Last week, I wrote about the ways I make money as a niche freelancer.

Some of you found it intimidating, which I completely understand. You can’t just flip a switch—it took me years to develop various income streams that, combined, are enough for me to earn a living. I’d find it overwhelming myself to start over from scratch.

However, you don’t need years or even weeks to get started on just one income stream. In fact, you only need a couple of hours in one day. Here are some of the “first steps” I took toward creating my career. Even better, these are applicable for any niche you choose to pursue.

Make a minimum viable product

I bet you’ve got an idea for a book or some equally sized opus kicking around in your brain. Rather than watch another year go by as you fail to find the time to create, try thinking small. Starting from your original idea, what’s the smallest possible finished product you could create?

For years I’ve wanted to make a massive book for my readers full of all the scripts and tips and tricks I use to reach out to clients and sources and come up with article ideas. Still, I only had 15 worksheets in mind, so I put out the Niche Journalism Workbook instead. It’s smaller than my original idea, but also more digestible for readers. Plus, I’m sure readers would rather get their hands on this smaller product of mine than, you know, no product at all.

Narrow down your big idea into its most useful or entertaining part, and resolve to release that. Could your novel be a short story? Could you pitch your research project as a news article? Or maybe your advice book could become a digital workbook, like mine.

Pitch one article

Launching a freelance writing career, with multiple outlets for publication, takes a long time. Pitching just one article is a lot quicker, and can have the effect of cascading into more work.

Start with one idea. Maybe it’s based on a blog post you’ve written. Maybe it’s based on a question you’ve had. If you have it, it’s likely a lot of other people do, too. (See my post on why anime wall art comes on scrolls.) Send that idea to five different outlets. Do your very best to address your emails to a human name, not just a press@ or hello@ email dumping ground.

Everyone is afraid of being rejected, which is why this short, simply, career-launching suggestion takes up lots of emotional space—but very little of your time. Remind yourself that a rejection for a story idea is not a rejection of you, and keep pitching new stuff.

Build a simple portfolio page

You need a website: you already know this. If you don’t have Web design experience, you know it’s going to cost you either money hiring a designer, time teaching yourself what to do, or both. Even if you do have experience, you might have trouble dedicating time to putting up a site.

Or so you thought. There are plenty of free, easy alternatives to launching a massive site. If you’re a reporter with existing bylines, you could use Pressfolios to show them off, no money or web skills required. Looking for something even simpler? You could use About.me for a standalone introduction page. My top recommendation is setting up a WordPress.com blog, which you can do in minutes and customize with thousands of free themes. Even if you’re too busy to blog, you can use WordPress as a static portfolio website with just a couple clicks. Whatever you do, include your email prominently on the page—just in case somebody wants to hire you based solely on what they see on your site.

You can set up a more informative site later, but the sooner you get up a temporary website, the more chances you have to introduce yourself digitally to any prospective editor or client who might be looking for a niche writer of exactly your type.

Launch a newsletter

Freelance careers are harder when you feel like you’re alone. But when you launch a newsletter and start growing an audience for it, you’ll always have an audience, no matter how small.

My newsletter is the first to hear about new blog posts I’ve written and more personal thoughts than I feel comfortable sharing on my blog. (After all, if they took the effort to join my newsletter, I tell myself, they care at least a little.) I also share new products on my newsletter first, and even though there are just a few hundred recipients, most of my sales come from there.

I write a newsletter (and subscribe to a lot of other people’s) for the sense of community that comes from it. It’s amazing how many friendships I’ve sparked from somebody replying to my newsletter, me replying to them, and it turning into a regular email correspondence. Start your own in a few minutes, for free, on MailChimp.

Incorporate affiliate links into your blog

This is probably the most controversial tip I’ve got for you today, since many people (friends of mine included) don’t believe affiliate links work. In my experience, they work great—so long as you are open and honest about using them and ensuring they’re relevant to your readers.

