How Can People Know Me?

My post on calling oneself an "aspiring author" received some positive feedback, which got me onto thinking: when an author drops the "aspiring", how do they get everyone else to look at them as an author, to know about them as an author? From experience, I know it's difficult to get noticed, even just to get people to see you as an author.

Thankfully, there are some options out there.

For me, telling someone who would care was an important step. This meant teachers. I think I only ever mentioned it to two of them, both English teachers, and word must have gotten around that I'd written a book. When I was in fifth year, a teacher I didn't have mentioned - to his class, of people in my year - that I had written a book. Suddenly, I was that guy.

That was before Twitter. It was before Facebook Pages. It was before Google+. I think it was even before I started blogging (if I remember when word got around, correctly.)

Now, things are simpler. What can you do to make yourself known as an author?

1. Set up a Twitter account. In your bio, make sure to mention that you are an author/writer. This worked for me in the early days of Twitter to get followers, because people like following users who are like them. I was a young writer, received a lot of encouragement for that fact, and it was impossible to deny that I was a writer. Follow other writers - and not just the famous ones - and get talking to them.

2. Set up a Facebook Page. This will be one of the easiest places for people to express a 'Liking' for you, if you'll excuse the pun. Having 'Likes' demonstrates your AUTHORity, to yourself and others. Invite your friends and family, and be sure to have a link to your Facebook Page somewhere people can see it.

3. Set up a Google+ Account. You can link this to your other Google accounts. Google+ makes it easy to be shared in others' Circles, and Hangouts allow you to talk directly to other writers.

4. Set up a Blog or Website. From here, you can provide valuable information about yourself and your writing, provide free stories and poetry, and keep people up to date with what's happening in your life. I use my blog, largely, to write about my personal life, though sometimes with posts like this that explore writing. My website has articles that have been researched to provide more informative posts, without so much of an insight into my personal life. It also contains stories and poetry, which help diversify what I share. My Friday Flash stories go up here.

If you publish something, or you want to, the next obvious step is:

5. Set up an Author Central Account, if you use Amazon's KDP. This will be where your books will be linked from, and where Amazon users can find out more about you. You can provide a video (the trailer for Balor Reborn in my case, as of writing this), set up a forum, write your bio, and add an author photo. It helps to use the same photo across a number of different sites.

You also have an optional couple of steps, depending on the sort of person you are:

6. Set up a LinkedIn Account. This is more of a "professional" social network, for connecting with people. The idea is to connect with people you know, and help others find people they might need to connect with for career or work opportunities. You should ensure to fill in your Skills, previous work experience, education, and other useful information that LinkedIn provides space for, as these not only allow people to find you, they help create a CV for you online. You can also be endorsed for Skills, and should endorse co-workers, teachers, clients and those you have hired (such as a graphic designer for your cover) in the appropriate areas.

7. Set up a YouTube Channel. If you can talk to a camera or make videos in some other way, and find it interesting and enjoyable, you have the opportunity to reach more people. You could keep a video blog, read poetry or short stories, upload book trailers, or create informative videos (as some examples). This can be linked to your Google+ and Blogger accounts, and provide links to your other Social Networking sites.

While there is no guarantee that any site will make you known as an author, it will help establish your author identity online. Getting involved in forums is also of benefit to you as a writer so long as you keep up with your writing, and make sure people know you are a writer (by having a link to your website in your signature, for example).

When it comes to "real life" (i.e. anything not online), you have the option of trying for events in a book shop, if you've published something and the shop will stock it (and remember, a shop does not have to stock your book just because it's been published), reading at public events, setting up a reading night (which works well for poetry), or seeking publication in magazines and/or newspapers for articles, poetry or short stories.

It's always beneficial to you as a writer to identify as one. If you don't, no one else will see you in that way. That's counter-productive to everything you could do to get your name out there.

But what about getting recognised? Follow this simple advice, and you'll be on your way:

1. Post often. People need to remember who you are.

2. Post something worth reading. If people enjoy it (for its entertainment value or its educational value), then they'll be more likely to (a) come back and (b) share it.

3. Interact with others. This can be difficult to do, especially if you're a busy person (as I tend to be while lectures are on in college), you should make sure to do a couple of things: respond to comments from others, set up something like Paper.li to share others' links, and make an effort to check in on sites at least once per week.

