Writing More Than Books

Earning a living income from writing only books takes time—you need more than one book to contribute to your royalty payments. And, let’s admit this, you have to sell a lot of books.

But you can earn a living writing more than books. Finding your niche might take time, but if you know your skills, it’s easier to hone in on the right markets.

What you can write

• Consumer magazine articles
• Trade journal articles
• Newspaper articles
• Blog posts
• Website pages
• Business letters
• Company brochures
• Catalog copy
• Technical material
• Anthology books (*Chicken Soup for the Soul* pays well)
• Specialty Markets, which include Bible tracts, devotionals, greeting cards and more

Do you speak more than one language fluently? Consider offering translation services. Are you a good proofreader? Add this to your services. Do some brainstorming. My list is far from extensive.

There are a variety of sites designed to help freelancers, unless you want to establish yourself via your own website. Here is an article on the top 11 of these kinds of sites. Make sure you read the full Terms and Conditions of these sites! Don’t get blindsided on your first project.

An important element you must realize and remember is that with work you do for hire you do not own the copyright. Work for hire means someone has hired to write for them. Get the official word on “work for hire” from the federal copyright office in this pdf.

If you want to earn a living with your writing, 2 essential resources for your office are Writer’s Market and The Christian Writers Market Guide ). The Christian market guide has a marvelous listing of specialty markets, but I didn’t spot a section like this in Writers Market.

Both these books are revised and published annually; however, not that much changes from year to year so you can often get by without buying a new copy each year. As I’ve said in many other posts, Writer’s Market can be found at the library. If you prefer The Christian Writers Market Guide and the library doesn’t have it, ask them to buy it or to request it via inter-library loan.

Here is an article that lists greeting card companies you can investigate:

As you can see, writing more than books is a viable option for any writer, even more so for those who are working a day job because shorter pieces take less time to write.

What do you write besides books and do you have some advise for other writers about breaking into those markets? Leave your comments below.