It was back to earth with a bump today as we both returned to the day jobs. I dislike going to work on a Monday at the best of times, especially if I've been doing what I refer to as 'proper' work all weekend so I don't feel as if I have had a break, so returning after being by the seaside all week was just cruel. Working for a solicitor is what I do for money and the 'career' stuff is done for love, although I consider myself a writer first and foremost. It would be nice to finally be able to earn a living from podcasts/radio/writing/kazoo gigs especially as I turn 40 next August and it would be a nice fortieth present to be able to do this as a main job. To be fair I am happy being creative and sharing that with people who enjoy it but I have bigger ambitions and trying to squeeze them in over a weekend or evening is going to make things difficult. If more people made donations then I would get more filmed items off the ground, it isn't as if the PayPal button is invisible to people who read this blog, yet donations are still a slow trickle of money rather than the big influx of cash. Oddly, not one person has wanted me to video myself playing a song of their choice on the kazoo and paying me a fiver for it. When I came up with that idea I actually thought it would be quite a lucrative sideline, possibly one that would have bitten me on the arse when I had to spend every waking hour playing songs on the kazoo. Maybe people would try to pick an obscure B-side or a track that's only available on Japanese import to catch me out but they would have a job trying to catch me out. 

The audio stuff pretty much looks after itself as it doesn't cost me any money to make, although I do make them for no fee and give them away for free so maybe I do deserve some kind of reward. I might do some some soul searching in the New Year and try and obtain a sponsor for The Sunday Alternative Podcast, of course I wouldn't compromise on anything so potential sponsors might be put off, However this might be the way to be able to pay for studio time in order to get a band in, expenses for the guests (travel, refreshments) and possibly pay myself a wage. I don't have expensive tastes and can get by on enough money for a couple of pints at a gig and a packet of cigarettes but I do have a fair amount of bills and debts that have caught up with me after a while so as long as I can match what I earn from the day job then there's no risk. 

The Sunday Alternative Podcast #64 is available now from here

Please read my November newsletter about funding for new projects.

This week's episode of The Random Saturday Sessions is here.