Wrapping Up 2021

These are some of the amazing tidbits I picked up, all thanks to my freelancing career.

I’m not sure how it happened, but 2021 is nearly over. I know this not because I have any idea what the date is (how anyone tracks time in a pandemic-stricken world is beyond me), but because of the year-end, “Here’s All the Money I Made as a Freelance Writer” success stories on Twitter.

(An aside: Why are writers so in love with this trend? You never, ever see freelancers in other industries do this. Not once have I seen a plumber blog about the jobs he’s done and how much he’s made, or read a roofer’s Twitter thread about the number of shingles she’s replaced over the last 12 months.)

Anyway, this is typically the time of year when I take a few moments to reflect on the past, set goals for the future, and then quickly forget those goals and fall into doing the same old thing.

But this year, I just don’t have it in me. I’m tired. Already, this month has been a very long year, and I don’t care enough to look back at my stats or add up my income. Who cares? What good does it do to share my successes and failures when it is literally impossible to replicate? Freelancing is so unique to each individual that you’re probably not going to get much use out of my sharing how many pitches I sent or what…