I'm 24, no dependents, and a full-time freelance writer with a niche in articles and blogging, and experience in writing about internet marketing, culture, and current events. I’ve also done a little screenwriting and persuasive copy, but only one gig each. No college degree, but no decent clients have ever asked for one.
I'm also planning a move to another city, with a goal—set early last year—for this April. This has been in the works for a long time, it's really important to me, and although I'm willing to postpone it, I'd prefer not to have to set it back very long.
But here’s the rub: I’m broke. Due to a run of bad luck in December, I'm starting 2014 with no money after paying the bills. So I’m setting a goal to get my business functioning again in three months. Plenty of people have started writing businesses in a shorter period of time, and my goal is pretty modest, at ~$2k per month. (With a floor of $1.5k. I’ve lived comfortably off of less before, my rent in the new city will be roughly the same, and I can move with my own car if I sell my furniture. Security deposit is the biggest hurdle.)
I’m not off to a bad start. I recently landed two gigs, both of which I'm starting this week:
In addition, I have:
Now, my job is to figure out how to cobble together a living out of these things. I’ll be using this thread to track my progress. I’d love any advice or suggestions, but don't feel obligated, since this is largely for myself.
I'm also planning a move to another city, with a goal—set early last year—for this April. This has been in the works for a long time, it's really important to me, and although I'm willing to postpone it, I'd prefer not to have to set it back very long.
But here’s the rub: I’m broke. Due to a run of bad luck in December, I'm starting 2014 with no money after paying the bills. So I’m setting a goal to get my business functioning again in three months. Plenty of people have started writing businesses in a shorter period of time, and my goal is pretty modest, at ~$2k per month. (With a floor of $1.5k. I’ve lived comfortably off of less before, my rent in the new city will be roughly the same, and I can move with my own car if I sell my furniture. Security deposit is the biggest hurdle.)
I’m not off to a bad start. I recently landed two gigs, both of which I'm starting this week:
- A photography writing gig that pays a pretty impressive $250 per article, but with a ceiling of 3-4 articles per month.
- A gig that pays $20 for 500-word blog posts – not amazing, but not terrible – and lets me set my own contribution schedule.
In addition, I have:
- A pretty sweet website, I'm told.
- An AdSense and Amazon affilliates subscription.
- An on-again, off-again gig copywriting for a startup ISP. Doesn't pay anywhere near standard rates, but I like the company and it's excellent experience.
- Sporadic gigs contributing to a few other sites.
- A hobbyist blog that brings in fuck all in Adsense revenue, but draws a lot of excitement on the forums I post it to, and has so far been really good for networking with artists and showing off my writing skills.
- A bunch of random job board subscriptions. (Name one, and I’m probably on there.)
- Enough experience in professional photography and WordPress to also make some money off of those, as I have in the past.
- A long list of pitch markets.
Now, my job is to figure out how to cobble together a living out of these things. I’ll be using this thread to track my progress. I’d love any advice or suggestions, but don't feel obligated, since this is largely for myself.
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