Compiling a 100 choices list

Here’s an example of the “100 Choices” list I mentioned in my last post. The question I used to get things started was, How can I make money this year? (I did in fact leave off the illegal/immoral possibilities, such as selling crack cocaine from my living room):

query my favorite magazine editors
query magazine editors I’ve never worked with before
query magazine editors everyone hates to work with
pitch a book idea to a former editor
pitch a book idea to an editor I’ve never worked with
pitch a book reprint to a current publisher
coach writers who are trying to write a book proposal
coach writers who are trying to write a book
coach professionals (who aren’t writers) who are trying to write a book
ask colleagues for referrals to people in need of writing/editing services
do developmental editing for a book publisher
do copy editing for a book publisher
write (and sell!) essays or other creative non-fiction
write (and sell!) short stories
get a part-time job at the coffee shop I frequent
get a part-time job somewhere else
get a staff job anywhere that’ll hire me
get a staff job with an organization that has a progressive and flexible work environment
work as an independent contractor for an organization that ditto
sell some of the things cluttering up my closet on craigslist
organize a community-wide garage sale and sell some of the things cluttering up my closet
sell my blood plasma
become a paid medical guinea pig
sell ad space on my blog
sell ad space on my website
sell ad space on my car
sell ad space on my t-shirt
make the kid get a paper route
get a paper route of my own
start baby-sitting for neighbors
start an online business selling ebooks
start an ebay business selling garage sale finds
sell all the books I’ve read and will never re-read to the used book store
hire on as a field hand
write complaint letters for frustrated consumers
write ad copy for frustrated corporations
write business plans for all the people I know who want to start a bar or restaurant
write business plans for all the people I know who want to be writers
offer research services to writers I know
fail to pay my taxes and get a job in the Obama administration (sorry, couldn’t resist)
run for elected office and get voted in
grow flowers in my backyard and sell them at the local farmers’ market
grow peppers in my backyard and ditto (these are the only two things I know how to grow)
take in laundry
take in sewing
claim the forty million dollars that’s waiting for me in a bank account in Nigeria
spam everyone I know with ads for Viagra or hot girlz. Someone has to be spending money on these things, right?
send letters of introduction to custom publishers offering to write what needs written
teach an English class as an adjunct
teach an Art Center class
teach an online class for a university
teach an online class that I devise
join the circus the way mom always threatened to do
raise chickens and sell the eggs
raise chickens and sell the chickens
bake cookies and sell them at the local coffee shop
start a local coffee shop
write “sample” term papers
become a mystery shopper
sell craft items at county fairs
sell my soul – oops, already did that
sign on as crew for a cruise ship
give psychic readings
write a best-selling novel
write two best-selling novels
build a better mousetrap
speculate on real estate – oops, too late for that
enter wet t-shirt contests
get paid not to enter wet t-shirt contests
teach other people how to sew
teach other people how to bake
since I’m so retro, I could be a home-ec teacher, fer cryin’ out loud
teach a martial arts class
start a martial arts school
teach self defense lessons
become a famous columnist
become a less-famous but still well-compensated columnist
write a screenplay that gets optioned
write two screenplays that get optioned
teach other writers how to pitch their ideas
speak at conferences and conventions
become a guest lecturer at Yale
become a guest lecturer at anywhere that’ll hire me
give seminars and talks
give podcasts and make people pay for them
write for all the organizations that think I should write for the exposure (i.e., free) and find out if you can live on nothing but good vibes
ghostwrite articles for business people
ghostwrite books for famous people
ghostwrite books for non-famous people
work with non-native speakers of English
learn another language and become a translator
learn a skill I don’t already have and do that
get an MBA and become a business consultant
write profiles for corporate websites
write anything for corporate websites
write anything for websites
write anything for corporations
become a life coach
become a life coach coach
become a coach