An Attempt at Transparency
The start of 2021 marks a lot of things: most beautifully, the end of 2020 and the hope for a better year. Better, of course, is subjective, but in many, many ways, the only way from here is up. [NOTE: I wrote this goddamn piece before the coup. Never mind. Let’s look at what we can control, though, which, at this point, is literally just my writing.]
It also marks the end of my first full year freelancing, and the beginning of the second. When I decided to try to make a living just off of my writing, I was at a really lucky spot: I live in a very cheap city, had a few well-paying part-time clients already, and resented the job I was at enough that quitting was a no-brainer, regardless of my dive into freelancing. I also support just myself and my tiny dog. It was a good, easy spot to be in to decide.
That being said, I’m still incredibly proud of the progress I’ve made. In 2020, I wrote 6 erotic shorts, 14 short stories, and 18 novellas (not to mention all the half-abandoned projects from the past months). I met my financial goals, even the more ambitious of them, and have had jobs all over the writing and editing fields. From financial articles with on-the-spot interviewing to editing sci-fi manuscripts, I’ve been able to dip my pen into a lot of different ink pots.
In 2021, I’m adjusting my goals. One thing I’ve realized on my quote-unquote journey is how absolutely invaluable the communities of writers and freelancers I’ve found are. I am indebted to every person who has listened to me whine about deadlines and offered advice on bank accounts and previewed the dozen of potential email signatures. And besides the excellent friends and people I’ve been able to lean on for support, the online resources have been invaluable. One that I’ve found both fascinating and helpful is Courtney Bailey’s monthly newsletter, which is not only an eloquent and fascinating insight into her life, but includes a detailed breakdown of how she makes her money as a full-time freelancer.
I would like to offer that to others, too. Hence this post about transparency in the upcoming year.
I’m going to detail below my goals and, over the next few months, keep you all apprised of where I’m at with them. I hope that I’ll be as lucky as I was last year in meeting them, but if not, that’s valuable to share, too.
A quick sidebar: I don’t consider these resolutions. They’re markers of where I’m at and how things are going in building my business, my craft, and the life that I’m striving towards. I actually am of the opinion that NY resolutions unhelpful, as often they are just ways to say that what you’re currently doing, and where you’re currently at, is inherently not good enough. This is not that. I consider it more a roughly sketched outline of where I hope to go — like any good road trip, though, I do hope there’s a tantalizing enough billboard that I’m pulled into a new direction.
FINANCIAL:
This is the most complex of the goals. What we consider financial success differs from person to person, year to year. For me, last year I managed to keep myself afloat, craft a bit of savings, and pay off my credit cards. My below buckets are smaller this year as I am doing more work independent of paid contracts.
3K savings separate from whatever was saved last year
3 months’ bills separate from above savings
BUSINESS:
Here is where I’m getting ambitious. I think that there is a certain amount of energy that can be used in a given year, so I’m stealing a bit from what I might have made my financial goals in order to give myself space to focus here.
Maintain work at BSS (~1 novella a month)
Publish 6 novellas on Kindle Unlimited
Complete independent manuscripts and submit to 4 new imprints
Publish in 3 NEW imprints
Gain 1-2 more monthly retainer clients
Complete YA manuscript started in 2020
Grow Patreon to >20 patrons
2 blog posts a month on website
PERSONAL:
As I said above, I don’t find a lot of merit in personal resolutions. That being said, there are a few things that I consider being part of my required duties as a freelance writer, but that I don’t consider to be in the business or financial categories.
Volunteer ~5/hrs week
Read 30 new books total
No Buy Year (non-thrifting/essentials)
Will I succeed on all of these? Honestly! Probably not! But that’s okay. These are the things I would like to do — I’ll be updating you here and re-evaluating in June, six months in. If things change, things change — but for now, you can check in here, follow me at @unrealimogen on all socials, and join me in considering what you’d like to complete in the next year. If you need freelancing or writing friends, DM me. I am so happy to be in community with you.
