A day in the life of a freelance writer

A Day in the Life of a Freelance Writer: My Daily Routine

Michelle Christina

I think there’s a lot of mystery and intrigue around the life of a freelance remote writer. If you, yourself are a freelance writer, you’ll laugh at this. It isn’t exactly glamorous.

Regardless, I thought it might be fun to show you guys what my life actually looks like on any given weekday, from morning to night.

Here’s what it’s NOT:

I wake up and levitate to my nutribullet and a green smoothie inserts itself into my mouth.

I achieve inbox zero and spend the rest of the day strolling on the beach, checking payment notifications on my phone.

Then, my phone is ringing. It’s Oprah. She just wants to tell me I’m the coolest person on the internet. Thanks, O.

I just, of course. Here’s a snapshot of my routine this May:

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Why You Need A Writing Niche & How To Pick One (1)

Yes, You Need a Freelance Writing Niche! Here’s How to Pick One

Michelle Christina

Picture this. You’re making an epic dinner. The recipe calls for an obscure ingredient, so you slide into your shoes and head out to do some shopping.

There are general groceries all over, but as you turn the corner, you see a different kind of store.

It’s a specialty grocery—slightly more expensive, a little further from your apartment. But in the window, there’s a poster featuring the obscure ingredient you need.

Are you going to waltz into the local Key Food or are you hauling ass to that specialty store to get exactly what you need?

I think you see where I’m going with this. When we have a specific need or problem, price and other factors become less important than securing the solution.

This is true in virtually every industry, from home goods and clothing to medical services and hospitality.

This concept is the reason writers who specialize—or find a niche—end up making more money than those who offer broad writing services.

Today I’m going to break down this concept a little further and show you how to choose your own niche.

Because, yes, you need a writing niche.

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How To Deal With Overwhelm

How to Beat Overwhelm & Start Achieving Your Goals

Michelle Christina

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…

You’re creative. You’re driven. You’re passionate about writing. You have endless ideas, a blog, a novel in the works, a growing writing career.

With that kind of epic creative charge, you feel like you should have seen more projects through to fruition by now… right?

But instead, you keep finding yourself sighing at the end of each week, consumed by a sense of overwhelm rather than a sense of accomplishment.

You’re all over the place.

You feel frustrated—maybe even jealous when you see other writers who “have their shit together”.

Why can’t you seem to make things happen?

There are many reasons an idea doesn’t become a finished project, but I believe one of the most common is overwhelm.

To deal with overwhelm, you have to take a close look at the way you’re living.

Let’s examine this modern epidemic from all angles, so we can get off the inspiration hamster wheel and start making moves. Here’s our best advice on how to beat overwhelm and start achieving your goals.

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How To Fall In Love With Writing Again - Day Job Optional - Michelle Christina Larsen

How to Fall in Love With Writing Again (Even if It Feels Impossible)

Michelle Christina

Don’t judge me, but… my laptop is totally going to be my Valentine this year. *slow jam plays*

Yep, I’ll be spending February 14th writing about New York Fashion Week and sipping an endless supply of coffee while snow pummels the ground outside.

The countdown to the most romantic day of the year had me thinking about the ups and downs of love this week. I started to see some vivid parallels between a love for writing and love for human-folk.

That said, let me ask you something: Is being a writer really what you thought it would be?

Are your visions of scrawling cutting-edge articles, breathtaking travel stories, exciting fiction or the wittiest copy on the planet panning out?

If you’re knee-deep in writing career bliss right now, I am sending you a giant high-five through the screen.  That is awesome. But for those who’ve begun to feel a little lukewarm about our writing work, just know that you’re not alone.

Writers of all levels sometimes groan at the thought of hitting their word count. Even the pros sometimes feel tempted to reschedule a client call they just don’t feel like having.

So the question is, how can we get the magic back? How can we fall in love with writing again?

After almost a decade of falling in and out of love with my writing career, I’ve put together some tried-and-true tips on rekindling the flame.

Pour yourself a glass of wine, put on those sexy tunes, and read on.

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Drinking Coffee with Writers - Katarina Hybenova - 2

Drinking Coffee with Writers: Editor & Powerhouse Katarina Hybenova

Michelle Christina

Photo by Maya Harsaniova

One day, while I was walking down the street in Bushwick, Brooklyn, I witnessed a building go up in flames.

