If you don’t know, I’ve been dealt quite a bad hand as of late. The progression of generative AI has essentially ended my freelancing career. And I really don’t see a need to continue creating content for someone else. In fact, I am going to double down on myself as I navigate the massive changes in my life.
Shouldn’t I have been doing this the whole time? Absolutely. I took my freelancing career for granted, and it virtually bit me in the ass. That’s on me. I have no one to blame but myself and learned one hell of a painful lesson.
I will always be a writer. The only difference is that nowadays, I’m working the “normal” jobs to pay the bills. It’s a bit of a pay cut from what I was making before, but at least I have money consistently coming in.
Why the New Spreadsheet?
Initially, I created the spreadsheet to keep track of my freelancing income. I wanted to know how much I was making, what I was making per hour, and how much time I was putting into building my career.
The information was great when it came time to negotiate contracts and put a price on what I deliver. The spreadsheet was instrumental when deciding whether I could turn writing into something valid as a way to consistently make money.
In 2013, I was able to quit my job at the school district and continued to provide content for clients until May of 2026. It was a nice run, while it lasted.
So, now that generative AI is all the rage, the freelancing part dried up, for the most part. Sure, you’ll still see some companies looking for freelance writers on Indeed or LinkedIn. But realize that thousands of writers like myself are also applying for those jobs.
The odds are no longer in your favor. Generative AI has put too many of us highly skilled individuals back on the market.
As I am still a writer, blogger, and author, I decided it was time to revamp the spreadsheet to focus purely on those aspects.
Building Motivation
I don’t merely want to work front desk at a hotel for the rest of my life. I still have a lot that I would love to accomplish, whether it’s blogging, being an author, or exploring anthropology.
Using a spreadsheet to monitor my progress as a creator and college student helps keep me motivated and focused on those ends.
Essentially, I’m using the spreadsheet the same way I did when I started my writing career back in 2012. I was tracking everything I did for Textbroker and other content mills to keep an eye on how much time I was putting into those systems and how much money I was making.
The sheet broke down how much I was making per hour. Then, I focused on surpassing my regular job in terms of pay for three consecutive months. At that point, I was able to quit my job and write full-time, making even more money.
It might take me a bit longer this time around to reach that level of success, thanks to the destructive nature of generative AI for actual writers. But I am confident I can still make some magic happen.
Data for Self-Publishing, Blogging, and Video Development
The new spreadsheet is going to help me keep an eye on a few data points for self-publishing, blogging, and making YouTube videos. This will mostly focus on time and income. The idea is to perhaps collect enough information for a case study blog post and video.
For instance, I am tracking every sale as well as the time I spend working on the books, marketing, designs, and other aspects of being an author. Does more time equate to a higher “per hour” rate? Or is there any difference between the time spent and income ratios?
Perhaps one of these days, I will break down the different forms of marketing to see which is better for all of my projects. But that would take more time than I currently have available.
Keep in mind that I am a college student on top of working 40 hours per week.
Regardless, the data I am going to use is essentially the same as what I collected when I began this journey back in 2012. With any luck, the new spreadsheet will be just as effective for building a new career out of content creation and self-publishing as it was to get me out of the school district.
Tracking Sustainability…Again
The point of this entire exercise is to demonstrate whether I can create a sustainable income from content creation and books. That means setting some high goals for income if I want to consider quitting the hotel business.
Don’t get me wrong, I love working the front desk and interacting with people. But I am a writer…and if I have the opportunity to do nothing but write for the rest of my life, I’ll take it.
And if I had the same mentality five years ago, I wouldn’t be in the predicament I’m in now. But that is the past, and I am looking toward my future.
You can only kick yourself in the ass so many times before you actually have to put in the effort to change. I’m done feeling sorry for myself and am ready to implement what I’ve learned.
Let’s see how long it takes me to replace a full-time income this time around.
No Need to Track a Regular Job
The only aspect of a regular job that I’m tracking in the new spreadsheet is the hourly, weekly, and yearly income. This is so I have an idea of how much I need to make as a content creator and author to afford to quit my job.
Who knows? I might not even quit my job entirely. Perhaps I’ll stay on part-time just so I have the benefits of the hotel. But let’s not put the cart in front of the horse.
In any case, I’m not going to worry about tracking time or anything else outside of wages as a goal. The new spreadsheet is going to focus intently on content creation and being a self-published author.
Why Not a Desktop App?
I’ve been asked a few times in the past about why I use a spreadsheet and not build a desktop app. To be honest, I’ve considered creating something in Visual Studio. The biggest hangup was that of time.
Again, I am kicking myself as I could have spent an hour or two every Saturday building something that other people could benefit from as well. Now that I have even less time during the week, it’s something that might not be feasible.
Well, that is unless I use AI to build it. But then, I might feel dirty afterward. Besides, I love learning new things, and setting aside a bit of time to build a desktop app might be quite fun.
Unfortunately, an app might not be on my radar until I am able to become a full-time creator and author. It’s something I am very interested in building, but it’s just not going to happen in the immediate future.
For now, we’ll just focus on the spreadsheets and getting the momentum built again.
Starting Over from Scratch
In a lot of ways, I’m starting over from where I was back in 2012. The biggest difference is that today, I have a better job that actually pays the bills. Back then, it was $8 per hour trying to maintain a household of four. Even in 2012, $8 per hour was not enough for a family livable wage.
That means that it’s going to take more time and effort to replace my full-time income today.
Something else to consider is that I’m also not battling a crippling depression this time around. For more information on that, check out my book, A Freelancer’s Tale. But I am much happier today and am quite enjoying how things are progressing lately.
We need to keep in mind, though, that work and school have to come first. Otherwise, I won’t be able to afford being a blogger, author, or YouTuber. It’s all about laying the foundation of a sturdy house. And this time, we’re using vibranium for that foundation.
It’s often difficult not to dwell on things I could have done differently. If I had done this or that, I would be making a lot of money today. If only I had done X differently or invested more into Y, I could probably buy my $3 million house today.
Dwelling on mistakes of the past does nothing to progress your future. Yes, things went badly, and you’re essentially starting over. But learning from those mistakes and taking action to rectify the problems is a big part of success.
I’ve said it many times… perseverance is a contributing factor for success when things go south. Do we want to wallow in self-pity over things we could have done differently, or do we dust ourselves off and say, “Let’s do this?”
What About the Freelancing Content?
Freelancing has had a major shift after the impact of generative AI. While some of the freelancing content might be obsolete, some of it still holds true today, such as best practices and self-care elements.
I’m going to comb through the blog and YouTube channel to remove the things that no longer matter. However, I’ll leave the stuff that is evergreen, in case someone is curious as to how I started this journey.
And yes, I am currently working on part two of A Freelancer’s Tale, which focuses on the things that happened this year and how I am rebuilding after a devastating blow.
It was a fun ride while it lasted. But as they say, “All good things must come to an end.”
Uploading the New Spreadsheet Soon
I’ll spend the next few months building a new spreadsheet and then upload it as I did with the last one. I had a few downloads over the years, and perhaps the layout can help motivate someone or at least give them ideas for building their own.
I look back and see all the years I’ve been tracking and the things that have changed. I am quite proud of how I ended, despite starting over. I went from making $25 per week on Textbroker to writing full-time, managing YouTube channels, and becoming a self-published author.
So, no, I’m not sad that it’s over. I’m glad that it happened. And I will rebuild everything I have lost and then some.
My career as an author, blogger, and YouTuber is far from over.
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