This post was produced in collaboration with Hustle Culture, a free Substack newsletter by Olivia Rockeman centered around financial and creative guidance for working writers of all genres. Subscribe here.

Last summer, when I quit my corporate journalism job to freelance full time, I thought I’d be lucky to earn enough in the first year to cover my rent. I left the corporate world for the autonomy and flexibility I hoped freelancing would provide, but I worried constantly about my financial prospects. The rates for freelance journalism projects are notoriously low, and I’d heard horror stories about writers being out of work for months at a time. 

In the months before I quit, I squirreled away extra cash by cooking at home and unsubscribing from all shopping-related emails. By the end of it, I had enough savings to cover my expenses for at least a year. 

It took me three months of freelancing to gather momentum, a time in which I sent hundreds of networking emails and considered it a success when one person responded. But once I secured a few writing projects, my monthly earnings began to align with what I made as a full-time employee. Within a year of quitting, my annual income matched my corporate salary. When I reviewed the numbers with my accountant recently, I felt both proud of myself and shocked! The first year came with a lot of tears, rejection, and financial uncertainty. I hadn’t taken time to celebrate my successes.

There are still times when I’m far too busy, and others when business feels slow. But as I reflect, I realize that I got a few things right in the first year that supported my earnings growth:

1. Follow the money
   
   Even though I identify as a journalist, my income doesn’t come from journalism or personal essay writing alone. Journalism contributes to 30% or less of my annual earnings. Conversations with a handful of freelance writers taught me early on that journalism projects don’t make for a comfortable living, especially in New York. 
   
   Rather than spending all of my time pitching stories to editors, I dedicate a good chunk of each week to brand work. This includes writing newsletters and blogs, creating content strategies, editing white papers, ghostwriting op-eds and more. The hard truth is that brands have much larger budgets than publications do. The time-to-earnings ratio on copywriting projects is much better than reporting and writing articles. As a result, I can be really choosy with the journalism projects I take on and I don’t worry so much when the rates are low. While the brand work doesn’t always align with my interests, it funds my creative work.
   
2. Seek opportunities in unexpected places 
   
   The people I thought might connect me to writing gigs early on were not the ones that ultimately landed me my first contracts. While I’ve found a brand writing job or two through LinkedIn, I’ve learned that even weak personal connections go a lot further than applying into an internet black hole. Maybe you know a small business owner in your neighborhood that needs help with their newsletter? Or a PR professional that would like to outsource their press releases?
   
   One early editing project for a brand came from a woman I met in an art class. She was the chief of staff for a major apparel brand, and I sent her a cold email to see if her team needed part-time help with content. It happened that her team needed a freelancer to edit an in-depth sustainability report, and a few weeks later we were working together. 
   
   On the journalism side, my first two assignments came from editors who offered me jobs over the years that I decided not to take. I followed up with them when I started freelancing and both welcomed my pitches, which turned into repeat collaboration. 
   
   Ultimately, your network runs a lot deeper than you think. The hardest part for me is swallowing my pride and conjuring up the courage to press “send” on the email. I remind myself often that there’s a lot more to gain (an interesting project) from putting yourself out there than there is to lose (the person not responding).
   
3. Don’t sell yourself short
   
   Set an hourly rate and stick to it. I calculated mine by figuring out what my corporate salary was on an hourly basis, then raised it incrementally as I proved myself to clients. Journalism projects, on the other hand, typically pay by the word. For those, I figure out the number of hours I expect the assignment to take and whether the pay is aligned with my hourly rate. 
   
   The hardest part is saying no to an interesting project that doesn’t align with your rates, but it’s so important to draw a line somewhere. Otherwise, you might find yourself making concessions often, which is a drag on your earnings and your time. I try to tell myself that saying no to one project makes room for the next (better) opportunity. 
4. Get the little things right
   
   Mastering your craft matters, but getting the little things right makes you stand out among your counterparts. Respond to emails promptly. File clean copy. Meet your deadlines and send invoices on time. Organization and communication is what proves to editors and brand leaders that they can rely on you. It makes them happy to refer you to folks in their network for more gigs. 
5. Find community and inspiration
   
   The stress of freelancing is even more difficult in isolation. Talking to fellow writers every month for this newsletter reminds me that I’m not the only one fighting for better rates or sending dozens of shameless follow-up emails. Last year, I joined a community on Slack called OGC where women across industries promote their work and host candid conversations about pay. I often go there when I’m looking for advice and don’t know where to turn. I also find newsletters like Long Live and the interviews published by The Creative Independent really helpful.