The struggle to make a living as a writer

I once read an article about how most authors don’t make enough money to live on from their books and I can believe that. Marketing beyond your immediate friends and family can be expensive and it’s hard to know what will work. (I might write a separate article on the different marketing tactics I’ve tried.) If you want to make a living from your writing, you might have to expand into other types of writing. I’ve tried out a few things, which I’ve shared here in case it helps any other writers, even though I don’t claim to be an expert in any one thing.

Copywriting

I won’t name the website I use for copywriting work, because not everything I have to say about it is positive. I’ve seen people call it a content mill. At 1.5p a word, I can see why. However, as my years of novel writing, article writing, a Creative MA and various certificates haven’t helped when trying to find related jobs, I’m not too proud to start at the bottom. I see this this particular copywriting website as a place to learn, while also trying to earn some money along the way.

The Good

If I come across a subject which I have enough knowledge to write about with no or little research needed, it’s great. I can earn £5 for thirty minutes work, which I’m more than happy with.