2024 Wrapped
We did it. The reward is we have to do it again.
Well, hasn’t 2024 been…I don’t quite have the words!
We did it, friends. We’ve made it through more unprecedented times. The reward is we get to do it all over again next year. I don’t have a ton of reflections, honestly. I lost things that meant a lot to me this year. And I gained a lot. Life was hard. And it was a blessing.
While I never share my income, I do share a breakdown of my workload each year for anyone who might find that helpful! This year, I’ve also included a look at a few of my professional goals – including some that I did not achieve for transparency:
2024 in review:
Roughly 56 percent of my income this year came from three clients that have me on a monthly retainer.
If you zoom out to clients that hired me to complete a project (that is, assignments that weren’t one-offs), then that represents 82% of my income for the year. That means less than 20% of my income came from one-off assignments (which included on-air appearances, branded content, an op-ed, a cover story, feature reporting, etc.)
I’ve talked a lot about how slow the first half of 2024 was for me as a freelancer. I made 67% of my income in the last two quarters of this year and my biggest retainer didn’t come into the fold until August.
Revisiting this year’s goals:
Here are some of the professional goals I was really proud to achieve this year:
Continue to explore editing/leadership opportunities
Prrr. Word to Teen Vogue.
Secure a well-paid permalance gig that provides both financial stability and enough flexibility to explore other work opportunities.
I’m not at liberty to say more than this yet, sorrryyyy.
Write more features and profiles to continue to develop narrative voice
It’s been hard to strike a balance because, again, this isn’t my highest paid work. But, it’s important to me that I continue to grow as a writer. Some of my favorite features from 2024 were: My 2-year reflection on the YSL trial for Billboard, this AJC feature on ‘90s teen clubs and their impact on Atlanta’s burgeoning music scene, and a recent Atlanta magazine feature on the struggles that Atlanta’s film workers are currently facing.
And, a few goals I didn’t achieve:
Grow and diversify social media presence outside of Twitter
LOL. Chile, someone asked me something about a new app and I said I don’t have the mental capacity to learn a new app. “Catch me offline, I guess.” Was it the wrong response? Absolutely. Was it honest? Well, yes.
Become the go-to voice for the YSL trial.
The trial lasted a year, freelance budgets dried up and I ultimately wasn’t able to do the courthouse reporting I wanted to do this year. It’s disappointing, but I’m still proud of the reporting I did on the case. And, I continue to believe the trial (including the plea deals and acquittals that it resulted in) brought forth a LOT of questions about the use of RICO by Atlanta’s DA’s office.
Happy holidays, friends. See you in 2025.