The Roller Coaster Life of a Freelance Writer

Why you shouldn’t give up writing despite the odds. It sure ain’t a bed of roses but I’m in for the ride. Are you?

The Beginnings

It has only been more than a year since I started writing but it has been a hell of a roller coaster ride. Back in November 2020, like a doe-eyed child, coming across Medium writing was one of the best discoveries during a difficult time of the pandemic. Here is an opportunity handed to me on a silver plate. An answer to many of the things I was looking for for years —an avenue to express myself on the vast Internet without exposing myself, the quench to my thirst of sharing experiences, and equally important if not more, an opportunity to create an alternative income stream.

I grasp the opportunity gladly with both hands, inspired by the many content creators that I myself look up to.

The Unexpected Journey

Right from the start, it wasn’t smooth sailing. I have always been privy about my own financial state. Age and experience grow my confidence over time. I take pride in how I manage my own finance and freely share with others around me how to get the best out of their money. Every writer seems to be specialized in one specific topic. Naturally, I set out to write about personal finance.

It wasn’t as I expected. It’s one thing to be able to churn out advice after advice in my daily conversation, it’s a totally different thing to be able to write it all out. Perhaps it’s because of the one-way information transmission, or perhaps it’s just a change of communication medium — from verbal to written. Whatever it is, my writing doesn't turn out as great it was in my mind. It was further compounded by being rejected by publications.

From the beginning, it looks like everything is stacked up against me.

Without realization, a switch turned within me. There is another thing I am good at though I never realize thought of it. In recent years, I have been a much more positive thinking person. It was first started when I got to know about Agile Methodology at my IT job. Since then I have expanded my view on the world, taking almost everything in a more positive light. Inadvertently, my life has changed too, for the better.

The Motivation

If I have any qualm against social media, it is how easy and widespread negativity is spread. I was appalled and disgusted by how fast negativity travels in today’s world. At one time, Medium was my only beacon of light. I start my day by picking a story or two to get my day started on the right foot. I have said it before, Medium is the only online medium (pun intended) that I found to be full of inspiration. That got me into thinking, I can write about positive thinking, on growing oneself, just like how others have inspired me.

If anyone is to ask me what my specialized writing is, I would tell them that I write about life. Life is full of aspects and spectrums. Why should one limit oneself to writing one part but not the other? Why should one read one side but not the other?

The more I write to motivate others, the more I got motivated myself. The more I write about positiveness, I found myself engulfed in it. Everywhere I turn, I could see the beauty of life, there is a story of positiveness that could be written. I learn as much as I share.

Thus the journey has fully begun.

The Low Point

I have enjoyed writing. Every view, every clap, every comment is the fuel to my fire. I am indebted to the publishers that accepted me as a writer and publishes my story.

I would not lie as well. It was great to see that my effort is compensated too. And so I kept writing.

At the end of the year, I have noticed something amiss. Readership has been dwindling. It wasn’t lost on some of my fellow writers too. It got so bad that I’ve begun to question myself if all the time and coffee spent on writing is worth it, time that could be spent better elsewhere, like with family.

Can you imagine how depressing to write when it is easier to earn more from conducting an online survey in 30 mins than to spend hours and lose sleep to write a story?

That was the last straw. I took time off to evaluate the priority in my life. Unfortunately, it took longer than expected.

Getting back to basics

When everything else falls apart, you are left with one thing — passion.

While I put a halt to my writing, I have continued my lifelong interest in reading.

Along the way, I couldn't help but check on my Medium statistics. While I was away from writing for a couple of months, new followers continue to come in, albeit in small numbers. Readers still read my older stories. Earnings are trickling in (note: emphasis on the word trickling). Many readers have been reading some of my older stories. It was a good sign, but not good enough to motivate my dying desire.

Alas, I guess the age-old proverb of doing what interests you couldn't ring truer for me at this stage. At the lowest ebb of my fleeting writing career, I was fortunate to come across a Harvard student who freelances as a financial writer. I mean, if a student can do it, why can’t I? Are my decades of experiences count for nothing?

It is with these that my motivation was refreshed anew. Perhaps I shouldn't read too much into the monetary return. Perhaps I shouldn't be too disheartened if a story is rejected by a supposedly popular publication, with its stringent rules. Perhaps I should just continue writing and publishing my stories, with or without a publisher.

Perhaps it’s time to get back to the basics. Passion. Passion for writing. Passion for inspiring people, one at a time. Passion for doing something meaningful.

I’m thankful for my silent readers, my followers, my fellow writers who have been inspiring me directly or indirectly, netizens who have taken an effort to comment and interact with me, and publishers who have continued to put faith in me.

Perhaps it’s time to get back on my feet, or rather, my keyboard, and continue to write my heart out.