A lot of writers will tell you that making $1000 a month from writing isn't all that difficult. But how do they do it?
When I set a goal for "x" number of dollars to make from my writing, I do several things to accomplish that goal:
- Diversify
Diversity is the key to ongoing income. I write primarily business and parenting articles, with a large portion of my
business articles in trade magazines. Web design companies also need good copywriters.
- Aim for double what you want to get paid.
If you want to make $1000, then send out queries and aim for $2000 or more in work. (I strongly suggest aiming for $4000.)
Writers usually only sell about 40% of what is pitched. Doing a good job every time is important...when I'm querying
publications I already work for, I sell almost everything I pitch because we have an established relationship.
Aim for double because you probably won't sell everything you pitch, and because when you least expect it, some big paying
assignment can and will fall through.
My first national magazine piece was held for a year -- and it was payment on publication. I learned then that relying on
anything in this industry is a big mistake.
- Spend 1/3 of your time looking for new markets; new work.
I still do this, although I don't spend that percentage anymore.
When I was building my freelancing business, I easily spent a third of my week querying, researching new markets, developing
ideas, etc. Within a few months, I had made my goal and a few months later, surpassed my monthly income goal.
Essays are great money makers. Try to get a couple out each month. I can often bang them out without a lot of effort and make a
few hundred extra.
Go for the trade publications. Trades also give you business-related writing, which leads to corporate work. Trades have
always had steady work for me and don't seem to experience the same advertising fluctuations that consumer magazines do.
Trades pay better, are usually easier to break into, and are pretty loyal to good freelancers.
Contact some publicists in your area, and offer to ghostwrite a few assignments.
- Always send out some "aiming high" queries.
I always include a couple dream markets when I query. If I sell, great; if I don't, I've got the other markets to sell to, too.
It doesn't hurt to dream big.
- Work to improve your writing every day.
I have never felt like anything I have written was absolutely perfect. I always feel there is room for improvement, areas where I
could be stronger.
I study everything I read, from Newsweek to Jenny Crusie books...to try to discover what makes that writing so good, then I
apply those lessons to my writing, the best I can.
- Know that your writing is worth being paid for.
If you are doing the best you can, at your writing, and you are putting forth your best effort in interviewing, etc., then you should
be paid for your writing. You are working, and part of taking pride in your craft is realizing there is a value for what you do.
- Remember that just when it all seems like it won't work out, it will.
The day my husband quit his job to pursue buying his own company, I lost two of my biggest clients, which was about 60% of my
income. I was the breadwinner all of a sudden and whoosh! All the bread was toast.
Within a week, I had not only replaced that income, but doubled what I had been making each month. How? All those queries and
feelers I'd been putting out on a regular basis (see #2) came through and I had more work than I could handle.
Throughout the current recession, I had one slow month (December, which is always slow) and that's it. I'm literally flooded
with work right now, and hoping to get some breathing room soon. Really soon. (laughing)
- Plan ahead.
Like I said a second ago, December is always a slow month for me. So is the early part of the summer. A
lot of editors are on vacation or not in work mode and things start to slow down. Plan ahead for those days by increasing your
workload a bit in October, November and late spring. The slow times won't hit your pocketbook when you plan ahead.
The best thing about freelancing is how well it works around a baby. I went back to work the day I got home from the hospital
with my second child. I was weak, and tired, but I sat on the couch with my laptop and finished up an article that was due
that day.
Ninety percent of my editors never even knew I'd had a baby. I had curtailed my workload, of course, before I had him and for
the first few weeks afterwards, but I never stopped entirely. I just worked around his naps or while he played on the floor.
You also have to have perseverance and determination. Making any set amount each month requires a lot of commitment. You have
to work when you are sick, tired, or the dog just puked on the floor.
One thousand dollars can definitely be made and quite easily, if you want it badly enough. Just set that bar for yourself, spend some time
each day working toward it, and you'll be seeing that money in no time.
About The Author:
Shirley Kawa-Jump is the author of several romantic comedies, including,
The Bride Wore Chocolate ,
Her Frog Prince, and
How To Publish Your Articles.
She is also a contributing author to Chocolate for a Woman's Soul Volume II,
and Chicken Soup for the Working Woman's Soul.
Visit her at http://shirleyjump.com
(Editor's note: Read my review of her book!)
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