How I’m Dealing With AI As A Freelance Writer

Things were going great and I was truly financially independent. And then came ChatGPT!

In last week’s newsletter, I promised to share details about how my career as a freelance writer is at risk because of AI. Today, I’ll share all the details.

Quick introduction: I’ve been working online as a full-time freelance writer for more than a decade now. I started out charging just $5 per article and now I’m able to charge over $250 per article.

As a result of this success, I was able to achieve so many things in my life, including buying my own house. Things were going great and I was truly financially independent.

And then came ChatGPT and the AI revolution!

As for many other creative professionals, this was a shocking surprise for me. I was aware of the development of AI but I never thought it would be able to think creatively and replicate the creative works at a human level. But I was wrong.

ChatGPT was so good at creating content that many businesses started to fire their employees to replace them with AI tools. Writers were among them as well.

I spent several weeks contemplating how I was going to maintain my career as a freelance writer. And then came the biggest blow.

One of my clients started using AI tools to generate content. This meant about 50% of my work for this client would be generated with the use of AI.

Truth be told, I felt depressed by this news and it took me several days to recover from it.

Ever since I was a kid I was passionate about writing and I always felt privileged to get paid for doing the one thing that I love doing the most. So I took this AI new to my heart and it was difficult to deal with at first.

All of this happened between the November of 2023 and March 2024. I’m at a much better place now since I’ve had time to think it all through and plan ahead.

Right now, I’m working on a plan to future-proof my career as a freelancer. My main goal is to learn a few new skills to level up from being just a freelancer writer to something more. 

My target is to become a content strategist. It’s going to be a long road, but I know I can make it.

I also know that I can’t deny the advancements of AI. It’s truly impressive technology and rather than just boycotting AI, there are so many ways we can take advantage of it. 

For example, I found ways to cut down my research time significantly and do better brainstorming sessions with the help of ChatGPT. It’s incredible how efficient these tools really are.

I’m going to incorporate AI into my workflow to be productive while also maintaining my authority and unique voice as a content writer. AI is capable of many things, but it does not have the personal experiences that I have.

In the end, something good came out of all of this. I was stuck in my comfort zone for many years and after this, I found myself rejuvenated to take risks and learn new things. And I’m excited to see what’s ahead.

Thank you again for tuning in. See you next time.

-Roshan

PS: If you would like to support me, please check out my book, Freelance Like a Pro. Or become a member to get exclusive weekly job postings.