To Make Money As A Writer You Need To Keep Writing (My Resilience Tips)

The road to making money as a writer does not happen overnight or even within a year of beginning. 

It's easy to get discouraged when it feels like you are putting all this time and effort into something and receiving nothing in return. 

It's enough to make any writer consider a new career and never push through to come out the other side. 

Giving up is easy, but it might be one of your biggest regrets five years from now. 

It took me a few years before I was able to break from my 45+ hour work week and make enough money from writing that I didn't have to worry about whether or not the lights would still be on at the end of the day or if I was going to be writing by candlelight. 

Here are my tips for pushing through even when everything might be telling you to give up. 

Establish A Writing Routine

The sporadic writer who only sits down to write maybe once or twice a month when the mood strikes is going to have a hard time breaking through and coming out the other side. 

Writing and making money from writing is a discipline that needs to become a routine in your life as much as brushing your teeth or taking a shower. 

Almost second nature. 

If you've been sitting on the first draft of the same book for longer than a year - it's time to pick up the pace. Find a daily or weekly routine that works for you and start getting those words down on the page. 

The unwritten book will never make you a dime. 

Set Realistic Goals 

Having an income goal for your writing work is a fantastic thing to do. 

But be realistic. You're not going to be jetting off in one of those new Teslas from your writing money any time soon. (or at all) More than 90% of writers, even bestsellers, keep their day jobs. 

Learn To Avoid Burn Out 

Burn out or writer's block as some like to call it, can stop all your progress in your tracks. I know this one firsthand. I had decided that I was going to post an article every single day this year - I made it until May and then didn't write again until the end of July. 

Faster doesn't mean better, more doesn't mean more money unless there is quality to back it up. 

Write at a steady pace and you'll make plenty of progress. 

Diversify Your Income 

Most content creators online do not put all of their eggs into one basket and wait for it to hatch. 

There are more ways to make money through writing than waiting for your books to make it to market. 

If you have a background in editing you can market your services on sites such as Upwork or Fiverr. 

If you're writing books, document your progress and post about it to social media where you can earn revenue from ads, earn sponsorships, or even receive donations. 

You can find most of today's bestselling authors on TikTok, not only are they marketing their books to new audiences daily, they also earn income from the views on their videos.  

It all adds up in the end. 

Keep going. Keep writing. 

Best, 

B -

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This story was originally posted on Medium.

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