Summary

A writer reflects on the reality of burnout in the writing profession, despite their passion for writing, and discusses the impact of freelance work and personal writing on their well-being and creativity.

Abstract

The author, who has recently launched their personal website, shares their experience with the brink of writer's burnout. They contrast the joy of writing for oneself with the demands of writing for clients, noting the necessity of adopting different personas and focusing on consumer mindsets. The pursuit of income from writing has led to a change in their relationship with the craft, making it feel less personal and more transactional. Acknowledging the unsustainable nature of their recent intense work pace, the author plans to reassess their priorities, emphasizing the importance of self-care to avoid burnout and the need to write for personal fulfillment rather than solely for statistics or monetary gain.

Opinions

Writer's burnout is a real concern, even for those who love writing.
Writing for clients is distinct from personal writing and can affect one's personal voice and connection to the craft.
The financial aspect of writing can overshadow the intrinsic joy of the activity.
It's important for writers to take time to recharge and not to become overly focused on monetization metrics like stats or earnings.
Freelance writing can be empowering, but it requires a balance to maintain sustainability and personal well-being.
The author values writing for personal reflection and growth over writing primarily for external validation or financial reward.

Writing

Writer’s Burn Out is Real and it Scares Me

It must be impossible to feel exhausted from doing what I love, right?

Most writers I have encountered are always worried about writer’s block, but nobody has warned me about burn out until earlier this week. I always wrote with the mindset that I love writing, and it must be impossible for me to feel drained from doing what I love, right?

Unfortunately, I am at the brink of burn out — close to but not yet — and I am here to tell you that is not the case. You can experience burn out even from doing something you love.

Pulling back from Medium

Before this week, I made it a point to write something on Medium every day. Even if I wind up not publishing anything, I’d usually have worked on an essay or two that have been languishing in drafts.

However, I went for the last three days not having written anything here. I still carried out my editor duties for Illumination for twenty to thirty minutes a day and that was about it.

It may seem as if I have not been writing, but I can assure you that I am writing more than ever. I find myself saying that so often these days that it is almost hard to believe it.

What happened?

It has been an exciting week as I launched my site a week ago. Owning a domain has always been a dream that I never got round to realizing. I will be upfront with everyone here that I spent USD$126 to purchase three years worth of hosting on top of the USD$60 that I spent on a theme.

I have no idea why I thought it was a good idea at the time when I decided to devote the week to hustling and recouping the money I spent setting up my site. Here, I am proud to say that after seven articles that I have written for clients, I have successfully recovered the amount I first spent on the site!

Please do not do the Math for how much I received per article. It is insignificant, but it is a start and I do not mind it at all especially since some freelance writers out there suggest newcomers write for free. Holly Jahangiri has shaken me out of that silly mindset with this video:

Write for yourself

Many freelancers have written extensively about how writing is a business and that it is so much more than writing for yourself. Well, I had a taste of that this past week and I can tell you that it is true.

Writing for clients is different from writing for yourself. After all the effort I devoted to developing a personal voice, the work I have been doing required me to assume a different persona and to understand the mindset of the consumer. It is thrilling to be paid for doing something I love. However, when money is the end goal, writing no longer feels the same.

I told Yannis Dokos the same, and I am going to say it here now. On Medium, some of us may imagine an audience we are speaking to as we write. However, at the end of the day, our essays are personal reflections written for ourselves. I truly believe that we do not, and we should not write for the stats or the Medium Partnership Program.

Final thoughts: Re-assessing my priorities

I am in the process of assessing my priorities for the rest of the summer. I do not think that the past week has been sustainable, and something has to change. I want to continue freelance writing because of how empowered I feel knowing that it is possible to hustle on the side when school resumes in the fall.

I will designate a day to recharge — probably Monday — and I promise I will be back stronger and better than ever. For now, I would like to leave you guys with some concluding thoughts:

Writer’s burn out is real. Take care of yourselves and try not to reach that stage of exhaustion.
If you are writing leisurely, write for yourself and do not stress too much about your stats, the number of claps, or how much you are earning from each post. You will probably still check your stats every day, but leave it at that and move on.

Thanks for reading this personal essay from a writer on the brink of burning out. I hope that all of you have been doing well. If you have stories that I have missed amid all the hustling, please share them with me in the comments section!

Ming Qian is a freelance writer and an undergrad blogger who is currently pursuing a degree in Economics. Subscribe to his monthly newsletter to never miss any story that he publishes here and on his blog!