There’s a short story by Lawrence Block about a fiction writer who got tire of writing for 4 cents a word. He kidnaps his publisher’s daughter and writes a ransom note. There are better ways to make a living writing, but Block’s character had the right idea. Not about kidnapping people, but about working the numbers. A ransom note makes way more cents per word than a short story, after all.
Which brings us to Rule 2 of Profitable Writing:
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That’s true no matter what industry you work in. For writers, finding customers might seem less intuitive than for people who sell goods or other services — but in truth our market is all around us. Here are five broad categories of sources for leads to get you started in writing professionally.
Part one of nine-and-a-half.
This is the most important piece of advice you’ll ever get about how to make money by writing. It’s simple, direct and to the point. Continue reading
For my money (see what I did there?), professional blogging is the most exciting writing opportunity right now. I think so for a bunch or reasons:
1. It’s open to beginners and seasoned pros alike, with scaling rates of pay.
2. The writing is easy and fun.
3. There’s enough market to write as much as you need to for your goals.
Another post in answer to the question of how to write professionally…
I’ve been writing full-time as my sole source of income for four years today. I’m not a millionaire, but I do get to work from home — an average of three hours a day — with my baby in my lap. These 9 (& 1/2) rules represent the things I do that make it possible, and that I’ve learned along the way. In the coming weeks, I’ll hit each one in detail with step-by-step instructions. To start, here they are.
1. Write Nonfiction...the market is much larger, and the competition is sparse.
2. Work the Numbers by understanding the economies of scale and how all sales (including selling your writing) is a numbers game.
3. Get Paid, even in trade at first. Nobody asks a plumber to work for free “to get exposure.”
3.5. What You’re Worth, which is more than $10 a post.
4. Be Systematic in your approach to finding, completing and turning in work.
5. Find Accountability, whether it’s from yourself, your spouse or a writing buddy.
6. Remember Your Mission Statement. This is your reason for being a freelancer instead of punching a clock.
7. Be a Generalist, which means becoming a gifted researcher. It exponentially increases the number of assignments you can accept.
8. Work Your Numbers: how much you need to write to make your financial goals, and how long it typically takes to get paid.
9. Have a Wealth Mindset...work as much as you must to get what you want, instead of working a random amount, then seeing what you made.
