Riparian's Journal

Where are you and where are you going?
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jennypenny
Posts: 6851
Joined: Sun Jul 03, 2011 2:20 pm

Re: Riparian's Journal

Post by jennypenny »

That's awesome Rip!

What are you using for waste? Composting toilet? Outhouse? Something else?

EMJ
Posts: 351
Joined: Sat Nov 20, 2010 6:37 pm

Re: Riparian's Journal

Post by EMJ »

Admire your efforts - and muscles!
I've lived in an 8-sided house with a dome upper story for long enough to know I don't want to do it again. Your plan looks better than the house I lived in. This time I built a rectangular tiny house.

riparian
Posts: 650
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2011 4:00 am

Re: Riparian's Journal

Post by riparian »

Outhouse. It's standard around here.

EMJ, thanks! It's gonna have a loft. Which is what I'm trying to figure out on the internet right now: how do I know if the loft will stay... aloft? LOL

riparian
Posts: 650
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2011 4:00 am

Re: Riparian's Journal

Post by riparian »

I've been waiting for something to change to update, but I've basically made minimal progress at everything. So I'm just updating anyways.

- House #1 is almost ready to rent but climate change and life are keeping me in town so I've been sleeping in it and stagnating.
- I got accepted to a super awesome grad program that I kind of invented and since I'm so smart and interesting I basically get to do all independent study (in the woods, yay) and co-invent my classes. Basically I'm trying to buy some authority for a project AND this is intellectually exciting for me. My other grad program found out about some activism i was involved in and sent me an email telling me to shut up and get in line, so.
- The power went out here and I hit the mother load of fancy cheese in the dumpster.
- Book money is still decreasing, still need to release another one, but...
- Have been absorbed in school and activism.
- I've been stuck in town forever cause the river won't freeze. Wanna go home now.

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Riparian's Journal

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

I just read your journal and found it really interesting. Thanks for sharing!

I also started with passive internet income and am working on getting into real estate.

riparian
Posts: 650
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2011 4:00 am

Re: Riparian's Journal

Post by riparian »

You guys. Guess how many books I sold in 2013?

8,941.

That includes 99cent specials but not free promos. I'm not sure but probably somewhere around $12k.

To put that in perspective, if I'd worked much harder and sold a book to a small artsy pressing probably would have gotten like $1-3k.

rube
Posts: 883
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2012 7:54 pm
Location: Europe (NL)

Re: Riparian's Journal

Post by rube »

wow, well done!! How much time did you spend to achieve this?

m741
Posts: 1187
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:31 am
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: Riparian's Journal

Post by m741 »

Nice, that's an impressive amount of books, and a cool sign that people really enjoy reading what you've written.

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GandK
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Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2011 1:00 pm

Re: Riparian's Journal

Post by GandK »

That's awesome! :D

Dragline
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Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2011 1:50 am

Re: Riparian's Journal

Post by Dragline »

Excellent!

riparian
Posts: 650
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2011 4:00 am

Re: Riparian's Journal

Post by riparian »

Rube, not as much time as you would think but also it's hard to say.

I had a paying-subscriber-only blog for several years, so what I did was to take stories from that that went together and put them into a short, zine length book. I threw it up on amazon to see how it'd do and it did well so I did it again.

So maybe something like:

2 hours compiling things I'd already written
5 hours over a month or so polishing it up a little
$1-300 for editor
2 hours going over edits
$10 for cover
$10 for kindle formatting
1 hr coordinating cover and formatting and uploading to amazon
2 hrs on initial release marketing
5 minutes a week after that to check sales and reviews and make Facebook posts
1 hour every month or three to have and promote some kind of special or do something else to keep the rank up.

Dautsen
Posts: 24
Joined: Thu Dec 12, 2013 4:58 pm

Re: Riparian's Journal

Post by Dautsen »

riparian wrote:What do you do?
Whatever I want. *change topic*
How do you make it out there with no job?
I'm really frugal. If you don't spend money you don't have to make it.

