[tyingq]

I accidentally ran into a case once where an artist of some notoriety (had showings in various large city MOMAs) needed help, and I ended up helping them for several months. It was various forms of modern art that needed some tech assistance with IoT type stuff (LEDs, audio, etc). I wasn't particularly interested in the art, but if I had been, it would have been an avenue to get some advice, experience, etc. All stuff done in my spare time.

So, perhaps that's one avenue you could try. I imagine there are writers that need technical help with blogs, publishing tools, and so on. You could barter that help for advice, contacts, and so forth.