Smutlancer Monthly Income Report: November 2018

Very quickly you’ll see that November was a very good month in my smutlancer life. One client doubled the work they wanted me to do and increased my pay to match that additional work. I knew it was coming but this was the first month I felt the increase. More money comes with more responsibilities, and my mental health took a hit this past month. But I made it, and here are the results!

November 2018 Income

My November income is primarily based on work completed in October. I bill clients on the last day of every month, and they have 10 days to pay. Affiliate sales tend to pay quarterly, but some pay monthly. I break down my freelance writing between vanilla and sex content because I want to show what’s possible in either category.

New projects began at the end of October and into November, and I’ve got a client sending me one-off projects left and right. I’m makin’ hay while the sun shines, to borrow a phrase. In my experience, the last quarter of the year tends to be my busiest — and that continues to hold true.

• Freelance Writing
  • Vanilla Content: $2635.00
  • Sex/Adult Content: $5675.00
• Affiliate Sales: $6.68
• Podcast Sponsorship: —
• Sponsored Blog Posts: —
• Website Sponsorship: —
• Banner Ads: —
• Book Sales: $35.02
• Patreon: $180.00
• Consulting: —
• Donations —

Total Income: $8,531.70 (up $2,751.89 from October)

November 2018 Expenses

Some expenses are monthly, some quarterly, and some annual. Taxes are something I save for monthly to be paid quarterly.

• Web Hosting: $42.98
• Domain Renewals: —
• Podcast Hosting: $32.00
• Canva —
• Buffer: $10.00
• InLinkz: $2.99 (linky tool for Masturbation Monday)
• Blog Contributors: $21.20
• Taxes: $1000.00
• Payment Fees (PayPal, Stripe): $270.91
• Shipping/Postage: $17.23
• Tech Support: —
• Patreon: $25.00 (creators I support)
• Copyscape (playgerism checker): —
• TinyPNG (image compression): —
• DepositPhotos (stock photo) — $29.00

Total Expenses: $1,451.31 (up $185.66 over October)

My income went up and so my expenses went up — primarily in the form of PayPal and Stripe fees. But I also felt a lot more comfortable spending a little more money, too which is why I finally paid for a less expensive stock photo subscription.

November 2018 Net Income: $7,080.39 (↑ $2,566.23 from October)

I know from moment to moment what my projected income will be for the month — based on the regular client work that I bill for each month and as new projects come in. The money isn’t really mine until the client pays, but that doesn’t stop me from mentally (or actually) spending it before it hits my bank account. Because the few months leading up to November were so tight (for us), we had a lot of things we’d put off buying. While this number is WONDERFUL, by the time all of my living expenses were deducted, it felt like a normal month. But this isn’t a bad place to be, and I’m definitely not complaining.

I took on a lot of new roles and tasks for clients in late October and throughout November and it messed with my head. My anxiety (generalized anxiety disorder) is often triggered over rejection and a lack of perfectionism. (No, I don’t know how i ended up a freelance writer, either.) And in order to do these new jobs and earn money, I had to face both fears head on. It wasn’t pretty and by the end of the month, I melted down a bit.

But after some much needed rest, I feel better about it. And, as with all new things that make me anxious, once I get practice doing them, I gain confidence.

My Personal Income Goals

My plan — at some point in the distance future — is to create a spreadsheet to track my blogging income. The freelance income is easy to keep up with. But what I really want to see is what’s happening (overall) with my blogging efforts which the goal of reducing some client work over time.

Some of that will happen in December as I gave up a little vanilla content to make room for all the new adult content work I’ve started. I can already see the difference in my schedule, and I’m hoping that it leads to more time to create content that builds any of the blogs I run.

As always, this report is designed to help you — whether to give you hope or show you what’s possible or to feel less alone (those affiliate sales are just sad). If there’s something you wish was included in the monthly report, let me know! Talk to me in the comments, contact me by email (kayla at the smutlancer dot com) or talk to me on Twitter!