Thanks, amiga.

He was right, Devon. As long as there’s a safety net, there’s no real leap of faith, is there? There’s no “try” in it if you think “I’ll always have that temp job if I need it.”

Great point — “No” is as important in the process as trying is. It’s so damn easy to get stuck in something, and it takes a good bit of courage to turn it down when you’re struggling. But you and I both know that once you get to a certain earnings point, “no” becomes so much easier to say.

What I never realized as part of that, was how often one has to say “no” in order not to get stuck in something that underpays and undervalues, and how often, even when you work your way past it, there are jobs trying to suck you back in to being underpaid and undervalued. It needs constant vigilance.

This freelance stuff does take discipline. That’s the larger point of this blog post, in fact. That seems to be my word of the week — our meditation group talked a lot about discipline in our Zoom session yesterday. But there are so many levels of discipline, it’s not as though we can’t do it. It’s whether we want to, as well. You’ve drawn your boundaries, and they sound perfect for you. Ride that horse, bud! I’m counting the days myself. We have similar timeframes to retirement. And I don’t call it “old.” I call it “experienced.” 😉

I’m not sure what prompted me to write such a downbeat message. I’m actually in a better place professionally and emotionally than I have been for a long time. I’m working a full-time job on a part-time salary, writing for The Living Church and tending the website, livingchurch.org. I make about a fourth of what I made at the peak of my career, but I like the work, I like the people, and I’m going to ride this horse into retirement if they’ll have me. I am *done* hustling for work, freelance or salaried.

I admire the work you do, the community that you’ve built here, the wisdom you share with your readers. I can’t do what you do. I don’t have the self-discipline. I need a boss and a steady paycheck and a set of tasks I’m expected to perform. And because I’m old, and I’ve been bouncing around between unemployment and underemployment and driving for Uber for more than a decade, I can’t compete for jobs that will pay anything like what I used to make. I’m lucky to have what I have.

And I think I’m OK with that. Writing all of this is partly an exercise in coming to terms with it. I’m sorry to have been disheartening.

Be safe.

Dear Kirk, it’s actually quite hard to read your commentary. That you lump yourself into the “already failed” category is disheartening. You, who have so much talent.

There is nothing wrong with a “safe and honorable and reasonably productive” comfort zone. That’s actually success. My comfort zone is my specialty. I’m regularly hired, respected, and paid well. There are freelancers who make more than I do. There are freelancers who make less and who are in their “good” comfort zone. That’s success, isn’t it?

I think you misunderstood my final paragraph — I said if a writer is unwilling to do any of the above, not all of the above. Trying is succeeding, in my humble opinion. If you try, you’re doing something positive for your career.

It’s when people cling to what they know won’t work and isn’t serving them well that they fall behind.

Hang in there, my friend. You’re trying. That’s what matters.

As I look back on the wreckage of my recent career, I don’t think I needed more encouragement to get outside my comfort zone. I needed help realizing that comfort is not inherently a bad thing. I’ve come to believe that if my comfort zone is a safe and honorable and reasonably productive place, maybe it’s OK to take refuge there.

Exactly. And then use those clips to break into bigger and better markets. The trick is to find a connection between your clips and a potential market.

I see you took that “variety” stipulation really seriously, Paula. 😉

Lazy and expensive. Wow, great insight.

The only site something like those Upwork sites I ever worked for was some site that had separate channels. I was writing on a certain topic “channel” and I was making $250 an article. Not ideal. Still, I did NOT have to pay to write there, and I could pitch ideas. The articles were about 500 words each and followed the site’s template, so they weren’t difficult. But they weren’t going to make me rich, either. The clips helped me move upward, so I didn’t stay there long at all.

I get that it’s easier for newbies to just find someone who will give them fast clips, but there are so many other options. Newspapers. Regional magazines. Blogs that don’t pay you in traffic or clicks or likes or whatever. Small publications that are legitimate….

What I hate seeing is people at any stage of freelancing who are relying on third-parties (like Upwork) to find clients. Why pay a significant percentage of your hard-earned income to an algorithm? Get off your butt and seek out, research, and contact potential clients directly. That has always been a key part of freelancing. Relying on a third party is lazy. And expensive.