side hustles

Will this be my year of developing side hustles? I know the year is nearly over but the school year feels like my possibilities exploded.

1. A local library we love asked if I’d be interested in running a writing workshop for younger kids! Of course, I said yes. It wasn’t for pay, but I’m counting it because this is the sort of thing I’ve wanted to do for YEARS (decades, even) as part of building a writing career, and I loved every bit of it.
2. I’m officially a substitute teacher for our school district. I’m having fun, even if it is very much trial-by-fire with no training and no prep. It’s weirdly similar to my anxiety dreams/actor’s nightmares where I’m tossed onstage with no script and have to figure out the show as I go. Those dreams are actually fun for me now, which probably explains why I’m having a ball with subbing.
3. I plan to start offering my services as a writing mentor and coach by the end of the year*! Another thing I’ve been wanting to do forever, but felt completely overwhelming. I want to be the mentor I never found, and I want to work with writers collaboratively to help them figure out their processes, goals, and how to reach them.

*I have a bad habit of talking about an exciting thing before it happens only for something(s) to come along to delay that thing or stop it entirely…

Through that, I’ve been trying to sell my grandmother’s house and knit my husband a sweater, as well as keep the kids fed, rested, and more or less on time to school, appointments, and all their other activities. Plus, you know, working on my own stories, which has been going so much better since I prioritized blocks of time to write.

We’ll see how my time management fares in this final stretch of the year, but I kind of love the idea, in keeping with the idea of the year having a theme for me, of 2025 being my year of developing side hustles.