Write Where the Money Is
Writing Content
Hub pages or other content sites are a fun and educational place to write. Feedback keeps you inspired, but the real pay is what experience you get by joining the community of writers that you may have not otherwise come in contact with. Exposure means everything to a successful career in writing.
Exceptional talents with tons of time and interesting topics can thrive on the same articles over and over for years to come. Traffic is the one and only key to riches here. If you understand getting the audience your article deserves than by all means take advantage of adding an extra source of income by writing content online. Keep it fresh and keep it green and you will find material that never gets out of date.
Interesting well written content will do well. Add your own pictures to the content and you just may bring home extra money. Remember that copy write laws will also apply to pictures as well as writing. Be careful when using pictures that are not yours. Use only public domain pictures when not using your own. With photo editing software found today we can apply our own watermark to our work. We really are not intending to give our work to a passing stranger either unless they ask. With a watermark they are more than welcome to use it, because we know who really gets the credit for it.
Poetry and Short Stories
There are plenty of places out there to publish poetry and short stories. Some will pay you modestly, while others may only give you a copy of their publication. Breaking into print can be rewarding regardless of the generated income.
Greeting card companies will buy poetry. It is not as easy as it sounds to get their attention. These companies will work with freelancers, but their regular writers are generally there at the business place.
Expect the big guys to be harder to sell to and don’t forget the little guy because just like with other media the small press will be more willing to work with freelance writers.
Short stories are favorites for many publications seeking true to life adventures such as magazines, newspapers and online content sites.
Short fiction has its place, too. For those who lose interest easily in a longer story it may be just what both the writer and the reader are looking for. Sort of a mini version which often is every bit as entertaining as a book length would be. For the writer though, a short story could be harder to write. You have to continue line after line to keep it exciting or your reader will lose interest quickly. That reason is likely why they avoid books to begin with.
Magazines and Newspapers
Pennies per word may not make you rich, but writing for magazines and/or newspapers can produce a comfortable living, depending largely on the publication you write for. Reporters are often on the payroll, although freelancers have a place there as well.
Research articles are in high demand as people are seeking answers to questions without spending valuable time looking for it. Taking good notes from a large variety of resources can put the right information in an article where only the basics are needed. This especially applies to online content. Information at our figure tips sure beats the old days of running off to the library or news stand. Not many of us are fortunate enough to have either of these next door.
Novels and Script
Talent prevails in all forms of writing, but extremely so when it comes to writing books. Unless you are gifted with every available access to the right publisher even the best novelist cannot make a decent living. For those that do succeed, we will often see their works rewritten for motion pictures. The spotlight on these writers is well deserved as they are the real money makers in this complicated field.
Script writers are generally a group employed by companies who make plays, movies or television shows. Likewise commercials demand this kind of writing. Seldom will you see credits given to just one writer. Teams work side by side to ensure an unique approach that will dazzle the audience. The audience is what the whole thing is all about. It doesn’t really matter what type of writer you are or what your niche is. Just like any other entertainer, the writer needs an audience.
Copy Writing and Business Organizer
Anywhere from the high tech business man to the vendor selling hotdogs on the corner, their success depends on advertizing. This is where a copy writer can help. Writing great copy is no more than selling something to the customer that they may not even know they want. Writing commercials is a form of copy writing. Writing a newsletter is another. The list goes on and on. Just like billboards and radio ads it all begins with a creative notion a copy writer put into play. Glamour may not accompany the out pour of other styles, but it makes up in competitive ways. The better the copy, the better the sales are. Convincing argument with a clever twist can sell most anything. Book, movie, television and theatre reviews are fine examples of copy writing. Any time we try to persuade someone to our way of thinking it can make for great copy. After all, most presidents never wrote their own campaign speech. They merely presented a list of topics for a writer to use their creative juices to get results with.
Business organizers produce records of accounts, product lists, employee records and price listings. They need it all put together for easy access. Listing products with description depends on not only a well organized system, but also the help of a writer. This writer needs to put all the information down in such a manner that everyone within their work force can understand it. Catalog companies, retail stores and online mail order companies depend on someone to not only write things down, but they need pictures, too. This is where the spreadsheets come in. Spreadsheets are common business practice these days and the computer world keeps improving them to keep the modern business in good hands. It’s not an ordinary writing style. Some may say it’s not writers’ work at all. For those who tend to think this way, they are not familiar with endless paper trail involved in operating any business. Records are documents written for every aspect of the business. From ordering supplies to paying the light bill everything is recorded some place.
The Writer’s Desk
No matter what reason you write, it is essential you have the right atmosphere without many distractions. Even the letter to grandma demands your total attention. And a well written journal will be a great tool for recalling events a bad memory forgets. Journals can be written right on your hard drive. You may want a printed copy to refer back on as well.
Tools of the trade will include much more than paper or a keyboard. You will want a good dictionary, thesaurus, spell/grammar checker and editor. You can’t always depend on the ones built into your computer to catch errors. It will not always catch minor things like word use. When you want salt you may not want to be sought after. Two sound alike words with totally different meanings can make you look like an amateur as a writer. More than one have written one word and meant another. Spell check doesn’t acknowledge these mistakes. Some readers won’t notice and those who do notice may not care. They aren’t likely to even let you know about it.
Embarrassing yourself is just one con to being a successful writer. There are plenty more. You learn to develop a thick skin and a great sense of humor. You learn by making mistakes and you learn by doing. Practice is the key word. So write, then write some more. If you build an income from it then you are earning a living from something you love. Never give up on something you really want. Critics may come and go, but you will be the hardest critic to ever read your work. Famous authors will tell you the same thing. Read some of their biographies. What works for them may work for the rest of us.