I know writers who are under contract and do quite well. Others are freelancers and have so much work that they actually have to turn down projects. How about you can you make ends meet? Or are you one of those starving writers I hear about? Are you sort of in the middle and it's either feast or famine? Do you ever find it hard to make a budget when you can't predict your monthly income?
Any writing I need I hire people. If your trying to make a living from it then you need to get yourself out there, as many forums as you can, tons and tons of people are looking for content now more then ever because it needs to be unique not spun or copywritten.
I really want to learn writing but i find it very tough. I still dont understand how one can writer on any subject or niche ?
@bimal32 I believe the trick is to market yourself. You need to find prospective clientele that requires your particular niche or writing talents.
I'm currently just getting back into writing for money, but when I was doing it before I didn't make a lot because I didn't really want to. My goal was to make enough to help me with "extras" like going to the movies and other things. I prefer to write part time and then have my "normal" part time job, on top of being a full time student because I don't like being on the computer 24/7 365/366 days a year.
@Spoiltdiva Thanks! and how can i learn writing for SEO? any site or book / Ebook that can help me in learning writing for SEO ?
@wacontentcreator If your writing is just part time then the revenue you're making is really a non issue, as this is not how you're paying the bills.
@bimal32 Check out the following: SEOmoz Webmaster World Cre8asite SEO by the SEA SEO Book The Anatomy of a Large-scale Hypertextual Search engine SEO fast start Sphinn Search Engine land Google's SEO Guidelines Search Engine Guide Search Engine Journal SEO Black Hat (this one is not on the up and up, but it is good to know what the bad guys are up to so that you can learn to protect yourself)
Its all about my set of mind at a particular point of time. I do very well money-wise on months I am focused on work and getting new clients. But the moment I become laid-back and lazy, my earnings drop to low heights!! So its totally personal. If I am able to keep myself motivated then yes, I earn good. Hope this helps.
So the moral of your story is that you make $$$ when you are motivated to write, and you don't when you aren't. So...when the $$$ isn't pouring in then I suggest you go and read my thread entitled "How do you write when you're not in the mood?". This thing is just a few threads down and usually always on the first page. In it you will get tips on how to get yourself motivated and making big $$$. (But I'm happy to read that you do well at least some of the time)
I've been a freelance writer for the past 8 years and make a comfortable living from it. Sure, in the beginning it can be brutal breaking into the online writing world. Especially now since everyone and their brother calls themselves a writer. Be persistent. Always produce quality work. Always present yourself professionally. Market yourself. In time, your income from writing will begin to grow. There are so many ways a talented writer can make money online. Don't stick with just one method, for example, whoring the forums trying to gain new clients. Branch out and form multiple sources of income. This way, if you have a slow month with one income source, another income source will pick-up the slack.
@TextServices, Thanks, very good post. This is what I was hoping for. You see I'm trying in my own way to encourage young writers to keep at it and not give up.
This is an interesting question. At the moment, it's almost ridiculous how difficult it is to score writing gigs that pay properly. Just TextServices put it, it's like 'whoring' around. You've got a lot of people from countries of low cost of living, who can earn a few hundred dollars per month from writing and they can live comfortably on that. But then you've got native English writers from the more developed countries who have no choice but to bring down their price to compete with the market and living on a few hundred dollars a month isn't exactly realistic. So it's definitely a tough market. The best thing to do is to find clients who love your writing style and turnaround, and those who are willing to pay you exactly what your worth. It's sad a sad industry in a way, because we have people with degrees in writing, and they have to compete with self-proclaimed writers. I think it's really easy to find writing gigs online, but not quite easy to find those that pay a lot of money. After writing about a thousand great articles, you then start to feel really guilty and wish that you could open your own website and have a thousand of your great articles on there helping you earn passive income through Adsense or other alternatives.
@dezinerite, "Whoring around", I've never heard it described quite like that before. Thanks for an interesting post, you certainly have an entertaining writing style. I suspect you will do quite well in the future with your chosen profession.
That's your first mistake. That's your second. What 'other writers' charge has no bearing on your earning potential. The only way you're 'competing' with those unskilled writers is if you settle for the rates they work for. If/when you decide to stand up for and stand by the price you've set on your talent, there is no competition because you are not 'in the market' for the kind of buyers low rates attract. You eliminate 95% of the perceived 'competition' once you make this distinction.
There are various means of earning money as a writer, but overall writers need to sell themselves that can not always be effective, as quality not always sells as much as marketability that leads to lowering the quality in the end, so it's a vicious cycle.
What? One never should compromise on the quality of their work that they produce just to gain new business. Just as one should never lower their pricing to insanely cheap rates to win out over their competitors. Never. Ever. A writer can market themselves well and earn business without having to sacrifice quality or offer low rates. Always charge what your time is worth. Always produce quality work. In the end, your work speaks for itself and you will attract the buyers willing and able to pay for your content.