Well, in a move that will surprise no one, I failed upfront to post a monthly review of my work activities. So now it’s late August and I’m catching up on my spring blog posts. But as Fred and Ginger tell us, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, start all over again. So, under the heading of better late than never, here’s what April looked like:

Participated in the annual (virtual) conference for ASJA, the American Society of Journalists and Authors. I joined ASJA in 2019 and serve as the (volunteer) editor of the weekly newsletter, aptly titled AJSA Weekly. I feel like I made some good connections, but the challenge, as always, is to be diligent about maintaining them. We’ll talk in more detail about that another time.
Also for ASJA, I was a judge for the Annual Writing Awards. I also submitted two of my stories for entry. I don’t envy the organizers. There were hundreds of submissions in something like 40 categories. I personally read about 25 stories, which went through 2-3 rounds of discussions with two teams. Honestly, I won’t be taking part again — it was just too time-consuming.
Worked with one of my regular editing clients, graphic Christy Batta of Christy Batta Designs, on a post addressing five questions about mood boards and how they serve her process.
Pitched two stories to the Pennsylvania Gazette, the alumni magazine for the University of Pennsylvania. One pitch was successful and the story is scheduled to run in September 2021.
The editor at one of my repeat clients, Northern Virginia Magazine, left. Katie was an excellent editor — she communicated thoroughly but never micromanaged, was clear on what she wanted, gave me plenty of space, and made me feel like she respected my skills and experience. I hope to have the opportunity to collaborate with her again.
Started working with a new client, copy editing annual reports for large corporations. My first project was working on a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion report for a major media company. Because of complex NDA (non-disclosure agreements), that’s the most I can say about that. Part of the reason I decided to start these “month in review” posts was to be able to keep clients and colleagues abreast of the type of work I’m doing, even when I can’t talk about the work itself.

Well, that’s it for April. I’ll do my best to catch up and get into the swing of things for fall. The best-laid plans, as they say. Managing life as a freelance business owner is a balancing act, and when you add in being a parent, even more so. And then throw in a pandemic. So I try. And I keep trying.