5 Quick Ways to Make Money from your Writing

Often we focus our writing on the big task such as writing a novel or non-fiction book.  Writing short pieces to both increase income and provide new writing challenges can be enjoyable and profitable. Try at least one of these during the next week.

Flash fiction
Can you tell a complete story in just a few words? Yes? Then flash fiction could be for you. There are many outlets for stories of 1000, 750, 500 words or even less.  Interestingly fewer words does not mean less pay.  Try some of the online outlets for your work, some only publish flash fiction. Writing flash fiction will focus the mind on saying it succinctly without unnecessary adverbs and adjectives – a useful skill for any write.

Fillers
Magazines and newspapers print a huge number of fillers each month. These can be anything from a 50 word snippet to a 700 word short article.  These can also be opinion pieces or a personal story that will be of interest to the readers, try linking to a previous article. Pay varies however you could write a number of these in a reasonably short period.
 

Writing Internet content

A long time ago businesses realised that they needed a web presence. Now they are realising that they need to update their content regularly to keep visitors coming back.  Businesses need short articles on subjects relevant to their customers, for example a DIY store might want an article on how to put up shelves. A dog groomer might like a set of articles on a range of dog care issues or a series on different breeds of dogs. Writing a batch of articles and offering them to a business with a web presence (huge market) can be a good way to increase your income.

Greeting cards

There are literally hundreds of paying markets for greeting card verses; you might think that online card retailers are shrinking the market but they need content just as much as cards designed for the high street. The big difference with online retailers is that you need to write content that can be personalised – usually with a name or age.  Request the guidelines from greeting card companies and start writing verse that is personal, the type that someone will say is “just perfect” for the recipient. This is one area of writing where you can send in multiple submissions to the same company.

Readers letters
Many magazines offer rewards for letters printed – this can be cash or products. To give your letter the best chance of being printed refer to an article or letter in a previous issue, make it personal, make it positive about the magazine, or at least not negative, and ensure you sound like a reader.
 
Happy writing.