If you want, you can also:

4. Set up a newsletter on your website. This means you can have direct access to people's email addresses. You do have to write it, though, and having something to say could be difficult. Right now, I don't use mine as much as I should.

5. Set up auto-tweets if you can always sign in. Be careful about this, though. Many people don't like to see auto-tweets coming in all the time, because they don't get to know the person. I've tested them while I was in work one weekend, sharing quotes from authors about writing and life. The important thing is to check in when you're actually around to talk to people, and remember #3: respond to people's replies. I know I received a couple, because the quotes were amazing. You don't have to tweet quotes, but links aren't favourable. Try poetry or (very) short stories, instead, if you want to provide something interesting for people while you're away. (Social Oomph is useful and free for setting up auto-tweets.)

If/when you become a published author - either by having a book published by someone else, or by publishing yourself - make sure people know where to get it. However, don't saturate social media with links to your book. It's always beneficial to write free material in the same area you publish in, too, if you're trying to get others to notice your book, and to use promotions on whichever site you're using to publish.

In every case - every social network - you should have a bio that tells people who you are. Be informative, semi-formal, but aim to be funny or quirky, too. People like something that will make them smile. It's more difficult to do that on Twitter, but with other sites you have more space to talk about yourself and your writing.

Remember: get to know other writers, other readers, and demonstrate a real interest in what people have to say. Let them know who you are, what you're up to, and what you're feeling, and be consistent about it. Respect the people you connect with online. And never forget to show that you're a writer.

A Room That Means Business

Last night, I stayed in a hotel. In Dublin. Despite living fifteen minutes away in a car, with some light traffic. Why? Well, it was my college ball. I'm way too tired tonight to really talk about the ball, particularly since I need to figure out what should and should not be said, but what I can talk about is the room.

See, I've never stayed in a hotel before. I've definitely never stayed in one in Dublin, so close to the airport. However, it really showed, when it came to the rooms. Lovely as they are, there was something about them that spoke of the type of customers the hotel is used to receiving: people who run, or are executives in, businesses, and those who travel for business. How do I know this? Observation.

Every room came with a copy of a business magazine. This was on a table between two armchairs that didn't face each other. The rooms are not always booked for people who will necessarily talk to each other, at least not face to face.

In each room, there was a desk, with an abundance of sockets nearby. To me, this spoke charge-points for laptops, tablets and phones. It was clear that the room was set up for work, and for people to be ready to leave for business after their stay in the hotel.

The walls were not entirely sound proof. Pardon the crudeness of this suggestion, but it seems that they were not designed with intimacy in mind. If most customers are there for business, rather than pleasure, as might be suggested by its location (close to the airport, not the city centre), then it is less likely that there will be a need to drown out the sounds of peoples' neighbours late at night.

The cafe on the ground floor was blocked off. It was designed to be comfortable, but private, and suggested to me informal meetings.

The room where our ball took place was designed with two things in mind: conferences, and parties. The distinguishing feature was the partition that could be move to join the seating area with the bar. The arrangement of the tables towards a stage at the top of the room suggested that people would focus their attention to that point, with very little space for dancing, which again suggests to me conferences.

Is any of this a criticism of the hotel? No. Absolutely not. It was a lovely hotel, the beds were comfortable, the staff were polite, friendly and understanding of the obvious drunken nature of many (or most) of those at the ball, due to its celebratory nature. Literally the only problem I had all night was with the noise from some of those from my college, but that was to be expected. The point of this blog post is instead to highlight how the nature of the business affects the environment of the building. Setting up rooms for work, supplying a wi-fi code to all guests, and creating a positive, stress free environment suggested to me the typical clientel of the hotel.

For the writers reading this, this is an important consideration to make when writing a setting, particularly if you have a hotel or other holiday spot to write about. Think about what people might need the establishment for. This comes down to what is supplied in the rooms (a dresser, rather than a desk), how sound-proof they are, how dining areas are set up, the last times in which food will be delivered to rooms (as much a staffing concern as one that ensures noise is reduced by eleven at night) and the layout of the events room(s). The purpose of a location (a business, a home, a public area) will define how it should be designed, and so help in the description of such a room. Whether you choose to put your character in a suitable environment for their situation, or make them feel uncomfortable and out of place in an ill-fitting location, is up to you. What really matters is that the purpose of a setting is clear in its description.

