Hey folks.

I'm sure a lot of us dream about being able to live of our writing. Unfortunately for most of us, though, I believe this isn't often the case. That being said, does anyone here make money off their writing? Perhaps even enough to skip the "day job" entirely?

I personally haven't tried to sell any of my material yet, as I considering this time of my life to be one for refining my skills, but I have been making a decent amount of money (and hits-- 530,000, yay) doing simple things like drawing on napkins. Still nothing to live off of, but it's a start.

i'm curious... how do you make money by drawing on napkins?

as for making money with writing, in my old life, i charged [and was paid] up to $150/hr as a writing consultant, made bits here and there as a magazine columnist and editor, or selling a story, ad copy, or whatever now and then... it never paid the mortgage, because most of my time was devoted to the concurrent full-time jobs of being a single mom, running an upscale rooming house and writing my own books, plays, screenplays, et al....

i'm a mover, so I spend 8-10 hours carry heavy objects. I also bag at the grocory store XD.

Wedding photographer here...I'd love to eventually be able to write for a living, though I must admit that my "day" job is pretty awesome!

Corn wet miller. I think it'd be interesting to write for a living. But then - I've got some great benefits where I work...

-Xy

I've got two jobs.

Sundays and Thursdays, I work at a pet store. Superpetz. 4-5 hours a day, mostly.
Tues-Wed-Fri-Sat, I work at a newspaper factory. I'm in the packaging department there. Usually 10 hours. 9 am - 7 pm.

Since it's something I love, I think I'd like a go at writing for a living maybe one day. But that day won't come for a while, I'm sure.

I work for Shell the oil and gas company currently in business improvement / change management / projects sphere for the HR dept - I don't hate it and it certainly pays the bills

Student!!!

:D

I'm a student and am not planning for summer jobs. Not ever ever.

But on the bright side, I'm always going to keep trying to get published. Probably not my source of income, but just personal satisfaction.

Student <3 I would love a summer job through.

I would also love to make money via my writing actually.

Aw man I wish i could write for a living, but then there is always that question if writing nearly 5000+ words per day won't fry your imagination box. I know i'd disintigrate after a month or so. For now i guess i'll stick with construction. :D

I am not employed outside the home.
I do write for sanity's sake.

My nine to five is a boring old warehouse job but it pays the mortgage. For the last few years though I have been making money on the side as a freelance automotive journalist - not enough to retire on but it pays a few bills.

I am currently working on getting a full time position within one of the publishing houses I freelance for so maybe one of these days I will make a living from writing!

I just graduated from college and I'm currently looking for a full-time job. Unfortunately, whatever I find is not going to be in my field, seeing as my majors were music and psychology. Good luck with that, eh? :rolleyes:

I would love to write for a living, of course...

Kind of wierd in my case job-wise.

I work doing three different jobs (all of them freelance, although some of them so regularly, they are almost like a full time job in some respects) One, I train people in several subjects, design, artwork production, and creative writing; two, I actually do design work myself; three, I work as a writer too.

You can imagine the fun I have with people trying to pigeon hole me as far as 'what I do' counts.

Al

I am a student, and I work at Pizza Inn. Good times.

I make a small supplemental income with my writing. I do ghostwriting of letters and speeches, mostly. Sometimes something else, but those things are the bulk.

I have a website on that if anyone is interested. Just PM me.

I would like to find a job where writing was the base...but my network sucks.

Student. Currently hoping I get a summer job at this healthcare billing facility but I would love to write for a living. *sigh*

I'm a full time student and I also work part-time at Comet, which is an electrical retailer.

Thursday 5 - 8
Friday 5 - 8
Sat 11 - 6
Sun 10 - 4

Up until about three weeks ago I also worked as a dinner lady at my local school, but I gave that up for exam revision time...

I don't have a liscense... so I don't have a job. *sigh*

I'm hoping to eventually get a day job like editing or critiquing, so I can get paid to do what I do here.

I'm a weekly contributor to SLAM's Online Magazine, and for a few of its actual six magazines that are on newsstands six times a year.

100% of my income comes from writing of some sort. Romance novels, niche erotica, freelance newspaper/magazine articles, newsletters -- basically anything someone pay me to write.

The general fiction is my spare time work. Hopefully it will soon contribute to my financial well-being.

Thirty one years in a field I hate...insurance. But I own the company and it brings in plenty of money for me to indulge all my other dreams. It's kind of like the goose that lays the golden egg, only the goose's disposition sucks, but I sure do like those golden eggs!

I also spent the past fifteen years writing articles for a bass fishing magazine, including feature articles and ghost writing for a Hall-of-Fame member. But, the income for such writing did not even come close to my lifestyle needs so it was done primarily for fun.

rose... is that '100%' enough for you to live on independently, or do you live with parents or whatever?

and do you write for harlequin or any of the other major romance imprints?

mammamaia,

It lets me live a completely independent, one-bedroom apartment, one car, kind of lifestyle.

I recently married (another freelance writer), but we still maintain separate apartments (across the hall from each other) because getting one larger apartment would quadruple our current combined rents.

My psuedonym is a Harlequin one.

good for you!... it's nice to occasionally run across someone who actually can make a living from their writing... you're a good role model to have around here... i'm sure there are members who can benefit from your advice on how to 'get there'...

