Freelance Writing evidence: 17 quotes from 6 creators
Every quote, figure and source behind our freelance writing guide: 17 quotes from 6 creators, grouped by claim, with the full source list.
Every quote, by claim
Accepted figures: each is backed by the creators quoted under it, verbatim and linked to the moment they said it.
Income volatility: high
“by the beginning of March, all of those retainer clients were down to one. They all dropped off all at one point.”
Scalability: low
“often it feels like more faff than it's worth to delegate. Like you take home less, you do the worst work and it just kind of sucks.”
Work mode: remote
“ghostwrite memoirs for Olympians and CEOs, and having some crazy experiences as a digital nomad”
“And you can do the work from just about anywhere.”
Single reports, not yet confirmed
What one creator said, before a second independent source backs it. Not used as a fact anywhere on the site.
Hourly earnings
“I'm seeing a lot of 30 and hours on Upwork, 40 and hour, you can get away with that”
“with freelance writing, you could charge hourly, 30, 40, even $50 an hour”
Common pitfalls
“This is what a lot of people try to do and this is a mistake. I see a lot of writers making is they'll go, I'm going to automate this process top to bottom. I'm going to use AI for everything.”
“if you are a commoditized copywriter and you say, hello, do you need a copywriter? I'm a copywriter. Hire me. Well, that's when people do look at the economy and they do look at the market and they say, well, these other copywriters don't charge much.”
“it's like 12 K comes in, 4 K goes to taxes, 4 K goes team, 4 K goes to you. But of that 4 K goes to business expenses to your left with 2 K out of 12 K”
Income volatility
“by the beginning of March, all of those retainer clients were down to one. They all dropped off all at one point.”
Schedule control
“Something solo, something more chill like freelance writing or bookkeeping or high ticket drop shipping.”
Scalability
“often it feels like more faff than it's worth to delegate. Like you take home less, you do the worst work and it just kind of sucks.”
Work mode
“And you can do the work from just about anywhere.”
“ghostwrite memoirs for Olympians and CEOs, and having some crazy experiences as a digital nomad”
Full-time or part-time
“I had already been freelancing on the side while I was at Zapier and they knew about it.”
“now I'm back full-time in my own business, which is exactly where I want to be.”
“Delia quit her job and started freelancing, she got up to 100k within a year.”
Employee pay in the related job, nationally and by state
BLS figures describe employees in the closest related occupation, not side-hustle income.
| Related occupation | Median pay | Middle 80% | People employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Writers and Authors | $36.98/hr ($76,910/yr), BLS OEWS, May 2025 | $44,310–$139,870/yr | 47,940 |
| State | Median annual pay |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $66,950 |
| Arizona | $55,990 |
| Arkansas | $47,970 |
| California | $86,480 |
| Colorado | $76,830 |
| Connecticut | $98,460 |
| District of Columbia | $129,300 |
| Florida | $68,080 |
| Georgia | $74,710 |
| Idaho | $56,360 |
| Illinois | $68,220 |
| Indiana | $75,820 |
| Iowa | $61,010 |
| Kansas | $65,840 |
| Kentucky | $48,780 |
| Louisiana | $89,520 |
| Maryland | $104,330 |
| Massachusetts | $85,260 |
| Minnesota | $72,810 |
| Mississippi | $54,180 |
| Missouri | $58,140 |
| Nebraska | $65,470 |
| Nevada | $63,910 |
| New Hampshire | $71,830 |
| New Jersey | $81,590 |
| North Carolina | $63,660 |
| North Dakota | $50,860 |
| Ohio | $65,930 |
| Oklahoma | $58,770 |
| Oregon | $80,540 |
| Pennsylvania | $77,410 |
| Puerto Rico | $43,440 |
| Rhode Island | $70,190 |
| South Carolina | $51,920 |
| South Dakota | $56,700 |
| Tennessee | $58,870 |
| Texas | $69,990 |
| Utah | $64,530 |
| Vermont | $94,430 |
| Virginia | $85,000 |
| Washington | $85,700 |
| West Virginia | $64,410 |
| Wisconsin | $64,370 |
| Wyoming | $49,650 |
All sources
- Freelance to Freedom, How This Student Quit His Corporate Job in Just 9 Months Using My Framework For Ultimate Freelance Freedom [ Freelancing to Financial Freedom ] (podcast, 25 Aug 2026, at 6:40)
- Double Your Freelancing Podcast, “I can't get past €10k/month Freelancing…” — Solving $100k→$200k/yr Bottlenecks, With Delia Monk (podcast, 30 Sep 2024, at 1:53)
- The Creative Penn, Write For Money And Power: Becoming A Creator CEO With Amy Suto (YouTube, 21 Oct 2026, at 25:20)
- Side Hustle Hero, 174: 10 Real Remote Side Hustles To Make Money From Home (podcast, 2 Dec 2025, at 10:04)
- Chris Koerner, The $7K/Month Side Hustle Most People Think AI Killed - Ep. #333 (podcast, 8 Sep 2026, at 57:54)
- The Virtual Savvy (Abbey Ashley), 10 Side Hustles Students Can Start in 2027 (YouTube, 29 Oct 2026, at 5:29)
- Side Hustle Hero, 202: How to Choose the Best Side Hustle for You (podcast, 8 Sep 2026, at 5:42)
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025-35.
- O*NET 31.0 Database, 31.0.
All data
| Fact | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Demand trend | stable | BLS Employment Projections, 2025-35 |
| Income volatility | high | Freelance to Freedom, Aug 2026 |
| Nearest occupation | Writers and Authors | O*NET 31.0 |
| Nearest occupation | Writers and Authors | O*NET 31.0 |
| Scalability | low | Double Your Freelancing Podcast, Sep 2024 |
| Work mode | remote | The Creative Penn, Oct 2026; Side Hustle Hero, Dec 2025 |
| Median hourly wage, employees: writers and authors | $36.98/hr | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Median annual wage, employees: writers and authors | $76,910/yr | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Annual wage, 10th percentile: writers and authors | $44,310/yr | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Annual wage, 90th percentile: writers and authors | $139,870/yr | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| People employed: writers and authors | 47,940 jobs | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Projected employment change, 10 years: writers and authors | -0.3% | BLS Employment Projections, 2025-35 |
| Share self-employed: writers and authors | 64.8% | BLS Employment Projections, 2025-35 |