The Write Life

Fun considerations for the future - trying to figure out how much I'd need to earn to do things like a Masters Degree, and move out of my parents' house - have led me to thinking through exactly how to make money in a much more interesting way than scraping by on ten hours per week in a shop. I don't think I have to really say it, but I'd earn more on the Dole than I will be earning in the shop come June, when I am no longer technically a student. The only way the ten hours per week would be beneficial would be if I were also making money in other ways, during the five days off per week I will have.

Hence: the Write Life. While it is also the name of my Paper.li paper, it's a consideraton for the future. How many books, for example, would I have to sell per month to pay for rent? How many articles would I have to have published to cover travel and heating and Internet access for a year? How many avenues in writing and publishing do I have to take to make a sustainable income? How much more do I have to push myself to earn a holiday?

Let's be clear: I don't technically write for money. I publish for money. The one time I did actually write for money, I was writing about the experience of publishing my book, and writing for a magazine I adore. It's hard to avoid that while trying to stick to the idea of writing for love and publishing for money, because technically I was writing for money in a publication I love. Nobody ever said what to do when it comes to that situation.

The way things stand, I'm nowhere near earning enough to move out. Yes, I have some sales on Amazon, but I don't yet have a sustainable income. I don't yet know what things will be like when after I've received the first payment, how long it will take before I earn enough to make a second. That's a real consideration, not just for me but for other writers who publish digitally (or otherwise): how long until the next payment from books, and will it be enough to live on?

The odds are, unless I publish a book I love, that others love and/or find useful, I won't be at the point of earning enough from royalties per month to actually pay for anything. I have ideas, don't get me wrong. I have a whole publication plan, deciding to write books that interest me, not just something I think will sell, because I have to love the idea for it to be worth reading by other people. I don't think it would be written well enough if I wasn't in love with it.

Taking some rough estimates into account:

Rent can cost 800 euro per month, depending on where I live. That's for a single bedroom place. It's also way too much. Living by myself isn't a viable option. Why? Because unless I found work for eight articles at at least 100 euro per piece, I wouldn't have enough for rent. Not good. That, or sell 2400 ebooks at 99 US cent per month. That's even less likely, I think. Not so much because the figure is so high, but because that's a per-month basis of sales. Even if I did get to a point of selling that many copies in a single month, it's extremely unlikely that it would happen again in the following months.

Food, for one, could be up to 80 euro per week (if I cooked everything myself and didn't just use cheap frozen items), though I would have to buy in bulk and use as much of everything as possible, and freeze. That's possible. Earning the money, possible. The bookshop covers that. Otherwise, it's another 240 books per week, at 99 cent, which on a four-week-per-month basis brings us to up 3360 books.

Can you see the problem, if I rely on 99 cent ebooks? Even if I had a dozen titles released at that price, I'd need to sell a few hundred of each on average, per month, to make my way in the world.

The other option? Publish more expensive books. I have thought of this. A lot. Before I released Balor Reborn, I drew up a pricing scale, on how I would price books of different lengths. I already know what prices I'll be setting on books in the future, right up until September, and have an estimated earning per book at a 2.99 price. A rough estimate would reduce the amount of books I need to sell per month (before electrical, Internet, heating, etc.) down to just over 600. Much better, right? Still difficult, but much better.

Can I see it happening? I don't know. Publishing is difficult to sustain as a business. Earning month from writing is extremely difficult to do. That's why I want to at least have an idea of how well I'm doing, based on financial need. None of this yet includes the other necessary bills that need to be paid, or maintaining a social life. It also doesn't take into account: (a) what I will write, (b) when I will find the time to write as much as I need to, (c) how long it will take to reach this point, or (d) saving for the future.

Considering (a): I know I want to write about writing. That's not only sold books, it's also interesting. It's teaching, which I love doing, and it helps me to focus on my craft and the industry around it. The benefits are outstanding. The difficulty? Competition. Which exists everywhere. I'll also be writing my Modern Irish Myth books. Much harder to sell, I know, unless/until they become popular. Beyond that, I've got further projects planned, some fiction, some non-fiction, that will cover a range of different topics. This isn't even so much as to reach a different audience as to keep me motivated and interested in what I'm doing. The topics in each of my non-fiction books also provide something I could possibly write about for other publications, which I have to keep in mind.

That's when I have to tackle (b): the time has to be made. I can't just sit around in June watching YouTube videos or playing computer games, as much as I'd like to. If I have five days off per week, and I manage to write even 5000 words per day, I'll be on my way towards writing an awful lot by September (which is necessary, considering everything I have planned up to that point.) 5000 seems a lot to some people, but I've written more on several occasions. I'll also need to do research for various projects, so it's unreasonable to think I can produce twice as much per day. I wouldn't get the research done to actually publish certain things.

