Been getting a lot of requests for freelancing advice lately, and for the first time I don't really know what to say. At the risk of sounding overly gloomy about the state of the industry, I guess my short-term advice is: find a life raft.

Is there something you can do part-time, either from home or not depending on your local/personal covid situation? Can you get un-bylined writing or editing work of some kind? Can you work at a call center? Who do you know who might be able to help?

My advice is to find a way, somehow, to not be full-time dependent on bylined/editorial freelance work right now. Find something to help float you for the next six months to a year. Even if it's 15, 20 hours a week - something to take the pressure off your writing earnings.

In this story I talk about the Stockdale Paradox - maintaining optimism about a bad situation while being brutally honest about how bad it is. Shit's bad, folks. Personally I'm choosing to believe it will get better in a year or two. Find a life raft. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/15/health/resilience-trauma-emdr-treatment.html

I applied for a part-time job this morning! Haven't had one since 2011, and before that 2007, so updating my resume was kinda hilarious.

Wish me luck.