Now that I’ve shifted to making 99% of my income (and not taking a pay cut) by writing, I’m experiencing a new kind of happy. Sure, I was writing when I was doing marketing and PR, but it was more rote; less creative.

Now I’m writing articles on everything from disaster kits to car repair. I like diving into a subject for just a brief while, then coming up for air. I like the diversity of my days.

I thought I would feel remorse when I took the PR component down from my website. I didn’t.

And I feel the need to explain why the shift. I’ve figured out how to word it. The level of client I’ve been drawing at Egg expects big things on a small budget. He wants to get in every health or women’s magazine with his product. For that, you need connections I simply didn’t have. No doubt a firm that would have charged him $5k+ a month would have those connections. But I tried.

I set myself up for failure. With every new client, I had the hope that this time, this one, would be different. I’d help them realize wild success. It never really happened. And so I continued to make more money with a pit in my stomach.

No I don’t have to deal with the expectations side. Sure, the people who hire me to write expect it to be good writing, but I’m past worrying that it’s not up to par. I know I’m a good writer. I’ve worked 15 years to be one.

And every day I rush to my computer, eager to see what awaits me. Where my writing will take me. I’m pleased that it’s taking me here, to my own blog, even more. That’s what unleashing creativity can do!

A friend brought this up: what’s proper etiquette these days in terms of saying thank you? Is a wall post too public? Is a message on Facebook acceptable? Email? Or do we go back to that archaic (and tree-wasting) tradition of sending physical cards? You know: snail mail?

I think it’s fair to accept social media and email into our etiquette policy. Why not? We’re social creatures, and by the time your snail mailed thank you reaches a friend, you’ve probably talked to her, texted her and emailed her 100 times.

Last year was the first year I sent eVites for Max’s birthday party. I felt a bit weird, but I did know everyone on the list, so it wasn’t random school families that wouldn’t get my propensity for technology and efficiency. It went pretty well; only one parent didn’t RSVP, but I was ok with him not coming anyway.

That being said, I still believe in the occasional real card. I have stacks of them, and rare occasion to use them. And what a surprise it is for someone to open a card and find a little sunshine!

How do you say thank you? Or invite people to an event? Has this shifted since you’ve started using social media and email more?

Lately I’ve been a bit tired of the marketing and PR work I’m doing at Egg. When you stop feeling passionate about what you do, there’s a problem. And while certainly not everyone has the luxury to switch gears and try something else mid-stream in their career, I’m fortunate in that I can right now.

I’ve rediscovered writing as my passion. It’s always been there, but sometimes writing press release stifles my creativity. So I’m focusing on writing about other things. And no, I’m not writing the Great American Novel. But I am writing on Lead411 about startups, Small Business Trends about entrepreneurs, still on Marketing Eggspert (though not as much because it doesn’t pay me!) and a soon-to-be-launched site about all manner o’ things.

And it feels good.

I love writing about things that interest me or things I know nothing about. Marketing’s old hat. I could recite how to use Twitter and Facebook for marketing in my sleep. Now, disaster kits: that’s something I don’t know anything about. I learn, then I write.

When I was in college, I wanted to work for a magazine. I couldn’t have dreamed of a world where I could make a living writing on the internet (the what?). Writing how-to articles to help people do things. Writing about business. Getting published. It’s amazing, and I’m lucky I’ve got the talent to use.

So Egg’s not going anywhere just yet, though it might change its “shell” a bit. If you’re out there in cyberspace and find one of my articles, leave me a comment!