sidegig.directory

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.”

— 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)

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.”

— 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)

Work mode: remote

“ghostwrite memoirs for Olympians and CEOs, and having some crazy experiences as a digital nomad”

— The Creative Penn, Write For Money And Power: Becoming A Creator CEO With Amy Suto (YouTube, 21 Oct 2026, at 25:20)

“And you can do the work from just about anywhere.”

— Side Hustle Hero, 174: 10 Real Remote Side Hustles To Make Money From Home (podcast, 2 Dec 2025, at 10:04)

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”

— Chris Koerner, The $7K/Month Side Hustle Most People Think AI Killed - Ep. #333 (podcast, 8 Sep 2026, at 57:54). Reported: $30–$50/hr

“with freelance writing, you could charge hourly, 30, 40, even $50 an hour”

— The Virtual Savvy (Abbey Ashley), 10 Side Hustles Students Can Start in 2027 (YouTube, 29 Oct 2026, at 5:29). Reported: $30–$50/hr

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.”

— Chris Koerner, The $7K/Month Side Hustle Most People Think AI Killed - Ep. #333 (podcast, 8 Sep 2026, at 17:25). Reported: Trying to automate the whole writing process with AI, spending more time configuring tools than writing

“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.”

— 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 19:21). Reported: Selling yourself as a commodity copywriter, so clients compare your rates to what other copywriters charge

“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”

— 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 43:57). Reported: Delegating work on low margins, so higher revenue leaves less take-home pay

Income volatility

“by the beginning of March, all of those retainer clients were down to one. They all dropped off all at one point.”

— 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). Reported: high

Schedule control

“Something solo, something more chill like freelance writing or bookkeeping or high ticket drop shipping.”

— Side Hustle Hero, 202: How to Choose the Best Side Hustle for You (podcast, 8 Sep 2026, at 5:42). Reported: own schedule

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.”

— 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). Reported: low

Work mode

“And you can do the work from just about anywhere.”

— Side Hustle Hero, 174: 10 Real Remote Side Hustles To Make Money From Home (podcast, 2 Dec 2025, at 10:04). Reported: remote

“ghostwrite memoirs for Olympians and CEOs, and having some crazy experiences as a digital nomad”

— The Creative Penn, Write For Money And Power: Becoming A Creator CEO With Amy Suto (YouTube, 21 Oct 2026, at 25:20). Reported: remote

Full-time or part-time

“I had already been freelancing on the side while I was at Zapier and they knew about it.”

— Chris Koerner, The $7K/Month Side Hustle Most People Think AI Killed - Ep. #333 (podcast, 8 Sep 2026, at 10:07). Reported: part time or full time

“now I'm back full-time in my own business, which is exactly where I want to be.”

— 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 8:39). Reported: full time capable

“Delia quit her job and started freelancing, she got up to 100k within a year.”

— 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 2:19). Reported: full time capable

Employee pay in the related job, nationally and by state

BLS figures describe employees in the closest related occupation, not side-hustle income.

Related occupationMedian payMiddle 80%People employed
Writers and Authors$36.98/hr ($76,910/yr), BLS OEWS, May 2025$44,310–$139,870/yr47,940
Median annual pay of employed writers and authors, 44 states and areas; national median $76,910 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
StateMedian 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

All data

FactValueSource
Demand trendstableBLS Employment Projections, 2025-35
Income volatilityhighFreelance to Freedom, Aug 2026
Nearest occupationWriters and AuthorsO*NET 31.0
Nearest occupationWriters and AuthorsO*NET 31.0
ScalabilitylowDouble Your Freelancing Podcast, Sep 2024
Work moderemoteThe Creative Penn, Oct 2026; Side Hustle Hero, Dec 2025
Median hourly wage, employees: writers and authors$36.98/hrBLS OEWS, May 2025
Median annual wage, employees: writers and authors$76,910/yrBLS OEWS, May 2025
Annual wage, 10th percentile: writers and authors$44,310/yrBLS OEWS, May 2025
Annual wage, 90th percentile: writers and authors$139,870/yrBLS OEWS, May 2025
People employed: writers and authors47,940 jobsBLS OEWS, May 2025
Projected employment change, 10 years: writers and authors-0.3%BLS Employment Projections, 2025-35
Share self-employed: writers and authors64.8%BLS Employment Projections, 2025-35