I don't have a journal here -- I'm too busy these days writing, juggling three kids (2 with special needs) and managing my own health issues and other life stuff to do a journal, but I'll answer the issue of monetizing writing. Someone PM'd me and for some reason the system won't let me reply! So this is an answer for him/her as well. Much of this is borrowed from a post I published on MMM.
1. I publish on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Smashwords, All Romance eBooks and on Apple's iTunes. I have a direct account for all but Apple, which I use draft2digital.com to access.
2. I publish contemporary and historical romance under different pen names (I've been experimenting for 3 years now to find what sells, and deliberately chose romance because it's the single largest market in book writing and rabid fans buy 30-40 book per MONTH. Tap into the right niche and you can make serious money).
3. I write between 0 and 5,000 words per day. Most books are novella (30K) to full-length (80K) words. I have published 5 since November, with a 6th book coming out in the next 2 weeks or so. #7 comes out in June and #8 in July. I write SERIES -- this increases sales, as I hook a reader with #1 and the conversion rate for sales carries through nicely. Find 1 reader -- make more sales instantly, vs. writing stand-alone books.
4. Majority of my income is from Amazon and Barnes & Noble (which is true for most self-publishers), though Apple iTunes/iBookstore sales are really climbing.
5. I started doing this three years ago. First month I made about $15. March, April and May 2013 are a solid 5 figures.
6. I've hired cover designers and formatters, but over time my husband learned to do those things, so I rarely hire that out (which makes the start-up cost for a new book extremely cheap -- we license images through sites like canstock and fotolia, and use free fonts).
7. I DO spend money on good editing. All my contemporary and historical romance books have been edited professionally.
8. I DO spend money on professional writer organization memberships, like Romance Writers of America. I've attended conferences and meetings and learned a great deal there.
9. Kindleboards' Writer's Cafe (kboards.com) is a fantastic resource, as are Joe Konrath's blog, ThePassiveVoice.com, RomanceDivas.com for aspiring romance writers. If you are into other genres (thrillers, police procedurals, horror, mystery) go to Kindleboards and ask around, to learn which sites tend to collect those writers.
10. I experiment. A LOT. I view my writing as a great emotional and intellectual outlet BUT IT IS A BUSINESS. I am not a diva who thinks her work is perfect and untouchable. I change it, tweak it, and throw out thousands of words if they aren't marketable (and ouch, it hurts to do that sometimes!). I am extremely business driven and will change topics on a dime to write about what's hot and WHAT SELLS.
11. I have been monetizing my writing in some form online since 1997. This is just the most remunerative way for me, but I have a lot of experience with SEO, marketing techniques, where not to bother marketing, etc.
I was a bit sick when I wrote it though. I still am in case I do it again, lol.