Summary

A freelance writer reflects on the intense effort and lessons learned from doubling their earnings in 25 days through dedication, networking, promotion, and passion for writing.

Abstract

The author shares a personal journey of transitioning into freelance writing, detailing the exhaustive yet rewarding experience of significantly increasing their income within a month. They emphasize the necessity of hard work, the importance of networking and self-promotion, and the reality of income fluctuation in the freelance world. Despite the challenges, the author's passion for writing fuels their perseverance, acknowledging that success in freelancing is not just about content creation but also about effective self-marketing and resilience.

Opinions

The author believes that success in freelance writing requires relentless effort beyond just writing, including active networking and self-promotion.
They highlight the significance of Twitter as a tool for connecting with other writers and expanding one's audience.
The author admits to the difficulty of maintaining consistent income as a freelancer and the need to be comfortable with financial unpredictability.
They stress the importance of tracking website traffic to understand the performance of their work.
The author quotes Mark Twain to convey that passion for one's work can make the effort feel less like labor.
They suggest that being a successful freelance writer means having the ability to market oneself effectively and develop a thick skin to handle varying levels of support and criticism.
The author concludes that despite their recent success, they still have a long way to go to achieve the level of success they aspire to in the competitive field of freelance writing.

How Doubling My Earnings Taught Me The Reality of Freelance Hustling

You’ve got to go big or log off the computer.

I’ve never been so tired in my life.

Lately, my eyes have taken on a heavier weight, my attitude has been shorter, and my body is slower.

I’ve worn my exhaustion like a badge of honor because it’s a symbol of just how much energy I have thrown into my newfound side hustle — freelance writing.

I published my first story just under a month ago — 25 days to be exact.

Within 25 days I have managed to crank out 26 published stories and double my earnings from January to February. It didn’t come easily by any means.

I’ve truly stepped into the world of what some may call ‘entrepreneurship’ and others call ‘self-employment’.

Whatever it is, these past 3 weeks have taught me what it truly means to be a hustler.

You have to be willing to put in the work

The grind doesn’t stop when you hit ‘publish’. The real work begins after you submit your story.

In the past year, for various reasons I’ve developed insomnia. I’ve found that I am lucky if I can stay asleep for more than 2 hours at a time.

After I started freelancing, my sleep troubles have increased tenfold. It’s as if my mind and body know that there is more work to be done.

Networking

No matter what you do in life, networking will always be a key player in your success.

For the first time in my life, I am an active user of Twitter.

Initially, I created my account so that I could utilize the platform to advertise my work. However, I quickly came to realize that it’s a great way to connect with other writers.

I am can bounce ideas off of others and share my experiences while taking in other peoples.

To be fair, I am expanding my audience which is giving my work more exposure but I am also a contributing member of a creative community.

Promotions

Ask me how many Medium-specific Facebook groups I am juggling at the moment. Actually, please don’t because it’s almost embarrassing.

Honestly, without a huge following, I have found that I spend about 75% of my time promoting my work.

It’s impossible to sell a product if nobody knows what you’re selling.

I post links to my story any chance that I can get without being that ‘spammy’ asshole.

Although, I have to promote my work as much as I can it’s an integral part of my success.

You will win some and you will lose just as much

For full transparency, much like many other writers on Medium that I’ve come to find, I decided to try my hand at freelance writing because of Shelby Church’s YouTube video.

I had never even heard of Medium before, but the prospect of making a few thousand dollars off of an hour’s worth of writing was enticing.

I will tell you that I have not made over a thousand dollars … yet.

However, I have had a financial gain — a considerable one at that. But, with freelancing, your income isn’t always going to be consistent and you have to be comfortable with that.

Stats Will Naturally Fluctuate

I shamelessly admit that I check my stats page probably every 10–15 minutes.

To me, a big part of the success that I have had thus far is tracking the traffic that comes to my page.

The first day I posted I managed to draw in a total of 3 views and today, I managed around 200.

But, that’s not the marker I hit yesterday and it might not be the marker I hit tomorrow.

You can’t control the internet — it is what it is.

Your Passion Will Carry You

If I am being honest, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to give up in the last 25 days.

To work for yourself is exhausting, especially when you don’t see the numbers that you’d like to. I am a lot more stressed these days because I am constantly wracking my brain for topics to write about.

But, it’s worth it.

I believe it was Mark Twain that once said,

“find a job that you enjoy, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

I love to write. I am a writer. For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved to create stories, both fictional and non-fiction, that others can enjoy.

The joy that writing brings me outweighs the amount of work it takes to build a name for my work.

Final Thoughts

In the grand scheme of life, everybody likes to consider themselves a hustler. We are all trying to make a living, and most of us do the typical 9–5 grind Monday through Friday.

Freelancing has shown me what it means to push the limits and work hard for your money.

To be a successful writer goes beyond being able to crank out meaningful content. As a freelancer, you have to be able to market yourself in a way that makes people want to read your work.

On top of finding people that want to support you, you also have to build a thick enough skin to accept that people aren’t always going to be in your corner.

Just because you had success today doesn’t mean that you are going to have success tomorrow — that’s when you have to work that much harder.

I doubled my earnings from freelance writing but I am far, far, far from what most would deem a successful writer.

I’m just an initiative away from being an all-encompassing hustler.