What is a Reasonable Freelance Writing Income Goal?
I get asked a lot of questions by freelance writers and those who want to join the industry. Some of the most common are based around income. More specifically, how much money one can earn and what a reasonable income goal looks like. It is hard for me to tell others what is reasonable when it comes to how much money they should earn as a freelance writer. The reason for this is that every writer is their own person and dealing with unique circumstances. For example, a part-time freelance writer may not be able to set their sights quite as high as a full-timer.
My best answer is this: your freelance writing income goal should be based on a number you are comfortable achieving and one that will give you enough money to meet your personal needs. In other words, you first need to be realistic when setting this goal. As a new freelance writer you may dream of making $10k+ per month. But realistically you probably are not going to reach this plateau until you are more established. At the same time you need to think about how much money you need to get by. What do your expenses total each month? After you know this number it becomes clear as to what your income goal should be.
Also keep in mind that your freelance writing income goal will change over time. Early in my career I just wanted to make a few bucks to prove to myself that it was possible. From there my goal switched to earning as much as I did at my last 9 – 5 job. Presently, my income related goals are higher than I ever thought they would be.
I hope this information gives you a better idea of how to set a reasonable freelance writing income goal. Don’t let others influence your goals. This should be based on your comfort level and what you need to get by.Â
July 30th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
My destination income goal is $5k, so that both MH and I can earn about that much and have $10k coming in together each month. He’s been very, very flexible in waiting for me because I had some issues with specialties and finding the right one for me. Now that I have, I am trying to set some milestone income goals, and I think that one of the biggest conundrums for me has been not just deciding what I want my income to be but where I want my income to come from. Wow, that last sentence sounds weird as I reread it! The point is, I want plenty of client income, but I also want income from my own projects. Income from blogs, ebooks, websites, any consulting I do, etc.
Chris, I am sure that your impressive $10k+ income includes this factors: the freelance writing course you offer, the revenue you earn from this blog and any others we’re sure you have, even your report earns you income: you’ve got a very cleverly placed Paypal button in there!
My question to you is not terribly organized, and I apologize for that. I am curious about how you decide where you want each part of your income to come from as you decide the measurable goals/objectives that get you there. Such as, a web writer that also wants to be published in trade journals would need to set specific querying goals but also goals about building up their web presence, etc.
This is kind of a broad question, I know. It is just something that has been puzzling me. I don’t want to hear that you just throw it all together and hope for the best: am I wrong to believe that there is too much of a business involved to have it so much up to chance?
Please help. And thanks in advance!
- Jessie
July 30th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Jessie – I see where you are coming from with this. In other words, you want to know how to decide where your income comes from; a “percentage” breakdown of sorts.
To be honest, when I started my career I just wanted to make money. So it really did not matter where it came from. Now, I am more selective about where I look. I concentrate on findign clients in the areas that interest me most. For instance, I enjoy writing for magazines so as of late I have been sending more queries. It is hard to say for sure where all my income comes from, or even if I have a clear cut idea of my ideal scenario.
I do not know if that does much for you or not. Let me know if anything else is on your mind!
July 30th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
Chris,
I could definitely be over-analyzing things: I have been accused of it before and it won’t be the last time.
It does make sense that find what you want to do, do it and the income will follow works things out nicely.
Thanks again,
- Jessie