Interview #99: How Hamilton Nolan Makes Money Writing
In this interview, Hamilton explains why trying to earn a living solely from freelance journalism is "insane."
Hamilton Nolan is a veteran labor reporter who turned a career of fighting for workers into a sustainable business of his own. After 15 years on staff at outlets like Gawker and In These Times—where he helped spark the modern media union movement—he successfully pivoted to the independent model when the job market tightened. Today, his newsletter How Things Work provides the majority of his income, allowing him to continue covering power and inequality without an editor’s filter.
In this interview, Hamilton talks about the specific math of replacing a staff salary with reader subscriptions, why he views unionizing as a vital form of industry stability, and the reality of covering his own health insurance costs. If you’re looking for a blueprint on how to build a lifeboat in a volatile industry, this one’s for you.
What you do: Journalist/writer.
Years writing professionally: 20+ years.
Earnings range: In the past five years it’s ranged from $75k–$150k.
💰 Writing is solitary work, but talking about the finances doesn’t have to be. The archive is about to hit 100 interviews, breaking down book advances, day jobs, and how these writers actually pay their bills. It takes a lot of trial and error to build a sustainable writing life. You don’t have to navigate it alone. Upgrade your subscription to unlock the full library and read how they make it work.
Hamilton, you have built a career writing about inequality and the distribution of power. How does that distribution look in your own business? I am curious how the income splits between your Substack, the freelance columns for The Guardian, and your book work.
 | A guest post by
|