Working as a writer can be advantageous. It allows you to decide when and where to work. Whether you’re looking to develop a full-time career or a side hustle for some extra cash, writing got you.
Being a professional writer allows you to focus on your expertise and interests or explore new areas. Writing is a flexible way to make money and lets you diversify your projects to avoid boring writing assignments and tedious routines.
Writing promotes a healthy work-life balance while allowing you to choose who to collaborate with. It also offers multiple methods for making a living. This article discusses six ways to make money as a writer.
1. Fiction writing
Fiction is story writing involving plot and character elements fully created by you, the author. There are various types of fiction writing depending on their subject matter and tone. They include historical, mystery, literary, science, fanfiction, and children’s fiction. To successfully write fiction that sells, you must understand the primary fiction elements, including character, plot, point of view, setting, style, and theme.
To make money as a fiction writer, you can self-publish your books or stories, ghostwrite (write fiction for others), or write short novellas, serials, and stories and then sell them. However, you should first learn how to be a fiction writer and gain the skills and experience required to make your craft profitable.
2. Blogging
Blogging is a profitable and rewarding venture that can create exciting opportunities for you. It lets you establish yourself as a credible field expert and earn a full-time or part-time income. Blogging enables you to connect with those who share your passions and interests.
Effective blogging requires you to select a niche, know your audience, and conduct competitor research (to know the other primary players in your niche and understand how to create different or better content than what’s already available). You should also promote your blog to reach more people, drive more traffic to your site, and track your analytics to determine your blog’s performance. There are different means to make money blogging, including:
- Affiliate links: As a blogger, you can join affiliate programs where you’re allowed to generate unique product links that you promote on your blog to earn a commission when people make purchases
- Ad networks: An ad network pays you when people click on ads or for running ads on your site, or both
- Brand partnerships: As a blogger, you can collaborate with brands to develop sponsored content. It may involve reviewing a particular product or incorporating product mentions into your content
- Digital products: These are an affordable and minimal-effort way to build products your audience is interested in. Your audience can download or access these products soon after purchase. You can sell e-books, online courses, printables, and other digital items
- Premium content: While blogs are free for your readers, adding exclusive or premium content behind paywalls can help you create an extra revenue stream. This means dedicated readers must pay to access the content
- Coaching or consulting: Blogs are significant sources of information. Nonetheless, your audience might want to learn more from you. Guidance or advice requests on your blog are a sign that you can make money through coaching or consulting sessions
- Physical products: Selling physical products on your blog is another way to earn money. You can put links to existing items you sell in your posts or create new products that resonate with your audience and content. For instance, if you’re a travel blog, you can sell bags or T-shirts with your site’s logo
3. Ghostwriting
Ghostwriting is an excellent way to build and grow a writing business. It involves writing for others without getting credit for your work. How much you earn as a ghostwriter depends on your skills and experience. Ghostwriting can be fiction, non-fiction, medical, political, blog, or academic. Other ghostwriting opportunities include writing E-books and speeches.
Ghostwriting allows you to handle various projects, such as content writing, copywriting, editing, proofreading, and more. To improve your ghostwriting skills and attract better opportunities, consider creating an online presence, building a portfolio, and becoming a proofreading expert. You should also gain experience writing in various styles and voices, and market yourself by guest posting post ghostwriting, updating social media bios, and leveraging existing clients.
4. Writing contests
Writing contests provide opportunities for writers to compete for cash prizes. When looking for a contest to join, ensure its legitimacy to avoid getting scammed and ascertain that it aligns with your writing. Writing competitions have multiple requirements you should look out for, including fees and rules. Here are writing contests to join in 2023:
- Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest: You must submit an English humor poem of utmost 250 lines in this contest. The prize for first place is $2,000, $500 for second place
- Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction: This contest is for unpublished short fiction ranging from 10 to 50 pages. The best story wins $2500
- Rattle Chapbook Prize: This is a Rattle Poetry Magazine-organized writing contest where each entry should be between 15 to 30 pages. Three winners are selected, with each getting $5,000 and 500 author copies distributed to the Magazine’s 7,000+ subscribers
5. Screenwriting
Screenwriting or script writing involves creating scripts for different media formats, such as video games, television shows, and films. As a screenwriter, you can earn money through:
- The option agreement: This is where a production company offers you, the scriptwriter, a lump sum for your screenplay’s rights so they can produce it for a specific period
- Writing treatments: Film treatments or script outlines are a money-making opportunity for screenwriters. Here, you get paid for your written movie idea
- Selling screenplays: Writing green-lighted scripts and giving the rights the rights to that script to the buyer can get you handsomely paid
- Adaptations of intellectual property (IP): This involves a producer hiring you to adapt IP books, video game stories, and comics into screenplays
6. Editing and proofreading
If you’re an expert at catching typos and grammatical errors, you can earn money editing and proofreading other writers’ work, including blog posts, story books, essays, documents, articles, and more. To attract high-paying clients and build industry authority, you can start a blog where you share editing and proofreading advice and tips.
Endnote
Writers have different ways to earn a living regardless of whether they’re experienced or just starting. Familiarize yourself with how a writer can make money to choose methods suitable for your writing.
