The Freelance Dream...

Hello! It’s great to get to share a little snippet of my world with you today. If you’re not interested in freelance writing, feel free to skip down to the cover reveal of Imprinted, the second edition printing of my New Adult Urban Fantasy novel. Hope you find a little piece of inspiration to carry with you today.

There’s a saying out there to be careful what writing advice you take. Some of it is great, some of it is garbage, and a fair amount of it is incredibly subjective to how you think and work. The same can be said for any other type of advice you receive in life. That’s likely shocking to no one. Neither is the fact it takes very little effort to find affirmations (chase your dream!) or quick tips (easy ways to make money by ______) for just about anything.

The thing about choosing a creative field, is it requires you to have regular run-ins with rejection, a conviction in your voice, and fundamental truths you believe in. That’s what allows for perseverance against insane odds (did someone say journals with a >1% acceptance rate), stories that resonate with people, and gives you something to say that also pushes you forward believing it’s worth sharing.

Is there a time and place for the “never give up!” cheerleader mentality? I think so! It’s the weeks like these last few where the rejection letters keep trickling in, disappointment creeps in close behind, and the stories I love are on the edge of disappearing into my Google Drive folder for another handful of years until I remember they exist again.

There’s also a sweet kind of deception, it feels like, to those “ways to make money from writing” essays. Not all of them are written with a malicious intent, and I’ve found some of them helpful as jumping off points as I try and grow into my freelancing career. But often times, they’re missing the middle.

It’s the “how do I get started?” and “am I doing this right?” questions. Finding your first clients, making that reliable set of income, how do you create a contract, at what point do you make an LLC…. Knowing your options is good. Realizing you’re aiming for something too small, too vague, or missing something you’d love is one thing. Trying to figure out how to actually get from point A (the idea) to point B (making reliable and livable income freelance writing) has a lot more little points in-between than A and B might lead you to believe.

And maybe that kind of gusto is just built into me. I want to take the idea, run with it, and find that magical point at the end of the rainbow. It’s learning how to break it down into actionable steps, not get overwhelmed and feel like giving up, and carving out the time for my job, freelance, people I love, and everything else that’s most challenging.

One thing that’s most helpful to return to is your why (I was most recently reminded by Shelby). What’s your purpose? Who are you trying to reach? And what makes your story unique?

They’re questions you might jump at, or make you ponder for awhile. And I think I wouldn’t really be able to answer them fully right now, not in a way that would do them justice, but this is my attempt: I want to help the voice God gave to each of us shine. I want to reach people who have a story, whether it’s fictional, personal, or a business that speaks to their passion, that desire to connect with others. And it’s because writing is what I love. I’ve been doing it ever since I realized how to string a story together week after week in elementary school, failing at spelling but learning something (I think) was much more important - storytelling (and that’s not an AI em dash, that’s all human emphasis).

So maybe that’s the bit of dreamer in me, getting overwhelmed because it’s not that easy to say what I want and just do it. But without a little bit of dream, I don’t know how I’d get through the tough days. It takes both, the grit and determination to carry on, and the dreamer, to believe in the purpose and passion of your story no matter what the day feels like.

If you want to help me make that dream a little more of a reality, to shift from my full time corporate world to freelance creative work, you can learn more about what I do!

I’m just getting started in this freelance world, but I’m aiming to break into copywriting, graphic design, and editing. You can find out more about me and see my portfolio here. Feel free to drop me a line here, or via email, for questions or inquiries!

Thank you for hanging in there! It’s the moment you’ve been waiting for! The Cover Reveal for Imprinted! Re-releasing Aug 15th, here’s your first look!

When the veil parts, a mythic world is revealed.

Kierian was turned against his will. Uprooted from his old life and thrust into a new one, he’s figured out how to survive. Still, refusing to embrace traditional vampire culture means trouble has a way of finding him.

When Cassie comes asking about her missing sister, Kierian has an uneasy feeling about what may have happened to her. But when his guard is down, Kierian accidently breaks the one promise he made to himself. The moment Cassie imprints on him, the veil parts and the mythic world is revealed to her. It forces Kierian to make a choice: keep running from his reality, or finally take a stand.

Kierian struggles to help Cassie navigate this new world, fraught with danger at every turn. With every alliance and enemy they make, they’re drawn further into a mythical plot bigger than themselves. What was meant to be a simple rescue mission leads them to uncover a conspiracy that could shake the foundations of their whole city - and they may be the only ones able to do something before it’s too late.

Currently Reading: Grimdark Magazine Issue #41; Gaslands: Refuelled: Post-Apocalyptic Vehicular Mayhem

Recently Read: Full Speed to a Crash Landing, How to Steal a Galaxy, both 5/5 reads and part of a trilogy I will soon be completing

I don’t typically read sci-fi novellas with romance, but when I do, it’s these two by Beth Revis. The witty and mysterious synopsis pulled me in, and the story itself did not disappoint. A law abiding, loyal, and clever guy, contrasted with a girl with a blurry past, flirty, and going full speed ahead, made for a wonderful fast paced story. I read book 1 in two evenings, and absolutely tore through book 2 in one day. They now have a place on my shelves in physical book form, and book 3 is sitting in my mailbox, waiting for the weekend to curl up and finally uncover the secrets waiting just underneath the surface(?? I hope).

Thank you for making it to the end! To learn more about me and my books, visit my website at brookestemmebooks.com. I’m so glad to share my stories with you, and look forward to hearing yours.