Ever since adding affiliate links to Gunpla 101, I’m able to write about one of my favorite topics, the 30-year-old Gundam anime franchise, and get paid for it—while keeping the entire site ad-free. I even just began earning enough to pay a contributor at a competitive rate. So for me, affiliate links are freedom, a way to write about whatever weird topic you want, provided that topic involves merchandise of some kind that your readers will want to buy. I think this would be a great income stream for a movie review site or a makeup tutorial site, for starters.

Sign up for free for Amazon Associates and take an hour to add relevant links to your existing blog (or come up with post ideas for a new one). Either way, don’t forget to include a note for your readers that you use them—it could be as simple as this one.

In conclusion, I want to pose a question to you, readers:

What’s stopping you from launching your niche writing career today?

Without knowing your specific problems, my tips are pretty general and might not work exactly for you. So let me know.

In May, I parted ways with my biggest journalism client at the time, the one that was responsible for 75% of my income by itself. Since then, I’ve been a full time freelancer.

That was the last time I had a client that held me to specific hours, mainly 9 to 6 on weekdays. All summer, however, nobody has been accountable for my time but myself. I can write in the morning, code after midnight, and read a book in the park in the afternoon. I get how, when I’m tweeting at all hours, it might seem like I don’t actually have a job.

In my latest newsletter, I put out an exclusive poll to my readers about what they’d like to read about here. A few people asked how I earn a living, and this is a topic I LOVE to discuss because I think there are a lot of misconceptions. Let me tell you how I make money.

Breaking down my diversified income

After I left my client in May, I interviewed for some office jobs. Each time, I mentioned the many streams of income I have and each time, the interviewer asked if I’d be willing to give those up and focus exclusively on the job I was applying for. I always said no, which is probably why I never got the job. I can see why a company wants a loyal employee, but I have to look out for myself. If I got laid off, I’d be back at zero dollars a month.

I’ve read a lot of opinion pieces, like this one, that paint a freelance career as the opposite of financial security, as something people do only reluctantly. But for me, having a diversified income means that even if I lose one of my jobs, I’m not completely down and out. I’ll still be earning some money, which will make it easier to get back on my feet.

Currently, my monthly income comes from four places:

Gunpla 101. I build model robots and teach others to do the same. I’m an Amazon affiliate so when people click on links to Amazon and buy something, I make a small commission each time. This is slowly but surely growing to the point that I just hired a recurring guest columnist. I think it’s incredibly important to pay writers, so I waited until I could offer a competitive sum.

Amazon Kindle and Gumroad. I sell my books and workbooks at these two places. Amazon sells considerably better than Gumroad, since I’ve been there much longer and I don’t think a lot of people realize I’m on Gumroad yet. I sell my books ridiculously cheap for the amount of effort I put into them, so even when they sell well it’s really just in the low three figures a month. (By the way, sometimes I have traditional book deals, which usually pay up front and do not continue to earn money, the way my self-published books do.)

Anime News Network. Every season, I watch three shows and write three 500-word reviews. Reviewers are asked not to discuss how much money we earn there and I’m honoring that.

Forbes lets me work with one of my favorite editors, Helen Popkin, and write about my favorite topics. I am paid in clicks, which leads to some ConAir stories which do extremely well but don’t necessary “feed my soul,” if we want to get weird about it. I have written exactly five articles in August because i had a major web design project, but I’ll be back next month.

Web Design Clients. I make websites for the government, universities, businesses, and individuals. I don’t talk about this much, because it feels disingenuous that I write about being a full-time writer when I do other stuff as well. I know it’s possible to make my living freelance writing full time, because I’ve done it before and know many who still do. But the thing is, I really, really love designing websites. It makes me feel like a magician. I am in the process of becoming more open about this. You can also contact me if you’re interested in my services and you want a web designer that knows the difference between Love Live and your love life.

Living with fluctuating income

My diversified income is not always steady. A lot of these income streams are dependent on traffic. Gunpla 101 does better if i’m updating more. Kindle sales do better when I’ve just put out a book. Forbes does better when there’s no major news—on lighter news days, people like reading about and sharing about geeky stories more than when something intense is happening. Web design clients come and go, which makes sense: the idea is after I make a website for them, they don’t need me anymore!

