Freelance Writing Doesn’t Need to Be a Feast or Famine World: Here Are My Tips to Keep Finances In Order

As freelance writers we hear all the time that it’s feast or famine. We seem to have more work than we can manage or we don’t have enough to keep food on the table. There are fears that we’ll never get a client again or that our family will lose the home.

I know I’ve felt like that in the past. There was a time that I just seemed to have no work at all. I was struggling to meet a target of $5000-$1,000 per month. We needed that money, we in thousands of pounds of debt, and had no savings at all. We were living paycheck to paycheck.

All that has changed in recent years. Sure, a change of country where the cost of living is a little lower and the exchange rate works in my favor helps, but we’ve worked through ways to prevent freelance writing being a feast or famine world. We’re living with just one paycheck: mine!

How have I managed to do it? Why do I no longer go straight into panic mode when I lose a client? Bear in mind that these tips have taken time to implement and manage. I worked my butt off to start them off, but have now found it easily manageable.

I’m always on the lookout for more clients

While I may have plenty of work, it doesn’t mean I’ll keep it. I’m always on the lookout for more clients, just in case. I’ll get in touch with businesses or apply for jobs on job boards.

Why do this when I may not have time for the work? Because not all will actually become clients. In fact, out of 10 proposals I send, I may only get a couple of responses and they’re not always going to be positive. They may not want freelance writers or they may not have any work at that time. There may be other freelancers with lower rates (that doesn’t always mean the writers are good, but we won’t get into that) or with better experience in a topic.

I have to do it when I have clients because I never know when I’m going to lose one. I may decide that a new client is better than a current one, and decide to take that work on and drop a low-paying client or one that has been a bit of a PITA.

Being on the lookout for more clients helps you put your eggs in different baskets. You even have eggs in a “to place” pile just in case.

I guess this is a pessimistic outlook to take—always believing that something bad is going to happen. But it’s something that has kept us going in recent years. It’s why I didn’t go into complete panic mode when a client dropped me a couple of weeks ago (oh and that has worked out positively).

I have residual income sites that are doing well

I believe in having multiple income sources. Because of that, I’ve got articles on residual income sites and work my butt off to promote more recent pieces I’ve written.

It’s because of the residual income that I’ve not had to worry about the client dropping me last week. The residual picked up because I could put more effort into it and I’m coming out with a better paycheck than I was with the client!

Now I’m starting on a new site to bring in more residual income. It’s still in the early stages at the moment, but you can see the work we’re doing on it here.

I create a family budget and stick to it

Okay, so it’s not me anymore. My husband now creates the budget—sort of—but this has always worked for us in the past. Before it would help to keep us floating but now it helps us create a buffer. We have money in savings accounts (multiple accounts for different reasons). We’re actually able to save up for a mortgage right now!

If you do get a feast period when freelance writing, why not put your extra money into the savings instead of spending it? Or clear your debt and then work on the savings? If you get a famine period, the savings are there as a backup so you don’t instantly go into panic mode.

My savings are going to be there for next summer when I know a couple of residual income sites will slow down. They’re also there so I can take a definite 4 weeks off work throughout the year. 

I set my rates with a famine period in mind

While I say that I don’t have a feast or famine period, it’s more because the famine period doesn’t quite affect me in the way it used to. It just means I have a bit more time to find new clients and work on residual income.

This is because of my freelance writing rate when I do take on clients. I keep it at a level that factors in my outgoings and the savings that I want to put away. I make sure I have enough to be able to take time off or to factor in slow weeks.

You don’t need to suffer with the feast or famine in freelance writing. I’ve found ways around it when I’m short on clients. Try not to panic when the famine seems to come your way. With some contingency plans you can have savings.

This isn’t going to be something that happens overnight. But think about it the next time your feast comes your way. Can you create a budget and set some money aside for the slow periods?