But I am here to tell you a secret: writing is practical. Writing can make you a living. Choosing to write does not mean sacrificing a successful life. If anything, pursuing your love of writing can secure your success and happiness. It’s just a matter of getting started, of finding the way in that is best for you, and building your network from there. That said, here are a few ways you can write for money.
Captioning and Transcription
If you are the type of person who is a spelling and grammar superstar with lighting-fast typing skills, captioning is a great way to put those skills to use. Captioning – and transcribing – through companies such as Rev, Inc. is easy and straightforward. Pay rates tend to go per video minute rather than the hours of work you actually put in, so the faster you are, the more you will get paid. While captioning may not be a creative writing job, it does expose you to media you would not have experienced otherwise, allowing you the opportunity to learn about and experience new things from stand up paddleboarding to the Frank Sinatra Timex show.
Blogging
If you’re the type with ideas to share with the world, blogging is for you. Make sure you settle on your unique perspective before you begin, and also pick up some marketing skills if you can. To make money from your own blog, you will need a high amount of traffic (people clicking through to your site) and possibly some advertisements from other companies on your page. There is no guarantee that starting a blog will immediately begin earning you money, but if you have the right content and the right marketing tactics for your intended audience, you have a fighting chance.
If creating your own blog is not your style, yet you love the real-world, non-fiction stories and advice in blogs, you can always try writing for another site. This type of freelancing will generally pay per article, but if you are talented and fit well with the site, freelancing could become a steady job. For more on where to go for these freelance blogging opportunities, try articles like this one or even freelance sites like Fiverr.
Copywriting and Advertising
Jobs such as copywriting and ad writing, unlike blogging or captioning, have a higher chance of being office-based as opposed to online. These jobs will employ both refined grammatical skills and higher-level creativity, perfect for the well-rounded writer. While these jobs may be more competitive, their pay and hours will be more consistent than the others, and can lead to even better opportunities within the company.
While the ideal career of New York Times Bestselling Author may be difficult to achieve, that is not the only way to make money writing. If a published novel is your ultimate goal, don’t worry: use your free time to write your own creative work and send it to agents, all the while building your experience, network, and skills with a paid writing position. Writing skills are essential to the function of our society and should never be underestimated. So if you are looking to write, go for it. You can make money writing.
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Photo: Writer Sanctuary
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