Comments on: Making Money Freelance Writing – 5 Ways to Support Yourself as a Writer

By: Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen

Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 19:21:34 +0000

Hello Ashleigh,

Great question — you’ve inspired me to write a whole article!

Do Writers Need Writing Degrees? Tips for Aspiring Writers

Let me know if it helps….and if you have other questions, please feel free to ask.

Tally ho,
Laurie

PS Try not to get too stressed out about your future. You don’t have to make a decision now about your whole life! You can take one road, such as retail for awhile, and you can write at the same time. You can go to university for a writing degree, and even change your mind and do something else….just take it one step at a time, my friend.

By: Ashleigh

Ashleigh — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 22:29:35 +0000

Hello. I’m extremely pleased that I came across your article – it made a lot of sense to me actually.

I’m sixteen and I’m really struggling about the future. I don’t know what to do yet, so much pressure has been put on me. I want more than anything to just write. Write what I see, touch, smell – but my mum is nagging on at me saying that “Egotistic people like you need a job y’know!”

I’ve no idea what kind of job I’m looking for.

Retail? Should I go to college and take up a Journalism course? Go to Uni and get a degree in English so I can become a full-time journalist? My teacher gave me some local news paper e-mails.
“Send them some of your stuff Ash,” she said, “Get yourself recognised. They will love it.”

I have my doubts, but do YOU think it’s a good idea?

…so stressed out here! Gah!

Help me.

Ashleigh.

By: 13 Ways to Find New Writing Slants

13 Ways to Find New Writing Slants — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 16:55:33 +0000

[...] find these questions particularly effective for nonfiction articles for magazines, but they may help you create new slants in fiction, too. When you have an idea – such as [...]

By: Kelly

Kelly — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 18:16:02 +0000

Hi Laurie, you’re a great resource for tips, tricks and information – thank you for all of this! Now that I’ve found your site, I’m going to be visiting regularly. Particularly resonant (right now, anyway) was your piece on finding your writer’s voice – that was a criticism I recently received and what I’m working to express now. Thanks for being so open!

By: Tricia Campbell

Tricia Campbell — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 06:39:42 +0000

You’re supporting yourself as a freelance writer? I’ve heard that it’s really hard. Most writers have jobs on the side, to supplement their income. Thanks for sharing some tips on making money writing, because I didn’t think it was possible! Especially now that magazines have really cut back on budgets.

By: Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen

Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:58:49 +0000

Jeremy, welcome to Quips & Tips for Successful Writers! I hope you find useful info here…and I especially hope you’re building a financially prosperous freelancing career
.-= Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen´s last blog post ..6 Tips for Freelance Writers and Authors Who Can’t Pay Their Income Taxes =-.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 07:45:27 +0000

HI! i am new here and found this writing blog excellent. I am going to contribute here and hopefully stick around! just wanted to say hi.

Thanks alot.

By: Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen

Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:17:44 +0000

Hi Robert,

Thanks for your comment — it’s great to hear that you’re earning a fantastic living as a freelance writer! I love hearing success stories

Hope to see you around Quips & Tips again…

Laurie
.-= Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen´s last blog post ..5 Ideas for Earning Money Writing – Tips From Experienced Writers =-.

By: Robert S. Nahas

Robert S. Nahas — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:52:00 +0000

Laurie, I greatly enjoyed your post. These are great tips for the aspiring author! I had been at that point about 10 years ago and have now built up a fantastic writing business and the income to boot. If I might add, yes there are many many ways to earn money doing one of the things you love most – writing!

By: Laurie PK

Laurie PK — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 03:14:34 +0000

Hi Kerry,

My apologies for letting your comment and question go so long without responding — the Christmas holidays really put a crimp in my blogging life! I’m just catching up now…

There are several ways to earn more money as a writer, and I’ve written about most of them on Quips & Tips for Successful Writers. I’ll list a few ways here; to learn more, just search for each term on this blog. I can’t explain all these terms here; each idea is worthy of its own article (or book!).

- diversify your writing income as much as possible. Write for small local magazines, large international magazines, and everything in between.

- find ways to earn money writing on the web, such as for Suite 101 or about.com.

- monetize your blog.

- look into writing for newspapers (but in my experience they pay less than magazines).

- network with other writers and spread the word that you’re looking for work (they may pass work along to you).

- hook up with magazine editors on Twitter.

Don’t forget that it takes time, perseverance, and energy to make a living as a writer. I started out freelancing part-time too, and now have several editors that I often work for. It takes time to build a strong freelance writing career — but you CAN do it if you keep trying different things and learning as much as possible about freelancing.

I hope this helps, and that you make a full-time living as a writer sooner than you think!

Take care,
Laurie
.-= Laurie PK´s last blog post ..Blogging Goals – 7 Types of Goals to Set for Your Blog =-.