As for how long it will take, I can't tell. Success sometimes just happens to people. Okay, so obviously it will require a lot of work, but it's possible that I won't even realise it's happened until it does, because I'll be busy trying to get as much work done as possible. If I get to a point where I'm earning a lot by December this year - a lot to be considered enough in that month to pay for bills on a single-month basis - then I'd be delighted. The real test is how sustainable that income is. I know it will be difficult, but if I suddenly earn a lot less by March next year, then I know I'm not at the point where writing would allow me to move out.

And as for the future? I need at least 6000 euro to pay for a Masters Degree. Nevermind the costs that go around it. The actual course will cost that amount. Fun, right? Saving for the future will be the most difficult part of this. Chronically all of this is part of how I hope to keep myself focused on it, though. I don't want to forget, by December, that I need to be selling X amount of books, and consistently for the next three months after, to actually do something more with my life.

This has all been very money-centred, so far. That's not right. So, here's my plan: between June and September, I want to release the next four books in the Modern Irish Myth series. One per month. I only planned publication as far as September, but if it's all possible I'll be continuing at that pace until the series is complete. In July, I want to release a non-fiction book, and another in September, though on radically different topics. More on them when I get through my exams and can plan the time I need to get everything in order. I'm not about to announce something that becomes impossible. As it is, four books in as many months will be difficult.

I'm also planning a web-series. As in, one on camera. Still not sure what it will look like, exactly, but it's in the planning stages. I'll be working on that during the summer, but I don't know when the shooting or airing of it will happen. That's all in the future, and it will require picking up some video-production skills, and becoming a better actor. Yeah... I give myself a lot to do. I'll also need to keep things like costumes, set, marketing and publicity in mind, so there's a lot to consider. I'm not even announcing what it'll be about until later (like when I have an episode or two produced and ready to go!). This is partially because I'm paranoid about someone maybe stealing the idea. Yay?

The idea in all of this is to keep writing, keep trying to make writing my source of income, and making sure I still enjoy it. That's what really matters, in all of this, that I still enjoy writing this time next year. I think about this sort of stuff every single day, never really putting figures on it and only ever telling one person about it, but here it all is. This is what I want to do with my life, and with the projects I'm planning on undertaking from June onwars, it's all going to get extremely intersting. I'll be busy, almost non-stop, but if I pull it off, won't it be worth it?

Besides, even if I only ever end up making a bit of pocket-money per month from writing, at least I can feel like I'm achieving something with it, while still having fun. How many people get to do something they love, and have loved since they were young, for a living? For how many people is it even possible? If I manage to even just make something per month, at least I'll know I can reach somebody with my words.

No Talent? You Don't Even Know Talent!

That title comes to you courtesy of Futurama...because Futurama. Also, there was a Talent Show in college tonight, hosted by upcoming comedian Darren Lalor, and judged by the Head of the Music Department, and the current President and Welfare Officer of the SU. Much banter ensued at the expense of the Welfare Officer. Rule Number One: don't heckle the comedian with a microphone.

Other than the fact that it was a Talent Show and I couldn't stop quoting the Robot Devil, the title has no real significance. There was actually quite a lot of talent, from pianists, singers, a song-writer, a musical-theatre actor, and a Daft Body re-enactment, all of whom showed what a fun and exciting place my college is. People did things I didn't know they could do, (like people I didn't know could sing), dressed up for various acts, and ultimately gave us a reason to be there aside from the charity aspect of the event, and the pizza.

So. Much. Pizza.

Anyway, I was on the bus wishing I had taken part. I can't sing. I can only dance when drunk, and I'm fairly sure insurance doesn't cover flailing arms and legs to the face. I can't play an instrument. But I can write poetry, and I know how to deliver my own work, and all I had to do was either (a) write a long poem or (b) write a series of short poems to add to one I wrote that only the Writers' Soc have heard. I could still do that during the summer. God knows I'll have time.

But anyway: fun. It was all fun.

Especially the jokes directed at the WO, because he kept bringing it on himself. (I'll admit some of it was uncalled for, but other parts of it had me laughing too much to care.)

