How Much Do I Make as a Freelance Writer Updated Weekly

2013 note: I put this in draft mode after my laptop fell in the drink, got fixed, then the hard drive went kaput. I kinda lost the will to write for a bit after that. Yes, its nice when you are married and your man has a job. Those of you who write for a LIVING, feel free to throw tomatoes at me now.

This year I finally have Internet at home so there is no stopping me from reaching those financial goals. Lets get there together! I love to hear from you!

Aint no hidin from the IRS for me!

Instead of putting this in the sidebar, its going to be a blog post updated weekly. Remember that some weeks I am not able to work much, what with homeschooling 5 kids and having a husband who is out of town (excuses, excuses). Sometimes I am able to work a lot. Some weeks will reflect that I didnt work much but got many checks in the mail. Thats why I average out the weeks every now and then, since once week looks like Im a rockstar and one week looks like Im a loser.

Lately I havent been working much at all but the checks come in from when I was working hard, so it looks like Im a gazillionaire, but I can assure you I am not. I need to start figuring in when I pay a sitter and deduct that from my earnings. Maybe next year! It isnt that often and hubby is supposed to stop traveling as of August 2012.

TOTAL INCOME FROM 2012 WAS ABOUT $7,000

2012
Week 41 (Starts Oct. 8)
INCOME: $80 RPM check; $125 BlogHer campaigns, $10.02 BlogHer ads, $50 RPM check

Week 40 (starts Oct. 1), 5.5 hours, $47.25/hour
INCOME: $240 Australian parenting magazine, $19.85 ebook
NOTE: Laptop fell in the lake so I was limited this week!

Week 39 (starts Sept. 24), 6 hours, $12.50/hour
INCOME: $75 blogging for regional parenting mag online

Week 38 (starts Sept. 17), 12 hours, $3.83/hour
INCOME: $1 ebook!, $45 reprint check

Week 37 (starts Sept. 10), 6.75 hours/$18.15/hour
INCOME: $23 reprint check, $50 reprint check, $20 reprint check, $29.53 BlogHer ads

Week 36, 7.25 hours/$9.66/hour
INCOME: $30 reprint check, $40 reprint check

Week 35, 8.25 hours, $19.98/hour

Week 34, 10.25 hours, $33.64/hour

Week 33, 6.75 hours, $0.00/hour. Yep, I got NO MONEY this week! All those small-hour weeks have caught up with me. This is going to affect my average for sure. Still, pays better than a lot of jobs, and I get to sit outside and write and watch my kids at the same time. Next week should be better :-)

Week 32, 5.75 hours, $13.04/hour (working on doing giveaways and reviews)

Week 31, 2.75 hours, $32.67/hour

Week 30, 3 hours, $34.95/hour

Week 29, 2.75 hours, $30.85/hour

YTD average of $34.67/hour

YTD 133.75 hours, $4636.45 income

Week 28, 6.50 hours, $23.21/hour (got a sitter!)

Week 27, 1.50 hours, $49.40/hour

Week 26, 1.75 hours, $128.57/hour

Week 25, .50 hours, $149.40/hour

Week 24, .50 hours, $89.70/hour

Week 23, .50 hours, $279.40/hour

Week 22, 1.75 hours, $22.86/hour

Week 21, 2.75 hours, $80.73/hour

Week 20, 4.2 hours, $37.65/hour

Week 19, 2.5 hours, $116/hour

Week 18, 1.5 hours, $-0/hour

(preparing to leave town)

Week 17, 2.5 hours, $44/hour

(husband out of town)

Week 16, 2.25 hours, $15.56/hour

(Contently slowing down, sadly)

Week 15, 2.5 hours, $60/hour

Week 14, 4 hours, $79.21/hour

Week 13, 3.25 hours, $60.59/hour

YTD average of $26.30/hour

Week 12, 3 hours, $18.28/hour

Week 11, 4.25 hours, $28.16/hour

Week 10, 4 hours, $53.46/hour

Week 9, 14.25 hours, $20.11/hour

Week 8, 5.5 hours, $27.27/hour

Week 7, 10.25 hours, $27.71/hour

Week 6, 9.25 hours, $35.14/hour

Week 5, 8 hours, $28.96/hour

Week 4, 6.75 hours, $7.41/hour

Week 3, 8.25 hours, $40.24/hour

Week 2, 8.75 hours, $14.84/hour

Week 1, 10.25 hours, $13.99/hour

2011
Week 52, 11 hours, $13.64/hour

Weekly Writer Challenge 3 SUBMIT!!!

