Freelancer Profile: Shelby Gonzalez
Shelby Gonzalez
Seattle, WA
thereverie.co
Q: Tell me a little about your freelance background (how you got started, how long you did it, why you moved on from it)
A: I suppose technically I started freelancing when I was 17, when I first got paid for a piece of writing. It was a humorous essay in a rugby publication. Title? "If I Don't Make It, Tell My Mother I Love Her." My payment? A $50 gift certificate to a rugby supply website.
My first dedicated foray into freelancing came when I was 20 and started querying and sending spec stories to publications in earnest. My goal was to become an outdoor writer, so all of my efforts, at least at first, went in that direction. I leaned hard into freelancing and ended up dropping out of college at 22 and moving to California with $900 in my bank account to write full time. This was a galactically stupid move; I was living hand-to-mouth and it got very stressful. But I hustled--worked my ass off, got to know as many people as I could, pursued potential opportunities, some of which turned into actual opportunities, and I made it work. I don't regret taking that route, but I don't endorse it either.
“I leaned hard into freelancing and ended up dropping out of college at 22 and moving to California with $900 in my bank account to write full time. This was a galactically stupid move...I don’t regret taking that route, but I don’t endorse it either.”
I freelanced from age 20-23, approximately, then got a salaried job as an administrative and communications coordinator at a nonprofit because it sounded interesting and $35,000 a year sounded like a lot of money. And health insurance sounded like a good idea. At that nonprofit, I got experience writing and editing layperson-friendly environmental health materials and made connections in that professional community. At 25 I quit and went back to freelancing, leveraging my new abilities and connections to get bigger assignments, including some in the area of science writing. (For example, I was the lead author on Mind, Disrupted, a report on chemical exposures and children's neurodevelopment.)
I freelanced and also augmented my earnings with assorted part-time positions (at Barnes&Noble, Starbucks, and a small publication) to provide some stable income. Throughout this entire period (age 20 onward) I should note that I was constantly reading and studying and learning about all aspects of writing, as well as about marketing, advertising and entrepreneurship. Reading, taking online classes, interviewing people who worked in those fields, etc. I still do all of that now.
Around age 28 I took a job as a marketing manager at an outdoor-related organization, again because I was intrigued by the opportunity and craved greater stability. At 30 I leveraged my experience at that job and my previous freelancing experience into a copywriter position at a marketing firm, which grew over time into a senior content and creative strategist role. In 2016, at 31, I was recruited by REI and relocated to the Seattle area to take a position as a senior copywriter in their digital division, which is where I am today. I still don't have a degree.
Q: What do you wish you would have known when you started freelancing?
A: Oh man, where do I start? Keep good records. Learn about mileage tracking and what qualifies as a deductible expense because otherwise you're leaving a lot of money on the table. Don't be afraid of writing for businesses; it's actually pretty great. Copywriting, advertising, marketing, PR and communications all combine creativity and strategic thinking in a delightfully challenging way. And are generally more lucrative than writing for publications.
Q: What are three key pieces of advice for students considering freelancing?
A: I'm giving four pieces of advice, sorry.
Develop a niche. A niche can be a subject area (e.g. specializing in writing about parenting) or a type of writing (e.g. writing press releases for small businesses). You can even combine the two. The more specialized your
Don't call yourself a freelance writer. "Freelance writer" is so generic and overused that it makes you a commodity, which is the quickest way to end up competing with other freelancers on price alone--and that's a competition nobody wins. Call yourself a communications advisor, or a parenting writer, or a business blog specialist. Now, to be clear, you shouldn't lie. Don't call yourself an expert in something if you're not. Just make sure you're positioning yourself and what you do in a way that helps non-writers understand the value you bring.
Solve problems. Key mindset shift: freelance writing isn't writing, exactly. Or, rather, it isn't just writing. Freelance writing is solving peoples' problems with words for money. (Does that sound gritty and unglamorous? Welcome to freelancing. A bit of mercenary in your attitude will serve you well.) For example, magazine editors don't necessarily want groundbreaking stories; they need to fill space with a story their readers will like and that their advertising team can sell around, delivered on time, with photos, captions, and sidebars.
Try everything. I thought I would hate copywriting, but then I tried it and loved it. I thought I would hate writing about technical subjects--think industrial equipment case studies and promotional materials for healthcare data colocation--but then I tried it and loved it. I thought I would hate being an editor but... you get the idea.
“‘Freelance writer’ is so generic and overused that it makes you a commodity, which is the quickest way to end up competing with other freelancers on price alone—and that’s a competition nobody wins. ”
Q: What were the best parts and the biggest challenges?
A: Best parts:
Having full control of my time. That is, not being beholden to a typical office-job schedule. I love what I do now (and the money is great--not gonna lie, that takes some of the sting out of it) but man do I miss not working 9-5.
Learning about all the things. Through freelancing, I learned all sorts of fascinating tidbits about the world and the people, places and creatures in it. Writing for an outdoor newspaper, I learned that a fully grown saw-whet owl weighs about the same as a stick of butter. Writing for a trade magazine, I learned that if you're going to upholster a motorcycle seat with stingray, you need to use a diamond-tipped needle. Writing for a nonprofit, I learned about the concept of the 8/80 rule in urban planning: a street should be designed in such a way that an 8-year-old and an 80-year-old can navigate it comfortably and safely.
Following my fancy. If a subject caught my attention, I could do a little research, pitch some stories around it, and bam! I was getting paid to learn more and write about it. If months ahead were looking lean, I could reach out to some local organizations and propose writing materials for their websites. My only limit was my hustle.
Biggest challenges:
My only limit was my hustle. I had to rely 100% on myself (and my dwindling bank account) for motivation.
Not making a lot of money, although that had a lot to do with the type of writing I was doing (mostly outdoor writing). Freelancing can be lucrative, but I didn't stay with it long enough or focus enough to make it so for me. The lack of consistency in income was stressful.
Staying organized. 'Nuff said.
Q: Can you recommend any resources for people wanting to start freelancing?
A: This will sound weird, but there's a classic book on starting a consultancy called Book Yourself Solid that I wish I had read back when I was freelancing. It really drives home the mindset shift I mentioned above (solving problems vs. writing stuff). And it provides a clear, specific, step-by-step methodology for developing a business.
For those interested in copywriting, marketing and advertising (which are extremely valuable knowledge areas and skills for any writer, no matter what you do), The Copywriter's Handbook and Hey Whipple, Squeeze This!