Comments on: Your Writing Income and Career Goals

By: Leave Freelance Writing for a Full-Time Job?

Leave Freelance Writing for a Full-Time Job? — Wed, 20 May 2015 13:30:33 +0000

[…] of all the compensation — after taxes — you’ll receive and then compare that to what you make as a freelancer — after […]

By: CrisisMaven

CrisisMaven — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 14:01:59 +0000

Yet I fear, looking at these freelancer sites like fiverr, that a lot of weeding out has to happen before writing for online platforms will be taken as seriously (both by writers as well as potential buyers/clients) as it once was offline. The Internet culture of “free” seeps down into every nook and cranny. If someone doesn’t like the price, they think they can do some superficial research and then rewrite (regurgitate) it as their own. So setting the goal in terms of money in my opinion won’t be enough – you also have to have a very well-defined idea as to what you want to specialize in. The niche you bring to the Internet should preferably be something that contains strong elements of what cannot already be found on the net by a simple search. This is getting increasingly difficult, when I compare today to, say, ten years ago or even 2005.

By: John Soares

John Soares — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 15:25:27 +0000

In reply to Lori. I'm with you Lori. I focus on the monthly average, not week by week. Some weeks I'm swamped, and some weeks I have a lot of free time.

By: Lori

Lori — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 13:04:58 +0000

Good post. One thing I don’t do, and probably won’t, is break it down per week. I have monthly goals, which to me relieves a little of the pressure. Much of my work (and I suspect much of most freelancers’ work) comes in at intervals. This past month I had one week with nothing and one week where the bulk of my income was earned.

Carve out time — Amen to that! Isn’t that why we became writers, and yet do we put our own desires in the mix?

By: Mainak Halder

Mainak Halder — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 19:40:45 +0000

Hi John,

Setting a goal is easy but achieving the goal is really tough. I was a freelancer writer and had setup goals in the beginning of my career but later to my dismay, I couldn’t reach the goal of earning I had set per month.

However, at a later stage with a good portfolio, it was indeed possible to reach the goal.

Btw, the post is awesome and would love to see more such posts again. 🙂

By: John Soares

John Soares — Sun, 30 Mar 2014 16:00:37 +0000

In reply to Gerry Straatemeier.

Gerry, I may eventually write a blog post based on your situation and your question. But for now…

1. Pick one or more niches, likely in technical writing.

2. Find good websites and books about how to succeed at technical writing.

3. Join good writing communities. I highly recommend the Freelance Writers Den.

4. Start marketing your writing services to high-quality clients.

By: Gerry Straatemeier

Gerry Straatemeier — Sat, 29 Mar 2014 22:23:16 +0000

I can not at this moment imagine making $60,000 per year freelancing, or even a quarter of that, and so I really could use some advice. I am 72 years old. I was retired for 12 years and just returning to earn extra income after my pension was cut. I worked for a company as a technical writer for 7 years before I retired, at $45,000 plus benefits, and have actively blogged and such since. But I am new to freelancing and new here – and discouraged. I don’t know where to look for jobs that pay enough to make even part of a living.

Any advice would really be wonderful.
Thanks so much,
Gerry

By: John Soares

John Soares — Fri, 28 Mar 2014 21:17:03 +0000

In reply to Marcie. That's a great attitude Marcie!

By: Cathy Miller

Cathy Miller — Fri, 28 Mar 2014 16:31:30 +0000

In reply to Marcie. Good for you, Marcie! :-)

By: Marcie

Marcie — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 21:42:37 +0000

In reply to Cathy Miller. Cathy, I have listened to other people and I'm learning to tune them out. On the one hand, I have my goal in mind. On the other hand, people keep telling me to take what I can get. Going forward, I'm taking the advice in this article.