Maybe if you wrote twice the stories you'd have got twice the pay? Halving your stories is going to affect your earnings. But I hear what you’re saying. After I had a good one story go a bit viral in July I peaked. My earnings have been falling since, but I still have high hopes for the autumn and winter months when everyone’s spending more time at their computers.

I published every day and earned $380 for September, which still is a bad rate if you break it down as an hourly rate, but I really like it here. I’m not sure I have what it takes to build saleable niche blogs, and I’m struggling to get enough magazine work in.

This is more rewarding than pitching into the void, even when the pay is bad. So I’m sticking around for the moment, but I really should manage my time better and focus on the magazines more!