Heyaa
Another Wednesday, another lazy newsletter in your inbox.
Thereās nothing special in todayās letter, too, like always. And as always, I have written it on Sunday. Writing it ahead gives me some time to make my thoughts a little better presentableā¦
Itās 6.59 AM.
These letters have recently been longer than usual, even if they are about nothing.
This one will probably be short. I didnāt have a lot of thoughts this week.
I remained busy giving my book a final shape. The Kindle version is now listed on Amazon for pre-order. Did a few social media postsā¦
So, I can now claim to be an author!
Got other ebook formats ready, too. Yet to upload them somewhere with descriptions and all. Will offer them for free later.
I might put up my Amazon book on sale, too, after launch.
If you want a free copy, make sure you join the waitlist. Maybe Iāll mention it here, in this newsletter. But will spam only those who are on that list.
Doing all this, sometimes I feel I should have been a virtual assistant.
I like taking care of files, conversion, uploading, entering file metadata, browsing the Internet for random solutionsā¦ In short, admin tasks. I find these more exciting than the actual writing work.
Actually, I started my freelance journey as a virtual assistant.
No, wait! I started my journey as a freelance programmer. Don't ask me what language. I knew nothing in particular.
I got the hang of the logic and algorithm a little during college, along with some C and C++. And I thought I would pursue that. Took a bunch of courses in Java to freshen up.
Jumped on the idea of being a freelance programmer. This stint was seven days long.
All I did as a āprogrammerā was attend an online programming class and make an account on Upwork. I did no projects even.
Nonetheless, it was fun. Even though it didnāt work out for me, I came to know something new: freelancing.
That account on Upwork got me into freelance writing 6 months later.
All I wanted was to earn from writing. Learnt much of it by observing others - random reviews and articles. Whatever I liked, I studied why I liked it.
I went all inā¦ as a writer, editor, typing, data entry professional, document handlingā¦ anything that I had some basic skills I added to my Upwork profile.
Then, the wait began.
Upwork was heaven for freelancers in those daysā¦ 6 years ago. It gave me my first client within 5-6 days, and a month later, I had a regular income of $100. A pocket-money worth of sum.
It was enough for my expenses.
Only after I started receiving regular writing gigs, I dropped other skills from my profile and dug into skills specifically related to writing. And thatās how I end up becoming a professional writer.
Some designing, some SEO, some web development and everything in between.
It was never one thing, and it will never beā¦ that I know for sure. A writer, yes, but never only a writer.
āAbhijeet is a serial experimenter. And āBe a Productā is one of his latest experiments. He got into freelancing in 2017 as āLazy Writer,ā and he has been lazy since. It goes well with his introvert personality, and it has become the identity his friends and colleagues know him by.ā
Thatās some self-praise I did in the About Author section of Be a Product.
I donāt know what else I will do. Only this morning, I got an idea for another book. The idea was already there; I didnāt know how to begin it. Now, I know. This might be a fiction.
Some day, Iāll start working on that, too.
And thatās all for today.
Bidding adieu.
Live long and prosper.
See you next week, with another story.