In case you missed them, check out Weekly Writer Challenge #1 and Weekly Writer Challenge #2. You can still catch up to us!

AND dont forget ... all this is free! Lots of other writers charge beaucoup bucks and call it a CLASS, but folks, I have no class, so this little situation here is FREE! Lets hold each other accountable and make some dang money writing for magazines, increasing our experience and pay as we go!

As with the last challenge, please share this with any bloggers (= aspiring writers) or writers you know so they can participate. I have lately been seeing many writers making one red cent per word to write all day long to pull down the bucks, and I want so badly to pull them out of that situation and let them know their work is worth so much more than that, even if it DOES take weeks to get paid sometimes! (By the way, I just wrote for one red cent per word this last week and it was not my thing. Blog post to come, but I make more proofing docs on Fiverr.com.)

Again, you have until Sunday to do this second challenge, then more challenges will come out on Mondays and you will have 7 days to complete them and report back here! Even if you didnt do it or only half-assed it, let me know, because chances are I might not always be rockin the challenge, either.

You dont have to sign up, just check in somewhere in the comments section if you would!

At the very least, we can offer support to each other. Dont forget there is also a Facebook fan page for this site where we can interact and you can always email me at thekerrieshow at yahoo dot com, and when it comes time to start submitting, you have to have the resource Im using so we can be Submission Twins.

So, here you go:

CHALLENGE #3 is to finish up the article youve been working on this past week and ... SUBMIT IT. If you need help, just write me (see above). And do not freak out!

The instructions and all the email addresses are in the ebook. You can click on "you have to have the resource Im using" above or [shhhhh] you can save a ton by going here. This will save you 50% and get you started.

You send 5 bucks (I only get 4), and I email you the 2012 version. Yes, there are some changes that are going into the 2013 version, so if you have emails that bounce back, Im on top of it in the newer version. AND the 2013 version will be ready later this week and all you have to do (if you decide this niche is for you), is go back to Fiverr and order another gig for $5. So you get both versions for only $10 when ONE usually goes for $19.85.

No, Im not a snake oil saleswoman. Im a straight shooter, very honest and want you to succeed. Thats why Im selling my ebook for super cheap and working on the 5th edition right now!

Challenge #4 spoiler alert: dont sit around checking your email all day for acceptances to your ONE article you just sent, like youre waiting for a guy to call. Next challenge we will discuss the Art of the Query!

Weekly Writer Challenge 5 Stop Making Excuses!

We are now far enough into this challenge thing (see other challenges check down the right-hand side of the blog under Categories called Weekly Challenges) that I can tell you to step up production, people! Picture me with a whip, whipping you into writer shape. I dont want to hear your excuses!

Here are some of my excuses for only sending about 4 queries to national magazines in the last 4 years:

1. Im pregnant
2. Im nursing
3. Im parenting two, three, four, now five kids
4. Im homeschooling
5. My husband is too cheap to let us have Internet at home
6. Im tired
7. My laptop died
8. Im not organized enough
9. I dont have a 4-year college degree
10. My husband travels so its too hard to get any work done when I cant hold a damn thought in my head

Share your own excuses in the Comments section and know that I wont make fun of you at all! This is a venting place!

Just because I wont make fun of you doesnt mean I wont ride your sorry butt. Im giving you everything you need to succeed ... why arent you doing it? Why arent you pursuing your dream? I know I am scared of success; scared of TOO much attention; scared of making enough money to be comfortable and am afraid I will turn into a jerky princess and lose all my friends.

When I first started I was MAILING out my ONE little reprint to the few magazines I could get ahold of that I found on the Internet. I never heard back from any of them.

So think of Challenge #5 as a teensy little break. Get your files together, get your ideas together, clean up your computer and your paper system. Keep working on your queries. Knock out other jobs you have going on. Clean out your closet, go through old clothing and donate it. Whatever it takes to get your mind on the prize, do it! For me, I dont want to query until Im done with the ebook update!

