Everyone Needs a Side-Hustle

But is it all about the money?

Having a side-hustle is a good way to expand not only your income but also your experience of living.

My side-hustle is writing, and this has paid off for me in a million ways. This is noteworthy because as a writer, you have probably never heard of me, but writing has enriched my life in so many ways.

Let me explain with just one example.

I have always loved the act of writing; my earliest memories always involve reading, going to libraries, buying books. I have one, very specific memory as a child, pecking away on an old Underwood manual typewriter we had, writing a novel.

“Are you writing the Great American Novel?” I can remember my mother asking.

I had to look up what that was…I wanted to read The Great American Novel!

I never finished whatever masterpiece I was working on at that ripe age of eight, but I did eventually write and publish a book, an experience worthy of its own article another time.

In 2008, I started a blog. Blogging was in its heyday then, and while my blog did not get tons of traffic, it did okay. I probably would have done better had it been more focused, but my blog was a space to write and vent about whatever I wanted to write. In those earlier years it did focus heavily on politics, both local and national.

Lesson One: if you are going to publish your opinions about politics, you have to have a thick skin because people will insult you and call you all manner of names. Right there, in public, in print. They do not care how obnoxious they look because they think you are stupid. Period.

I had to back off politics. Eight years of that did me in; I got tired of being in a bad mood all the time and I never changed anyone’s mind or made any difference.

Through my blog I met some people who became friends in real life from all over the country. As side hustles go, this was not a bad benefit!

Three or four years ago I was browsing social media and learned about a book festival in New Iberia, Louisiana. One of my favorite authors, James Lee Burke, is from New Iberia and the city named their literary festival for him. Many of the events at the festival are centered around Mr. Burke’s writing. There is even a tour bus that takes tourists around to historic and interesting sites in the James Lee Burke stories. Burke fans from all over the world come to this festival.

Well, this looked like the perfect festival for me! I had to go.

But, I could not, at the time, afford to go spend three nights in a hotel in south Louisiana plus pay for all these events. Instead, I wrote about the festival on my blog, and I figured I would make plans to attend another year when my wallet was flush. I would write about the festival and share it on my social media accounts.

Lo and behold, I got an email shortly after from the festival organizers who loved what I wrote about their festival, were thrilled that I was promoting it on my blog in the northern part of the state and they offered me an opportunity to come to their festival with an all access pass.

Lesson Two: Believe in yourself! Magic will happen!

Given this lovely offer, I could not refuse. My husband and I ponied up the hotel money but did not have to spend another dime the entire time we were there.

And let me tell you, that festival that year was magical. Like, it was meant to be for me to be there. I can clearly remember standing in the outdoor pavilion on the banks of Bayou Teche as lively zydeco music poured through the night, dancers filled the dance floor, and the warm spring breezes set the Spanish moss in the trees to swaying…I sent a text to my friends back at home: “I have found heaven.”

I have returned to that festival every year. That first year, the featured writer was Ernest Gaines. How lucky did I feel to actually meet Ernest Gaines?! To this day I am grateful beyond measure for that opportunity. His book, A Lesson Before Dying, is one of the books in my life that literally made me ugly cry as I read it.

The year after that my own book was published and I was invited to appear at the Louisiana Book Festival in Baton Rouge to talk about it. I shared an elevator with Mr. Gaines that morning, and we chatted about the New Iberia literary festival. He was one of the kindest, most gracious men I have ever met.

The second year I attended the Books Along the Teche Literary Festival the featured author was Rebecca Wells; her book, The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood was a huge bestseller for many years. And I got to meet her, too!

Even better, Miss Wells came to the after-party at the pavilion that evening to dance the night away with festival attendees. I have a photograph of that night as we are all doing a Conga across the floor: there’s Rebecca Wells in a hot pink swing dress and black tights and I am right behind her with my hands on her shoulders, laughing to beat the band.

Miss Wells signed books after her speaking event earlier that day. She spent an extended time talking with my husband who had just lost his sister. She teared up as Steve talked about his sister and he explained that he was buying one of her books for his other sister who just loved them. She wrote a special message about grief for Steve’s sister when she signed the book. I’ve never met a more gracious woman willing to share her celebrity and give her time to her fans.

Lesson Three: Be open to new opportunities!

All of this happened to me because of my side hustle. Because I wrote a blog post and I shared it. I wrote one post from the heart, with love, with passion, and I put it out there, expecting nothing. I had no idea that this one act would change the trajectory of my life.

Now, I attend that festival every year. I’ve made lots of new friends, I’ve met some gifted writers. I have fallen in love with a new part of my state previously ignored by me. I can no longer count how many times I’ve returned to south Louisiana because of that very first trip.

“I found heaven,” I said, and I meant every word of that.

My writing side hustle has not greatly enriched my income. Not even my own book has done that.

Lesson Four: an academic press does not pay as much as a commercial one.

But my side hustle has enriched my life in a lot of other ways by bringing me new friends, new experiences, and a happier life. The point is, most of us look at our side hustle as a way to pick up some extra cash, and probably that would be an ideal thing, but it’s not everything. There are other benefits to be had if we just open our eyes and enjoy the ride.