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Well, we’re officially in the last quarter of my #yearofwriting and I do believe I am doing pretty well… But not as well as maybe I thought I would be by this point in time? Let’s see.
After last month turned out to be a kind of disaster for my writing, in between Hurricane Irma derailing things and then a planned two-week vacation (which I am VERY grateful for), there just wasn’t much time to do anything during the month of September. My hope, however, was that I would do much better in the month of October since I was back to work full-time and no longer had Romper to worry about since I gave that gig up back in August. October, however, proved to be a bit trickier than I expected.
What was published:
- 48 Little Mistakes that Are Ruining Your Relationship [Romper]
- 9 Genius tips for preventing a hangover [MamásLatinas]
- How to get healthier & lose weight in just 15 minutes a day [MamásLatinas]
- 4 Halloween desserts with Latin super ingredient dulce de leche! (RECIPES) [MamásLatinas]
- 7 Warm cocktail recipes perfect for cold weather [MamásLatinas]
- Lin-Manuel Is Creating a Song for Puerto Rico Featuring Incredible Latino Talent [HipLatina]
- 9 Things Every Young Latino Immigrant Knows to Be True [HipLatina]
- Puerto Rican Stars Head to the Island to Help Relief Efforts [HipLatina]
- Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Song to Benefit Puerto Rico Hurricane Relief Is Finally Here [HipLatina]
- Sofia Vergara Reminds Us All About the Importance of Mammograms [HipLatina]
- 9 Latinas Who’ve Clapped Back When Told They’re Not ‘Latina Enough’ [HipLatina]
- Meet the New Latina Cinderella Played by Dania Ramirez—and Rejoice! [HipLatina]
- These Fan Reactions Show Why Selena Quintanilla’s Google Doodle Is So Important [HipLatina]
- Breast Cancer 101: Everything You Need to Know About Prevention [HipLatina]
- What the #FiercelyLatina Get-Together Got Right About Hollywood—And What Still Needs to Change [HipLatina]
- Stand With LGBTQ Youth Against Bullying on Spirit Day Today – Here’s How [HipLatina]
- Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez Had a Public Reunion and Fans Are Freaking Out [HipLatina]
- 5 of the Scariest Latino Horror Stories [HipLatina]
- Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez Open Up on Why They’re Perfect for Each Other [HipLatina]
As you can see by the above, all I really published in October were stories from my two regular contributor gigs at MamásLatinas and HipLatina. However, I am definitely NOT sorry for this nor much surprised by it.
For one, getting back into the swing of things proved to be a bit more difficult than I imagined — but that’s okay, it happens. For second, I actually ended up having three weekends in a row where I traveled for one reason or another and this derailed some of my freelance and pitching plans. This, too, happens.
Yet I was actually able to accomplish quite a bit and, very happily, took on more work for HipLatina. I’m really enjoying writing for that site and am thrilled to be working more with such a great team. So how did I do?
How much I wrote: 17,614 words
How much I made: $1300
From May until August, I was working with Romper and writing a LOT. I was also earning a pretty decent regular freelance writing paycheck, so I was very curious to see how this month would compare to what I was making with them. My estimate (and please do forgive my math) is that I was averaging 32,778 words and $2,181 during my time with Romper.
As expected, my word count and my earnings went down but definitely not as much as I thought. Although my actual word count fell by about half, my earnings didn’t do quite as badly. For comparison, during my pre-Romper days, my average word count was 16,495 and monthly earnings were $1325. So, actually, I more-or-less came back to where I was at beforehand.
But the truth of the matter is that I simply haven’t been pitching or freelancing much outside of my “regular” gigs, so I do expect that to pick up once I am able to adjust to my new schedule and take on some more one-off pieces here and there. We shall see!
Pitches sent out in October: 4*
Pitch rejections: 1
Pitch non-replies: 3
Pitch acceptances: 0
Pitch reply with question: 0
*This was another case where, for one of my pitches, I sent a particular editor 8 separate ideas.
I didn’t pitch as much in October as I was hoping to do, but I still did okay. Considering that a few weeks of the month were almost cut in half for me, this is a pretty good average. The truth of the matter is that pitching can get really hard for me because, first and foremost, I have to do my Brit+Co editorial work and take care of my regular contributor gigs.
And you know what? I like this system. The more I have regular editing and writing coming in, the calmer I feel. Considering that I made about the same amount of money and wrote about the same amount earlier in the year, when I was pitching like a madwoman, is giving me hope that this new system is actually better. I’ve definitely had some more time to focus on personal projects on the side (like my memoir, Moscow Chica) and that has been an awesome change since the start of my #yearofwriting. Finally!
Back at the beginning of the year, one of my big goals was to get published in 17 different publications but I already accomplished that. In fact, I posted a big list of my accomplishment and then revised my 2017 writing goals. I feel pretty good about the direction I am heading, and I am sure that I can accomplish quite a bit more in the last couple of months of the year.
For now, let’s see what happens.
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