Thanks Sharon. 🙂

For me it wasn’t so much the topics, but more knowing I was using my skills and expertise to benefit others more than myself. If I wanted that, I’d have taken a full-time position somewhere long ago. It’s not in my DNA for a reason.

So much of my freelance work is hidden (ghostwriting, consulting, research involvement, and traditionally uncredited writing like press releases).

It started to hit hard a few years back when a newer freelancer reached out privately to complain about advice on my site when they said it looked like I didn’t actually do anything anymore… because they couldn’t see the work that dominated my time while my own sites were always the first to take a backseat. It was insulting, especially when they could have simply asked.

This was also at a time when the insta-expert crowd started dominating the freelance writing community with shitty membership sites (which still drive new writers to me after they feel screwed out of their money for nothing) and newer bloggers ripping off more experienced pros (and still heavily benefitting from that to this day).

I felt like I was letting the people I created these resources for down. And it felt hopeless to combat that kind of bullshit when I couldn’t be a visible voice in the way I used to, and with so many experienced colleagues going quieter in that time too. So every client project demanding my time not only cost me in relation to steadier income streams, but they removed a good bit of the influence I used to have.

This year, in a way, feels like “going home.” I love the act of building, and re-building is even more exciting because it’s being fueled by years of utter rage. That’s driven some behind-the-scenes research into professional passion areas, and now I finally get to channel some of it into more public projects again. It’s one part creating and one part fighting back against bullshit artists who have been screwing over newer freelancers and such, especially during the uncertain times we’ve all been living through. And I am beyond excited for that.

Seeing you transition to work you’re so passionate about is inspiring Sharon. And I think over this past year in particular, getting to watch your journey from a distance helped give me the confidence to say “f* it, it’s time.” So thank you for that.