Jobs as a writer I can do to earn a income?

Question

and I do not mean write fiction and play the big time like Steven King.

I mean like tech writer, columnist and whatever side jobs I could do on a regular basis in order to supplement my income? I'd like at least 600 to 3000 a month and would be nice to do this.

And what would it take and how long would it take for me to earn a regular income on such projects?

Answer 1

What you are talking about is becoming a freelance writer. It is not an easy thing to do. Deadlines must be met precisely. Your reputation will make or break you. You can start with a copy of Writers Market. There are many magazines buying articles listed in the back. Usually you have to send them a proposal first and they will let you know if they wish to hire you and how many words they want. Again, you must be precise. You can also spend time in the library with a copy of Literary Marketplace in the research section making notes. There are also free lance jobs listed at Absolute Write Water Cooler, Writers Wall, Writers Weekly and many other writing sites. Learn how to write a professional proposal and a great query letter. Remember with this kind of writing research is essential. You cannot make this stuff up. So when you get a deadline - allow for plenty of time to research. You must keep careful notations in a log book and be prepared to back up everything you write. There are many articles online regarding how to be a free lance writer.

The other option is what I do. I ghost write part time for a very well known sports figure. I write children's books for him. The money is very lucrative, but they are dream jobs that you just fall into. They don't come around every day. Ghosting for this guy is an amazing experience. I also have another ghost job sitting here for another but I don't even know when I will be able to begin it. The sport star is keeping me quite busy and I absolutely insist on still being able to put in my 4 hours on my own project daily as well.

The best answer is to surf the net and read all you can. Learn from people who are successful at doing it. There are many people making that kind of money free lancing, but they have learned their craft and put in their hours and paid their dues.

There are also businesses that hire their own tech writers full time. Check the big Sunday papers. There are listings for tech writers always. Catalog writing, instruction manuals, Material safety sheets, brochures, prospectuses, memos, stockholder letters ... all of those things have to be written by someone. It could be you.

Pax- C

Answer 2

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Answer 3

This will depend on how many copies your book sells and also the size of your advance. It is a good idea to have an agent who can negotiate a better deal for you. In my home country, Australia, royalties are traditionally ten percent of all sales, paid to the author in March and September of each year. The experiences of individual authors within the industry vary. The experiences of those who have already answered this question may not necessarily be the same as yours. Some author do, in fact, write a first novel that is a best seller - just ask JK Rowling, Stephanie Meyer, Stephan King. But for every one of these authors there is also a Madeleine Wickham - who wrote seven books before finding far greater commercial success writing as Sophie Kinsella. But commercial success is hard. My advice? Work hard and don't ever let anyone tell you "no".

Answer 4

Here's what I do:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/11252/miz_minutia.html

The money is not great, but you DO get paid!! And there are a lot of writers that you can talk to on the forums who make a lot more money than I do, and can give you some other great ideas. Besides getting paid a few dollars up front, you also get a "performance bonus" which is based on page views. So if you write some articles that get a lot of page views, you can make a nice little check every once in a while wthout even having to write new articles. Check us out!!

Answer 5

Get Money Taking Surveys - http://OnlineSurveys.uzaev.com/?Ieco