|
So you want to be a writer. You’ve written some short stories, some articles, maybe some poetry or even a novel. You’ve thought about becoming a freelance writer, but could you do it full-time? You’ve got bills to pay, maybe a mortgage and some kids to feed. You might work at a job you tolerate, but you dream of writing, of being a writer, of making a living from being a writer. Does this describe you? Well, you can be a writer, especially if you consider a relatively new and fairly lucrative market: Internet writing. You CAN make a living by being an Internet writer. But there are a few questions you should ask yourself before quitting your day job:
Can you be both boss and worker, salesman and office manager? You have to write enough to make money, which at least at first, will probably be quite a bit. And being a writer, you already know you have to be a good editor. No publication wants an article riddled with errors or typos. You have to sell your work and yourself to editors and publishers. You have to able to manage your business efficiently, unless you are one of the lucky few who can afford a secretary.
Do you have a financial safety net? Some writers say you should have three months’ worth of income saved; some say a year. But if your income is the only one you have to depend on, you need to have as much in the bank as you are comfortable, and only you can decide that. It depends upon what your expenses are, how much savings you have, and if you have other means of income. Many writers start out writing in their free time at first, and then moving to full-time when they become successful enough to do so. Only you can decide when that is.
Can you write? Writing for the web is different from any other kind of writing. You have to be able to write in a conversational style and put the information into an easy-to-read format such as bullets. You will have to be clear, concise and able to write short, tight paragraphs. Surfers often have short attention spans, so you have to grab their attention with great text. You don’t have to be the greatest wordsmith that ever lived, but you should know the basics of writing and grammar. But most of all, you have to have a passion for writing. If you truly love writing, it will show in your work, and that will carry you the rejections.
Can you take rejection? Yes, there will plenty of those. And if you’re anything like most writers, you’ll have more rejections at first than you have assignments. But you just have to believe in yourself and be persistent. It takes time to get established as a writer and get jobs that pay, let alone jobs that pay well. Know that you can do it and that your hard work will pay off. It’s great if you have a support system, friends and family who also believe in you, but that will carry you only so far. You have to believe in yourself.
Can you market yourself and your writing? You have to be business-like. You are a salesperson. You have to sell yourself to editors, and when you land a job, you have to sell the publication to the readers with your content. So act like a salesman: be a professional marketer for yourself and it will pay off.
Are you self-disciplined? If you work from home, you have to separate your home life from your work life; don’t get distracted by the kids or the dishes. You have to ignore the mounting pile of laundry. You must be able to schedule your work time so that you can meet deadlines without a boss hanging over your shoulder.
O f course you love your literary writing, but the fact is it is much easier to make money from commercial writing than from “literary” writing. Advances for a nonfiction book can run between $5000-$25,000, but an advance for a first-time novel is likely to be much less because there are so many would-be novelists. Everyone wants to be the next Great American Novelist. No one wants to be the next Greatest American Copywriter, so you stand to make a lot more money at that. No one says you have to give up your dream of publishing your novel. I’m simply suggesting that if you want to make money at writing, you should definitely consider Internet writing. If nothing else, it could get you out of that job you hate, pay the bills, and leave you with more free time to write that novel of yours.
|
| |
