Welcome to FLX: Freelance Success

Founded in 1993, Freelance Success brings together freelance journalists and content creators who want to reach beyond social media's casual connections to help each other thrive no matter the economy.

You know your business. We know how to make money at it.

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Job search firms report that the most experienced workers have become less optimistic about their career futures. 

What?! That's news to FLXers. 

We're thriving!

The largest percentage of our members earn between $75,000 and $99,999 annually. The second-largest percentage? They bank $100,000 to $124,999. And those part-timers with fewer than 30 hours at the week at a keyboard? The largest swath reports income between $40,000 and $74,999.

Nice balance, huh?

Freelance Success is the water cooler, the green room, the celebration party at the bar after the awards show. Thanks to FLX, freelancers have go-to colleagues to turn to for support and encouragement any time of the day or night.

Social media devolves into posturing and pretending.

Networking is about schmoozing and glad-handing.

Connection, on the other hand, is all about belonging.

Want to get out of the content mill rut? Want to stop feeling isolated as you break through to the next level? Tired of fretting over red flags you should have seen coming? Need new markets, fresh eyes, fewer pitch rejections? 

You belong at Freelance Success!

Until now, you've had to piecemeal the advice you need: Premium social media services. Life coaching that can't drill down to steer you through specific publishing situations. Workshops that cover one topic. 

It's time to combine at Freelance Success!

• Market reports with inside information on what publications and companies really want. We contact the editors for first-hand feedback for FLXers—no curated lists from Twitter passing along 10-cent-a-word jobs or rehashed LinkedIn/Indeed/association job listings. After all, you don't want a job. You're an independent contractor.

• Monthly discussions with experts to answer your pressing questions about career issues and ways to grow your business. 

• Co-workers. The quiet kind. Not the ones who chew ice with their mouths open in the next cubicle. 

• Active forums to hash out what's on your mind or on your plate.

• Privacy. Freelance Success is not a social media site. What happens on FLX is not our business—and vice versa.

• Courses. Looking for a class? No need to find a new platform. Chances are good an expert is teaching what you want to learn—right here!

• Exclusive deep discounts with partners like content idea analyzer Brainstorm Buddy. Get feedback on your article and content ideas to sharpen your success rate.

• Regional, in-person get-togethers.

• Tax deduction. Because office supply receipts alone don't earn much love from Uncle Sam.

Want to build a six-figure income? It's not as easy as the writing charlatans ... uh, courses assure you. But you already know that. That's why you and Freelance Success make a great match.

The insider market guides are just one aspect of the Freelance Success experience. Our forums are a treasure chest of great information. Because let's face it: not everyone measures success strictly by dollars. But all of us enjoy learning how others deal with the difficult, the sticky, the intractable, and, yes, the joys.

As you could guess, we talk about our good and not-so-good experiences with specific companies. We offer fresh perspectives so you can tackle problems in new ways. We share contacts, reach out for sources, occasionally even subcontract work to each other.

Need an example? Ripped directly from the thread lines:

• Questions on getting interaction on Zoom presentations.

• Networking--how to follow up in a non-cringey way.

• How ethical is this?

• Need help with writer-friendly contract.

• Editor doesn't understand topics assigned.

• Are deadlines getting tighter?

• Seeking followers ahead of book launch.

• Copy pasting posts into WordPress5.

• How did you land your favorite client?

I could keep going for years. After all, there are more than 900,000 searchable posts in our history, covering everything from how professional writers survived recessions to jumping on new technologies, industries, and ideas.

I can read your mind—because I had the same thought before I started joining communities. Why pay for what I'm already getting at LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Mastodon?

And that's the heart of the matter. The Freelance Success community is its own entity apart from social media or an association. It would be a poor business strategy to give up either one, because they are about the power of a collective voice.

Freelance Success is about focusing on you as an individual.

Here, you can forget about posturing, presenting, competing, spending energy gathering followers or racking up retweets to improve your status. You aren't trying to sell us on your market worth—that's a given because you chose to become a member of our community!

We're about being real, asking for help, offering advice, having conversations that go deeper than sound bites. It's a refreshing break you didn't know you needed, and you won't want to give it up once you've tasted this kind of career freedom!

Freelance Success is the community for freelance writers who want to level up:

“I landed a new magazine editor client in April last year through Freelance Success. The editor liked my work and has continued hiring me. Just looked at my 1099 for 2021 from that publication: the amount I earned in eight months of 2021 alone was more than enough to buy FLX subscriptions for the next 59 years.” — Jeff Steele, Steele International Writing and Editing

“Freelance Success changed my life. Seriously. I’ve been a member for nearly 20 years, and I’ve not only learned so much about the field in that time, but, just as importantly, I met my mentor, so many colleagues, and even some of my closest friends on FLX. It’s the best place for any writer—whether just starting out or seasoned—to find information, camaraderie, and lots of fun!”— Michele “Wojo” Wojciechowski

We know we aren't for everybody—that would be exhausting, and everyone would be shorted on the community they deserve. We wish you all good things in your career, but you will not be a good fit if you are in these situations:

• You have never freelanced as a writer before and don't understand what a pitch letter is, aren't sure what it means to sell first rights or work for hire, do not have an idea what markets you could write for. 

• You are a recruiter looking to contact the creative writing field. *

• Your focus is on selling products to creatives.

• You are seeking story placement for a client.

• You are looking for designer or graphic arts or photography work only.

• You are a fiction writer only.

• You are a full-time salaried editor or publisher. *

* Reach out to me at [email protected] and I'll happily help to connect prospects from our database to you!

Excellent!

Because you haven't heard the best news yet. This is going to make your whole year.

Membership is a mere $119 a year. You read that right. No digits missing on that price.

Is it worth more? You bet your last dollar it is. But adding rocket fuel to your business begins with a good deal, so let's get started on the right foot.

After all, we love tradition, and FLX has always been about value. And let's be honest: we like the good karma of an affordable price. Not to mention I personally hate telling someone that I've raised their rates (yah, not a landlord here), so if you join at $119, you are grandfathered into that price moving forward.

Compare our Freelance Success community to these common monthly subscriptions:

• Consultation at The Manuscript Academy, an awesome bunch of folks: $49 for 10 minutes; $99 for 15 minutes and 10 pages reading.

• Life coach: $225/hour.

• American Society of Journalists and Authors membership: $235/year.

• Society of American Business Editors and Writers membership: $70/year.

• Editorial Freelancers Association membership: $180/first year.

• Netflix: $8.99 - $17.99/month.

• House cleaning: $35/hour (Midwest).

• Personal weight training: $60/hour (Midwest).

• Book of the Month Club: $14.99/month.

• MeUndies subscription: $16/pair. (Hey, this is awesome underwear. But panties aren't a career investment.)

Still not convinced? I get it. Communities aren't commodities. And according to gobankingrates.com, the average American spends $347.81 per year on subscriptions they don’t even use. That's not good, and we don't want to be on your money-sucking nuisance list.

You are welcome to look around and settle in before committing. Simply choose our $14.99 monthly plan with no ties, no pressure to create a profile, no judgment. You can switch over and start the annual $119 plan at any time.

(Legal information most people put in smaller type: Apple has a separate approval process and fees for any plans you purchase on iOS, and this process may take some extra time. We invite you to purchase on a different device and return to your phone to interact via our app.)

I'm Julie Sturgeon, publisher and editor of Freelance Success. Reach out to me if you have questions or concerns. I'm happy to shoot you a straight answer. Email [email protected]

Want to be featured in our exclusive market guide and hear from experts with the right experience for your needs? I'm here to help. Email [email protected].