I was close to the fire, and my millennial brain propelled me to whip out my camera and snap away. I didn’t just want to post them on social media, though, so I emailed them to a local news website called Bushwick Daily.

Editor-in-chief Katarina Hybenova responded, publishing my photos within minutes.

No one was hurt in the fire, so I felt slightly less guilty about the process of witnessing and reporting on something. In the end, I thought, “why not give local journalism a try?”

I submitted myself as a contributor, and a week later I was sipping cocktails on a sun-soaked patio with 10 other writers and Katarina herself.

Immediately, I knew she’d be a blast to work with. She’s was a platinum blonde boss babe with an amazing sense of humor, and she called me Mishka, which I appreciated—it’s one of my nicknames, yanno.

I soon learned that she’s also a stellar content manager, thoughtful editor, and natural leader.

Her resume includes positions as digital editor at massive local news website QNS, as well as founder and editorial director of Bushwick Daily. She was also a 2014 fellow at Tow Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism.

…oh, and she used to be a lawyer. How badass is this gal?

I thought she would be the perfect person to interview for the launch of our brand new series, Drinking Coffee with Writers.

Below, check out her top tips for writers and discover how she spends a typical day (hint: it involves getting up at 5:30AM to write).

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How to Make More Time for Writing (Even if You’re Really Busy)

How to Make More Time for Writing (Even if You’re Really Busy)

Michelle Christina

In a perfect world, you’d wake up in the early hours of the morning in your clean, well-lit apartment, a mild breeze blowing through the windows as your S.O. served up breakfast and you flipped through the notes from yesterday’s three-hour writing workshop.

You’d slide into your robe and sip tea as you contemplate the completion of another brilliant published piece, sighing a happy sigh of relief.

You’d water your plants (none of which are perishing because you’re a brilliant plant mom), meditate, take a walk to the coffee shop, and soak it all in for another hour before returning to your spotlessly clean desk to tap out another masterpiece.

*ahem* Oh, sorry—that’s just my perfect world.

Back to real life. You’re busy. Really busy.

You’ve got freelance projects to complete on deadline—and maybe you’re still in a full-time job! There’s a to-do list to handle, bills to pay, a body to keep in shape, pets and family members that are always hungry, friends who demand your presence at brunch, a messy kitchen counter, etc.

Everyone seems to be reeling in their own version of chaos these days.

Writing isn’t easy, and it gets harder when your schedule is chocked full of obligations. Sometimes it feels impossible to sit down and get some work done (let alone write for yourself).

Today we’re going to demystify a few ways super busy people get a ton of writing done, even when it feels impossible to stretch the clock any further.

I promise, you can do this! It just takes a fresh reality check, some planning, and perhaps a few apps.

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What To Do When Clients Don't Pay

DJO Podcast 003: What To Do When Clients Don’t Pay

Michelle Christina

Non-paying clients are the worst, and freelancers deal with them often enough that there are now widespread campaigns to end this epidemic.

If you landed on this post, it’s possible you’re in a non-payment predicament right now.

So what do you do when clients don’t pay?

Whether you’re just beginning on your freelance career path or you’ve been working for yourself for years, it’s time to brush up on how to protect yourself. We compiled some steps you take right now to ensure you don’t fall trap to a deadbeat client.

In this podcast, we’ll tell you what to do right now and give you some tips for making sure you get paid in the future.

Hit play on this episode and empower yourself!

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Launch Your Freelance Career With No Experience

DJO Podcast 002: Launch Your Freelance Career With No Experience

Michelle Christina

Episode 2 is a big one, babes! It’s all about launching a freelance career and getting those first clients when you have little or no experience.

The paradox many new writers believe is that if they’ve never written professionally, no one will hire them… thus, they’ll never get writing experience.

So how do you launch your freelance career with no experience?

While there’s no “magic switch” to turn you into a freelance writer overnight, if you’re willing to hustle and put in the effort, you can land your first freelance writing gigs sooner than you think.

Seriously, though. You can do it!

We broke down exactly how in this week’s episode, so jump below and click play!

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