Heres what I was working on the other day: getting old papers and files together in my basement ... filing by year currently. I have one helluva memoir project in store for me someday!

Spoiler alert #6: You should soon be ready to submit your first query.
Spoiler alert #7: Get a good system in place for keeping track!

Weekly Writer Challenge 2 Write One Entire Article for an RPM RPP

In case you missed it, here is Weekly Writer Challenge #1, to write down 10 article ideas for the regional parenting magazines. You can still catch up to us!

AND ... all this is free! Lots of other writers charge beaucoup bucks and call it a CLASS, but folks, I have no class, so this little situation here is FREE! Lets hold each other accountable and make some dang money writing for magazines, increasing our pay as we go!

As with the last challenge, please share this with any bloggers (= aspiring writers) or writers you know so they can participate. I have lately been seeing many writers making one red cent per word to write all day long to pull down the bucks, and I want so badly to pull them out of that situation and let them know their work is worth so much more than that, even if it DOES take weeks to get paid sometimes!

Again, you have until Sunday to do this second challenge, then more challenges will come out on Mondays and you will have 7 days to complete them and report back here! Even if you didnt do it or only half-assed it, let me know, because chances are I might not always be rockin the challenge, either.

At the very least, we can offer support to each other. Dont forget there is also a Facebook fan page for this site where we can interact and you can always email me at mommykerrie at yahoo dot com, and when it comes time to start submitting, you have to have the resource Im using so we can be Submission Twins.

So, here you go:

CHALLENGE #2 is to WRITE AN ENTIRE ARTICLE for the regionals (the smalls). Yep, pick one of your 10 award-winning ideas and turn it into something. If those people I referenced above can turnout 1,000-word articles with HOURS for a deadline and make $10, you can certainly take a week to write something pretty great, including personal quotes (dont have to be local) and some nice research and maybe even some personal anecdotes from you.

If you need help, just write me (see above). And do not freak out!

Check out these links for some ideas of stuff Ive gotten published. At the very least, you will be like, "Wow, she got THAT published and made actual decent bank off of it? I could write that in my sleep and better!"

Heres something pretty recent about organic gardening on a budget from an online gig I have. Then I spun it a little bit and submitted to all the RPMs (I have about 160 email addresses in my address book).

Heres one of my VERY FIRST pieces, from back in 2009 when I was super green.

Feel free to Google my name+articles for more parenting mayhem.

Good luck!

Weekly Writer Challenge 1 Check In

So here was Weekly Writer Challenge #1, to write down 10 article ideas.

Im hearing crickets on my end, people. And alas, I forge on, whether anyone is listening or not. Its kinda like when I argue for my husband AND myself and he just stands there. I am not easily deterred.

Heres what I personally came up with. Dont mind the schmutz on the page!

Check in if you like. Im moving on to Challenge #2 and hope you will join me!

Weekly Writer Challenge 4 The Art of the Query

In case you missed them, check out Weekly Writer Challenge #1 and Weekly Writer Challenge #2. Oh, and Weekly Writer Challenge #3. You can still catch up to us!

AND dont forget ... all this is free! Lots of other writers charge beaucoup bucks and call it a CLASS, but folks, I have no class, so this little situation here is FREE! Lets hold each other accountable and make some dang money writing for magazines, increasing our experience and pay as we go!

As with the last challenge, please share this with any bloggers (= aspiring writers) or writers you know so they can participate. I have lately been seeing many writers making one red cent per word to write all day long to pull down the bucks, and I want so badly to pull them out of that situation and let them know their work is worth so much more than that, even if it DOES take weeks to get paid sometimes! (By the way, I just wrote for one red cent per word this last week and it was not my thing. Blog post to come, but I make more proofing docs on Fiverr.com.)

Again, you have until Sunday to do this second challenge, then more challenges will come out on Mondays and you will have 7 days to complete them and report back here! Even if you didnt do it or only half-assed it, let me know, because chances are I might not always be rockin the challenge, either.

You dont have to sign up, just check in somewhere in the comments section if you would!

At the very least, we can offer support to each other. Dont forget there is also a Facebook fan page for this site where we can interact about my FREE writers boot camp.

