Never discourage anyone…who continually makes progress,
no matter how slow.
– Plato

Earlier this month, I posted a short list of milestones that tend to go unnoticed in the daily whirl of being a freelancer. And several of you wonderful people helped add to the list. (Thanks!)

In fact, your comments and additions were so spot-on, that I’ve compiled them all into one comprehensive list for anyone who’d like to print them and keep track. Now you can mark them off as you reach them.

Original Rubber Ducky List

  • Your first social media follower that isn’t Mom
  • The first time another writer asks you for advice—and you have answers
  • Your first referral from a client or another writer
  • The first time you get to say “I’m fully booked”

Courtesy of Sandra of Sandra Writes Here

  • The first unsolicited pitch that was accepted
  • The first “dream project” (i.e. case study, white paper) that brought in big bucks
  • The first time a client was so happy with you that she threw more projects at you

Courtesy of Kevin Carlton of Write Online

  • Getting your own professional website up
  • Earning a top 10 Google rank
  • The first comment on your blog

Courtesy of Maria of MyMomThoughts

  • Your blog’s first 10 followers

To everyone who contributed—thank you! And if you still want to add to the list, feel free to chime in. No reason we can’t keep it growing.

But if you’d rather I remove your addition from the list, just let me know in the comments and consider it done.

One response to “Your Checklist—Uncelebrated Freelancer Milestones”

  1. Peter D. Mallett Avatar

    Well, I guess now they have been celebrated

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I’m Erica Wall.

Erica Wall, Rubber Ducky Copywriter

Award-winning copywriter.
Real-world creative writer.
Multi-cup-a-day coffee drinker.

Answers to a cat.

Present and ready to write.

Resolutions for 2026

  • Block off three hours a week to write
  • Delegate more to reduce overwhelm
  • Clean up and clean out home office
  • Practice finishing what I start
  • Practice good habits and let results be whatever they’ll be

“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”
> Stephen King

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” 
> Ernest Hemingway

“Cut out all these exclamation points. An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke.” 
F. Scott Fitzgerald

“I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.”
> Douglas Adams

“Creativity is intelligence having fun.” 
>Albert Einstein