To Make Money Writing, You Have to Make Concessions

Prepare to write things you don’t want to write.

Image by Marcus Spiske

You want to live the dream, right? Wake up every morning with nothing else to do except open your laptop and let the words flow through your fingers? Well, take it from someone who does that for a living, be very careful what you ask for because it’s not what you think it is. At least not in the beginning, or even the middle, and who knows where you’ll end off.

The truth is if you want to make money writing, you’ll need to make some concessions. What I mean is that you’ll have to write things you genuinely don’t give a shit about, and you’ll have to write those pieces well. There’s virtually no escaping this.

Why would you ever write something you don’t like?

It’s very simple, actually. To make money. I can give a more convoluted answer, but this is the reality of what it means to be a financially independent writer. It means taking on projects that you’re not passionate about in the name of making a living. It means saying yes to gigs that may pay crappy in order to build relationships. It means periodically letting go of your pride to earn some dollars.

Still sound like a dream?

Let me back off, a bit. I write full-time. What I write depends on the day and the number of contracts I’m on. I can be writing a post like this in the morning, marketing copy for a product launch in the afternoon, and ghostwriting a self-help book in the evening (that’s literally how many of my days go).

A few years ago, I was pushing out at least four articles a day for around a dozen different clients throughout the month. The pieces varied from press releases to blog posts in industries as vastly apart as wine wrack installations to men’s and women’s health. I’d say I had zero interest in half the articles I was writing, but never once got any complaints from my clients.

I did what I had to do to get paid.

And I’m damn proud of the work I did. Are they as satisfying as the creative energy and passion that goes into my novels or even these blog posts? No way. But it’s getting paid off those other writing opportunities that allow me to write exactly what I want in these posts and in my books. The money gives me patience, peace of mind, and the freedom to craft the kind of writing that excites me. That’s the tradeoff.

Now, this does change. I’d say I’m about 80/20 right now, with 80 being the percentage of things I write that I actually care about. And I’m working every day to get as close to 100% as possible. That’s my dream and I know it’ll happen one day. In the meantime, I’m not going to turn my nose at the other stuff that’s currently funding my lifestyle.

You have to decide if you’re ready to do the same. Then you have to build and diversify your writing skills so you’re prepared to do the same. I’ve done RFPs, interviews, blogging, product copy, copy editing, content strategy, ad copy, and pretty much anything that has words involved. There’s nothing anyone can throw at me that I wouldn’t be comfortable with and that’s by design.

I took on those roles throughout my career to become a more complete writer and to earn a better income. And now my income is thanking me! Kidding, but jokes aside, making money as a writer in this day and age takes making some concessions. Wrap your mind around that and you’ll be much better off.

C R Y

To Make Money Writing, You Have to Make Concessions was originally published in C.R.Y on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.