Do Not Become a Fiction Author to Make Money
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Do a search on writing and money and you will find tons of articles and blogs about “how to make money writing” or “101 ways to make money writing online”. These articles can be helpful because they list sites that will publish and pay writers for their contribution.
This is not that type of blog. I’ve never thought of finding writing jobs to make money . My goal isn’t to write just anything to make $200 here and $50 there. I’m not criticizing people who do look for these writing opportunities. Maybe if I did, I’d have more money.
I just think that I, and probably you, did not want to become a writer just to write random articles for money. You have a dream and a larger goal of what you want to do with your writing. I want to entertain readers. I want to make my readers think about the themes in my stories long after they turn the last page and close the book. I want to create stories that touch reader’s hearts. I’m willing to sit at my computer for hours to write these type of books
If that is that case for you, then the idea of making money from writing should not cross your mind. Work a different job to earn money to pay bills and focus your writing energy on the writing you love, your novel, your story. Nely Galan who is an independent producer and entrepreneur once told me this exact thing. She said to have a job that would make me money and have my writing as my passion. It was good advice.
The effort and time you put into writing what you truly love will pay off eventually because your writing will improve, and you will produce a better product than if you dedicated your time to writing for the pennyhoarder one day and Freelancemom the next. The focused attention on the type of writing you love will make you the type of writer that people will want to read.
You might be asking why I’m writing for Medium then. It’s not for money I assure you, no offense to Medium. As I’ve mentioned often in previous blogs, I’m an author, but I’m also an instructor. I teach writing. That is my other passion. So, this type of writing is in complete alinement with my goal of encouraging, inspiring, and teaching writers. It does nothing to help my fiction writing and it does not help pay my bills.
