The slow Christmas season is common for many writers. If you have several niches you may not see any major slow periods.

It is very common issue that many freelancers face. At such seasons they will be very busy and the amount of money they earn is also high. But it is tough situation when the rush is low. It can be like vacation for them. I usually work on my own blogs .

But we should also be prepared for such situations. Many of them take short vacations, write blog posts , write books etc. But it is very important to focus the regular rhythms of your corners so you are up front of your current customers when now is the ideal time to give out those assigned works.

Thank you for sharing.

Jenn, I’ve also noted that I can often negotiate better pay rates and conditions during the busy season. It’s about supply and demand.

Rabbine, some of it is just paying attention to the niche and also thinking like an editor. For example, pitch lifestyle stories about summer activities in January.

Personal development is niche that likely doesn’t have significant seasonal rhythms.

For example, when I first started targeting more online business owners, I found that demand went way up in May and June and continued through the summer. It turned out that a lot of my clients were college students starting their businesses part-time (never judge what groups do and don’t have money to hire pros!). So they had more time to focus on the business once school let out, or once they graduated.

During most years I also get a surge around Thanksgiving (so late November). Black Friday to be exact, though I take that day off every year, so I don’t follow up until the following week. Department managers start rushing to use up the year’s budget around that time, so it makes sense that it would happen if you work mostly with businesses rather than publications. Surprisingly, it didn’t happen last year. The surge came a bit later into December. I take off for around two weeks over the holidays, so I can’t squeeze much in then, and I’m usually booked early anyway. But it can be nice because clients resist paying up front even less than usual — they want the project paid out by year’s end whether the work is done then or in January. So yay for that. 🙂

Pretty much, John, although I am trying to drum up more public health exchange-related business as typically November & December are slim in the work department.

Good question Marcie!

I do a lot of things. I write blog posts for this blog, for example. I also do some marketing. But mostly what I do is take vacations, short and long. I love to hike and be outdoors, so I frequently just head out for a week or more.

I’m different from many writers in that I do have significant savings and I make enough money each year to easily pay the bills and fund my retirement accounts. Other writers will need to develop new niches to see them through the slow times.