Hiya writer friends,
Like most long-time freelancers, I’ve had to reinvent my writing career multiple times. More so because I’m easily bored and the moment something becomes a specialty, instead of doubling down and using it to further my career, I go off to do something new and exciting that will challenge me (and drop my income).
I’ve been trying to break out of that sabotaging pattern in the last year and to practice what I endlessly preach: build on existing sources of income rather than replacing them. After a break of several years, I spent the last year building up my freelance clients (again), and as long as things stay stable-ish and I don’t get in my own way (again), I should be on track to making six figures this year working 2-4 hours a day.
The 2-4-hours-a-day piece is important to me because I’m not just interested in freelancing. I love writing articles and reporting stories, but I also want to build The Wordling and launch a book career. I’ve spent a lot of of time this past year being patient and prioritizing my freelancing so I could bring it to a point where it didn’t require non-stop hustle. Now that goal is in sight, which means I can shift my focus to building the book business up to an equal, if not higher, revenue. This time, though, instead of replacing my freelancing income, I’m determined to add to it. I want to have a career through which I can indulge all my interests and passions, not be forced to selectively sift through them.
One of the best pieces of advice I received early in my career was from an editor at TIME magazine, who was paying me a daily rate. I’d reported a story for her, then filed it along with my invoice. When the edits came back, I dutifully dealt with them and thought nothing of it. Two days later, the editor called me. “Why have you not charged a fee for the edits?” she asked.
“They only took a couple of hours in the morning,” I replied. (I also hadn’t known I could charge for revisions. Duh.)
Then, the six-figure question. “Did you do anything else that morning, or were they taxing enough that you were done for the rest of the morning?”
“I was done,” I said.
“I’ll pay you for half a day,” she said.
I understood then that when I factored in time for an assignment, it wasn’t just about the time spent in the chair. It was also the time spent thinking, the time spent reporting, the time spent traveling, and the time spent recovering. While it’s impractical and unfair to charge a client for recovery time, I had to charge an hourly or daily rate that factored in time I wouldn’t be able to work for other clients (or myself). So now I do.
It’s helped me feel much less pressure about being “on” all day long, and allowed me to make a respectable income working only a few hours a day, leaving me time to focus on other business interests and passions. I spent most of my career believing that I had to kill myself to make a six-figure income, and that growing beyond it would require a sacrifice of everything I enjoyed about my life. It’s part of the reason I stepped away from freelancing.
How interesting to circle back, only to find that the easy path had been available all along. I just hadn’t been ready to see it.
By the way, I’ve put together a series that details the behind-the-scenes of how I broke into TIME and The New York Times, landed the contributing editor position at Elle magazine, and made over $10,000 from a single story idea (that I didn’t come up with). In addition to being entertained by all the embarrassing stories I share, you’ll also learn how to get your foot in the door with top publications, even when you don’t have a contact (or a clue). Check them out here.
Cheers,
Natasha