This rings so true, the other thing is that sometimes there is no real rhyme or rhythm to this business. I am a full-time teacher who moonlights as a freelance writer.

I started on Upwork just looking for some spending money. I would pitch education blogs and companies because I thought, hey I am a teacher, my lane should be education.

But it wasn't that easy.

Education-based websites and companies simply don't pay writers well. After having a few of my pitches accepted and many rejected I said "screw it" and started applying for gigs in other niches.

For some reason, I applied for a dental direct-to-consumer insurance post on Upwork. They rejected me at first but a month later said, "Hey we would like to give you a shot, after all, write these 2 articles for $550."

WTF... I have no experience in dentistry or insurance and they want to pay me $225 an article?

Obviously, I accepted.

I really couldn't believe it when the money cleared through Upwork, that was real money, money that, if multiplied, could become a career... not $50 bucks for 1500 words,

That was February 2020, since then I have been writing 4-5 articles a month. That is until this last month where they let me know they were cutting down on the number of writers they needed, from 50 to 5, and I made the cut.

They have upped the per article rate to $350 an article and are providing me 5-15 articles a month.

I never thought I would be writing long-form insurance content and copy, but here we are...sometimes it is just about positioning yourself to accept the opportunity and follow through once it presents itself.