Rough Draft 2.0

Hello and happy Thursday! A few things before we dive in:

• I did not mean to ghost you for six months and I’m so sorry I did — thank you for being here still!

• If you’ve subscribed in recent months and this is your first time hearing from me, hello! I unintentionally took a hiatus from this writing this newsletter, but I’m back and hope I can deliver on what you signed up for 💌

• As a refresher/short introduction: My name is Sam and I’ve been a full-time freelance writer since 2019. I started Rough Draft to share tips, stories, and resources about building a freelance career from scratch.

Now onto today’s issue!

Tired freelancer 🤝 creative burnout

Let’s rewind back to December 2025.

I just sent out my 2025 Year in Review and was heading into the holidays ready for a reset. I figured after a nice little break, I’d kick off the new year with a fresh batch of ideas for Rough Draft.

But January arrived and I felt pretty uninspired. And somehow still burnt out from 2025, despite having a slow year. Every time I opened up my laptop to write something, I’d go blank. What’s worse, each passing week made me feel even more guilty about sending nothing which definitely did not get the creative juices flowing. January came and went, and then so did February.

In March, I attended SXSW. If you’re not familiar, it’s a major tech/music/film conference held here in Austin each spring. After hearing from so many creative founders and marketers, specifically in the creator economy, I felt really motivated to get back to writing. I had a lot of half-formed ideas that needed a place to grow, and I figured my newsletter would be the perfect testing ground.

But again, when I sat down to write, I’d go blank.

At this point, I decided to just focus on client work and put Rough Draft on the back burner indefinitely. If I didn’t see it or think about it, then the guilt subsided. No one will notice my hiatus anyways, I thought.

Then one day last month, I was talking to a potential client. We started talking about AI (as one does in 2026) and she mentioned that although she doesn’t mind when writers use AI, she still prefers working with writers who have a clear voice. I’m nodding along in agreement, because I also prefer reading and writing things with voice and life.

She then goes on to say that she could tell I have a strong voice because she’s read my newsletter.

And if that wasn’t the wake up call I needed, then I don’t know what is!

While that guilty feeling started creeping back in again, I couldn't help but feel proud of this little newsletter and the space it’s given me to use my voice. This person doesn’t know it, but she gave me the spark I needed to get back to writing here and I’m grateful for that 🥹

Introducing Rough Draft 2.0 💫

Now that we’re all caught up on why I took a break, let’s get into what I’m envisioning for the next iteration of Rough Draft.

You may have noticed that I’ve slightly revamped the look and theme (it’s subtle, so I don’t blame you if you scrolled back up to investigate). Rough Draft’s tagline used to be “tips and musings on creating a freelance career from scratch.”

But I wanted to widen it to encompass everything that’s on my mind lately (and probably on yours, too). So now the tagline is: “for freelancers and soloprenuers who are writing their own story.”

I know this is somewhat broad, but it gives me room to explore the central theme I’ve noticed not only in my own career but in many other people’s career paths lately: independence.

If you’ve been here for a while, then you know I’ve never had a traditional 9-5. I’ve essentially always been independent, whether that was part-time, contract, or freelance, and I feel like this is becoming a more normalized career path.

So in that spirit, here’s what I imagine this newsletter will cover:

• Independent work

• How freelancing intersects with the creator economy

• Building your career from scratch

• Carving out your own space in a very crowded online world

These are ideas I want to explore, but I’m no expert! I view this newsletter as a space to learn, listen, and share together. As the name implies, this is all a work in progress — a rough draft, if you will 🙂

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Life updates

I thought I’d wrap this up by sharing everything I’ve been up to in work and life since the beginning of this year.

🖥️ Work

Thanks to new clients like Later and Memberful, I’ve been immersed in the creator economy and I love it! I used to write pretty exclusively in the social media marketing space, so this feels like a natural shift. Here are a few pieces I’ve written lately:

• What Entertainment Brands Know About Attention (That Brand Marketers Don’t)

• Owned vs Rented Audience: Why Audience Ownership Matters for Creators in 2026

• How Molly Baz Built an Exclusive Recipe Membership Community 

📚 School

Yes, you read that right! Last fall, I started working towards my Master’s degree in International Marketing at the University of Sussex in Brighton, England. Sadly, this doesn’t mean that I moved overseas. I’m in a part-time online program that caters to people who work full-time and allows me to connect with marketers from around the world.

And to be fully transparent: I’m not sure what my plan is! All I know is that I felt the urge to expand my knowledge and capabilities in a more academic way. I also wanted to sharpen my critical thinking.

Maybe it’s the AI of it all, or the fact that the US is feeling more and more removed from the rest of the world (although, the World Cup festivities are making me feel like maybe there’s a little hope for global camaraderie after all??), but I felt really drawn to the global aspects of this program. Right now, I’m studying ethics and society and it’s already given me a renewed perspective on marketing’s role in the world.

🤸 Personal

Nothing too eventful happening this year, but here are a few standout moments:

• My husband and I celebrated 11 years together and 2 years married ❤️

• We visited White Sands National Park in New Mexico

• My puppy had her senior exam at the vet and I’m still in denial

And that’s it for today! I'll be back to my regular bi-weekly cadence (I usually send on Tuesdays) and I’m so grateful for everyone who’s still here.

I’d love to hear about what you’ve been up to this year. Feel free to hit reply so we can catch up!

Rough Draft is a bi-weekly newsletter where I share tips and musings on creating a freelance career from scratch. Subscribe here. You can also find me on LinkedIn or my website. 👋