If your great love is writing fiction, yet you can’t seem to make a living doing that yet, this tip might help. Try writing nonfiction.
Most novelists don’t make a living from their first book – not unless that first book turns into something like Harry Potter or the Twilight series.
Usually, it’s only over time, when they have many novels published (with well-known, traditional publishers, for the most part) and they’ve developed a name for themselves as novelists, that these authors begin to earn a substantial living from their books.
So, what do aspiring novelists do to survive until then?
Most of them either get regular day jobs doing something unrelated to writing or they start writing nonfiction to pay the bills so they still have plenty of time to write their fiction.
If you’ve been avoiding nonfiction because you’re trying to make a name for yourself as a novelist, yet you need to earn some income FAST, make room in your regular writing schedule for some nonfiction.
Start with small local or regional publications to get some clips.
Quickly move up to better paying markets.
You may even end up writing nonfiction books.
Check online job boards and you’ll find a wide variety of nonfiction assignments.
Here are a few to help you get started:
FreelanceWriting.com: Job Bank
Media Bistro: Job Listings, courses, insurance and more
http://www.mediabistro.com
Sunoasis: Freelance Job Listing
http://www.sunoasis.com/freelance.html
WriteJobs.com: Listings for content professionals, editors and technical writers.
http://www.writejobs.com
Upworks.com
All sorts of job listings, but you need to sign up to see them.
If you enjoy blogging, and are good at it, you might also look for paying posts opportunities.
Here’s a post that gives information about 20 Blogs That Pay Big Money.
Besides earning some income and getting some impressive publication clips, writing nonfiction on assignment will help you gain valuable experience working with a variety of editors.
Plus, nonfiction often has very strict guidelines and these guidelines will help you grow as a writer.
You’ll often need to become quite creative to adhere to these guidelines and that creativity will only help to make you a better novelist, too.
Try it!
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So very true, Suzanne!!
I’m in that boat right now, making more writing non-fiction than I can producing fiction. It’s helping me get through college. I enjoy writing non-fiction, but I hope it’s a stepping stone to success as a fiction writer.
I’d add oDesk.com to your list of sites for writers to try. I created a profile on the site just over six months ago. I made most of my current client contacts through oDesk. Writers should be aware that there are a lot of “employers” who want to pay $1 for 500 word articles, so it’s important to check the “budget” for each job and to understand the offer before accepting.
That said, with careful management, a freelance career can be a great alternative to work outside the home!
-Mary
Hi, Mary,
That’s for your input. I’ll add oDesk to the suggested job board sites. And thanks for reminding writers to check the “budget” of each job, so they don’t take on those low, low paying jobs.
Good luck with your fiction!