the monthly TLDR (annual TLDR at the end):

metric	goal	result	percent to goal
pitches	62	74	119%
pieces filed	11	17	154%
conversion rate	NA	23%	NA
estimated payment	$1000	$2370	237%

new month, more pitches but this month I LANDED TWO NEW NATIONAL OUTLETS. more on that below.

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i came off of february’s rollercoaster with 9 assignments already lined up for march. i guess all of the pitching paid off and march turned into a busy, busy month. so busy that this recap (which i know SO many people read) is getting published mid month.

how many pieces did i write in march?

i filed 17 pieces in march, soundly beating my goal of 11 pieces. it was a lot on top of my regular job and momm-ing but thanks to lots of 5:30 am writing sessions i got it all done.

i wrote some fun pieces this month- my favorite was probably my piece about “grandma hobbies” for The Everymom. and i loved getting to write about how my twin sister and i are finally best friends thanks to living together during covid for Business Insider.

how much did i pitch in march?

i had to remind myself to keep the momentum up with pitching. so often i’ve seen sales reps fall behind because they spend so much time on the bottom of their funnel and not enough feeding the top, so i really made sure to continue pitching.

i tried pitching some different beats in march, which didn’t yield any results, but i’m having fun trying to write about different subject matters. i did hear NOs from a few new outlets, which i do genuinely get jazzed about as at least i know the editor read it and considered it.

i still wish i heard back from more pitches, even if it was a no, but i think that’ll continue to be a recurring theme and one that’s common for most freelancers.

how much did i make in march?

i had my highest month yet for freelancing, coming in at $2370 for my 17 pieces (before taxes), or about $139 per published piece. remember that this is what i’ll make after all of these pieces run, not what i actually saw hit my bank account in march.

my average per piece rose from $89 in february to $139 in march which is a nice bump. it’s been very interesting to me to see what different outlets pay (and don’t pay), and this month i happened to do more pieces for outlets that pay more AND landed a $400 assignment, my highest per assignment by a landslide.

i don’t think i can be choosy just yet about where i write because i don’t have enough recurring assignments / enough bylines yet. at some point i’d love to focus more on higher paying outlets, but beggars cannot be choosers at this point.

if an outlet tells you there is a set rate, is there wiggle room? i’m afraid to try to negotiate for fear of losing the outlet altogether. at some point once i feel like i have enough bylines / credibility i probably will feel more confident trying to negotiate. not sure what the magic number is for that, though. any thoughts?

also, how does anyone make a sustainable living from freelancing? inquiring minds want to know, because i can’t see how the math maths right now.

roses and thorns from march

the obvious rose for march – LANDING TWO NEW NATIONAL OUTLETS. honestly i’m still in shock and tbh scared sh*tless that i’ll screw things up, but i keep telling myself i won’t progress unless i do scary things. for one of the outlets i filed my piece at the end of march and it should (fingers crossed) run in april. for the other outlet i won’t file my piece until may.

landing the two new outlets gave me a lot of hope that maybe if i keep pitching i’ll be able to land more new outlets. of course, the goal would be to get to the mystical land of steady contributor work but one step at a time.

there were a few moments this month were i was super stressed about hitting all of my deadlines, pitching, working my corporate job, being a mom and a wife which would be my thorn for the month.

while i don’t particularly love getting up so early in the morning, i do like the peace and solitude of getting to write before anyone expects anything of me. it helps me focus and i was able to get a lot done those mornings.

unfortunately i foresee a lot more early mornings in my future if i’m lucky enough to continue to get assignments. one day i’ll write full time, one day.

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YTD stats, since there’s now more than one month of data. the “goals” here will reflect the sum of the individual monthly goals for however many months we are into the year.

metric	goal	result YTD	percent to goal
pitches	180	216	120%
pieces filed	33	40	121%
conversion rate	NA	19%	NA
estimated payment	$3000	$5070	169%

i’m really excited about a lot of the pieces i have on my docket for april – namely some disney related content and my first fashion round-up and am excited to keep trying to get new outlets (and deepen my relationship with existing ones!)