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Well, here we are. It’s a new year and, as I promised, I am keeping up my #yearofwriting posts but this time doing them quarterly because, honestly, monthly was just really hard to keep up with last year and I can’t do it anymore. But, as a freelancer, I think it’s really important to share how I am doing in hopes that it will inspire others. This year has brought a LOT of changes. I don’t even know where to start so, for now, I’ll start with the money stuff.

How much I made: $8405

Okay, so, that doesn’t actually seem like a lot. If you want a monthly breakdown then, well, it looks even more pathetic: I made $5,940 in January, $2030 in February, and $435 in March. Crazy, right? But it’s not actually this simple. There are a few very major things that happened during these three months that gave me these results.

The first: I dipped my feet into content marketing writing BIG TIME with a new gig at Lending Tree in January. As you can tell, it paid off because I made tons of money and surpassed my month goal from last year ($5k) and this year ($5,800). That sounds pretty great, but…

The second: It led to some serious mental health issues in February. Basically, I got overwhelmed by the work because, as it turns out, I am not cut out to write about cars and finances. That’s not to say I never ever write about finances or cars (I’ve blogged about both here and written a few fun relationship-centric money stories) but, ultimately, it wasn’t for me. After a very, very difficult month, I discovered that I need to stick to writing personal essays and about lifestyle topics that actually interest me. Otherwise, I can write for a bit about stuff I don’t like but it will ultimately send me into a depression spiral, just like I experienced at the end of January and early February.

The third: I got a job!!! That’s right, unless this is the first time you’re coming across my page, then you probably know that in early March I started as the Managing Editor at The Temper — which explores life through the lens of sobriety, addiction, and recovery with an unapologetically intersectional feminist approach. That was a big change and why my freelance $$ looks so small in March. I’m a W2 employee now (though it’s part-time), so I’m not tracking that income as part of the #yearofwriting. And, as you can tell, starting a new job kept me busy and made me need to push all of my other deadlines.

All in all, it’s been an interesting start to the year. To be honest, and this might sound a bit hokey, but I feel like I learned a fuckton about myself and the way I work in the past few months. I’m on track with my 2019 writing goals (#2!!! #7, too!) and, best of all, I have started writing for OprahMag.com and it’s been… a fucking pleasure, honestly. Not only did I get to write a thoroughly researched personal essay about a topic I feel VERY passionately about, but it’s also leading to more work with them and with other Hearst publications. So that’s, well, exciting!

I’m sure there are a lot more changes to come this year. But I’m finally in a good place after a rocky (though successful) first couple of months. If nothing else, I learned that prioritizing my mental health is critical to my success in life. That’s pretty true with my freelance writing career but, honestly, it’s true for other aspects of life, too. Here’s hoping I take that lesson and keep remembering it throughout the rest of the year.

What was published: 

• Why I Made Masturbation Part of My Self-Care Routine [O! The Oprah Magazine]
• 8 Women on the Beauty of Snowed-In Sex [Glamour]
• ‘Sex Meditation’ Is a Thing—and It Totally Changed My Sex Life [Glamour]
• The Benefits of Burning Sage Include a Better Night’s Sleep [O! The Oprah Magazine]
• How Celebrities Like Wendy Williams & Lala Kent Are Making Recovery Less Isolating For People With Addictions [YourTango]

What was published (The Temper): 

• 11 Sober Celebrities Challenging the Stigma of Addiction
• 10 Gross Examples of Gendered Alcohol Marketing
• 11 Powerful Women’s Recovery Memoirs to Inspire Your Own Journey
• The Top 19 Sober Communities Beyond Traditional AA
• 12 Women-Led Recovery Podcasts to Listen to on Your Commute
• Wendy Williams Reveals She is Living in a Sober House in Emotional Video
• Alcosynth: Why the Alcohol Substitute Could Be Even More Dangerous Than the Real Thing

What was published (Lending Tree): 

• Best 3 Row SUVs of 2019
• I’ve Fixed a Credit Report Error — How Long Will It Take to Show?
• Best Hybrid Cars For The Money
• Here Is Who Can (and Can’t) See Your Credit Score or Report
• Best Minivan Options for Families in 2019
• Best Pickup Trucks in 2019
• Best Plug-In Hybrid Cars in 2019
• Best Muscle Cars in 2019

What was published (by Fierce by mitú): 

• Ricky Martin Shared The Best News To Start The Year And His Fans Are Overjoyed
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Reveals Portrait Of New Congressman And Promises To Vote Against Nancy Pelosi
• This Video Of The Texas Longhorn’s Playing Tribute To Selena Quintanilla Is So Sweet And Beautiful It Hurts
• Cardi B’s New Album Means She Has No Plans Of Slowing Down
• The 21 Most Iconic Dresses Worn By Latinas At The Golden Globes
  
• 20 Sexy Questions To Ask Your Boyfriend To Make Your Relationship Stronger
• 20 Sexy Questions To Reignite Your Bond With Your Girlfriend
• A Latina UFC Fighter Took Out A Man Who Tried To Mug Her And This Is Why Parents Should Sign Their Daughters Up For Self-Defense Classes
• A Latina High School Student Just Won A Massive Scholarship After Writing An Essay That Praised Celia Cruz For Being ‘Unapologetically Black’
• Latina Reads: ‘Pride’ Is The Afro-Latinx YA Novel You Wish You Read As A Teen
• Latinas On Twitter Are Freaking Out Over Netflix’s New Carmen Sandiego Series Because They Can’t Get Enough Of Her Brown Skin

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