Work From Home Couple

Last year was a tough one as far as freelance writing goes. I took on more assignments than I have in any other year. Yet I still made less money last year than I did in either 2007 or 2006, my two best freelance-writing years.

That stinks. I don’t like working all that much as it is. To do so without making enough money? That’s truly lousy.

So what will 2009 bring? I don’t know about you, but I plan on taking a new approach this year. Instead of writing like mad, my goal is to seek out higher-paying jobs throughout the year.

In 2008, I dabbled a lot in blogging. But blogs don’t pay all that well. That’s fine if it’s a blog that requires little research, but some of the blogs I ran in 2008 required me to actually speak to sources. That’s a lot of work for what, generally, is not a lot of pay.

Finding the higher-paying publications and Web sites is no easy task. And I don’t really have much advice on how to do it. So far, I’ve found one client that pays terrific, a regional city magazine in the Southwest. The magazine is paying me more than $2,500 for one story. It’s a dream assignment, too.

I want more of those. That way, I won’t have to juggle deadlines all year long. I won’t have to sneak in blogging late in the evening all the time. And I won’t have to argue with an editor over a story that pays a measly $75.

Will I be successful? In this economy, who knows? But I’ll try. And that’s all anyone can do.

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