Extended Leave of Absence when Writing for AC

When writing for AC, the plus is you won't get fired due to your absence. The bad news is your PV's will suffer, as will your wallet. Once you recover, sometimes it's really hard to get motivated enough to really jump back in there. There's nobody but yourself pushing you to do it. Let's face it, without that push, sometimes it's very hard to get back into your former work schedule. Freelancing for AC, or any work at home endeavors take a lot more motivation than most people think. The typical attitude of most people even before any illness hits is how lucky you are. That you can work whenever you feel like it. This is not so, you do have bills to pay and food to buy. You have to be very motivated to make sure you do amount of articles you need to cover these expenses. When you are working outside the home, you almost always know exactly how much you will make every week and can budget for it. Also, when there's no one else pushing you, or having expectations of you, the motivation comes purely within.

This plan can be utilized any day, whether you had a leave of absence or not. It can prove very useful if you did have to take an extended time off. If your business is writing, there are certain things you can do while you are sick to make the transition back to working the way you did prior to an illness. For the sake of this article, I will be using freelance writing for AC as an example, but with a couple tweaks, this can be used for any work at home endeavors. Working at home still isn't widely excepted. A lot of people think you have all the time in the world, and treat it as if it's your hobby, not job. Only you know that you have a schedule, and how many articles you need to write in order to earn what you need.

Many freelance writers have laptop computers, this can help a great deal. If you are bedridden you can still work somewhat, or at least churn out one article a day, even if it's just a short fun article, like my article: "Toads Kill Carp While Mistakingly Trying to Mate with Them" . This may not be an upfront pay article, but at least it keeps you in the daily light and keeps your numbers up a little more than if you wrote nothing at all. However, not everyone has a laptop, and if sitting at the computer is not a possibility, you need to plan ahead.

Doctors Orders

If you have been banned to bed by your doctor, do it. If you try to do otherwise, you may end up with worse problems if you don't. This in turn makes it even longer before you can get back into the game. Sometimes you may be hospitalized, then you really have no choice. Now its time to plan how you're going to handle this. Think ahead to when you will be well enough to get back to work. When you're finally OK, if you have done no thinking or planning ahead, you my sit there with an empty computer screen with nothing to write. This can be avoided.

The Plan

While you are stuck in bed, have someone get you a notebook. A marble notebook is best as they are large and sturdy. Also have pencils, as you can erase when there is a mistake. At moments of clarity, think hard about what you would write about when you get back to work. You can even begin some articles, but at very least, start listing as many ideas as you can come up with. When writing for AC, a good plan would to write a couple DO articles at first, just to re-establish the fact that you're back. Your regular readers will see this, and then watch your profile for new stories. Let's face it, there are so many writers on AC. When you are not putting out new content, you will quickly stop having visits to your profile. With that many writers on AC there is brand new engaging content to be found elsewhere.

When You Are First Starting Back To Work

First start with a DO article. It would be good to put one or two up a day. Don't write all of them out in one day, spread them out so you have something to write everyday. Next step is to put an article in cue for upfront payment. Do not overdo it as you may start feeling ill again. One DO article a day, and one upfront article a day is a good start.

When you have not been writing for a while, AC will stop sending paid assignments in your inbox. The reason for this is because most of these have a deadline. If you haven't written in a month, why would they take a chance on putting assignments in there if there's a high possibility you won't claim them.

Write a professional email to them letting you know you are back. I say professional because AC does not want to hear the long drawn out details of your illness. Simply state that you have been very ill, and you are now back. Between the email, and the DO articles, and upfront articles in cue, they will see you are indeed back, and paid assignments will slowly start to come to your inbox again. Once that happens, don't claim the maximum four assignments. Claim one assignment a day. Now you are up to one DO article, one upfront article and one assignment a day. Before you know it, your PV's will start creeping up to what they once were.

Reconnect with your readers. Start reading other's work and commenting again. AC has an awesome social network. I have met nothing but genuinely kind people on AC. Everyone really seems to support everyone. Remember that, and return the support. After all, whether writing just as pure passion for writing or as a means to earn an income, it feels very good when you are not only getting feedback from other writers and readers alike.

If you have a blog, write on there about your leave of absence and how you are now back to writing. This will get your readers back from outside of AC. Drop a line to your friends and family. This is a little more personal, and they probably already know you haven't been feeling well. They will be happy to hear the good news you are back, and will again start to read your work.

Now You're Back

Once you start seeing that you can once again get to where you were before you were ill, you will have the confidence to start writing more. You're writing may even be better than before! Sometimes when there is a break due to illness you will find you really miss your old routine. Because of the "rest" you may be able to think a little more clearly. Fact checking and research all the sudden isn't a chore anymore, it can even be a thrill.

In conclusion, do not be disheartened by the drop in your PV's. You can overcome it, and come back from it. You can even become a better writer from the experience. Take that time you were forced to take off and think about new goals and how to achieve them.