Making a Living at Writing

Have you ever thought, "I wish I could make a living at writing".

Here's a NEWS FLASH: Even mediocre writers can make a living writing! But writers who fail usually do so because they lack training – or they just plain don't want it bad enough. However, there is one more reason why you may fail, and that's because you want to live higher than your means.  

For the sake of argument, let's say you are not encumbered with such debt, and that you would be satisfied with making a moderate living at writing. The question then becomes, how do you do it? Believe it or not, the answer is relatively simple once you understand the system.

Most articles don't sell the first time out, so let's pretend you submit an article to a magazine three times before it is accepted. Since each submission takes about three
months response time, you have nine months tied up in that one article. The publisher will usually pay upon publication, which will be another three to six months of waiting. That's a 12-15 month wait for one article. That's why magazines cannot be a full-time writer's primary source of livelihood.

The secret lies in selling articles to newspapers for $15 to $20 a shot, plus $5 extra for each picture. The articles will be shorter and quicker to write. Newspapers aren't as picky. They don't care if your article has already been published elsewhere. Further, there is an inexhaustible supply of newspapers to sell to. Check them out at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_newspapers_in_the_United_States_by_circulation, and pick the ones with big circulation. They buy faster, print daily or weekly, and pay immediately.

Keep the articles rolling constantly, and RESELL the ones that have sold already. That's another big secret. Over a period of time, you'll get to know the editors by name and you'll know more of what they're looking for. Almost every article will sell on first submission. And, while you're making a living that way, you can submit to magazines in your spare time.

Some writers have heard of this before, yet there they sit, still wishing they could write full time. Why is that? Maybe it's because writing for a living isn't as romantic as it sounds. Maybe it's because it's very hard work. Maybe it's because most wouldn't be satisfied to barely eek out a living.

Or maybe it's because they're still saying, "I can't do that," when what they really mean is – "I choose to do something else."

 

About the Author:

Deborah Owen has established the first mentored writing school on the net – Creative Writing Institute. Students can expect full-time tutoring throughout the eight-week term. Check it out athttp://www.creativewritinginstitute.com.