A new chapter...?
After two-and-a-half years of freelancing, what's the next stage of my writing journey?
The essay collection
Unfortunately, I didn’t make any progress on the essay collection this week. My plan is to work on the Introduction over the latter half of this week and on the weekend.
The future of freelancing
As some of you may know, I started writing professionally in February 2020, just before the COVID lockdowns began to take effect in the United States. Over the past two-and-a-half years of freelancing, I have managed to grow in skill and confidence as a writer and have built a decent portfolio of published work.
However, I’ve come to the conclusion that freelance writing will not be a sustainable career in the long run. Much of my early work was done on a volunteer basis. Even after I began to get paid for some of my articles, my financial situation was (and continues to be) precarious. Several of my sources of freelance income have since dried up and, recently, I’ve had difficulty paying my bills.
(A friendly reminder that, if you enjoy my work, you can always donate to my Ko-fi. Any amount you can spare is immensely appreciated and helps me with various expenses.)
In light of all this, I’ve been putting a lot of thought into the future of my creative endeavors. While I will continue to submit articles to my favorite publications on a semi-regular basis, I want to begin developing my creative talents in other directions.
What’s next?
Indeed, under the strain and stress of the freelance hustle, I’ve been suppressing other projects that I’m passionate about. I’ve decided the time is long past to stop making excuses and to bring these long cherished dreams to fulfilment.
Podcasting
As family and close friends can attest, I am an unapologetic chatterbox! In being a guest on various podcasts, I feel like I’ve finally found a creative medium where I am absolutely in my element. Thanks to the good folks at the StarQuest Production Network (SQPN) I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to be a regular panelist on the Secrets of Middle-earth podcast and will soon be begin sharing hosting duties on the Secrets of Movies & TV Shows. I’ve loved every minute of it! As I wrote in last week’s issue, I have plans to launch my own podcast, hopefully before the end of this year. I’ll likely set up a Patreon page so that you can directly support the show. More details to come soon, so stay tuned for future updates.
Fiction
I’ve been creating stories ever since I was a kid. Some of my fondest memories from childhood are playing imaginative games with my younger brother, and sometimes writing down our resulting adventures. As I recently wrote in an essay for Busted Halo, I’ve decided to begin writing children’s fiction. I’m still unsure what form these stories will take, but I have plenty of ideas. I am so grateful to have you along with me on this journey.
That’s all for this week’s issue. Until we meet again, “the Road goes ever on. . .”