As artists, musicians or writers, one of our goals is often simply “to do it for a living”. Achieving that usually means freelancing in one form or another, as there are relatively few employers out there who will happily pay you a wage for ‘making your art’.
Much of the advice that follows is designed to help you balance your books, but don’t underestimate the first and last points – hopefully they’ll help you maintain a little perspective. It’s far from a comprehensive list, but it should certainly get you started.