Secret But Awesome Freelancing Gig Revealed

Last night I was finally given permission to unleash my Secret But Awesome Freelancing Gig to the Internet masses, so unleash it I will. Yippee!

Remember back in April when Amalah mentioned my pregnancy on Mom's Daily Dose? Well, my readership increased a bit because of that, and one of those readers just so happened to be an editor for www.parents.com, the Web site for Parents, American Baby, and Family Circle magazines. She approached me about writing a pregnancy blog (and when appropriate, possibly a mom blog) for their site, which was set to relaunch with a new format sometime in July. After some back and forth, the deal was sealed, and as of July 1st, I can officially call myself a freelance writer.

I will be posting three times a week at Parental Discretion Advised about the nitty-gritty details of my gestating experience, most likely on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday because I'm anal like that. There's five posts up there right now, the latest one published just last night, which is perfect, because while you're getting acclimated to the new blog, I'm going to take a few days to speed-read the second book I need to finish for my class, which will hopefully allow me to jump on Harry Potter's book seven bandwagon before any spoilers are revealed. Everybody wins!

Some notes to keep in mind for the new site:

• Parents.com relaunched with a new format last Thursday, and there are still various formatting kinks to work out. The color scheme is wonderful, but the blog headers won't be ready until next week, and right now the text margins are non-existent; things like that. So please bear with us as we work through those issues. If you yourself experience any problems, feel free to let me know and I'll pass them along to my editor.
• Since I plan on featuring this gig on my resume, I've ditched the Frema alias and decided to use my full name. I'm also attempting to keep Parental Discretion Advised free from any mention of my personal blog, so I ask that you please do the same. I'm sure eventually the two will formalize their commitment to each other, but until then, they're perfectly comfortable with an occasional romp in the sack over here.
• In order to leave a comment, you must register with Parents.com. I know it's an extra step, but if you enjoy commenting here, I would encourage you to do so "over there." We've had some great discussions about various topics on "What're you lookin' at?" The new blog wouldn't be the same without the benefit of your experiences.

And the most important one (to me, anyway):

• I am not shutting down this blog. I will continue to update this blog on a regular basis. I will continue to talk about pregnancy. TLF will continue to rock the house.

I don't think I can adequately communicate to you how important this silly little Web site is to me. I've spent the last three years fighting writer's block, hammering out my feelings on a wide range of issues, and building up a readership that I love and respect (yes, you). I have no intentions of abandoning everything I've created here. Last week I wrote four entries for Parents.com and five for this site. While not indicative of my future posting schedule, I hope it shows you that my dedication to one blog will not affect my passion for the other.

So far, the Parents.com blogs are amazing. The roster includes published authors, travel writers, and magazine editors (and one gal I already list on my blogroll; congrats, Emily!), and I'm really glad I didn't know that before I started writing, because crafting the new material would've been even more nervewracking than it already was. But I think I've found my voice, and I'll continue to finetune it, just like I do here. In the meantime, thank you all so much for listening to what I have to say, and being so supportive, and helping me to create an atmosphere that made it possible for me to expand my professional horizons.

Especially your mom. I couldn't have done this without her.

Comments

[Emily]

WHOOOOOO!

[Katie]

How exciting for you! This is awesome! I tried to register over there, but it had mental issues and kept giving me errors. I'll try again later :-)

[Liz]

Great news!! Congratulations.

[Jessi]

A double dose of Frema! How great! I'll be following your trials, tribulations, and joys in both places - I hope to be in your shoes sometime soon myself!

[Marriage-101]

That is SUPER awesome. Congrats to you!

[Rachel]

That is awesome!!! You definitely deserve it; you are a wonderful writer!

I totally wanna be you when I grow up.

[Audrey]

Congrats! That is so exciting. Am headed over to register and check out your new gig right this second!

[Molly]

Yeahhhhh! Parents.com picked a winner, here!

So excited for your new gig. :o)

[mjd]

Congratulations, the formal announcement, this is so exciting. As your fame continues, we can all say that we knew you when...

[Isabel]

Hooray for rocking the TLF house and the parents.com house.

[Michelle]

Congrats! I'm going to register right now!

[butterflygirl]

Congrats and good luck!

[Fraulein N]

Congrats!

[debi]

Oh Frema I am so very happy and proud. OMG! It's wonderful that even more people will have the opportunity to read you. Yippy!

[Katie]

Would it be possible to add a permanent sidebar link so that we can easily click over to your Parents blog?

[daddy d]

Professional writing has moved to a new level. I am so proud of you.

[Sasha]

I'm so totally happy to have you! Your list post had me laughing like a crazy person.
--Sasha

[Silly Hily]

I have been very busy fighting moles and such lately so I haven't been able to give my full attention to your amazing freelancing work yet but don't lose faith in me. I promise I'm still out here and will support your new gig 110%. Just wanted you to know that in case you were wondering why I have not commented.
Now, let's celebrate! Tell you what, I'll have a glass of wine just for you tonight. Congratulations! This is really is amazing and without sounding all "your mom"....I'm so proud of you.