Letting Work Go

I am currently in a position where I have to reevaluate my inbox. I'm getting a lot of work right now and my rates seem to be rising, which is wonderful. I guess now that I'm past that one year mark of writing for a living, I'm getting gigs that more experienced writers get. I have picked up a few new clients lately and it's time to do a shuffle and drop some of my less than lucrative gigs.

I'm finding it hard to let go. I have one job right now that's dreadful in terms of waiting a long time for payment (60-90 days). It's an all you can eat writing buffet but is quirky in terms of waiting for approvals on pitches and rechecking things once the pitch is approved and sitting in limbo waiting for certain things to happen. I think that's one of the ones that has to go. I was thrilled to get the gig but am competing with 400 other writers for work.

I have another gig that pays well but requires meticulous work and on subjects that I'm less than passionate about. Because I currently have so much work coming in, I need to really look at who is worth hanging onto right now. I have been through droughts so it's tricky to let things go for me. I feel like my husband's late aunt who lived through theroughness of the depression so later when things were abundant found herself unable to throw things out and would stock up on tins of food to the degree that she could feed an army...I've become fearful of letting go of a writing job I don't enjoy because I'm worried that we'll suddenly be left without an income. I have a few gigs that I would consider outsourcing if I got too busy but the few I think I need to let go of I am contracted to NOT outsource.

The reality is that if I keep work I don't enjoy or dread I'm not living the life of freedom that I have tried so hard to achieve. I'm not talking about the odd assignment that's boring or something like that, I'm talking about feeling that old feeling of dread I used to get in the corporate world. No thanks!