Maybe you write poetry or short stories as a hobby, have you thought about turning that hobby into a money earning opportunity?

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Many people are now turning their hobbies into small businesses in which they can earn extra money.

Some even earn more than what they make at their regular job so they give up their regular job and make their hobby their main source of income.

Writing can bring you extra money or even a full-time income depending on how much you wish to put into it.

Working from home and being the boss

Being your own boss can be difficult if you do not know how to avoid distractions or manage your time well.

When you start your work day turn the ringer on the phone down and allow the answering machine to pick up so you can screen your calls. Screening your calls will alert you to emergencies with family members, so you can answer. The rest of the calls you can allow the answering machine to take the message for you.

If company drops by you will have to keep it short without being rude you may have to tell them you’d like to get together at a later time when you have free time. You need to tell your family and friends that between 8 am and 4 pm (or whatever hours you choose) I am working. You might consider a note on the door that says Quiet please I am working.

It is easier to work if you have a space set up for it. A desk, your computer or laptop, a comfortable chair with good lumbar support, and a phone with an answering machine on it so you can hear the answering machine in order to screen your calls will help you be able to write without distractions.

How to turn your writing hobby into a source of income

When it comes to writing and income you need to understand the difference between earning what you are worth and a pittance at content mills. Not that there is anything wrong with starting at a content mill to gain some experience on writing resumes, conducting online interviews and setting  prices until you get better at it.

Just remember content mills are not going to pay you what you are really worth and they shouldn’t be your full-time source of making money with writing.

Make a portfolio

Make a portfolio of some of your writing. It should contain a series (2 to 4 articles) on one topic and several single topic pieces. Continue to add to it from time to time on topics that are current.

Use social media and put a link to your portfolio in your profile on channels like Instagram, Facebook, Vine, and Pinterest.

Start a blog and post to the social channels; put a link to your portfolio in your blog. Place a link to your blog in your profile on social channels.

If you need help or a tutorial on making a portfolio ^[2] you can read more here.

What types of work will you get paid for?

There are plenty of ways to get paid for your writing. Some of which are;

• Content mills – up work, guru, and others, these sites usually do not pay much.
• Newspapers –digital and print.
• Magazines –digital and print.
• Blogs or websites – that need original content and do not have time to write it.
• Greeting cards.
• Marketing copy.
• Ghostwriting.
• Short stories.
• Trade publications.
• Travel sites.
• Corporations.
• Social media marketing.
• Essays provided by the best writing services ^[3].
• Reviews on books, films, products, and more.

Those are just a few of the places you can find freelance writing work.

Prepare a resume and portfolio so they are ready when you start looking at sites to apply for work.

What are the secrets to a successful writing plan?

There are 4 secrets to keep  in mind if you want to make real money with writing.

• Set specific writing goals, you need to work toward those goals consistently.
• Find a community of writers to share ideas, share your writing with for honest reviews.
• Accountability, find someone who will hold you accountable to your writing and the goals you’ve set.
• Mentors, even pros have mentors. Mentors can help guide you along the path they have already been down. They can point out pitfalls that could slow you down or even cause you to stop writing.

Setting your price

This is the hardest part for many writers; especially ghost writers or working with content mills.

You will need to set your price high enough to cover any research you need to do as well as the writing itself. Research and writing take time, talent, and you also have to figure in your expense of electric, internet connection, heat or ac as well.

There are some tools you will need as well; a plagiarism checker, a spell and grammar checker, a thesaurus, an image library, a to-do list and calendar to keep track of deadlines, and Evernote to name a few.

That is what makes it so hard to figure out just what you should charge. In order to have your rights taken seriously, you need to post your rates on your website, keep the rates constant, and ask for a retainer up front before you begin working. The retainer should be at least 20 to 30% of what your rate for a project is.

Another part of setting your price is to enter into a contract.  You can see some samples of contracts ^[4] to use here.

Conclusion

There are many ways you can make money turning your writing hobby into a profession. How much you make will depend on you and how much you charge for your services, as well as how many clients you are writing for. Also how many clients tell their friends about you; you may consider an incentive on this as a 20% off the next project if they refer you to their friends and their friend hires you.

It will also depend on how many hours a day you decide to work.