Last month on her Facebook feed, Clarissa Wei – who writes about food and related subjects for Vice and other outlets – shared some good news: “Whoo! I surpassed my [modest] income goals for 2016.  This is my second year of full-time freelance writing. I started this lifestyle as an experiment in fall of 2014 and I’m shocked that I’ve lasted this long because…this is not a lucrative lifestyle…AT ALL.”

She goes on to say that each year she has an income goal, “and I tell myself that as long as i can reach it, I will continue doing what I’m doing. If I’m short, then maybe it’s time to reconsider… For those in doubt of going rogue, I say go for it. You may be pleasantly surprised. Just remember to set concrete goals and be realistic. Don’t expect to rake in a competitive salary in the first years… but also keep in mind that unlimited vacation time and freedom to go wherever and whenever is worth money in and of itself.”

Wei has a tip for freelancers: set a base monthly goal and “keep track of your income streams via Excel… It will fluctuate, undoubtedly, and you won’t always reach it… but it’ll give you a good idea of where you are at and how much harder you need to work.”

I don’t use Excel, rather an old-fashioned notebook. And I’ve never set an actual income target. I simply try to write as many articles as I can fit in to the time available, so long as I’m getting paid a reasonable amount and the subject is somewhat interesting for me. (I do write about things that don’t especially interest me from time to time, invariably because an editor I respect and want to keep sweet has asked me to, and the pay is reasonable.)

Very sensibly, Wei doesn’t regard money as earned when an article is commissioned or even when it’s published. The dollars aren’t counted until they’ve arrived in her bank account. She hardly travels in luxury, she points out, but she did get to 11 provinces in China this year, and fit in some intensely interesting experiences (I still haven’t got to Smangus here in Taiwan). “One thing is for sure though: this is a hell of a lot more fun than sitting in an office. If you’re a writer, prepare to constantly be working. I don’t do weekends or days off, but because my life is my job, it doesn’t matter too much for me,” she goes on to say.

I spend a lot of time in my home office, lately doing much more editing than writing. And while my mind is always alert for feature ideas, I seldom work between Saturday lunchtime and Monday morning. I feel very lucky: I get a good bit of excitement and satisfaction by being a freelance travel/feature writer, and also a fair amount of the stability enjoyed by conventional, middle-aged workers.