In my role as a writing teacher, the most common question I’m asked is: “Can I make a living as a writer?”
It’s an impossible question for anyone (including you) to answer, without a lot of investigation and research.
Therefore, my usual answer is: “Create a business plan and find out.”
When you want to make a living as a freelance writer, you’re in business. So just like any potential business, you need to know the lay of the land, and you do that by creating a BUSINESS PLAN.
There are any number of resources online to help you to do this, here’s a good one.
Successful writers know their own strengths and weaknesses
Your business plan helps you to know where you’re going, and it also shows you how to get there. You don’t need to be a genius to create one, but you do need to do it – even if your business plan is a few paragraphs written on the back of an envelope, it’s essential.
Make a list of your strengths and weaknesses, and include those in the plan. (You don’t have to show the plan to anyone if you’re not looking for funding.) Your strengths include any special expertise that you have. For example, if you’re working in a bank, then a strength would be a basic knowledge of financial processes. Your strengths also include your writing credits, especially paid writing credits.
Be ruthless in listing your weaknesses: if you acknowledge areas in which you’re weak, you can work to overcome them. For example, perhaps you hate marketing your writing and writing services. That’s a weakness, and it will scuttle your career if you let it. Get whatever help you need – coaching or therapy, to overcome it.
Revisit and revise your business plan often, so you meet your targets
Once you’ve created your business plan, you’ll have financial goals – targets that you need to meet. For example, if your goal is to make $100,000 a year then you need to scoop in around $2000 per week.
Keep in mind that you’ll also be paying for everything you need to run your business, as well as paying health insurance costs etc, so to make a profit of $100,000 a year, you would need to make double that amount. Yes, this is possible, but it’s not possible without a plan.
A business plan will give you confidence
The biggest benefit of a business plan is that it gives you confidence. You know where you’re going, and how to get there. Writing is a valuable skill, but 95 per cent of writers never realize this. Since it’s a valuable skill, it’s also marketable. The way you market your writing services will determine whether you will meet your business plan’s targets, but the business plan comes first.
Resources
* Seven Days To Easy Money: Copywriting Success – copywriters make six figure incomes;
* Marketing Skills For Writers – you need to know how to market your writing;
* “Can Blogs Become a Big Source of Jobs?” – NYT article on blogging, a new writing venue for freelance writers.
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