There Are Easier Ways to Earn Money Than Writing

If you are writing for the money, go get a job. Seriously, there are easier ways to earn a buck.

Billy got a job delivering prescriptions. He loves it. It gets him up in the mornings and he listens to music on his rounds. His income is steady, he gets paid holidays and a sense of satisfaction.

Craig retired from the fire service. He bought a van and a lawnmower. He gets to spend days outdoors working in the sunshine. He’s as fit as a Stradivarius. The grass grows whether it rains or shines, and in a few weeks; he gets to cut it again. It’s a profitable business, and he is so busy he has to turn down work.

Adrian fixes motorbikes. He enjoys getting his hands dirty, and he takes great pleasure in restoring an old bike into its former glory. Looking at his finished work makes his heart swell with pride.

There is a myriad of occupations to suit you. However, I guess if you read this far you still want to write. Me too.

This is what we can expect:

Publishers

If you need the money to live, you can’t rely on the whimsies of the publishing business. Publishers do not exist to satisfy your ego. Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster aren’t like Hogwarts, they don’t have a magic sorting hat.

Gone With the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell — rejected by almost 40 publishers before it finally hit the shelves.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum — rejected for publication so many times that he kept a journal of all the rejections letters he received.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, by J. K. Rowling — wouldn’t have seen the light of day if an agent’s daughter hadn’t nagged him into publishing it.

Book submissions are like confetti thrown at a bride in a force ten gale.

An annual survey carried out by the University of Glasgow tracked author earnings over 15 years. The results showed a clear drop in average author income, from £18,013 in 2006 to £10,497 in 2018.

Self-publishing

Who are you going to sell to once you have given away your free copies to friends and family? Unless you can produce a decent book cover, edit and proofread to a satisfactory level — and then market it to a large audience on your own, you will probably not cover your costs.

In a 2015 survey, independent writers earned a median of $500–$999. (£350-£700) a year from their writing.

That’s a lot of time and effort for not very much kudos or cash.

Blogging

“It’s pretty easy to make an extra $500 — $2,000 per month blogging in your first year.”

Said the guy who wants to sell you a course or for you to buy a service from one of his affiliate partners.

A much more realistic statistic comes from AstuteCopyBlogging.

“Over 80% of blogs will fail in the next 18 months. That’s over 50 million blogs. A huge percentage of blogs fail.”

Of course, they are trying to sell you coaching packages and add ons.

Writing platforms

Vocal writers earn $3.80 per 1,000 reads. But you can also earn big bucks from winning some of their challenges.

Medium writers can earn from introducing paying members and from internal reads.

According to Medium writer Casey Botticello $16,685.50 is the highest amount earned for a single story, $49,705.40 is the highest amount earned by a single author and 6.4% of active writers earned over $100 in 2020.

It’s pretty impressive, but also thought-provoking if you look at it from a different angle: 93.6% of active writers earned less than $100. And since then their payment model, which is not clear, has changed. Writers are earning much less for the same output.

Simily pays $20 per 1000 unique views and that includes non-paying members (external views).

Newsbreak has a local news bent to what they publish and has gone from guaranteeing $1,000 per month for some writers to - well, nobody is quite sure.

There are other writing sites not mentioned which may suit your style of writing.

Getting an article published on any of these sites is not as simple as they make out. All have stringent guidelines.

Even if you nail the style, content, and rules, it’s no guarantee you will be published. What tickles your funny bone might not tickle their fancy. I know this from personal experience.

Other writing opportunities

There are many other options, too many to mention. There will be the usual tiny percentage of writers navigating their way through the straits at a rate of knots, and others will tread water or drown.

Hitting the big money has about the same odds as winning the lottery. That doesn’t mean you should stop buying a ticket.

As long as you can afford to invest the time, there is always the chance you have the right numbers. And I have seen enough to know that many writers here have got all the right numbers — just not necessarily in the right order.

What you need is a compelling reason to write. You need a reason, other than money, for putting pen to paper

If you haven’t already buggered off to get a driving job, I commend you. That means you have conquered your angst. You can and will survive.

If your writing hasn’t yet received the admiration or adoration of a thousand faceless followers, keep going. Don’t crumble to the vagaries of your flops, failures, or fanciful criticism.

If you keep on learning, stifle your doubts and ignite your imagination, then keep clicking the keyboard. But before you press that first letter:

Have a reason

Have something to say that will benefit humanity, even in a small way. If your idea will change the world for the better — then it’s your obligation to write.

If sharing your knowledge will make a difference to one person, write it for them.

Have a goal. Aim to make your writing work, make it do what you intend it to do. Cause laughter, tears, excitement, amazement, or satisfy curiosity.

Final thoughts

Last November, I wrote an article about the powerful health benefits of Broccoli. I wrapped up the information in a humorous piece:

Why Eating Broccoli Makes You Drink Stronger Coffee.

Here it received 1 view, 1 like and earned 1 cent.

Disappointing figures, but I may well have made a difference to the life of that reader. That reader could possibly live a healthier, happier life with the knowledge I shared.

Another of my articles:

The Six Productivity Hacks Elon Musk Sent To His Staff

Has had received 65k views, thousands of likes and earned over $3k.

I am equally proud of both articles.

You can’t know what will resonate with a reader. Unless you are J. K. Rowling writing her third Harry Potter, you won’t know what will fly off the shelf. You don’t know how your writing might change someone or when.

And don’t forget what writing does for you — its magical power is in how it helps you explain the world to your inner self. It clarifies your thoughts and strengthens the reason for your existence.