This past year has been a real turning point for my career. I quit my other jobs to focus solely on writing. I became a member of the Society of American Travel Writers and the Freelancers Union. I got some stories published by major publications and picked up a few regular gigs.
I’ve been asked for advice for new writers. And I’ve started working on something that I hope will one day be a book. Despite some negatives of this year and the job, namely having to harass publications into paying on time, I’m pleased with my progress. Let’s hope 2017 is as good if not better!
Also see my writing goals for 2014, 2015, and 2016.
Where My Work Went
Before I forget, these posts were inspired by those of Lola Akinmade, especially the pie charts. I’m not much of a math geek, but I find these charts and statistics to be helpful. This year I worked for a variety publications, some bylined and others without, including JetBlue, Living Intown, Her Packing List, Eagle Creek, JCK, The Knot, BBC Travel, AAA, Hotel Indigo, Google Trips, US Auto Sales, The Daily Beast, Simply Buckhead, Explore Georgia, and Owners.com.
Specifically, I updated my last round of guides for Afar and worked on all of the Atlanta content for the new Google Trips app. Some of these were ongoing work while others were one-timers. Some came from referrals while others were cold pitches.
I’ve found a lot of work through programs like Contently and Skyword, which I recommend to writers who are looking for more work. And let’s face it, almost all of us are. I also did two unpaid guest posts for Yes and Yes and Twenty-Something Travel to share my personal stories. See almost all of my work on my Contently page.
Turning Pitches Into Stories
As the graphic above shows, I’m lucky that I have to do very little pitching. A large majority of my work comes from referrals. Some of these accepted pitches were through programs where I was already a writer, not where I had no existing relationship with the editor.
But when I do pitch, whether or not I have a relationship with them, the results are mixed. I should follow up more than I do on the “no response” category, but I tend to assume that if the publisher was interested, they would reach out. But I’ve also had a pitch accepted three months after sending it.
I would like to become more targeted in my pitching, especially when it comes to press trips. Currently, I go on the trip with a general idea in mind but haven’t pitched to the outlet yet so that if my experience is different than I expected, I haven’t wasted an editor’s time. But I think a little more planning and research on the front end would be beneficial.
Embracing the Side Hustle
This year, I took a big step. I quit my other jobs to focus on writing entirely. Less than two years ago, writing only made up a quarter of my annual income, which was a small total. In the terms of this graph, writing is considered to be any work for which I was paid to write, some of which was more editing and writing for blogs.
The “blog” category includes sponsored content and partnerships on this website and my social media like my Loews campaign. Affiliate is the affiliate links through this site, including those from Amazon and World Nomads, my two biggest payouts (thanks, friends!).
And side hustles is everything else. This year, they included a few days of substitute teaching, two trips for my old job, and a few odd jobs as a film/television extra. All of these fit well into my flexible schedule.
Goals for the Next Year
Write that damn book. Above all else, I want to work on the book I’ve started about my time in Australia. I’m at 25,000 rough words so far, mostly taken from my journals. It’s been difficult to re-live some parts of that time and also fun to remember the crazy times I had working as a bartender. I have no clue if it will ever get published, but I know I have to finish it. I’ve signed up for a creative retreat run by my friend Leigh Shulman that will put me on the right track.
Expand beyond travel. One of the best things that happened so far this year is my regular work for The Knot. I’m no wedding expert, but getting outside of my niche has created more work. I even wrote for a jewelry trade publication this year and have a story coming out for a suburban Atlanta publication. Travel writing is more than just guidebooks and glossies!
Have clearly defined work/life boundaries. I’m writing this from my bed at 11 pm, so clearly I have no boundaries. Every day is different for me, so some days involve more work than others. I’d like this to be the year I establish a routine, no matter where I am. I’ve just now gotten back to sleeping a full 8 hours, but want to make the most of the rest of my day. Do you have some tips for this type of productivity? Share them with me!
Follow through with stories from press trips. I have a different system than other writers, as I usually don’t have a story or outlet in mind before I go on a press trip. But I would like to change that this year, as mentioned earlier, by doing more front-end research to cater my potential stories. I should also be pickier about future trips to make sure I’ll be able to write about them before going. It’s easy to get sucked into a destination you’re interested in, but if you can’t place a story, it’s a waste of time.
Pitch more frequently. I send out a pitch or two per month but should be pitching once a week. This year, I’d love to place stories in some of my favorite publications, namely Roads & Kingdoms, Gravy, Oxford American, Southern Living, Garden & Gun, and perhaps an inflight magazine.
Ask for more money. I’ve reached the point in my career that I should be asking for more money than I do, not blindly accepting an amount. This is especially the case when it comes to sourcing photos and going through multiple rounds of edits and research.
Submit my work to contests and anthologies. I missed the deadline for submitting to SATW’s Lowell Thomas Awards this year and kicked myself afterwards. I want to create work that’s worth submitting to a juried panel this year.
Organize my taxes and finances. For the last two years, I’ve thought I was organized, but still got sent invoices from the state and federal asking for more money. Can someone recommend an accountant for freelancers and creatives?
Congratulations on the writing and career success you had last year. This is just the post I needed to read. I really slacked off on my writing last year (at least for paid opportunities, did plenty of writing on my blog). This needs to change this year. I know I’m not at a place financially (yet) where I can just focus on freelancing, but I definitely want to increase the income I make from writing and freelance work this year. I think I’m going to be writing out some freelancing goals for this year. Pitching more publications is definitely on the list.
Best of luck this year.
Thanks, Alouise! Good luck this year!
This is awesome, congrats!! I’ve moved more & more away from freelance writing because I haaaate pitching. So I’m even more impressed by those of you making a career of it. Also, I love that you were a TV extra, fun! The boundaries stuff, really sticking to a schedule, that’s tough when you work for yourself. It’s so easy to work alllll day or in little bits & pieces so it feels like you worked all day but really only did like 3 hours of work. Definitely something I need to work on too.
Writing definitely isn’t for everybody! You’re so good at stuff like SEO and organizing blog posts that I wish I had those abilities. I can write a post, but does it matter if no one sees it? And yes, being an extra is fun!
Congrats on what looks like a really good year. Inspiring break down