Stephen King once said that to be a writer is to read and write a lot. Probably he’s also forgotten that one also needs to pay the bills, and thus, writers have to earn some good income.
The good news is writing is a vast field, and there are always opportunities to elevate one’s career and take home better pay. If you’re ready to make some changes, consider pursuing the following:
- Publish a Book
You can be a publishing writer in so many ways. One popular option is to be a novelist like King. Writing novels professionally may help you earn an average of almost $50,000 a year.
As your experience grows and your work and name become popular, you can almost triple that income. You can also earn a lot from royalties, and if you’re lucky enough, your work might be adapted into movies or TV shows.
Take, for example, JK Rowling. Her book series Harry Potter sold about $7 billion worldwide. If her royalty were 15 percent of the sales, she would have pocketed a staggering $1.5 billion from her books alone.
Stories have it that she sold her rights to Warner Brothers, but it’s still possible that she received a percentage share considering how successful the movie franchise was. Let’s not forget too that she herself became a star. Many of her interviews would have been worth a lot.
When you want to be a novelist, you can either approach a publishing agency or do it yourself. Each has its pros and cons. You can go search “self-publish my book” to find out the advantages of self-publishing and how to do it.
The bottom line is self-publishing can give you more control over many aspects of the process, from production to marketing. It may be laborious, but it may also be rewarding since you don’t need to share your earnings with anyone.
- Teach or Mentor
You can also share your knowledge by becoming a writing teacher. There are also many pathways for this.
One, you can be a professional teacher. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for a creative writing teacher in high school and postsecondary education may grow from 4 percent to 9 percent from 2019 to 2029. Teaching professionally to children may earn you about $70,000 a year.
But to be able to teach, you need to have a bachelor’s degree related to education if you want to handle elementary and high school kids. If you’re thinking of going into community college or university, it may be best to have a diploma in creative writing or related fields like communication or literature.t
If you don’t have the patience to go back to school to get these credentials, you can mentor others by creating writing workshops. You can charge between $30 and $50 per person.
That might not be a lot, but consider this. Let’s say that at least 50 people attend your writing class. That’s already $1,500 for every workshop. You then run the same class every two weeks. That doubles your income per month, and you may not need to make new materials.
You may also charge more if you are about to give comprehensive content, like a workshop that runs for a few days or when you teach to company employees.
Third, you can also be an English teacher. ESL (English as a second language) teachers in the United States can earn between $40,000 and $70,000 annually. The huge difference can be because your schedule can be flexible. You can dictate how many hours you’re willing to work.
- Build an Advertising Agency
Before you proceed, consider this a warning: building an advertising agency is hard work. You won’t get rich right away. Instead, you may find yourself counting a lot of sleepless nights and looking for capital to finance your business.
But if you do it right, it can also be rewarding. As an agency, you usually earn per client or contract. The amount can vary on the service you provide. However, it’s not unusual for an agency to pocket $20,000 a month from 10 clients.
Moreover, depending on the deal, the agency may earn side income. For example, if you’re building an e-commerce site, you may earn some commission if you’re also doing promotions or marketing. This is on top of the fixed fee. You can also earn a retainer’s fee as websites need maintenance.
Content writers certainly have a lot of room for growth—and more income—as long as they’re ready to take on the challenge.
Meta title: How to Earn More Money as a Writer
meta desc: Writing can be a career, but if you feel you’re not earning much, perhaps it’s time to elevate it. Here are three ideas to help you generate more income from your skills and expertise.
