soap, don’t take it personal.  I am having a lot of fun writing my version of a soap, and if you wish, I welcome you to write about me if you feel like getting even.  But in the process of writing this way, I sometimes blend fact with fiction.  But when it comes down to it, my soap is based on real people and true situations, and it’s a game to hide real names and hardcore facts.

Also, I’m afraid of getting sued.

ArleneVPoma.hubpages.com    

 

   

Two Rivers Rising: The River City Writers' Club, Chapter 11

Two Rivers Rising: The River City Writers' Club, Chapter 11

Writing During Retirement

After struggling with an unexpected, early retirement for years, I am finally looking forward to each day. 

Each day, I’m calling mine.

“I couldn’t possibly write during retirement,” said one “expert” who is a self-published author, college professor and writing coach.

Oh yeah?  When I heard this woman say this at a writing seminar, I shut down and could no longer take her seriously.  As usual, I don’t fit the norm.  In my opinion, writing during retirement is the best time to write.

When it comes to writing for money, I didn’t enjoy it.  I worked odd jobs while I attended Sac State.  I worked as a reporter, photographer and a magazine writer.  As a graphic artist without any art training, I winged it.  I remember making signs for a conference and was given a week to do it.  I finished the project over the weekend and had my hand out for payment early Monday morning.

My brother and I tried our hand at submitting magazine articles long before we were teenagers.  We didn’t know anything about queries and pitching ideas.  We wrote the articles and submitted them.  I remember getting stacks of rejection letters.  Some of them were polite and wished us luck.  Some of them were the industry standard--form letters stuffed into our self-addressed, stamped envelopes along with our manuscripts.

If you’re established as a writer, you can write your ticket as a magazine writer.  I didn’t enjoy magazine work back then, and I certainly don’t enjoy it now.  Magazine writing means pitching your ideas and it’s the editor who calls the shots.  I don’t like waiting on anyone.  Magazine editors take their sweet time and can take months to get back to you.

Deadlines never bothered me.  I remember being the intern at a city newspaper.  No one took me seriously until I wrote 300 wedding announcements in less than a week.  In the features department, it was a longtime joke among the editors and reporters when I completed the wedding announcements and kept up with them because writing wedding announcements was beneath them.  But once I completed those wedding announcements, the features editor let me choose my assignments.  I found out that a lot of business owners wrote the editor and invited her to visit, and she only picked the stories which interested her.  She sent me, instead.  I was given the option of taking photos or brought along the disgruntled staff photographer who didn't want to be seen with the rookie reporter.

I remember working for an editor whose favorite line was, “You write the way I want you to write because I’m the editor.”  To me, it sounded like, "Because I'm the Mommy, that's why!"  He had invested his life savings in the publication, but it folded in three months.  I was glad to jump that sinking ship.

I worked for a magazine editor who kept three Wham-O Superballs on her desk.  Whenever her boss left the room and closed the door behind him, she threw the Superballs at the door and let them bounce all over her office.  Superballs were hard enough to kill you.  I learned to stay away from her office whenever the Big Boss was around.    

Unlike a lot of people these days, my 23 years of mostly working jobs I hated or being around people I couldn’t stand has finally paid off.  I do have a pension, which helps with the bills.  I'm not struggling to make ends meet or living off a steady diet of Top Ramen and peanut butter sandwiches.  If I make an effort, I can put some money aside and invest in my hobbies.  I’m not like a lot of retirees I know.  I don’t stick to one interest.  I am always willing to try something new, and if it doesn’t work out, I move on. 

These days, I’m back to my writing.  It is my passion.  Sure, I pursue other things, but when you work for a living, a lot of things which bring you joy get pushed aside.  My case of Writer’s Block was simply letting my day jobs consume me.   

I don’t know a lot of people who love their jobs for years.  I only know that when you start a job, there’s so much promise.  But as the years go by, there’s a good chance you’ll slip into a routine and become bored and bitter. 

After a few false starts, I write every day.  If I’m not writing, I’m jotting things down in my writer’s journal.  I usually keep the journal with me.  In my waking hours and in my dreams, I am always getting ideas.

This past year, I’ve tried my hand at freelancing.  I also tried online writing for money.  For 7 months, I had a writing project assigned to me.   I slipped into my workaholic ways and did nothing but write from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.  I didn’t move from my laptop, and my left leg became swollen from inactivity. 

I told my husband I was suffering from the Little Lotta syndrome.  Do you remember Little Lotta?  She was a cartoon character whose best friends were Dot Polka and Richie Rich.

Jack is 11 years younger than me, so when I mentioned Little Lotta—well, it showed the difference in our ages.  He never heard of Little Lotta and her friends.    For months, I had a swollen left leg which was triple the size of my right leg.

“This could be an indication of a stroke down the road,” said my doctor.  He sent me in for blood tests, but the results were negative. 

When I quit the online work and stopped living my days in front of my laptop, the swelling disappeared.

I know plenty of writers who are willing to support themselves doing online work.  I don’t know how they do it because online work does not pay the living expenses.  For the time you put it, online work pays pennies.  I don't know where these people get the idea that writers make tons of money with online work.  On the Internet, everyone can be an expert.  

Usually, you aren’t given a byline.  I’ve been out of the writing loop for years, and I could not understand why all these writers and editors with years of training and experience settle for way less than scale. 

Being retired has given me the luxury of writing for the pure joy of it.  My retirement was not planned, but I live with it.  I still have a mortgage and bills, but the freedom of writing for me is mine.  I write what I feel like writing, and I make my own deadlines.  I’ve worked with editors who feel a need to change my work.  Writers write and editors edit.   

Now, if I don’t like what an editor is doing with my work and decides to change most of it, I walk.  I never respected anyone who insists “My way or the highway”.  I don’t care for perfectionists, control freaks or anyone who must follow a rigid path.  This does not work with me. When it comes down to it, I am the boss.  In retirement, I am the boss of my writing and my life.

As a writer and as Arlene, I certainly am not a people pleaser.  No one is going to get out their little red pen and tell me how to write.  I don't worship money or material things, and I'm not desperate to put food in my mouth or pay a utility bill.  I know an experienced editor who is willing to accept $2 for each 300-word article she edits.  With that kind of pay, you might as well volunteer your work or do it for free.  

So, in retirement, I am the boss of my life.  When it comes to my writing, I write for me.  I don’t worry about getting paid for my work, getting millions for a best seller or a big fat contract for my next book.  After all those years of answering to editors in the name of money, I feel truly blessed and grateful that I am now working for my favorite boss.

I find it a pleasure to work for me.