Are you a working writer? Can you find enough work to support your writing habit? Would you like to make even more money? Of course you would. And you can! All you need is an awareness of the vast opportunities out there for writers and the willingness to stretch and grow.
Let’s say that you write articles for magazines. You send out forty queries and write three to eight articles each month. Additionally, you recycle your articles as reprints. You get paid to write a church bulletin and an occasional book review. What more could you do? Plenty. Here are some ideas:
1: Write political campaign material. Elections can be lucrative for writers. Whether the campaign is citywide or at the national level, candidates rely on accomplished writers to sway voters. I’ve earned some good money writing campaign material for school board candidates and local union election contenders. To get involved, simply choose your candidate or cause and apply for a writing job. Be prepared with a resume and a sample press release or campaign blurb. Typical pay is in the $20 and $80/hour range.
How to get started: Contact local candidates for school board, city council and other such offices and positions.
2: Produce radio copy. Before it’s spoken, it has to be written—at least that’s true of radio ads. If you can write concise, interesting copy for products, this might be an enjoyable and lucrative sideline for you. The pay for radio commercials is around $40 – $75/hour.
How to get started: Apply at local radio stations. Eventually, branch out to other geographic areas.
3: Start a newsletter business. I know someone who writes newsletters for half dozen businesses and organizations. Potential earnings per newsletter are in the $2000 to $6000 range per year.
How to get started: Approach organization heads and business managers with ideas for developing or improving their newsletters.
4: Become a teacher. Your writing/publishing experience could be a valuable commodity. Give seminars for fledgling writers. Teach classes through a local art center, a community college or online. Present memoir classes at a senior center. You can earn anywhere from $100 to $1,000 per course or seminar.
How to get started: Set up your own workshops or apply for a position through the local adult education program.
5: You be the judge. If you have impressive writing credentials, why not apply as a judge for some of the many writing contests operating throughout the U.S. each year? I’ve judged poetry contests and a nonfiction story-writing contest. The pay isn’t usually that great, but it’s fun, it’s a definite learning experience and it’s another credit for your resumé.
How to get started: Apply for a judging job by contacting the directors of contests that appeal to you. Find contests listed in Writer’s Market and by doing an Internet search. Start local or within a genre where you are known.
Tomorrow I’ll list another five ways to earn more money writing.