Writing for a Living: Five Points

Want to write for a living?

Writers all want one thing and all want to do so in a matter of months or weeks, that things is writing for a living. By this they mean the only thing they do is write and they can make a living off of it. It is a grand dream indeed at the very beginning.

Below are five points that all writers should think of before planning to begin writing for a living, this is not to discourage but encourage.

1) Know what you need to do in both the online world and the real world:

If you want to begin a blog, that is great but you have to commit to writing on it all the time. You may not want to everyday, but you need to do this. Some days it will feel like housework, but it does help to plan ahead. The same can be said about the “real” world, where you might have commitments, plan for these as well. It is important to understand that writing for a living means just that writing.

2) Write out a plan:

If you do not have a plan, now is a great time to write one out. How many hours per day will you give to your writing and to other commitments? What is the most important thing that needs to be done that day. A visual plan helps a lot.

This is not a business plan but rather a fun I would want this in my life from my writing.  It should be visual and creative, and something that will make you want to write a blog.

3) Who are you writing for:

You or some one else? This goes beyond passionate writing. Do you have book reviews to do? Do you have a book to write? What are your deadlines and what are other people’s deadlines?

If you are writing for yourself, then by all means write a blog post, and don’t worry about the money because this is a hobby.  If you are writing for a reader, it’s time to go back and fix things up.

Now, if it’s for your readers and building a business, you will need to sit down and write a long business plan.  Writing a business plan is all about being passionate for what your business has to offer to your readers.  It is about learning what will make more people come and purchase products that you offer. It’s about learning what will work, and what won’t.

4) Make certain you have a safety net:

To start with try not to be in debt, but also have some sort of net which can see you through the first year or so, if that means a part-time job, then so be it.  Your writing career is only begun and it is a hard business to earn enough income to make it work. You need to plan for this, even though it is great to be your own boos, it is harder in a way as well, since you have to “push yourself.” This is about how to write a blog when you don’t have time.

5) Understand what is harder to do for you:

As with any writing this comes down to this what are your challenges, getting work done, or commitment and follow through? Can you say I am a writer or not? If you know where you as a writer have challenges the best way to deal with them is to fact them and to write through them, with the help of a writing buddy. The need to know where you have challenges and where you haves strong points is vital and will help you in writing for a living.