Supplementing Your Income with Writing

Supplementing Your Income with Writing So you’re a published author and you love it! But there’s too much time between contract and publication, advance (if you receive one), and royalties (if you even earn out that advance). How can you supplement your income? Maybe you’re not a freelance writer but would love to be one, or perhaps you’ve written for fun not realizing you could supplement your regular income Here are a few ideas. . . Take a freelance writing course. There are free, paid and college courses. Institute for Writers (formerly Longridge Writers Group) offers courses on writing for children and breaking into print. Sign up for newsletters and follow blogs that share information on writing gigs. FundsforWriters, Freedom with Writing, and Mallee Blue Media are great resources. Write short stories. Markets like Woman’s World Magazine pay top dollars for short romance and mysteries. They also pay for short true life pieces. True Story and True Confessions are other avenues to earn a few bucks. Write nonfiction. Chicken Soup for the Soul and other such publications are always looking for great nonfiction stories. The pay is decent, and there are many different topics to choose from. Watch for anthology call for submissions in genres like fantasy, sci-fi, and mystery. Write Your life. What do you do when you’re not writing? Are you a full-time wife and mother? Stay home dad? What is your â€Å"day† job? Are you qualified in fitness and nutrition, business and finance? Perhaps you make jewelry, or you’re an artist. Maybe you travel for business and/or pleasure. Are you an interior designer/decorator or Feng Shui expert? Write for magazines. There are magazines and blogs out there that pay for articles on any subject from Parenting to Finance Insurance to Stretching your Dollars. There are Fitness Magazines, RV / Travel Magazines and Blogs. About.com pays for articles/blog posts on any number of topics. Write an ebook. What is your passion, your expertise? Are you a Life Coach or Spiritual Mentor? People love self-help/success stories! Writing and publishing an ebook can add to your credentials and client base as well as supplement your income. Here’s an interesting article   Broaden your horizon with speaking engagements. Many authors, (especially nonfiction) can make a lot of cash speaking on their topic of expertise. Here’s a great article at Famous in Your Field on where to find opportunities to do so. Teach writing. Many local colleges/universities teach leisure learning courses. Pitch one and see what happens! Be a mentor or writing coach and work one-on-one with new/aspiring authors. Teach at libraries. Start your own writing service / publishing company. With the influx of self / co-publishing options, book promotion, book cover design, editing and formatting are in high demand. Use your knowledge and expertise in the industry and fill one or more of those needs. George Washington University offers a Master’s Degree in publishing  available both in person and online. Sell/resell your current backlog of articles. There are numerous sites that pay a nominal fee for previously published work. Some pay per view or per click. You’re not going to make a lot of money this way, but hey it all adds up. Check out The Penny Hoarder for lists of such sites. These are just a few ways you can supplement your income with writing. With a little research and creative imagination, I’ve no doubt you can come up with more.