I touched base a bit on the About Me page regarding Writer Sanctuary. But here is a bit more information regarding my “flagship” website.

I created WriterSanctuary.com in 2013 to be more of a practice blog to help me learn AP-style writing. I also wanted to log everything I’ve learned along the way for success.

Not only does this help me keep focused and remember, but it’s helpful to others who are curious about online freelance writing.

Beginning a New Career Path

I started freelance writing on January 1, 2012. That was the official day that I turned in my writing sample to Textbroker.

At the time, I was working for the school district as a Network Technician. And when you’re paid $8 per hour with a household of four, you need something extra to keep the bills paid.

Once I was accepted into the system, I started writing articles for clients when I had time. In the beginning, this only brought in between $20 and $50 per week. It wasn’t a lot, but it kept gas in the truck for work and put a bit more food on the table.

In 2013, I was able to start bringing in enough money as a freelancer on Textbroker to supersede what I was making at the school district. So, I quit being a Network Technician and began writing full-time.

This nearly doubled my income.

Around that same time, I created WriterSanctuary.com to log and share my experiences and what I’ve learned.

I’ve been doing it ever since.

Useful Practice

If you look back to the earlier days of WriterSanctuary.com, you’ll see how I’ve evolved over the years. In the beginning, I used a lot of advanced language and was a bit more clinical than I am today.

As Textbroker editors pointed out flaws in the work I sent back to clients, I would take that information and do some research in Google.

I spent a great deal of time learning everything I could and trying to fine-tune my skill. Then, I would create blog posts in WriterSanctuary.com to help reinforce that knowledge.

I learn far better through experience and usage. What better way to learn how to blog for clients than to create your own blog?

Not only does keeping the blog maintained help in learning new grammar skills, but it keeps the typing speed sharp.

I just wish it was as easy to edit my own work. Sometimes errors still slip past me. But then again, it’s difficult to edit your own stuff. When it’s fresh in the mind, you often don’t see the errors.

Sharing Knowledge

I have a helpful nature. If I am capable of offering assistance, I do so without asking anything in return. So even though it creates competition for myself, I share everything I know about freelance writing on WriterSanctuary.com.

I want to help people get to the same level of success as I am, if not higher.

Now, I know I’m not the best in the world, and I still have quite a bit to learn. But what I can offer is an insight into my own experience as someone without a degree in writing for clients for the first time.

This also includes explaining the mistakes I’ve made to help people avoid the same issues.

Although the blog doesn’t reach a massive audience, I know I’ve helped quite a few people get more out of content mills like Textbroker. In fact, I know one person in particular who said I inspired him to do better.

And that’s what WriterSanctuary.com is all about.

Expanding into YouTube

In November of 2018, I decided to expand a bit into YouTube. I’ve toyed with the idea for quite some time and decided to give it a shot. After all, I had everything I needed to get started.

At first, I wanted the YouTube videos to accompany blog posts. This way, visitors can choose to either read or watch the content when visiting the website.

In other words, I wasn’t really expecting to become a YouTube success story. It was just another way to release content on WriterSanctuary.com.

However, the YouTube channel grew much larger than I anticipated. Apparently, I create content that hundreds of people want to keep watching. And it’s a good feeling to know that I can help so many people.

I know that I’m not a big YouTube celebrity and my channel is micro in comparison to so many others. But when I get messages that say, “Thank you, this is exactly what I was looking for,” it makes the effort worthwhile.

Nowadays, the blog and YouTube channel send visitors back and forth. It’s almost a kind of symbiotic relationship as both platforms benefit from one another.

Going Beyond the Scope of Freelance Writing

While I’m getting quite well-known for Textbroker and content-mill-work, I would still like to go beyond what freelance writing can offer. After more than 8,000 projects completed for hundreds and hundreds of clients, I want more out of writing.

My next major project is transitioning from freelance writer to author. I suppose part of that has to do with my mother and sister both having their books published.

And both are working on their second.

I’ve always been interested in writing creative pieces. Even at a young age, I remember hammering out stories and novels on my grandpa’s 1940s-style, carbon-ribbon typewriter.

No, I’m not that old…but it was available.

This means I want to add more publishing content on WriterSanctuary.com as I make that transition. I’ll still work for clients on the side, but I want to be more creative.

Some aspects of running my blogs give me a bit of that creative outlet. But it’s not the same as entertaining an audience with a tale from my imagination.

Being creative isn’t the only aspect I want to explore, though. I can offer a variety of writing tips for everything from blogging to business marketing.

And I know none of my blogs are super popular. But what I do for my clients is another story. You see, I just don’t spend as much time on the blogs as I should. I’m more worried about the success of my clients.

Future Plans

The bottom line is that I want to help as many new writers as I can. Whether it’s someone looking to get into freelance writing or that beginner who is working on his or her first novel, I want to share what I learn.

But one thing I am playing with is adding a podcast. When I did the evening with Chris Desatoff for the YouTube channel, it was quite fun. I think it would probably work as a podcast.

Thanks to using management apps like Asana, I’ve been far more productive as of late. So who knows what the future holds for WriterSanctuary.com. I do know that I’ll keep blogging and creating videos to empower others to be a success.