It was the first Talent Show I'd gone to in the college. Yes, I know I've been there four years, but somehow I never managed to make it. This time, I didn't even know who was doing what. I just wanted to go, and I was conscious enough to attend. So that's fun. (Context: I had a late night on Monday, and couldn't make a gig yesterday because I was so tired.)

I'm glad I went, despite my regrets in not parttaking (I wish I'd had to idea to do a kind of poem-medley sooner!), and I definitely think the best act won (Daft Bodies). Tomorrow night: the Ball. How did it get to that time already?

Real Life Induction?

Today, talk off post-primary school induction became a Thing. It's no longer just this far off idea; we've actually been given the information we need to participate in the workshops that serve as induction, towards becoming Real Teachers. It's not as terrifying as I would have thought. Essentially, in the year that I plan to work during to build up my finances for a Masters Degree, I can do all of these workshops that I will need to complete my registration as a teacher. Then, when I actually go job-hunting for a teaching position, I'll be able to get paid. That's always a bonus, right?

It got me thinking, though: what about "real life"? As far as I'm concerned, there are some basic skills for survival in a Capitalist society that are necessary. This includes being able to read a contract, applying for a mortgage, paying taxes, and finding a home. Nevermind the additional extras like knowing how to cook your own meals, knowing how to drive (and knowing your way around an engine!), meeting new people, proposing (either for marriage or for living together... let's just call it Big Steps in a Relationship), or raising a family. What sort of preparation do we have for "real life", even after eighteen years of continuous education?

Surprisingly, this does't really terrify me. How about that? Yes, the idea of stepping out into the world without someone scheduling my September-June for me (yet) is frightening, but the rest of it? I don't know. Yes, it will be weird when I eventually move out of my parents' house. I don't plan on overstaying my welcome (which is why I'm working on various projects to help radically alter my lifestyle towards such big changes), but it's not fear of moving out that's the problem. It's actually just that I can't afford to.

So, thinking this through: what induction do we receive for "real life"? In my school, we studied Maths and Business as part of our Junior Cert. These helped us work out taxes and family finances and all that jazz. So, that's something, right? Except what if you fall into one of two categories: you didn't study these areas, either because of the level you studied at, or the subjects you studied, or you just forget how to some, or all, of it? I fall into the latter category. Proper financial planning for a household isn't currently up there in the Important Things I Can Do. In saying that, I don't currently have a need to know this sort of stuff. I earn enough money to: get to and from college every day, buy lunch a couple of  times a week, buy my writing magazines once per month, buy my comic books every week, go to the cinema every week, and still be able to afford the occasional night out, thanks to additional hours that pop up in work every now and then (thank you Bank Holidays!). I know how much I can spend each week extra, and how much it costs me to do it all. It's just, a "household budget" tends to include a few more things than these very basic things, like regular bills and all the things I don't have to consider while still living in my parents' house.

But that doesn't mean I don't have to know how to do it before I move out. Induction for this sort of thing shouldn't happen at the age of fifteen, and then never again. I need to know how much I would need per month to pay bills (rent/mortgage, gas, electricity, Internet/phone/television, food), on whatever basis for earning I'm actually on (monthly or weekly). My biggest worry here is that I leave something out, or fundamentally mis-calculate and end up in financial trouble right away. (Let's let future Paul worry about that one.)

Thankfully, I know how to do a couple of things: I can make Excel keep up with costs and income for me (yay basic skills in Microsoft Office!) and I can read up on tax rates. This is especially important if I'm to earn money from writing and  not get into trouble with the Revenue Commissioner. Because that would suck.

However, I still think people need to be made aware of this sort of stuff, somehow. I suppose, if I could make it sound like I wasn't planning on moving out on less-than-the-Dole-per-week, I could ask my dad for help in figuring out basic costs. He's good with this sort of stuff. Not everyone is so lucky, but that's one big part of Real Life Induction sorted for me, right?

But what about a mortgage? That's pretty damn scary, and it seems like a massive amount of money for me to consider. I'm fairly sure the minimum amount given on loan for a mortgage is more money than I have ever earned in my entire life. So that's fun. And contracts? Because, you know, books and work and, well, mortgages. All the fun!

What about the additional parts? Those are less frightening in one way. Cooking I can pick up. I can probably force my mum to help me with that this summer, since I'll have much less to do than I'm used to. I'm looking forward to that, anyway. But driving? Um... I don't even own a bicycle. I haven't been responsible for my own safety on the road in eight years. Plus, that's a whole other set of bills. Can I avoid that one for a while? That'll be less scary. The last thing I need is a stack of bills to add to the already insurmountabl pile of imaginay expenses that don't even include keeping up with my basic hobbies.

