Top 9 ways to make money writing

Making money from writing can be a great source of income if you want to make this a full time career but can be hard to find where to start. Below I have put together nine ways you can earn money from writing. 

1. Freelance Writing:

On platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer. You can make money by doing things like writing articles, blog posts, web content or even copywriting.

 2. Blogging:

You can earn money through monetising the blog through Advertising, sponsored posts, affiliate marketing, selling digital products or services. A good tip would be to focus on a niche with a dedicated audience.

3. Self-Publishing Books:

Platforms include but not limited to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Smashwords, Draft2Digital.

4. Content Creation for Businesses

Types of content could include website content, newsletters, social media posts, white-papers. To do this reach out to businesses directly or join content marketing platforms.

5. Technical Writing

Types of documents include manuals, how-to guides, technical documentation. The skills needed will vary but can include a strong understanding of technical subjects and the ability to explain them clearly.

6. Ghostwriting

You could be writing books, articles, speeches, or other content for someone else. A lot of people looking for ghost writers are busy professionals, celebrities and business leaders.

7. Writing for Magazines and Journals

Some topics you could write around are specialised subjects, features, opinion pieces. Pitching article ideas to editors or submitting completed works can get your foot in the door.

8. Scriptwriting

Comments fields include TV shows, movies, web series and even video games.

 9. Writing online courses and educational materials

You can join platforms like Udemy, Coursera, Teachable. You could create courses and educational materials around scripts, lesson plans or educational guides.

Additional tips

Build a portfolio: Showcase your best work to attract clients and publishers.

Network: Join writing communities, attend writing workshops, and engage on social media.

Stay updated: Keep up with industry trends and continuously improve your writing skills.

Free sites that can help you promote your book

Promoting a book effectively without spending money can be challenging but achievable with the right strategies and resources. Here are some of the free sites and platforms that can help you promote your book but remember do your research on what will be best for you. 

Social Media Platforms

1. Facebook

Groups: Join book promotion groups, author communities, and genre-specific groups.

Page: Create an author page to engage with readers.

2. Twitter

Hashtags: Use relevant hashtags like #BookBoost, #AmReading, #IndieAuthor.

Engagement: Participate in book chats and engage with the wider writing community.

3. Instagram

Bookstagram: Post visually appealing pictures of your book and you can use hashtags like #Bookstagram, #Bookish.

Stories & Reels: Share updates, behind-the-scenes content, and short videos.

4. TikTok

BookTok: Share engaging videos about your book, including readings, reviews, and writing tips.

Book Promotion Sites

5. Goodreads

Author Profile: Set up an author profile and connect with readers.

Giveaways: Host a book giveaway to attract new readers.

Groups: Participate in discussions and book clubs.

6. BookBub

Profile: Create an author profile and get followers who receive notifications about your new releases.

Recommendations: Recommend books and engage with the community.

7. LibraryThing

Author Profile: Create a profile and connect with readers.

Giveaways: Run book giveaways to increase visibility.

Writing and Reading Communities

8. Wattpad

Serial Publishing: Publish excerpts or short stories to attract readers to your book.

Engagement: Engage with readers through comments and messages.

9. Medium

Articles: Write articles related to your book’s themes, your writing process, or book reviews.

Publications: Submit your work to popular Medium publications for greater reach.

10. Reddit

Subreddits: Participate in relevant subreddits like r/books, r/writing, r/selfpublish, and r/IndieAuthors.

AMA (Ask Me Anything): Host an AMA session to engage with potential readers and answer questions about your book.

Additional Strategies

Blogging: Start a blog on platforms like WordPress or Blogger to share content related to your book and your journey.

Guest Blogging: Write guest posts for popular blogs in your genre or industry.

Podcasts: Reach out to podcast hosts who interview authors or discuss topics related to your book.

Email Newsletters: Use free email marketing tools like Mailchimp (up to a certain limit) to build an email list and send updates to your readers.

Press Releases: Use free press release distribution sites like PRLog to announce your book launch.

There are so many more websites that can help you promote your book for free and while I have not tried all of these options to promote my own books I have heard from other writers that these have worked for them so remember to do more research before you decide exactly what will be best for your book. 

How I did with my 2024 goals

 My goals for 2024 were

• Write 80k words
• Finish writing 3 books
• Edit 1 book

I will admit I did not do well with my goals for this year. I only got about 60k words written and I only finished writing one book this year but I did manage to rewrite one of my old books in preparation for my contract with that book ending next year (Hinovel book) and the one book I finished which I wrote the most words on this year the first round of edits was completed. 

2024 was not the year I expected it to be but it has opened doors for 2025 which I am excited about but it does mean that I have set my goals a little too high for next year but we will see what that brings.

 

My 2025 writing goals are as follows. 

• Write 100k words
• Write three books
• Edit two books
• Publish two book 

How do I stay organised when developing a story

Staying organised can be pretty tough as a writer and while I have shown how I organise my files in the past a lot has changed since I moved away from google docs and drive when it comes to my writing. 

I now organise all my finished/ published books on my computer hard drive as well as future book plans on the notes on my phone but while I am still writing my book there can be a lot of files to sort though from my book bible, character development, research and more. 

I now use a writing app called scrivener; I have folders for each of my books. 

Within each of the folders I have research for my books in the research tab. 

I also have each chapter in its own document so that I can easily edit and switch between the different chapters without endless scrolling. 

I also have a document for book parts I have written and don’t know where the parts fit in as well as a document for my plan which also has all my information on my characters. 

My fears and anxieties about my writing career

 

Being a writer means a huge range of emotions but one of the ones that is the worst is fear and anxiety. 

I always ask myself questions like:

Is my writing good enough? 

Am I a fraud? 

Will I ever make it? 

Should I just give up?

Is my book good enough?

Do people even like my work?

And so much more but the real question is how do I manage these emotions?

I try and remind myself that people liked my wattpad books even unedited with many plot holes, I remind myself how much I have grown over the past few years with my writing and how I continue to grow and get better each day I write. 

My writing routine

 In todays blog I will be talking about My writing routine. I will be talking about if I follow a writing schedule or word count and what works and doesn’t for me personally. 

So I have done a lot of different routines over the years from writing every day, following a word count as well as writing once a week for twelve plus hours a day. 

Now that I am a mother I struggle to find time to work on my books so my writing routine looks a lot different nowadays but I find both a schedule and word goal is what makes me do well. 

I personally write Two nights a week both Wednesday and Thursday nights for a minimum of a half an hour. Now I can write pretty fast so I try and aim for over a thousand words a night. I will occasionally write on the weekends as well but I don’t set a goal for that it’s just whatever I can get done. 

I find this works well for me but I would love to know how you guys structure your writing schedules

How I stay on top of 3 blogs

 

Although in 2024 I am only updating two of my three blogs I still thought I would write this blog post as is. 

It’s no easy task running three blogs on totally different subjects while maintaining an upload schedule you can stick to but this is how I manage. 

I spend one week a year working on my blogs; that’s right only a week. Here is a breakdown so you can better understand how I do this. 

Day one: I will look all over the internet and my own brain coming up with ideas for my blog posts 

Day two: I chose twelve ideas for each blog and write down what I want to include in my post  

Day three: I will make blog graphics up for each post

Day four: I will write and edit my writing blog

Day five: write and edit main blog 

Day six: write and edit endometriosis blog 

Day seven: finish up any posts I didn’t get too. 

I spend maybe a total of ten hours in that week period working on my blog; I preschedule them so that I don’t have to even think about it and then every few months I will advertise my blogs on my social media so as to draw more people to my blog. 

While this routine isn’t perfect I find it works for me.