Quarter 4 of 2019 Writer’s Life [#yearofwriting]

Posted on by Irina Gonzalez

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It’s impossible to look at the past three months of my writing life without having all sorts of conflicted feelings. For one, if I simply look at the numbers of how much money I made (and how much I wrote) in the past few months, it is easy for me to feel really disappointed. The simple truth is that each and every quarter this year, my freelance income has decreased. But that’s not necessarily the WHOLE truth.

If you look at just the numbers then, sure, that’s what is happening. But the bigger picture is that I am also a Managing Editor now — the job I set out to get at the beginning of 2019 and that’s a huge accomplishment. As a bonus, I absolutely adore the company I work for and I can’t wait to devote the next many years of my life to this fulfilling work that we do at The Temper.

But beyond that, my work productivity has also been heavily impacted by both personal tragedy this year (a miscarriage in April) and personal joy (getting pregnant again at the end of July). That joy has led to a lot of emotional and physical changes, though, like a tiredness and fatigue that I never knew possible. It turns out that growing a human isn’t easy and it’s especially not easy when you have a demanding job. And so, I’ve been forced to step back on my freelance work because there is simply not enough energy in my day to do all the things I used to be able to do before I started growing a human.

How much I made: $2,400

Quarter 4 of 2019 was undoubtedly my least profitable quarter but, oh well. I’m not actually feeling terrible about it because I know this time away from some of my freelance work has been necessary. And, while I don’t yet know what 2020 will bring (besides a baby, that is), I do know that I hit a major milestone this quarter: I wrote my first BIG pregnancy story! And it’s one that was born out of the revelations I have made here about needing to let go of some of my workaholic tendencies during pregnancy in order to focus on what’s really important in my life. And, while I love writing and my writing isn’t really going anywhere, it’s not my major focus at the moment.

Total for 2019: $21,380

This time last year, I wrote about being burned out. I also wrote about how I didn’t quite accomplish my 2018 financial goal and even fell a bit short of my 2017 earnings. But you know what? This year, I’ve had a major learning year because I have yet again fallen short of my goals but, for the first time in my life, I am okay with it.

This year has been a time of transition for me. Not only did I start a job that I love that is related to but not actually part of my freelance writing but I also started what is sure to be the biggest adventure of my entire life: The road to becoming a parent. Although I haven’t had my baby yet (due in April 2020!), this last half of 2019 has been largely influenced by the fact that I am pregnant and that has come with its own challenges and changes to my career.

It’s funny how the end of the year always makes us reflect on these things, isn’t it? I didn’t write as much as I wanted to this year but, ultimately, I got something better: A bigger understanding of what it has meant to be a workaholic and how I can fight against those tendencies now that I am about to become a mom. I have also been forced to physically take better care of myself and not let myself get burnt out the way I did last year, which has been a weird blessing in disguise. All in all, 2019 has proven to be quite the year… And I am both terrified and excited for what 2020 will bring.

What was published:

What was published (The Temper):

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