Can you earn a living as a freelance writer? That depends on how much you want to earn, how you define “freelance writer”, and what you’re willing to do.

Here’s a writing quip from Robert Bly’s Secrets of a Freelance Writer: How to Make $100,000 a Year or More. (Click the book cover for more information about Bly’s book).

“The first step to making a lot of money as a freelance writer is to avoid the “poverty mentality” that so many writers have. This is the belief that (a) freelance writers earn very little money; (b) freelance writers deserve to earn very little money; (c) it’s impossible to make a lot of money as a freelance writer unless you hit with a bestseller or big movie script; and (d) therefore you will never make or have a lot of money as a freelance writer.” 

Okay, let’s delve into the freelance writing world and find out where where you fit in… 

Succeeding as a Freelancer: How to Decide If You Can Earn a Living by Writing 

1. Set your financial goals. Me, I’m happy to earn $40,000 my first year as a full-time freelance writer. I’ll no doubt increase my salary every year, but I’m good for now. But - Robert Bly has something to say about that: “Set your sights higher,” he writes in Secrets of a Freelance Writer. “Don’t aim for an income of $40,000 a year. Aim for $100,000 a year, or even $250,000 a year. But even if you only come halfway to achieving those high goals, you’ll be a lot better off than writers who deliberately aim low.” 

2. Adjust your standard of living. Are you indulging in Starbucks lattes three times a day, the most expensive organic food, and the latest trendy fashions? Then you better analyze Bly’s book about succeeding as a freelancer from cover to cover. Twice. Earning a living writing may afford you all those luxuries eventually, after you’ve mucked through the trenches. However, at the beginning of your freelancing career, consider lowering your standard of living so that you can afford to pay the bills and make your loan payments on a minimal salary. 

3. Define “freelance writer” for yourself. My own personal definition of freelance writer does not include corporate writing, technical writing, writing for brochures, textbook writing, or speech writing. What does being a freelance writer mean to you? How do you see yourself happily earning a living by writing? Set your standard as early in your writing career as possible, and don’t get lost on the bunny trails. 

4. Diversify your writing opportunities. I love writing for numerous publications and outlets because it’s more interesting and because it makes me feel more secure as a freelancer. For instance, if Woman’s Day suddenly drops me, then I still have MSN Health or Reader’s Digest as possibilities. Spread your writing eggs around, fellow scribes. Writing can be just as much an investment as investing in stocks (blogs and web writing, for instance, can be sources of long-term passive income). 

5. Write part-time to start. After 1½  years of freelance writing part-time and working in an office part-time, I jumped into full-time freelance writing. I’ve exceeded my (rather modest) financial goals every month. Working part-time somewhere else not only gives you financial security, it also gets you out of yourself. A part-time job gives you writing ideas, boosts your self-confidence (those constant writing rejections can beat you down), and keeps you motivated to do what you really want: succeed as a freelance writer. 

Here’s another writing quip, from George Bernard Shaw this time: 

“I dread success. To have succeeded is to have finished one’s business on earth, like the male spider, who is killed by the female the moment he has succeeded in courtship.  I like a state of continual becoming, with a goal in front and not behind.”  - George Bernard Shaw 

If you’re not a successful freelance writer, then you’re in good company. Shaw would’ve loved you!

Do you want to weigh in? I’d love to hear your thoughts on freelance writing, earning a living writing, or anything at all…