My career has been complicated, to say the least. I went through college certain that my career would be in music education, only to get fed up with district politics and state standards during my first year of teaching. I knew I couldn’t stay another year, but I also didn’t know what was next. I ended up working two part-time jobs for a while until a thought struck me: Can I make a living with writing?

You might be asking the same question right now. Maybe you’re fed up with your full-time job like I was. Maybe you’re retired and looking for motivation to write. Or maybe you have some writing skills and want to make some extra income on the side. You might even just want to hone your skills as a writer.

Whatever the case may be, I have good news for you: the answer is yes! No matter what kind of writing is your speciality, you can make money from it. But a word of caution: none of these options is a get-rich-quick scheme. They all take hard work and possibly years of toil before you see any return. If you want to make money writing, you really have to love writing.

Ready to start turning your words into cash? Here’s how you can do it!

1. Freelance writing

Great for people who: are self-motivated, have a strong work ethic, are business-minded, and/or want to create their own schedule

This is what I do for a living, and it’s especially a great option if you’re skilled in different writing areas. This involves creating your own business, finding clients, and working on various writing projects as you see fit. The best part is that your business is whatever you make it!

The best place to get started initially is on a freelancing platform like Fiverr or Upwork. (We’ll talk more about these next week!) As you take on work there, you can start building up a platform for yourself with your own website and eventually wean yourself off the platforms once you get your name out there. And don’t be fooled by the general stereotype that only copywriters can freelance – I’ve had great success mainly writing fiction as a freelancer!

2. Self-published author

Great for people who: love writing books, enjoy/excel at marketing, and/or have a big following on social media

If you have a passion for writing books, this may be the right path for you. However, being a self-published author doesn’t just involve writing books and throwing them out into the world. You have to keep track of the market and promote your writing yourself (which is where lots of social media followers come in handy, although they’re not a necessity). You also have to do research on the best self-publishing platforms and decide which one(s) works for you. Self-publishing isn’t easy, but if you do it right, you may be surprised at how far you’ll go.

3. Monetise your blog

Great for people who: already have a blog, love writing articles, and/or have a lot of blog followers

It’s becoming easier and easier to monetise your blog with so many options out there. You really just have to pick the option that works best for you, whether it’s affiliate marketing, selling an online course, creating ad space, or trying out something like Medium that pays you when people read your articles. If you already spend a lot of time creating quality content for your blog, adding monetisation will likely be a breeze.

4. Submit short stories/poems to magazines/competitions

Great for people who: enjoy writing short stories/poetry, have a lot of stories written but unpublished, and/or are great self-editors

This is the least certain way to make money on this list, but it’s a viable option for a bit of extra income if you’re a good writer. There are always people looking to pay for good stories. Depending on where you submit to, you might be able to earn some significant prize money or at least some exposure for your writing. Just make sure to read all the rules for each place you submit to and thoroughly edit your work! Beta readers are a great idea, too – if you don’t have any, contact me and I’d be happy to read your story! My feedback rates start at just $10.

So whether you write copy, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, blog posts, or anything else, I hope you’ll check out one of these ways to make money writing. It’s always great to do what you love, and even better when you can do it on your own time. Have any questions? Let me know in the comments!

Happy writing!
-E.J.

If you enjoyed this post, I hope you’ll consider donating to the blog, reading my stories on Vocal, and/or taking a look at my RedBubble shop so I can continue to produce free content!

---

Want to delve even further into the writing world? Subscribe to my monthly newsletter to get a FREE storytelling guidebook right off the bat, plus insider looks into my upcoming works, writing memes, book recs, and much more!