Write your own ticket p1 - Military Success Stories - Military Times EDGE

When he was deployed, Lee Kelley dreamed what most soldiers dream when they’re at war. He dreamed of all the time he’d spend with his wife and kids when he got home. He dreamed of long leisurely hikes through the American wilderness that would ease his way back from Iraq.

A signal officer in the Army, Kelley became a blogging sensation downrange. Even now, Wordsmith at War remains one of the most popular military blogs.

“When I went from Iraq, and every day stuff exploding and people dying, I thought I would have time to work through some things once I got home,” Kelley said. But all those dreams were about to turn into a nightmare.

Even as he got off the plane that day in the summer of 2006, his wife of seven years handed him the kids and left. “My marriage had been a house of cards, and there was absolutely no time to transition.”

As a newly single dad, he decided his military career would have to end. Building on the success of his blog, “I took a leap of faith and started my own writing company.”

These days, Kelley couldn’t be happier.

“Knock on wood, but I am absolutely, positively living the dream now,” said Kelley, who works from home mostly, weaving his gift with words with his knowledge of the military to craft résumés for high-level Defense Department civilians and senior brass moving into the corporate work force.

“I feel very blessed. I don’t have to commute. I get to take my kids to school every day. And so far this year, I’m making more than I was as a captain on active duty. My only problem is there’s so much work, I can’t do it all,” Kelley said.

The freelancer’s life isn’t for everyone, he cautions, but here are some words of wisdom for those interested in writing their own ticket:

Hone your chops

The pen may be mightier than the sword, but the skills to use it well still need sharpening. “Writing is just like any sport: You have to practice and bring a sense of discipline to it every day,” Kelley said.

Even those on active duty can sharpen their writer’s edge. Base newspapers are almost always looking for extra help, and writing for them is a good way to build your portfolio. Kelley’s blog led to a series of freelance gigs for The New York Times. His essays have made their way into five anthologies and also helped pay the bills.

Reinvent yourself

“While I knew the Army wasn’t going to work anymore, I started preparing the battlefield even while I was still in uniform,” Kelley said. “I needed to find a way to transition out while reinventing myself.” He kept his full-time job in the Guard for about 18 months as he started to moonlight as a freelancer. Web sites such as Elance.com helped get him started. Some good old-fashioned networking brought in local assignments writing advertising copy.

Build the business

Like all self employment, freelance writing is a business. And businesses take time to grow. Kelley grabbed a civilian day job to help pay the bills on time even while filing business license paperwork for his newly created Desert Sun Writing and Editing.

At the same time, he built his Web site, reflagged his blog as The Glass Half-Full Report and geared it more toward marketing his new line of work. It wasn’t long before he dropped the day job and was working for himself full time.

Building a business also meant carving out both the mental and physical space to work.

“You can’t run a home office sitting on your couch with a laptop. There has to be dedicated space,” Kelley said. For him, that’s a separate room with dedicated phone and fax lines, dual monitors and everything else to keep his business ticking.

“It takes a lot more self-discipline to be productive. You have to treat yourself like an employee and put yourself on the clock.”

Find your anchor

Kelley built credibility and separated himself from the pack of online résumé mills by getting certified through a major career transition company called Career Pro Global, which specializes in federal professionals.

“I responded to an ad,” he said. “It was perfect synchronicity. They were looking for former military personnel with a strong writing background. I had never even considered that market, but it was a perfect fit.”

The certification — which includes a self-paced study course — costs about $900. “Career Pro Global has been a perfect anchor for my business,” he said, by providing a steady stream of clients.

“I’ve loved helping translate military careers into meaningful employment,” said Kelley, who often find himself helping people still in Iraq and Afghanistan line up jobs for when they get home. “I was in their boots not so long ago, so this is really satisfying.”

Living the dream

When Kelley says he’s living the dream, though, he’s not talking about writing résumés.

“I’m living the dream as a writer because this other work allows me to schedule time in to do the creative writing that I love,” he said.

Kelley is working on a novel and a screenplay, and is in negotiations to ghostwrite a book.

“I am a dreamer. This niche I’ve found is fantastic, but I see it as a stepping stone to bigger and better dreams. If I have it my way, in the next three to five years I’ll be making my living writing fiction or screenplays full time.”