Freelancing in a Shrinking Pond with More Sharks

When the AI Boogeyman Comes, Start to Boogie

My pond is drying out. Didn’t really notice it at first and with a Goldfish Brain©™® all things, especially pond-related things, can easily be archived in the section ‘Important, but not as important as watching the ‘Optasia Squash Championships 2024 Final’ or ‘Funniest Moments from 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (Season 10)’. But now I can’t get around it anymore. My pond is getting smaller and my Goldfish Brain noticed that there’s way more sharks present. And boy do they have teeth.

AI Didn’t Kill Writing

The thing is, AI is fundamentally reshaping what my world as a commercial writer looks like. Especially when it comes to simpler text work, think advertising, websites, and reports, AI can do a terrific job. If you ask me, AI didn’t kill writing. It just ate the boring bits. And boring bits used to pay the bills. Well, not all of them, but it nicely filled the gaps. And honestly, many texts out there always have been of questionable quality. Believe me when I say my early copy for a chain of hairdresser salons won’t exactly win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Luckily, nowadays I mostly write about complex topics like the energy transition, complicated European laws, AI, supply chains, and so on. It’s a niche that’s not everyone’s multilayered cookie, so it keeps me fed.

I Need a Plan

So what’s the problem? There are a few. A couple of years ago I had more ‘simple’ jobs to fill up any gaps in my agenda. Those are gone. And, although it’s anecdotal evidence, what I hear from the advertising world isn’t pretty. Not as bad as it is for translators, but still. Bad. It means that all those writers are looking for jobs. So smaller pond, fewer fish. More sharks with sharp pens. And although I started my career in advertising, I’m actually shit in selling myself. I’d probably hire a shark instead of a Goldfish Brain myself. So although I’m still in the game, and although there’s still work to be done as a writer – one client said: ‘AI can’t connect the dots, that’s your edge’ – I feel I need a plan. And I have one. Hell, I have many. Here are three-and-a-half ideas you can use as well:

Start Shouting. Loud.

The first step in the plan: find your niche and do what you do best. Tell everyone about it. Sure, some of those sharks might be excellent at what you do as well, others will be eaten. As with pudding, the proof of shark-fin soup is in the eating. At the same time, be honest. Tell people you can do with a job. Be loud about it. Shout if necessary. You never know where the next one is coming from. We all want to be successful and sound the part, but this is bigger than you. Just blame AI.

Reframe What You Sell

I used to say: writer when people asked what I did. But surrounded by all those Selachimorpha Claviatura¹, that’s not enough. So I thought: ‘What makes me different?’ For me, writing is a means, not the goal. What I’m good at, is translating complexity. So that’s what I tell. I also asked some of my clients why they work with me, and the answers were interesting. Clients call me to connect dots, ask the right (or awkward) questions, or just focus their own thoughts. And sometimes, yes, to write. So dive into what it really is that you add, not how you execute it. And then, tell everyone about it again. Especially your current clients, some of them see you as a writer, not as the Idea Challenger, the People Connector, or the Beautifier of Ugly Truths you actually are.

Do Other Things

Obviously I love writing. But that’s not all I do. I’m a volunteer at a care farm. I’ve been teaching at art school for a while (copywriting, ironically). And every now and then I cook professionally over open fire at an event location run by friends. None of them my first choice as profession (in some cases simply because I already had one), but if the sharks win, who knows. Hell, I could even teach people on a care farm how to cook on open fire. And then write about it on Substack.

A Goldfish Brain Is Helpful

Okay, if you don’t have ADHD this one might not help you, so this is half a tip. For me the combination of laser-sharp focus and always on the lookout for new things really helps me. I naturally chase the shiny things on the edge of the pond; new niches, odd jobs, weird experiments. Sure, sometimes I show up to a shark fight with a rubber duck. Or I wander off during a meeting about #boringshit. But sometimes it’s genius , and stuff actually gets done. What also helps: my whole life is a string of distractions, uncertainties, and new pathways. Crisis? What crisis? This is just Monday morning to me. In short: don’t panic, get distracted, and if life gives you lemons, throw them at the nearest shark.

Grow Some Legs

As a goldfish-brained freelancer my job isn’t competing with the sharks on areas I can’t win. Like who’s got the biggest teeth. So why try? When the AI Boogeyman comes, start to boogie. Stick to your shtick where it still works and for the rest, let the sharks circle, you go bold. Grow legs, walk out, and find a lovely little buffet somewhere else. There’s a world outside the pond.

1. Keyboard Shark, a relatively new species. Don’t confuse with 1. Trolls 2. Your mother on Facebook. Both also use the same tool.