Earn More Money for Writing - How to Maximise your Writing Income

Public Domain
There is no money quite so special as the money you make with your writing, especially when you first begin. You will always remember the day your first cheque plopped through your letterbox, or appeared on your online bank statement. That's true even if it's only a few pounds or a few dollars, but a little bit extra is always welcome. Here are a few ideas for maximising your income when, after all your hard work, you've finally got into print.


  • Communicate with other writers: It helps to network and that’s about give and take, whether it’s feedback, advice or legitimate favours. Writers should always help each other.
  • Don’t just write: Speak at events, run workshops, read your work at literary festivals. Get your name known and, if you have a book to sell, always take along a few copies and leave them in a conspicuous place. Don’t forget to offer to sign them and do it with a flourish.
  • Promote yourself online: You’re a brand now. You need a website. It’s not difficult; there are plenty of organisations offering free, user-friendly websites (for example, Wordpress).
  • Be time-sensitive: Maybe you are on a long project and need to take a break, either because you’re waiting for certain information or assistance or because you need to re-energise. Why not fill these gaps by writing short features?
  • A one-off advance over royalties?: Generally, this is not a good idea. Go for a high advance and generous royalties – if you can. But don’t trade.
  • Be canny: Write for pleasure, but to make money choose writing projects with a good shelf life. Your royalties may continue for years ahead.
  • Meet your deadlines: If something goes wrong that’s completely beyond your control, tell your editor immediately. At best, s/he may be able to accommodate you. If your editor has to make other plans, at least, by being responsible, you have left the door open for the future.
  • Recycle your research: Write articles afresh from a different viewpoint or angle for alternative publications.
  • Tune in to your readers: Whatever market you’re writing for, find out what editors and readers really want from you, through submission guidelines, writers' forums and word of mouth.
  • Spend time on your writing space: It may be small, but make it pleasant and tidy and have a comfortable chair with good back support and arrange a few flowers in view. Feeling okay about what you’re doing and where you’re doing it will help you concentrate.
Enjoy your writing success and good luck.
Copyright Janet Cameron

Comments

Anonymous said…
I so agree about the satisfaction of your first payment for writing. I spent mine on an old chest which sits on my landing and reminds me that (even if only in a very small way) I am a published writer!
10 July 2013 at 08:19:00 GMT-7
Grim histories said…
Yes, it's good to have reminders of those special moments. I remember when my first book was accepted by W.H.Allen, I ran through the house, screaming insanely, up and down the stairs,jumping about in all the rooms. I just couldn't contain myself and my partner was doubled over laughing at me. A mad and wonderful moment.
11 July 2013 at 04:44:00 GMT-7
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fifteen Women Philosophers

Image
Follow the link to access my latest book, Fifteen Women Philosophers you should have learned about at school (but probably didn't)  http://www.amazon.com/Fifteen-Philosophers-should-learned-school-ebook/dp/B00MR8OSS8#reader_B00MR8OSS8 Review by Sarah Barton: In her book Ms Cameron gives us interesting insights into the lives of women philosphers of bygone eras who were only too aware of the injustices of living in a world dominated by men. Thinkers like de Gournay and Wollstonecraft were early feminists, demanding that women should have access to education and equality. Wollstonecraft even stated that if men were treated as demi-gods then the inequality would result in women becoming 'cunning, mean and selfish'. Ms Cameron combines a brief biography of each of her candidates with a summary and an analysis of the main thrusts of their arguments, making us wish for more so it is excellent that there is a useful bibliography at the end.  The work of some of these women...
Read more

Philosopher Louis de Jancourt - How to Become an Enlightened Writer

Image
Public Domain Wikimedia Commons Louis de Jaucourt, (1704-1779) was a great scholar of the Enlightenment, born in Paris, who studied theology in Geneva. He  influenced his readers by his intelligent use of language and metaphor, and by inviting their complicity through sound psychological processes. Overcoming the Loss of a Manuscript Today, we are lucky as there is a degree of safety in storing our work online. It might be plagiarised but it is unlikely to be lost. It wasn't so in times past. The saddest thing about this great man's life was that he worked for twenty years to produce a work of six volumes on Anatomy, but the ship carrying his manuscript sank on its way to Amsterdam, and his labours were entirely lost.  Yet, undeterred, he went on to contribute more articles to the Encyclopédie than any other writer, and he did this voluntarily. He was already wealthy so he was willing to participate without payment. He wasn't as well-known or...
Read more

Jennifer Young - Role Model for Aspiring Romantic Thriller Writers

Image
Have you always seen yourself as a "writer" and created stories and non-fiction from an early age, or is there something that happened to inspire you to put pen to paper? Jennifer Young: I resisted the description “writer” for years and still do at one level. I have never seen myself as a writer but as someone who writes. You don’t call someone who breathes or eats a “breather” or an “eater”, and writing is just something I do. And yes — I’ve written, or thought about writing, for as long as I can remember. And that’s a loooong time! 2. You write both fiction and non-fiction, but which do you prefer?   Jennifer Young : Fiction. Don’t get me wrong — I love writing non-fiction (for those who might be interested, I’m a science writer and I specialise in Earth science) but fiction sets you free in a way that non-fiction doesn’t. My scientific background has taught me that you should check your facts, be accurate, go back to the source material. In fiction, a...
Read more