What a way to make a living

It's been a year and a half since my job layoff in February of 2025. Since that time, we have made our living exclusively through freelance writing (supplemented by Don's modest Social Security).

In many respects, it's a dream come true. Yes, our income dropped significantly and we had to tighten our belts (something we're well used to over the course of our marriage); but in other ways we feel like we're living the dream.

I thought it might be useful to describe the last couple of weeks in terms of what our daily schedule is like to give you an idea of how we're earning our income.

• My Harlequin editor didn't like the latest proposal (synopsis + three chapters) I sent her, and had some specific ideas of the direction she wants the story to go. You never argue with your editor when she makes suggestions (ego has no place in the writing world!). I told her I'd have a revised synopsis to her within a few days, which I did.

• I haven't heard back from this editor yet about her thoughts on the revised synopsis, but I'm still writing the story. My original deadline for the full manuscript is Sept. 15. My editor is perfectly happy to adjust the deadline based on her suggested revisions, but I'm still hoping to get the story done by the original deadline. To this end, I'm "NaNoWriMo'ing" my day, which means I write a minimum of 1665 words per day (roughly half a chapter) toward my  goal. Even if my editor has changes she wants in the revised synopsis, I don't see a problem getting the manuscript completed in time **IF** I don't goof off and get lazy.

• I pitched an article to a magazine about making strawberry preserves. It has – literally – come to the point where anytime Don and I do anything around here, we pitch it as an article somewhere. (Our philosophy is, all they can do is say "no"). Sure enough, the editor responded that while a short piece on strawberry preserves would be accepted, she'd rather have a longer piece on what different kinds of ways an abundance of strawberries can be used and/or preserved. So, for the last couple of weeks, I've been engaged in dehydrating strawberries, making syrup, making strawberry pie, etc. Shucky-darn.

• Last year, when we were buried in spaghetti squash, I made a similar pitch on the uses of, and preservation techniques for, this delicious veggie. I remember having a kitchen full of spaghetti squash that I was baking and said to Don, "What a way to make a living."

• I've been going back and forth with the editor of a different magazine about a variety of pitches appropriate to her editorial needs. This has been terrific fun because Don and I spend a lot of time bandying ideas back and forth and includes things he can write and things I can write. Just this morning I sent off a lengthy pitch with at least 15 ideas. Even if she only wants a couple, those are still solid contracts. (Update: The editor got back to me and likes almost everything we pitched! – enough to keep Don and I writing for this editor for the next two years at least.)

• Writers track deadlines in different ways, but I use an old-fashioned wall calendar. I put the deadline, magazine, and subject on the calendar a few days ahead of when it's actually due (I hate missing deadlines), and it's an instant visual reminder to get my rear in gear if a deadline is approaching.

• Speaking of deadlines, one of the best ways to establish one's self as a freelance writer is to treat deadlines as gospel rather than a casual commitment. Editors work on tight deadlines themselves, and have no patience in dealing with writers who are not serious about their craft. Last fall when I was down visiting my parents, I received an email from an editor inquiring about the status of a piece I had promised her. The problem is, she and I each had different deadlines on our calendars. Her deadline was November, and my deadline was the following February (and I sent her emails supporting the February deadline). Long story short, she goofed up on her end, but now it meant she was stuck because she needed the article to get the issue to print. So I wrote all night long and got the article to her the next morning. Needless to say, this editor and I have an excellent working relationship.

• I was able to successfully "re-home" a couple of articles that got rejected by one editor by submitting them elsewhere. Different magazines have different editorial needs, and one person's trash is another person's treasure.

• It's always helpful to have "evergreen" subjects you can write about when you have down time. I have a series of ideas for short pieces on how Don constructed this or that convenience on our homestead. I just finished writing up two of these ideas, sent them to Don for clarity on any construction details I might have gotten wrong, and assembled the photos needed to illustrate the articles. For one of the articles, Don created a cartoonized "exploded" diagram from a photo I took to illustrate the process of building the item.

• Most of our writing takes place when we're not otherwise outside doing homestead chores and projects. Don, being a handy guy, works particularly hard on improvement projects. If it's something worth writing about, often he either uses my camera to photograph various steps, or I'll go out at intervals to photograph what he's doing. Then either he or I will write up the project as an article. Don tackles about one-third of our freelance writing pieces, and I do the other two-thirds. We also review each other's work for accuracy and copy editing before submitting anything.

• As a writer, it's crucial not to let setbacks discourage you. If you'll stop writing (or stubbornly dig your heels in) because an editor didn't like a proposal, then you won't make it as a freelancer. 

• Our hours are our own. On an ideal day, I knock off a half-chapter of fiction before I milk the cow. (This doesn't always happen. Sometimes I sleep too late, and other times I need to pick strawberries before sunrise so it's not too hot.)  Afterward, Don and I have our coffee/tea and scan the news, often reading bits of it out loud to each other. Then we walk the dog and come back for a second cup of coffee/tea, during which I work on emails or on article pitches. I make an early lunch (our big meal of the day) while Don starts a project. Since it's summer and the afternoons are uncomfortably hot, Don and I often skip the second cup of coffee/tea and get right to work outside, then work on writing in the afternoon.We also attend to livestock and garden chores in the early evenings, when the shadows provide heat relief.

And this, dear readers, is how we make a living. A day doesn't go by when I don't stop and thank the Good Lord Above for placing us in this position where we can do what we love and earn an income by it.