Do I have to get into the  proposal and raising a family parts? Given my status of Forever Alone, I don't think so, but I think it's worth pointing out that a lot of stuff, from the cooking to the babies tends to be covered in Home Economics over here. I think. I wouldn't know, because it wasn't offered in my school. But there's an opportunity for learning for people, to prepare themselves for "real life".

I don't know what to say for the rest of us. There's an awful lot that needs to be known that I don't believe is taught to people before they leave home. I think a lot of people, present company included, are nearly expected to just land on their feet and figure it out as they go along with their business. That sort of thinking makes me want to hide under my covers. I'd prefer to be prepared for something, even just a little bit, before it actually happens. I think this is where my Real Life Induction begins.

Crap. Now I have to be an adult.

Something to Offer

Today, I received a grade for an assignment I had to submit in the first semester of college this year, a scheme of work. (Those are the fun things teachers get to put together to plan a whole series of lessons well in advance of the actual lessons...) I hadn't expected to do well (so I was pleasantly surprised), but what was more important to me were the words of the lecturer.

"You have a lot to offer."

I thought about that for a while. I kept focusing on it, until a friend of mine popped into the building back from England, and well...I stopped focusing on it. Right up until I got on the bus to go home, when I was back in "Thinking about the future" mode. That's always fun...

Anyway, I thought about those words, and what she meant. She meant the Drama Soc. She meant the writing. And I thought to myself, how many people in the college have something to offer when they go for a job interview?

We wondered about certain things like this for the year book, and realized that people didn't really talk about  what they did in their spare time that could be discussed as an added bonus come job-hunting. I know there are some people who play sports (okay, a lot of people...), but other than that I could only think of a couple of different things that set people apart that were actually part of the college life: the Drama Soc, the Writers' Soc, and the musicians. Now, not everyone who acts, writes, sings or plays an instrument necessarily does it in the college, but there's not a lot else catered for.

So, thinking more broadly. Fund raising. Quite a few people have done that. Can it help with a teaching position? Like I've said before: it's a lifestyle, not just a job. Many teachers do a lot outside of the classroom.  So, involvement in things like the SVP Society. That's always beneficial. What about the G-Soc? (Gaelic.) I don't know. I couldn't possibly know, having not joined. The SU offers obvious benefits. Organizing the ball or the yearbook, also beneficial.

While I have been involved in Drama, writing, fundraising and the yearbook over my four years in college, I didn't think of it like this. It wasn't about adding to my CV. I did it for me. Apparently, that means I have a lot to offer, and I can see some sense in that (though not because it's me.) Up until recently, my old secondary school didn't have a Drama Club. Experience with Drama would help with something like that, both the acting elements of it and all the behind-the-scenes sort of stuff.

Is it too late for people to get involved in these sorts of things? If they're leaving the college this year, obviously they can't participate in the societies. But what about outside of college? I know I'll be looking for somewhere to act when I find myself living only my own life come September. That'll be weird. And there are writing groups outside of college. Plenty of them. Charities are always looking for volunteers. Sports clubs are always open to new members.

Basically, I think we've all got something to offer, and ways to pick up new hobbies that reflect well on us. It feels weird to think of us in these terms, but that's how it works in many cases. Yes, it can be about the CV, but I think picking up something like acting or writing just to look better to employees seems a bit hollow. I think it's much easier to enjoy something and to keep it up if it's not simply for the sake of appearances. It's definitely easier to speak about it passionately if it's something you actually are passionate about.

Evident by my blathering, yes?

The point, I suppose, is that I never really considered the optional extras in college as being points on a CV. I never thought of them as something to offer. To me, they were just part of life. They were things I loved to do, and they were activities that helped me make new friends and talk to them on a regular basis.

I've seen plenty of CVs in my time to know what it looks like when someone does a lot. A broad range of interests is nice to see, because someone looks like they've done more with their time than simply stuck to study or work, or "socializing". Life looks more interesting and a person more rounded when certain things pop up on a piece of paper. Some of it is relevant, some of it isn't, and that's the hardest part of writing a CV for a specific job: how do you show what you have to offer?