Challenge #4 is to let the article you just sent to all the regionals go out of your head. Please dont sit around checking your email all day for acceptances to your ONE article you just sent, like youre waiting for a guy to call.

Dont worry, because I will occupy your time with the Art of the Query! Yes, I want you to write a query for an article idea you have. It can be one of those ideas from Challenge #1 or something newer and more thought-out. Its all up to you. Just craft a query, and next week you will be sending it to an appropriate place. So think about who you want to write for and craft that query to them. A lot of my stuff can be sent multiple places, and I have no problem with simultaneous submissions because what are the chances Parents and Parenting are going to want my article? And if they both do, what a great problem to have and I just give the gig to the person who showed up in my email box.

Here are just a few of the national magazines I have in the ebook, along with contact information (and in some cases, PAY INFO!):

American Baby
BabyTalk
Family Fun
Parenting
Parents
Working Woman

and others, like the Cricket Magazine Group and some homeschooling mags, which scare me a little bit with their persnickety guidelines. Those dang homeschoolers! Wait, I AM one of those dang homeschoolers!

So here is a sample query letter:

To: tricia.obrien at bonniercorp dot com

Subject: Query: Desperately Seeking Sleep

Dear Tricia,

Being pregnant five times has practically made me an expert on sleep disturbances. If I wasn’t rubbing out a leg cramp, I was wrestling with four pillows, eating Tums like they were M&Ms or laying awake worrying.

I would like to write a piece for you called, “Desperately Seeking Sleep,” which would offer solutions to eight of the most common sleep disruptions experienced during pregnancy. This piece was originally published as “Pregnancy Sleep Solutions” in Kansas City Baby (LINK TO ARTICLE) and several other regional parenting magazines, and I know it would be a great help for your national readership, as well.

To make this article a knockout, I would interview national experts about the latest sleep solutions, research and recommendations (e.g., if Ambien is alright to take during pregnancy, whether or not calcium tablets work for leg cramps, etc.) and would get quotes from moms all over the country about their pregnancy sleep woes and solutions they found helpful. It would also include a sidebar of relaxation exercises to try before bedtime.

I have been published in over two dozen regional parenting magazines, including Calgary’s Child, Columbus Parent, San Diego Family, Family Timeand Washington Family. You can find all of my publishing credits, as well as links to published pieces, at KerrieMcLoughlin.blogspot.com.

I would be happy to customize this piece in any way you might need and look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

 

Kerrie McLoughlin

The instructions and all the email addresses are in the ebook. You can click on "you have to have the resource Im using" above or [shhhhh] you can save a ton by going here. This will save you 50% and get you started.

You send 5 bucks (I only get 4), and I email you the 2012 version. Yes, there are some changes that are going into the 2013 version, so if you have emails that bounce back, Im on top of it in the newer version. AND the 2013 version will be ready later this week and all you have to do (if you decide this niche is for you), is go back to Fiverr and order another gig for $5. So you get both versions for only $10 when ONE usually goes for $19.85.

Weekly Writer Challenge 1 Write Down 10 Ideas for Articles

Okay, new plan. We are going to write TOGETHER. I need a butt-kickin just like maybe you do. I am going to assume you like to procrastinate like I do. Or are extremely busy. Or sometimes maybe even do something crazy like ... oh, I dont know ... CLEAN when you are on a deadline and should be writing.

So Im going to give you some challenges. Please share this with any bloggers (= aspiring writers) or writers you know so they can participate.

You have until Sunday to do this first challenge, then new challenges will come out on Mondays and you will have 7 days to complete them and report back here! Even if you didnt do it or only half-assed it, let me know, because chances are I might not always be rockin the challenge, either.

At the very least, we can offer support to each other. Dont forget there is also a Facebook fan page for this site where we can interact and you can always email me at mommykerrie at yahoo dot com, and when it comes time to start submitting, you have to have the resource Im using so we can be Submission Twins.

CHALLENGE #1 is to come up with 10 ideas for articles for the regionals (the smalls). Lead time is not usually as long as with the nationals (the bigs) so you can spitball some summer ideas NOW, for instance.

Check out the photo below for some help (general categories, but you need a more solid idea, which nobody is going to steal, dammit), and Ill see you next week!

Oh, and because Im a pushover mama, Im also a pushover writing coach, so here is some more help!