Is This How You Pivot?

I’m at a point in my freelance career where I know I need to pivot. What I’ve been doing for the last two years is not sustainable, financially, or based on work levels. Writing 300,000 words last year, even though I have an ergonomic keyboard, put a strain on my already existing tendonitis, and I’m starting to have arthritis symptoms in a few fingers. Since I want to be a writer for as long as possible, I need to do it more sustainably, not 300,000 words a year.

Although to be honest, writing 300,000 words in a year has proven to me that writer’s block is BS. It’s literally all in your head.

Financially, I have agency clients who have been giving me fairly consistent work, but agency pay is really low. For those 300,000 words last year, I essentially made 8¢ a word. That’s content mill rates. 

So I’m trying to figure out what my next plan of action should be, how to adjust my sails to transition more into my desired niche. It's scary. I reminded myself the other day that it's probably not as frightening as when I was first entirely on my own with only two clients. But it's still scary because I don’t know what to do next. And I would rather make a gradual shift than abruptly drop everything I do right now and try to start over. 

What I Don’t Want to Do

I know that I don’t love ghostwriting. If I’m going to write things and put them out there for publication, I would prefer if my name was attached to them. To that end, I’m making a shift here on my blog. 

For the past year or so, I have done my best to keep the blog mainly focused on gardening and houseplant related content in pursuit of “niching down” like everyone suggests you do. 

I don’t have a problem with niching, and gardening and houseplants will probably still be a big chunk of my content. But the reality is that I have other passions I love to write about as well. And when I feel like those are the things I want to write about, I’ve just been not writing anything. So for the sake of being consistent on my blog, I’m letting myself write about the all the things I love to write about. 

More than likely, I will write about the topics I’ve always been passionate about: houseplants and gardening, mental health, and photography. 

In addition, I’m working on publishing more articles to sites like Elephant Journal and Empathy Cafe this year. 

Things I’m Doing to Move Forward

In an effort to keep going even when I have no idea where I’m going, I’ve started working on a book. I mocked up a book cover in February 2019 and posted it on social media as a joke. But I also printed it out, and it’s hanging on my bedroom wall; I see it every day. 

So, since one of my goals has always been to write books, I’m working on writing that book. Even if it is never published or even edited, it's still practice and progress. I’ve created an outline for it in Trello, and I’ve started the first draft of a chapter. 

I’m also brainstorming with a group of other freelancer friends for ways we can change, adjust, and grow our businesses to create the lives we want to live. 

I’m making an effort to learn more about how to market myself, even though I’m not sure yet what services or products I want to offer to people.

In a similar vein, I’m brainstorming ideas of products I could create and sell. My most obvious idea right now is to write and publish short ebooks. This idea is still a bit scary to me, so I’m taking it slow.  

We’ll see where 2021 takes me and my business. At the bare minimum, I’m hoping I end up moving to Terrace, BC, in 2021. But, I’m hoping for more than the bare minimum. I’m hoping that this opportunity to pivot (ok, fine, have your Friends meme) will be the beginning of a more positive direction in my business. 

Do you have any advice, ideas, or suggestions of websites I could write for? Leave them in the comments, or send me a DM on Instagram.