Get Paid for Your Writing

One of the questions I get asked a lot is, "How do you get paid for your writing?" It's almost as if being a paid writer is a trade secret; one not easily shared for fear of losing your portion of the pie.

Photo by: Tax Credits, courtesy of Flickr

Another question that often comes to me is, "Can I make writing a career?" Usually the day job is less than something to write home about and writing for a living sounds pretty glamorous.

While I'm the first to admit that many writers get paid for their writing, even fewer have made writing a career, and that's not because there isn't money to be made. More than likely, a writer quits because so much time and attention must be given to it.

I get paid for all of the services that Ideas Creations Press provides to authors, from book idea all the way to a finished product. As a side-line I do some copy writing, but I don't make a regular weekly or bi-weekly paycheck. You could call the work I do a sort of a hit and miss proposition.

My husband has the nine to six job, and I'm primarily the fill-in master. And that works for us.

• While I wouldn't suggest quitting your day job to become a full-time writer, I would recommend writing part-time. My first sales were in newspaper writing, but because newspaper writing is almost extinct, many writers once in the newspaper business are doing blogs or writing for an online paper. Money is slim, but some blogs and newspapers will pay for good work.
• Think about your talents as a writer. If you're an intermediate writer, consider tutoring beginning writers. If you're a published writer, consider tutoring beginning and intermediate writers. Tutoring, or mentoring is needed for students as well as authors interested in perfecting their craft.
• Consider speaking engagements as a way to get paid for your writing. Especially if you've published at least one book, do some research about upcoming writers conferences and see if you can get on board.
• Copy writing can bring in some cash. Believe it or or not, some blogs are not written by anyone within the company, but the assignment is farmed out to freelance writers who write the posts. Copy writer positions are great because you can do the work on your own time, and you can work for someone living in a different state or country. But be careful. There are scams out there. Do your research before signing on.

Getting paid for your writing comes easier if you work for an advertising agency or magazine that offers you daily opportunities to write with a steady paycheck. But because these jobs are few and far between, many readers have opted for working freelance.

A tough search? You bet, but well worth the effort once you get going.