Being a lower-profile Creative (writer, web designer, actor, musician, etc.) comes with highs and lows, peaks and valleys, feast-or-famine times. Most Creatives have multiple streams of income because darned few are rolling in dough.

I house-sit and pet-sit for friends occasionally, earn a stipend to serve in my church nursery a few hours a week, write, edit, and copy-enhance books and e-books for others, and do other things to keep my head above water financially.  In every case, I enjoy the things I do, so none of it feels like drudgery.

Faith is what keeps me calm when funds run low (which always happens in February and March, I’ve discovered). I always have “just enough but not a dime more” during quiet times. Whatever Source created and  animates the universe and everything in it knows what I need (every faith tradition teaches this, as far as I can tell) and has never failed me yet, so it has become easier to rest and wait upon the deliverer during lean times. I know they won’t last. For every winter is overcome by spring, summer and autumn–times of growth, maturation and harvest.

This isn’t to say that I don’t keep looking for additional ways to bolster my income as a writer. I’m always doing that! It just takes time and effort and I run low on energy sometimes. I work 60-70 hour weeks when you include the time I spend looking for work, answering prospective client’s questions, and networking but very little of the time I spend working is bill-able. This is why professional freelance copywriters (the ones who survive long-term, anyway!)  charge the fees we do.

I charge far less than most pros, but enough to remain viable as a service provider. Yes, I should charge more but I love helping start-ups and entrepreneurs whose products, services and causes help people, animals and/or the environment so I keep my prices as low as I possibly can without losing my shirt.

Wish me luck!