I earned $70 after completing my first job as a freelance writer.

Not knowing any better, I’d agreed to complete a series of articles (yes, I said a SERIES) for a client for literally pennies each.

That was, as I hope you can guess, a mistake. I did a lot of work (and, later, far too many revisions) for basically no money. By the time I’d successfully completed the job, I’d decided never to work with that client again — or anyone who preyed on new freelancers who were desperate enough for work to sign a contract that would pretty much earn them negative income.

But at the time, I was elated. That was the first time someone had actually paid me to write online content.

Up until that point, I’d worked as a student journalist, an intern, and a “contributing writer” (which usually implies, as was the case for…