Seven years after quitting my paralegal job, things are still chugging along at Stacy Inc. Over the past few years, I've settled into a groove of covering the Twin Cities food scene for the Heavy Table, Eater Twin Cities (recently reorganized as Eater Midwest), and Racket; writing about food and travel for various web publications; a part-time paralegal gig; and copywriting work for clients in the tourism industry (although that aspect of my work has decreased over time for a variety of reasons).
In 2024, I earned several thousand dollars more than my 2018 paralegal salary, although I do have to pay higher taxes since I'm self-employed, and I don't get benefits like a 401(k) match or PTO. In addition, I rely on health insurance benefits through my husband Mike's employer—I think it's important to acknowledge that I have the privilege to pursue my writing career thanks in part to my salaried spouse.
Most of my travel last year was personal trips. I visited Disney World with my extended family, Japan and Boston with Mike, and Montreal with Josh. The only press trip I took was to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, which was a lovely experience. Unfortunately, as the travel media landscape has contracted, I've had to become extremely selective about the press trip opportunities I accept since there are fewer outlets for travel stories.
My professional highlight of the past year was my first book byline. I wrote the Minnesota chapter of Fodor's American Spirits: Exploring the Best Wineries, Breweries, and Distilleries in the USA back in fall 2023 and the book was released on November 19, 2024. Reading guidebooks as a teenager was a major influence on my love of travel and writing, so seeing my name as a guidebook author was incredible. I also have a second guidebook project in the works—last summer I wrote the updates for the Voyageurs National Park chapter of the next edition of Fodor's The Complete Guide to the National Parks of the USA, which will be released later this year.
At this point, Tangled Up In Food is less of an income source and more of a creative side project, but I am proud of the writing I do here, especially the travel guides and Twin Cities dining guides that readers find useful. I've also started writing occasional essays about spirituality, ritual, and identity through the lens of my experience as a Jewish convert at Still Proofing. (Since that writing has a very different focus than this blog, I wanted to keep them separate.)
Although I'm cautiously optimistic about my career prospects for the next few years, the precarious media landscape and chaos of the second Trump administration leave me deeply uncertain about the future. I'm looking at adding more income streams, possibly by teaching baking and cheese classes. Right now I'm in the research phase—last year I earned an Artisan Cheese certificate from the University of Vermont and passed the Cheese State Field Guide Assessment administered by Cheese State University/Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin. This spring, I'm continuing my cheese education with a weekend-long cheese boot camp at Murray's Cheese in New York City.
Each day that I get to do the work I love is a gift, and hopefully I'll be able to continue it far into the future.
Some bylines from the past year I'm especially proud of:
- Ingebretsen's Gift Shop at 50: "People Would Miss Us If We Were Gone" (Racket)
- Brotherly Love, Nicollet Avenue Potholes, and Pavarotti: 40 Years of Sebastian Joe's (Racket)
- As a Convert, I'm Recreating a Joyful Jewish Childhood—In My 30s (Hey Alma)
- The Best Cheeses for Rosh Hashanah (Cheese Professor)
- Music sets the tone at Minneapolis hangout Small Hours (The Current)
- Lots of my work for the Heavy Table, which is available by subscription via Substack or Patreon
Further reading:
- Six years in: Reflections on full-time freelance life
- Five years in: Reflections on full-time freelance life
- Four years in: Reflections on full-time freelance life
- Three years in: Reflections on full-time freelance life
- Two years in: Reflections on full-time freelance life
- One year in: Reflections on life as a full-time freelance writer