LI YUN ALVARADO
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Li Yun Alvarado's Blog

Poet, Parent, Puerto Rican! ¡Wepa!
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Amplifying Puerto Rican and underrepresented voices while supporting aspiring & emerging writers through her writing, teaching, and advocacy.

Disclosure: This site contains affiliate links; if you make a purchase using my links, I may earn a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting my work in this way!
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This App Changed My Life

4/26/2021

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I know I usually chat all things books (and there are some book recs at the end of this post), but with tax time around the corner (thank you deadline extension!), I’ve got my mind on my money and my money on my mind.
Book Recs: Writer Finances Personal & Professional
​I hope you’ll indulge me as I share some of the tools that have helped the husband and me up our finances game.

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And by “upping” I mean basic adulting stuff like: getting out of consumer debt, growing our emergency fund, saving for retirement, and doing estate planning for the peace of mind that the kiddos are all set if god forbid the worst ever happened.

Ok now that I write it all out like that I’m high-fiving myself because I’m so proud of us for getting our sh*t together.

Growing up, neither of us had solid role models when it came to long term financial planning, so this all feels like a huge accomplishment for our little familia.

And because I love sharing what's helped me with anyone who'll listen, below are two resources that were total game changers for us over the last two years:

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Writer Finances: Business, Bookkeeping, & Big Picture

4/15/2021

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Last week I wrote about getting my personal finances (and our family’s finances) in order.

I believe having personal finances under control can really help give you the room to think more intentionally about your creative finances (both income & expenses).

So if your personal finances feel overwhelming, I encourage you to check out last week's post first.
 
This week I’d like to share some concrete ways I approach my creative endeavors from a more entrepreneurial angle rather than what the IRS (not me) would call a “hobby”.

​In particular, I'll share the way I track and manage income and expenses related to my creative endeavors. 

WRITER FINANCES

Table of Contents

  1. OVERVIEW: BUSINESS OF BEING AN AUTHOR
  2. DAY-TO-DAY FINANCIALS: BOOKKEEPING, END OF YEAR REVIEW, & TAXES
  3. BIG PICTURE: ESTATE PLANNING FOR AUTHORS

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Writer Finances: 3 Keys to My (Personal) Finances

4/8/2021

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Personal Finance: HS Edition

​In the spring or summer before I was off to college, I went to a free financial workshop offered by Prep for Prep, a leadership development program for New York City students of color like myself.

I still remember two pieces of advice I got that day:
  1. Credit is an important part of creating your financial identity, so it is prudent to get a credit card with a small limit, and PAY IT OFF EACH MONTH in order to begin establishing a good credit history.
  2. As soon as you get a job that offers a retirement benefits package, max out your contributions to take advantage of your employer match because that's FREE money.
I'm sure I learned a lot more that day, but those are the two kernels of knowledge I still remember clearly. Both helped lay the foundations of my financial future.

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2020 Money Update

12/31/2020

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2020 Year In Review: Money Edition

Each year, I complete my annual planning workbook: Write Your 2021: Reflect, Set Intentions, & Chart a Course for Your Writing Life.

One of the things I track, and like to share about, are the various income streams I've established to help support my creative life.

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Over the last few years I've shared these money updates on the blog, in part because us creatives aren't always as honest and transparent about the role money -- and more precisely financial security -- plays in our ability to create and do good work in the world.
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#WT2020

11/27/2020

 

3 Day Guided Reflection on Your 2020 Writing Life

Flyer for #WT202: 3 Day Guided Reflection on Your Writing Life liyunalvarado.com/blog/wt2020
TL:DR
Register now for this FREE 3 Day email series.
You'll receive daily writing prompts to help you intuitively and strategically reflect on your 2020 Writing (and/or Creative) Life.

​By gaining clarity on what worked well (and what didn't) in 2020, you'll be ready to set intentions and chart a course for a successful 2021

To receive the first email in the 3-Day series on Monday, December 14,
click here to register for #WT2020

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The Not-So-Secret Path to My Publishing Success

9/14/2020

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New Publication Alert! 

"Welfare Baby" 
in the New York Daily News on Monday, September 14, 2020

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NY Daily News page:

I’ve written before about the ways in which I can often trace my publications to personal and community relationships I’ve developed along the way.

My most recent OpEd, "Welfare Baby," which ran in the NY Daily News is no different.

What does it take to get published?

The simplest answer? ​​


Write, Revise, Submit, Repeat
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That’s it. You keep doing those things until your work is accepted and published. 

The order might change, there might be some revise and resubmit thrown in there, but at the heart of it, that is the work.
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Author Platform Building

7/5/2020

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5 Mistakes Writers Make When Building Their Author Platforms

It's July 2020, and I'm discussing mistakes writers make when building their author platforms all month long.

To get insights like these delivered to your inbox each week, sign up here.

You can access any of the emails you may have already missed using the links below.

If you have friends who might find this information valuable, share this page with them and encourage them to sign up for the email series!

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2019 Money Update

1/3/2020

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Last year I wrote a lengthy blog post about my relationship with money and my creative life:

"Mamihood, Writing, and Money: Moving Past My Money Shame & Crafting a Creative Life I Love.”

As part of that post, I outlined potential streams of income for 2019, and I thought I would update you on how things worked out on the money front in 2019.
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WRITERS! You Need a Website!

6/5/2019

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Do I Need an Author Website?


​YES! You Need an Author Website!

Yeah, yeah, yeah, you've heard that before.

But do YOU really need a website? Do you really need one right now?

The truth is, it depends.

In general I say: "If you're a writer, then you need a website."

But maybe you're still not so sure, so I created a handy dandy flowchart just for you:
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​Do You Need an Author Website?

Flowchart Image: Do You Need an Author Website?

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Photo Recaps: AWP and The Muse & The Marketplace

4/12/2019

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It's taken me a week to recover from the whirlwind trips to Portland, OR for AWP and Boston, MA for The Muse & The Marketplace.

The best part of each was definitely connecting with old friends and making some new ones.

I documented my fun on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and below is a sampling of the pics I took.

​You can click on any of the posts to access the original Instagram or Facebook posts and explore further.

Enjoy!

Writers Conferences Recaps: #AWP19 & #Muse19

#Muse19


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    Cover Image. Workbook for Writers & Creatives. Write Your Year: Reflect, Set Intentions, and Chart a Course for Your Writing Life.

    Write Your Year

    a workbook for
    Writers & Creatives
    ​by Li Yun Alvarado
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    Words or Water
    by Li Yun Alvarado
    Finishing Line Press, 2016

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    Li Yun Alvarado

    Puerto Rican Poet, Scholar & Parent

    Amplifying Puerto Rican and underrepresented voices while supporting aspiring & emerging writers through her writing, teaching, and advocacy.

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Cover of the poetry collection, Words or Water. Features a black and white print of a woman with outlines of birds in her hair.
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