I won't assume my classmates (a) read my blog or (b) need to read this in particular, but to me, it seems that if you're going for a job in a school, having some engagement with the world outside of the lecture hall is a requirement. Schools always need people to run teams. Schools run Drama Clubs. Some schools have magazines, written by students. The new Junior Cycle Programme will place demands on teachers to prove their worth.

How to do that without sounding like an ass seems difficult, but I guess that's why we're allowed to hide behind a piece of paper with our qualifications written on it. My main concern is, how do we even identify what's unique and interesting to offer to schools as an added extra? Should we have to? (Ideally, we wouldn't have to talk about ourselves...but then we'd be robots.)

When I stop having an existential crisis about what the future holds, I'll let you know. But for now, I'm back to worrying if what I've done in college looks like something that appeals to employers, and how what I want to do for the next few months makes me look. Yay worries..?

Seven-Week Notice

In terms of employment, when either party decides to terminate a contract two weeks' notice must be given. Then, the employee becomes a former-employee, often unemployed, and has to adjust to a new lifestyle.

In terms of college, it tends to sneak up on you that the agreed-upon length of your course has almost expired. Little over seven weeks remain before I'm finished, including the twenty-two day hell that is Exam Season. Where did the last four years of my life go? Or how about the fourteen years before that, accumulating Primary and Secondary school?

Seriously. I don't remember ever being in a situation of having no idea what I'll be doing in the coming September. Even before I started in college, I knew I was going to a college. I didn't know which one, but I had a semblance of an idea based on my CAO application. Newsflash: there's no CAO for The Rest of Your Life.

So, seven weeks. Then I'm a former-student. I suppose that equates to being a graduate, but even that doesn't mean employed. It certainly doesn't mean that I know what I'll be doing in September.

Don't get me wrong, I have plans, but these revolve largely around books I want to write and publish and great big projects that could take a year to complete, involving tons of work and research, if they ever get off the ground. And that's the problem, the "if", because what if something happens that gets in the way, as life is want to do? Then any plans I have for September fall through quite quickly. Scares the bejebus out of me.

So much rests of certain things going right, like passing the exams first-time around, getting myself motivated in early June to get work started, and finding the support at home and from friends and online (my Home in the Ether) to actually pull off the gradiose plans that have been running about in this head of mine for way longer than I can recall. I have known, for a long time, that I wanted to go through with certain projects, but I have had no idea when I would ever find the time to actually get things done. Especially with college, with my interests in Drama, my essays, my Research Paper, exams (the epitome of Dread) and the various social aspects of life that, apart from being enjoyable, are necessary for my sanity, I haven't had much chance to actually create a sustainable pace for working at home. Writing a book suddenly takes a backseat when there's a few thousand euro hanging over your head, and hell on the horizon.

Somehow, seven weeks doesn't seem like enough time to actually prepare myself mentally and emotionally for the transition into the unknown, into now knowing what I will be doing, not only in the future, but on each day as it comes. I've been on scheduled timetables for most of my life, and even my brief stint of unemployment back in 2010 was cushioned by my continued structure in college.

Now? Now I'm leaving that main provider of structure, which is also where I talk to most of my friends, without any guarantee of when I will enter full-time employment, what form that employment will take, or how I'm going to adjust to having an extended break like this.

Part of it is exciting, of course, but there's still the worry that eventually I have to do something to make a significant change in my life that will provide the sort of financial support society demands. It's not that I don't want to, but that I don't know how or what. I could end up teaching, which wouldn't be a bad thing, but I'd like to try my hand at something else and gain some life experience before going right into teaching, even just to get one more year on the students. I suppose that's part in fear that I might not find respect in a school if I'm barely four years older than the sixth years. I think that's a legitimate concern, especially since it's very unlikely I'll be taller than every male student in schools (kids these days...).

I'm not looking to go party-mad when I leave college. That's not what I mean by life experience. I plan on being quite reasonable with my time, following my dreams while I still feel I deserve them. I don't want to settle down into a teaching position with regrets, feeling like I'm only doing it because I want a job. It's more than just a job. There's a whole lifestyle around teaching, and entering that lifestyle isn't something I feel ready to do right now. Maybe that will change over the next few months. Maybe half-way through June I'll realise that I am ready. It's possible that right now, I'm just feeling a bit overwhelmed by the idea that hey - I have to be a grown-up now!

And I have seven weeks to come to terms with that before it starts becoming a reality. the words, "I can't even", come to mind.