Making a Living as a Writer

By Jennifer Roland 

I recently gave notice at my day job, so believe me, the topic of how to make a living as a writer has been at the forefront of my consciousness for a while now.

My day job was as a marketing and public relations writer for a financial institution. In my off-hours, I focused on building a freelance writing business and providing virtual assistant services to other writers. Before I worked at the financial institution, I was a managing editor for an educational technology magazine, so the ability to create systems and manage multiple priorities for another writer fit my experience well.

Before I had my son, I also had some free time to devote to fiction writing. And I will make time to get back to that once my day job tenure officially ends. (As I learned from my interview with Eric Witchey for Pacific Northwest Writers, a writer who earns a living from their craft doesn’t find time for writing — they make it.)

To make a living, you must diversify.

Many people in fields that lend themselves to contract work are deciding that depending on one employer for their entire livelihood is risky. That is one of the factors leading to an increase in freelancing, whether they’re freelancing full-time or just on the side, as I’ve been doing the past eight years.

And many writers find that they can’t yet depend on their fiction writing to support their families. Freelancing is a viable way to use your writing talent to bring in money. Anne Lamott spoke about her freelance work for women’s magazines in Operating Instructions. That work was essential in supporting her and her son Sam during his first year. Sage Cohen and I spoke about her work as a marketing writer and how she juggles it with her poetry in Pacific Northwest Writers. I will be doing a blend of magazine and business writing in the coming year. Business writing pays better, but magazine writing gives you the jolt of seeing your byline in print. I still love that feeling!

Other writers supplement their income through teaching other writers. That is actually how I found Eric Witchey. I attended a couple of his workshops on short story writing at the Willamette Writers Conference a few years back, so he was the first writer I approached and interviewed for Pacific Northwest Writers.  I saw this modeled way back when I was in journalism school at the University of Oregon. My teachers for Reporting 1 and Magazine Article Writing were both freelance writers and adjunct instructors. Seeing that in action helped me see the value of moonlighting at a young age.

As you progress through your writing career, you may continue pursuing diverse streams of income, or you may decide that it’s time to focus solely on your fiction. LJ Sellers, a mystery writer I interviewed for Pacific Northwest Writers, got to the point where she could earn more money from her fiction than from the freelance writing she was doing on the side. I’m sure you can imagine what a great feeling that was!

Are you earning 100% of your income from writing? Tell us how it all adds up in the comments.