Two Career Collapses And $42,000 Of Debt Later, I Reinvented Myself At The Ripe Old Age Of 66
mimagephotography | CanvaI’ll never forget the phone call that changed everything. The year: 2003. I was talking on the phone with a friend when my caller ID alerted me to an important person ringing in. I told my friend I’d call him back and switched over. “Hello?”
A few weeks earlier, I’d submitted a fitness column to a local business publication on how to set up a home gym. I was a personal trainer at the time and felt myself burning out from the client drama. Writing has always been something I loved, but I only recently thought of it as a profession.
The following week, I was thrilled to see it in the issue. The magazine editor was on the phone. He loved my story. “How’d you like to write another one for us? I can pay $250,” he said.
I could not have been happier if he’d offered me a million bucks. Getting paid to write? Of course, I was in. Thus began a long-term relationship where my writing career would blossom into six figures over the next decade.
I reinvited myself at the ripe old age of 66
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Going national
After writing the column for a while, the editor began assigning me bigger stories and cover stories. Some weeks, my byline appeared on the cover story plus two stories all within the same issue.
As my writing career took off, I wanted to expand outside of the local market. But I wasn’t sure how to do it or whom to pitch. So I joined a writers' online group and learned how to pitch stories to national magazines.
It was a tough go at first, but I stayed the course and gradually broke into some of the biggest glossies: Glamour,AARP, Family Circle, Self, Shape, Men’s Fitness, and many more (note: many no longer exist, at least in print).
My biggest break occurred in 2012 when I met the editor of a major online publication at a conference. As the conference organizer, I was able to meet many top editors.
She was the assigning editor for one of my dream online channels — one that paid big bucks and would give me massive exposure. We talked a bit, and she encouraged me to pitch her some ideas. That kicked off another long-term relationship that paid dividends beyond my expectations.
Eventually, these lucrative assignments from this one channel, combined with my other writing assignments, enabled me to quit my personal training business and go all-in on writing.
Until another fateful day. This one was as upsetting as the other was uplifting.
Crashing down
Fast forward another five years. Until then, I’d been writing a regular series of slideshows for this channel — two slideshows and eight blog posts a month, all for the same channel, with another editor. I considered writing exclusively for this client because it brought in that much revenue.
Thankfully, I didn’t put all my eggs in that basket. Because the email I received that day flipped that situation on its head.
“I’m so sorry to tell you this, but we’re no longer using freelancers,” the editor wrote. They had a major budget cut and would be only using repurposed stories. She went on to explain that she fought the change, that she loved working with me, but that it was out of her hands.
It hit hard, though I’d seen it coming. I heard rumors from other writers that this may happen, but I didn’t realize it would be so soon or so abrupt. I told her I understood.
And that was that. More than half my income *poof!* gone. Although she kept me in the loop and assigned me a few stories after the change, she could not convince the powers-that-be to once again work with freelancers.
I was crushed because not only did it pay well, but I had also earned a reputation among sources as someone they could trust. Many public relations people pitched their clients to me.
Plus, seeing my byline everywhere was, admittedly, a big ego boost. But those days were now numbered.
My situation wasn’t an isolated one. Many other writers lost work as well. Print publications and online platforms began repurposing (Google my name and you’ll find tons of articles with my byline written years ago).
I had no choice but to pitch online publications for less than half my previous rate. It was disheartening. Except for large channels like the one I worked with, online publications paid a small percentage of what I was accustomed to earning with print. The contracts I now signed also gave away all rights forever and ever, along with the 75% pay cut.
Switching gears
Burned out from trying to continue writing for a dying industry, I switched gears. I took my fitness profession online, offering courses and live webinars — the whole shebang. I stepped away from it altogether.
To help build my “empire,” I signed up for endless courses and hired coaches. It seemed to be working — until it wasn’t.
I hired the wrong people and spent too much money on coaches that only seemed focused on charging more every month. On the surface, it all looked great. But in reality, I was drowning in debt.
Every time I discussed quitting the business, a coach would tell me, “You have the wrong mindset.” It was always my fault, somehow (spoiler alert: it wasn’t). After five years and digging myself into $42,000 of debt, I gave it all up.
Copywriting connection
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December 2019: I was at a loss. After soul-searching, brainstorming, and meditating on it, I realized I missed it.
I also knew that going back to magazine writing was not an option. It was the height of the pandemic, and the world was tipped on its axis. If you weren’t writing about COVID-19, you weren’t getting much work.
I didn’t want to try to get back into magazines because I was done with it all. But I still wanted to write.
I became intrigued by copywriting because I’d almost hired a conversion copywriter (I couldn’t afford her) for my online fitness business.
Once again, I threw myself into learning this alternative approach. I landed a few projects right out of the gate through people I knew who were willing to give me a chance.
I continued to grow it for the next five years, along with a podcast to reach potential clients. I went all in.
The last turn
While I can’t blame AI because I'm still signing on clients, the industry has taken a hit in the past two years. And honestly, at 66, I’m tired.
The fire in my belly for starting over has dwindled to a flickering ember. It’s still there, but I have no desire to build another new fire from scratch, pitching, waiting, striving, and then losing out on projects because of people deciding to “go in a different direction.”
Not to mention the ghosting after being assured of a project moving forward. I now want to write by my own set of rules. I’ve found that in writing for Medium.
In a way, the circle feels complete. I’m writing what I want, for people who care about the same things. And I’m bringing not just my writing experience but knowledge from pitching magazine editors for 15 years, plus the research and ability to ignite emotions in readers with words from my work as a copywriter.
I’m still working with a couple of copywriting clients, but I only accept those who are a perfect fit for me: those who know the value I bring to the table.
I feel the flame starting to ignite once again. And I’m willing to go with it wherever it takes me. For now.
Linda Melone is a writer specializing in health, fitness, and aging after 50. A former personal trainer, her work has appeared in TIME, AARP, Shape, Self, MSN Health, The Huffington Post, and other national publications.
