Welcome to The Writing Life, Laurel!
Your wish sounds a lot like mine. Unfortunately, the system is getting smaller and working within it isn't getting any easier.
Also unfortunately, jobs are getting harder to find, inside or outside your area of expertise. I was laid off in June of 2007 and have seen job hunting go from bad to practically impossible. It's also difficult to find volunteer jobs where I live. I'm filling in the big blank spot in my resume with my writing now. Sure hope it works when employers finally need to hire some help.
Of course, I went about the "writing for a living" thing all wrong. Shelved all the novels I was working on (good part of the plan) for another book-length project, a cookbook. What I should have done was query cooking magazines and websites for work. That would have produced income (I hope) and positioned me as someone who knew what she was talking about when the cookbook was finished.
There's still hope - for both of us. I'm starting the query process. My cookbook won't miss me while I'm working on a paying article any more than it misses me already. The temptation to start to outline another book spun off the cookbook could use the competition and afford me other venues to query.
Why not try something short to wet your writing feet? I queried a filler piece once and ended up with a 500-word article. (Another unfortunate - the magazine went out of business right after we signed the contract. The kill fee and the website payment were the same - so I got paid and published.)
My writing wish is that we all find friendly editors with whom we can build lasting relationships. Oh, and make enough to pay the bills (or at least some of them).
JudyB
