More Than What Pays the Bills
Crap. Another cliché?
Hello, hello!
If I were writing this article on Medium I’d probably have to title it something like, “How I Write Full Time and Also Don’t Starve,” just so someone would read it.
But I don’t write over there much anymore, and one of the reasons (besides the fact that I haven’t yet managed to find a way to add 8 uninterrupted work hours into my week) is that the place is already saturated with a million and one articles about productivity and creating your own destiny, targeting entrepreneurs in general and writers in particular. I don’t want to teach other writers and makers how to make a living; I don’t even know how to do that for myself yet. I just want to tell you a story.
And also, I prefer writing more oblique titles for the thirteen people who actually read my newsletter.
On February 20th, so a little more than 2 months ago, I started my own local online news publication. It’s fun, I enjoy it, and I’ve met and interacted with a ton of my town’s residents who enjoy the publication - many of whom have ideas for how I could improve the pub in the future.
Something else started happening, too, though: People started reading my work. They started telling me what a good writer I am. And some of them even started asking me to write things for them.
I’ve been approached a few times for content writing before, but for the first time now I actually have regular freelance work. Work for which people are willing to pay me commensurate with my experience, competency, and command of the English language.
I tried to get freelance gigs when I first started writing. There are websites like Upwork and Fiverr where you can go look for jobs - but I spent hours applying and didn’t find anyone willing to pay anywhere near a fair rate for my time. So I went to Medium, wrote some things, made a little bit of pocket change, and sold some articles to publications here and there.
But, mostly, for the last 46 months, I’ve just been doing two things: writing and learning. Writing, revising, rewriting, editing, talking to other writers, and all the other things that writers do to get better at writing. Learning - about how to build a website and use social media, how to create a compelling call to action, how to find your audience, how to organize nonfiction writing, how to lay out graphics, and a ton more.
And, it turns out, I can transfer all the learning I’ve done for my author business to just about any other business. It’s sometimes easier, in fact, because fiction writing is so hard to market.
Only by doing all this unpaid labor and by putting my work out there have I become known to people who would take advantage of my services. My craft has improved, as has the speed with which I can put out quality work. I’ve gotten more professional and polished. I know my way around branding, marketing, copywriting, and content creation.
And, apparently, people are willing to pay for it. It also helps that I enjoy this work when it’s (a) supporting someone else and (b) a much quicker turnaround time than a whole entire novel.
One of my writing mentors says that everything you do to generate income that allows you to write - whether it’s babysitting money, a new computer, or noise canceling headphones that help you write in silence - is writing work. I might not be spending this time writing fiction, but earning money freelancing allows me to make space for my fiction and still feel like I’m contributing financially - which is important to me.
So, that’s a really long-winded way to say: I have made zero progress on the book. I didn’t expect to if you’ll recall, until later this summer. But I am making progress on my author business, which is just as important.
One other thing I want to share with you is that I have a book coming out.
Wait. What?
It’s true. In an a twist of fate that would be infuriating if it weren’t absurd, my daughter and I have written a picture book together, and we were somehow able to conceptualize, produce, and publish it during the time my novel has been gathering dust waiting on agents. It’s called…
It’s inspiring and simple and, thanks to our wonderful illustrator, Corryn Webb, it’s GORGEOUS. And it’s coming out SOON! Read more about it here, and be sure to sign up for updates and publication notices if you’ve got a kid or more in your life. We even made some free bookmarks to thank you for signing up!
This thing will be for sale in, like, a month. Who knows - maybe if I end up going the self-publishing route for my novel, I’ll be able to apply the things I learn from this process.
Alright, that’s it for today. My brain is full. More next week.
