Which way to turn for better or more consistent income?

I think the issue here is more about getting new clients than simply increasing revenue. It is, of course, understandable to focus on your best clients during the good times, but as you have found out, being dependent on a few good ones is a risky proposition when some kind of "black swan" event happens (i.e., drastic changes in your business). It is probably more prudent to have a "new clients acquisition" system/policy in place so you won't be overly dependent any one client. Earning 80% of your income from say 10-20% of your client base means you are vulnerable to whatever happens to your client.

Advice my grandma gave me was never to put all my eggs in one basket. If you have multiple markets that you're comfortable with why not benefit from all of them.

Spike, I am interested in where you would go for Revenue Share, as I am just trying to set up some in writing. I have a site where I get some direct orders, enough to get my feet wet anyway. My plan, since I already have some up on a revenue share site, is to continue there, unless I find something a lot better. In addition, I will continue with this direct order site as well. Being a belt and suspenders type of gal who wants to retire in about five years, I want to work on both. So that would be what I would tell you, as well.

Hi Spike, best to strike in the middle. That means you take enough paying assignments to pay off the bills every month, and then use the rest of the time to write for long term passive income. Granted that we cannot write at the same rate every month, due to sickness or holidays, the passive income will help to tide over until you can work on the one-off sales again.

Well, if you use simple mathematics here, then this seems like a "no brainer". If a one-off payment would be twenty times what you could make in a month doing the rev share, then you could not sell another one for almost two years and still have earned the same amount as working at the rev share. On the other hand, if you have free time when you are not getting any business in the direct sales, then having something coming in would help. Therefore, I think that a combination of the two would be your best option with your main focus being the direct sales but devoting whatever free time you have to the rev share.

Take what you can now! Can't say what will be the value of money in the future. Even here, I don't know what I will receive when those Dollars are converted to Euros. But whatever comes, I'm buying my coffee now because next month it could be out of my range.

i think steady is good put if you can do an extra on the side, why not? i think the little bit each month would eventually add up to more than just a high paying article here and there.

I read this concept recently. I suggest that you focus 30% of your time and resources on making fast buck (direct sale). Afterall you need to survive in the short run. Spend 70% of your time building your business. In your case, it would be to establish long term consistent income. I have been focusing on the long-term only and suffer in the short run.

If you were doing a good job then you can do the job for some one else too. Make your market by working for other client.

I feel I would go with the direct sales. That way I could get the money right away. I would be hesitant about trying to wait a time and see where it goes. If I know that I have the chance to get the money now then I would do that. And perhaps then later I could work on rev shares. But you are a very smart person and so I think what you choose will be the best decision for what you want.

I do belong to a site that buys my stuff and does give me revenue sharing too... and when I work hard I can probably make a couple of hundred a month with that... but that is not my main source of income. I work for an individual who pays me 0.03 a word, so that adds up to a goodly sum... and then when we flat spin an article the words can double and we get 0.03 for them too. I don't have any real opinion for you... I'd suspect you know what you have in mind to do. I'm getting out of the content farming business.. though I still have income coming from that end and always will, since I have over 1200 articles on the site I use.

thats an interesting question. though making a calculation on something like this depends on personal circumstances. as paying the bills has to be a primary consideration. in which case i would go for the direct sales up to a level whereby i could ensure comfortable payment of bills. however beyond that the question still is dependent on circumstances. as you have found that being too dependent on one person to provide work has created a problem when that source of work dried up, therefore you want to avoid becoming too dependent on another. however, if direct sales generate a significantly higher income than revenue shares it would seem sensible to concentrate more resources on them, subject to certain conditions, such as the reliablity of the person buying, and the dependency factor. though the caluclation on revenue sales is also complex, and it also depends on whether it is the case the if more time is spent in that area earnings would increase proportionaely, as perhaps, you gained a reputation within a site, that increased your earnings. another factor to consider, however, is that direct sales would dry up if for whatever reason you were unable to work, whereas revenue sales would be a continous income source, even at times when you were unable to do direct sales. i would probably do a 60/40 split in favour of direct sales, if that proportion covered my bills, and then as the revenue income increased i would move more in favour of revenue sales. though relying on one source for revenue sales could also bring with it the same problem you have experienced with direct sales. so i would take the not putting all your eggs in one basket advice very seriously. a warning here though, this may not necessarily be good advice, i just like playing with the idea.