Student. I would love to be able to write for a living, but who knows. I am currently in college as an English major/Film Studies minor. I'd love to go to film school after college, but just like living off of my writing, it is a far away goal. My plans as of right now are to finish college, become a teacher and do as much writing as possible with my free time until I can, if ever, live off of writing.

good for you!... it's nice to occasionally run across someone who actually can make a living from their writing... you're a good role model to have around here... i'm sure there are members who can benefit from your advice on how to 'get there'...


Mammamaia,

Sadly, many writers, older and younger than myself, consider me a 'sellout', because I research thoroughly and write what sells. Fiction alone would not support me right now. Maybe after one of the general fiction novels sell, but I accept that fiction may never be my sole means of support.

When I began writing romance novels, it was because their sales were the fastest growing numbers in book sales. It was not from any great desire to write or become known for writing the bodice rippers.

I did everything I do, because I am fundamentally unsuited for what is whimsically known as a "real job". (Yes, I do still get asked when I'm going to get one -- I suppose the 60 hours a week I put in isn't quite enough.)

Rosalinda

I'm working on it. Right now I would say writing pays for about 25-40% of my income. Depending on how things shake out, I'm hoping I can become a full-time writer in another year or so. If things keep going the way they are, then that should be possible. Of course, it is a similar kind of income to RomanticRose - an apartment, one car, minimal expenses.

I wish! No, I'm a stage assistant and occasionally facilitate drama/performance workshops. My frugal lifestyle prevents me from starving, and allows me to spend my real time writing. I'm more than happy with that though I'll not knock back a publishing deal.:)

Hey folks.

I'm sure a lot of us dream about being able to live of our writing. Unfortunately for most of us, though, I believe this isn't often the case. That being said, does anyone here make money off their writing? Perhaps even enough to skip the "day job" entirely?


I dreamt of becoming a writer for a living as a child, I was not even in school at this stage of life either. I saw a man that was a writer for a living in a movie and I wanted to be like him. Never really gave up on that dream and never will. But I also know it will never happen and I will NEVER give up on that childhood dream either.

To date I have had one poem "paid" published and I am writing a commission piece as well. I couldn't give up my day job though, for my day job is being a full-time mother as I have a ill child and I know that a job atm would not be good as I wouldn't be able to take as much time off work as I would need to when she gets sick like she does.

I thought about writing for a newspaper, but even then, it would be hard to leave my daughter.

So yeah, I don't write for a living, but it is the most enjoyable past time I have ever come across! :) Even if things were different and I was writing poetry and living off of it <which I doubt I ever could>, I'd still keep the job I was in <if I had one> as it would be fulfilling to me.

My work involves a fair amount of nonfiction writing. I write specifications for software to be developed, proposals for tools and procedures, and often write the initial cut of user documentation. Tech Writing takes it from there, but I have generally worked pretty closely with them on both technical and clarity aspects.

But writing in human languages is not my primary job function. As for writing fiction, I leave that to the Sales and Marketing groups.

No, I definitely do not write for a living. Strangely enough, I would not want that. Writing as a livelihood would impose all the things associated with a job on, what is for me, an escape from the confines of this reality.

I actually have the job that I always wanted. I work as an interpreter. If you know me from this website, then you already know this because I find a way to mention it all the time. I think I do this because I really dig my job. I love it. When I say that I am an interpreter, I’m talking about a definition of self, not just a definition of what I do.

I am an interpreter, the same way that I am Puerto Rican.

I know that that sounds corny as all-get-out, but it is the truth.

I think this makes me a lucky person indeed.

But writing in human languages is not my primary job function. As for writing fiction, I leave that to the Sales and Marketing groups.

This made me laugh out loud :D

No, I definitely do not write for a living. Strangely enough, I would not want that. Writing as a livelihood would impose all the things associated with a job on, what is for me, an escape from the confines of this reality.



Many years ago, I was fishing a lot of bass tournaments. I considered going full time as a bass pro...its sounded like the perfect "job". Then, the editor in the bass fishing magazine for which I wrote asked me a provocative question, "Dean, if you become a full time bass pro, what will you do to relax?"

Convinced me to stay with the "day" job.

I'm only 16 (17 in September) and an upandcoming senior in high school, so I don't have a job yet (I could work, but the junk that's available here to do is your average 'either work at a fast food joint or some other place,' which is what I want to avoid). I've been writing for the basketball magazine, SLAM Magazine, since December, and I've been paid for every article so far, but once the NBA season ends, there's not going to be much to contribute.

I wish....
I'm a college studant, and unemployed as of last month.

Im a student. Yay.

But I wouldnt want to write for a living any way. I dont write much anymore full stop. Even though I love it.

I would do anything to write for a living.
I have an instintual want to tell the world what it hink and feel. To an extent i want to be a teacher for that reason- t mould the minds of other young thinkers for a living. What a powerful job it is.

but if i could write for a living and teach as a hobby god i would :D

No, I don’t write for a living, but I would definitely want to. I’m a marketing secretary working at a sport’s federation. The good thing is that I have a lot of opportunities to write here as well. We have our own newspaper, and I just started writing columns for it. Our editor-in-chief told me that he will accept articles from me any time; he really liked my work. Considering that he’s been on the market for over 30 years, I felt kind of good.

I want to do two things for a living: teach and write. I’m studying Education at the moment, working full time and planning on having a baby (or start trying ^_^) at some point next year. But it doesn’t stop me from dreaming. My goal now is to write one page every day. It will take me two to three years to finish my novel. It’s okay. I’m patient.