I know people are always talking about having too much time, but really? By the time I get up, do yoga, have a cup of tea and write in my journal, make breakfast, do a little work outside, get some exercise, read some things and think some things, make dinner and clean up around the house, go for a walk, the day is almost over! How do people have time to spend 8 hours a day at a job?
I looove your journal! I recognize myself in many of your thoughts. I'm aiming for a similar autonomous lifestyle, but in a different environment. I like to interact with people on a daily basis, aah extroverts :roll:

Congrats on all the achievements you've made in the past years. Looking forward to many more of your stories :)

Never thought about teaching or giving workshops in the long run? You have so many skills, talents, the right environment + the witty talk for it. It might make for another nice income stream :)

riparian
Posts: 650
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2011 4:00 am

Re: Riparian's Journal

Post by riparian »

Hey twin, I'm glad you like my journal. What kind of workshops do you think I could do that people would buy expensive plane tickets to come to? I do some little teaching, but I'm bad at talking in front of big groups. I had to talk at a press conference recently and afterwards a drunk told me I should get public speaking lessons! LOL. Strangely I would have been perfectly comfortable taking my clothes off instead of talking.

This has been the month of many small mechanical problems. The chain lube stopped coming out in my chainsaw but I fixed it. The generator broke (just the spring/clutch on the pull start) but I fixed it. Someone gave me another generator. It sparks but gets no compression. I ordered an exhaust valve for it. My boat motor got very wet and getting it out was a come-along worthy adventure. I paid a friend to work on that after I dried it out cause the odds of me messing up cause I didn't know what I was doing were huge.

This is also the month of writing success. I'm in a literary journal for the first time that's coming out in a couple days. I've sold two articles to big websites (but nothing's for sure until it's done, and it's not done) and I have a third inquiry out.

Politics and school are both moving so slow. These huge systems seem to just get in the way of themselves. But I'm taking exciting classes and I think I have a great committee.

It seems like I'm really close to getting affordable health care, which has been a crazy process. But it'll cost about $30/m and I'll have a $250 deductible $500 out of pocket.

The one rental is ready to go but when it was cold I decided to wait till the coldest part of winter was over to rent it out. Now we're having a heat wave. I'm gonna add insulation this summer, but in the meantime I think I'll get started on renting it out.

I signed into my phone site last night and spammed all my customers, after not being on in like a year. An old regular called me and I made $74 right away, but then I logged out and went to sleep.

So, some progress all around, finally.

riparian
Posts: 650
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2011 4:00 am

Re: Riparian's Journal

Post by riparian »

And now that the month is over my semi ERE income was $608, I spent $582 cause generator.

In February maybe tires. :(

owlet
Posts: 20
Joined: Sat Feb 01, 2014 11:08 am
Location: Virginia

Re: Riparian's Journal

Post by owlet »

Oh my gosh, I just "wasted" all morning reading your journal. You are amazing and inspiring. I plan on trying the e-book thing and your results are v. encouraging.

INFP's represent!

riparian
Posts: 650
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2011 4:00 am

Re: Riparian's Journal

Post by riparian »

Thanks! :)

Hoosier Daddy
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Location: Indiana

Re: Riparian's Journal

Post by Hoosier Daddy »

Riparian I just read the whole thread thus far; Absolutely amazing. I really hope my life one day includes "Wednesday with a chance of moose hunting" or perhaps "Caught 64 salmon today... Can't believe there are people in cubicles right now..."

Taking what I have learned from you about the cost of living remotely in Alaska I am beginning to wonder if I could retire sooner than expected... I'd imagine I could buy 2 rental properties in a college town (in cash) nearby and rent each out for roughly $800 via a property manager over the next 5 years and then cash out my pension and buy some acreage in Alaska while I sit back and let the checks roll in... Very inspirational. Maybe we will cross Moose paths one day... Is that a term? Moose path?

workathome
Posts: 1298
Joined: Sat Jun 29, 2013 3:06 pm

Re: Riparian's Journal

Post by workathome »

Have you considered making videos of your woodsy/basic lifestyle?

Survivalist and wilderness videos of "badass" men are very popular on Youtube, and some of the channel owners have huge followings and make enough income to live off! I imagine you being (the only?) badass female wilderness surviving off-the-grid in Alaska would be incredibly popular and could easily get more money than your hypnotist videos - once the following was built.

frugal-one
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Dec 29, 2013 9:10 am
Location: Ohio

Re: Riparian's Journal

Post by frugal-one »

I have to agree. Would love to see those!!

riparian
Posts: 650
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2011 4:00 am

Re: Riparian's Journal

Post by riparian »

@Hoosier, you'd need to get your MBR (master bush rat) first.

@workathome, I made some porn that includes snow, trails, kerosene lamps, etc. LOL. I'm not consistent enough for a youtube channel, and my life doesn't have that wholesome hippie aesthetic.

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