This means my income can fluctuate from a whopping five figures in a month… to three figures the next month. I deal with this in a couple different ways:

Documentation. I keep intense spreadsheets to record my yearly earnings, monthly earnings, monthly expenses, taxes paid and owed, and other stuff like that. This also helps me remember to check in with clients who haven’t paid me yet. When you freelance, you become really good at talking about money (as this post clearly shows).

Emergency fund. Freelance work usually pays 30 days after I do it, and that’s when there aren’t issues with paperwork or the bank. That can mean I have money on its way soon, but the rent is due now. I keep an “emergency” savings account stocked with about $5k for the purpose of emptying out in the lean times, and replenishing in the good times. That way I don’t have to keep an uncomfortable amount of money in my checking account, but I also don’t have to withdraw from my actual savings when things get periodically tight.

Save where I can. When I first started freelancing, I looked at my bank statements to determine the bare minimum I could live on. I know the number I need to pay my bills and buy groceries, but that’s not really how I want to live. So I cut corners and live in a way that makes me feel rich. Traveling makes me feel wealthy. You may have noticed I go on vacation a lot. What you might not know is that I haven’t bought any clothing in years (except this sweet Omocat shirt). I also drive a ten-year-old car and have an occasionally inconvenient $20-a-month cell phone plan. I don’t have a washer-dryer or a thermostat in my ‘60s era apartment. (I could go on, but this isn’t the Frugal Olympics.) But hey, my Instagram makes it look like I’m living the life!

On being married and a freelancer

Unlike me, my husband, John, works a traditional 9-to-5 office job. I’m pretty sure a lot of people just assume John provides for me, or at least pays some of my bills. Not the case. We split everything 50-50, because yes, I make about as much as he does with my weird job.

I’m pretty good at acknowledging my financial privileges (thanks to two scholarships and two very generous parents, I don’t have student loan debt), but being married isn’t one of them. While I currently get my healthcare through John, if I were single, I’d still have lots of options. I’ve also paid out of pocket in the past—do people realize how cheap the dentist is this way? Being uninsured is no reason to skip your annual cleaning.

If there’s a perk to being a married freelancer, it’s the idea that if I’m really, really in trouble, I can ask John to help me out. The idea of doing that really bothers me, because it’s been important to keep my independence after getting married.  So far that hasn’t happened, and during some months (due to my fluctuating income) I make more than he does!

Advice to future freelancers

Becoming completely self-employed is the best thing I’ve ever done for myself. Even when I’m busy I feel rich in time, because I plan my own schedule and prioritize what I think is important. I love working from wherever I want, whenever I want, and always making time to cook dinner in the evening, which is definitely my favorite chore.

It’s also one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done. I pay taxes four times a year (eight times if you count state taxes). I have to motivate myself and be entirely responsible for deadlines I can’t meet or promises I can’t deliver on. I have to constantly be selling myself.

If you think the perks are worth the challenges (as I certainly do), here’s my advice to you:

• I’ve been on my own for three months, but my freelancing career really began six years ago, when I received my first 1099-MISC for work I’d done on the side. What I mean is, don’t quit your day job just yet. Start picking up freelance work on the side first. When your day job is just 80 or 75 percent of your total monthly earning, you’re on the right track. When you are getting more freelance work offers than you have time to take on, that’s also a good sign you’re getting ready to make the jump.

• Get comfortable talking about money. You’re going to have a much closer relationship with it without a boss to insulate you. If you want to get paid, you can’t be afraid to figure out what your time is worth by the hour, and back it up with good work. You need to know how to send invoices and press clients who haven’t paid you.

• On that note, be honest with yourself and figure out not just what you CAN live on, but what you’re willing to live on. You only have a certain number of hours in a month, and if you calculate a rate that will let you work all of those and subsist on ramen noodles, you probably won’t be very happy. Think about the little luxuries that make your life worth living, and figure out how much you’d have to work to fit them in your budget.

This has been my longest blog post in recent memory. Still have questions? The comment section is below, my ask.fm is right here, and you’re always welcome to email me.