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writing for a living

7K views 52 replies 28 participants last post by  Pony 
#1 ·
I've embarked on the journey of creating my first book. I finished writing it last spring, and have spent the last few months working towards getting it published. We are very nearly there and it should be out this winter.

It's been interesting, this idea of writing for a living. I'm not there yet, but this seems like a good first step.

Anyone here supplement their income with writing? Or maybe you are a writer, and ink on paper (text on screen) is your main source of livelihood?
 
#3 ·
I've got to get funding to print it.

It's difficult because I could go print on demand which requires no capital, but looking at the environmental impact, it's actually not good. A lot of waist and greenwashing.

So I am going to try to get it printed locally on responsible paper, using as little waste as possible.
 
#7 ·
I wish I was! Too chicken, though...
I was chicken for over a decade. I kept waiting for someone else to write this book so I could read it. While I waited I experimented and gathered information. One day this winter, someone asked me to write a little something on the topic, so I sat down at the typewriter and started writing. 5 weeks later, I had written enough for a book. I don't really know what's happened between here and then but it's been interesting.
 
#6 ·
It is about textiles. Good guess :).

I'm starting with a paper book for a few reasons. I see my target market as being crafters and homesteaders, and a combination of the two. So the plan is to get the book into craft and homesteading stores which require a physical book. I like the idea of supporting shops that help people live a more eco-friendly lifestyle.

E-readers are black and white/grey. So we have to be more careful with colour photos or they won't show up well on an e-reader. Electronics have a lot more environmental damage than a paper book. And a paper book can be re-sold or gifted when the owner is finished with it. Fewer profits for me but better for the world and for people who can't afford to buy new books.

Being in Canada, I have access to a lot of resources for self-publishing that would normally cost money in other countries. Little things like free ISBN numbers (usually $100+ in the US) and national book catalogue listings (most bookstores require this if they want to carry the book) require physical books.

I think I'll make an ebook version next year. If I focus too broadly this year, I worry I will make lots of mediocre quality items. Or I could make one excellent quality item this year, and then another one next year.

Also, physical books feel great!
 
#9 ·
It looks like a good supplemental income. I have 9 more books to write and if I can create one a year then I'll be very happy. Although this next book looks to be a doozy.

At the end of the 10 books, I'm going to take the books and all the things I've learnt since I wrote them and make one huge book.

I see this as a supplementary income for my retirement. It may not be big, but every little bit adds up.
 
#12 ·
For many writers, Amazon.com is a great platform and distribution channel. They also provide an extremely affordable POD (print on demand) arrangement. No need to house dozens (or hundreds) of unsold books in your inventory, tying up cash...

More info on how to publish digitally and in print: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/
 
#13 ·
If you're a good writer, and want to do it for a living, take a look at content writing for web designers. As a general rule web designers don't write the content for websites. They farm it out to content writers. Then once the website is live, there is a constant need to add additional content. If you can find designers to work with, you can make a decent living at it.

There are some other details that you'd need to know about content writing, keywords, etc. But nothing terribly difficult. Just general rules that content writers need to know.
 
#15 ·
Before retiring, I made a living writing for newspapers...covered local meetings, had a garden column for awhile, did special articles on agriculture, quarrying, logging mostly for regional publications. I also edited a horticultural regional (northeast) publication for awhile. In this line, the way to make a living is to write about things that you can use more than once. for instance, an article on a local farm in a local (county) paper, can then be used in a regional agricultural paper (several states). Sometimes, I could get an article in three different publications, all with their knowledge that it was being done, and with their consent since their readership wasn't overlapping very much.
I hustled, kept track of publications that would announce (either an article or an ad) upcoming seminars, meetings on specific subjects, or that would be promoted through local clubs/associations dealing with their specialty.
It was an interesting 25 years where I got to meet people, mainly those who were in the fields that were of personal interest to me. I also got to do some traveling to cover national conventions for one outlet meeting nationally knowledgeable people in my favored topic.
Prior to the 25 years, I worked other jobs also...nothing to do with writing, just things to make money until I got established with the publications that I wrote for consistently.
I haven't tried fiction, but have considered it. Not very seriously, however. I do proofread for a friend who does e-books. Just for the pleasure of reading her works...not any money involved.
 
#16 ·
I haven't tried fiction, but have considered it. Not very seriously, however. I do proofread for a friend who does e-books. Just for the pleasure of reading her works...not any money involved.
Annie, I don't know much about ebooks except that they can be downloaded. I thought it would be fun to write some stories for my grands, telling them about the family since we probably won't see them more than twice a year. Do you know of any tutorials that would teach me how to do that?
 
#19 ·
Write it in Word - always.
Amazon can convert Word Documents into their format. You can have pictures in an ebook.
Get it written then worry about how to publish.
You might think more about a blog than an ebook - but still start writing first (in Word)

For those who do not know:
Blog: A blog (a truncation of the expression "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts).

There are a number of companies that publish blogs, many for free but some you have to pay for.
 
#20 ·
Free Range. I don't know how to publish e-books. From what my friend has told me there is a bunch of formatting that is needed for it to be accepted, although as another poster said, maybe the publisher can do it for you (for a cost surely).
But, I am not sure why you need it published. You could just print it off and include photos...kinda self-publish.
It is a nice idea to give to the kiddos...wish my parents had written stuff down, but too late now!
Good luck with your project.
 
#25 ·
Start by joining Absolute Write
Can you provide us with some helpful tips HERE?

A topic-specific forum like that is a bit daunting to people new to a subject. You seem to know a lot about it, so please give us a summary of what we will see when we get there.

A forum like Homesteading today is a great stepping stone for people who want to learn about topics like this but don't know where to start. I'm glad for the recommendation of a starting place; however, the introduction you gave was discouraging. Saying that there is "way too much incorrect information in this thread" isn't going to encourage people to visit the other forum. It's more likely to make us think that everyone there is snarky and secretive. However, if you could enlighten us about what we will find there, then we know that the information there is useful to us.
 
#27 ·
I just spent an hour bouncing around The Absolute Write forum. There are some interesting discussions but I'm not seeing anything there relevant to my writing career. It might be a great resource for people who have the time, but one hour is all I can give it.

I also didn't see anything that directly contradicted what was written in this thread. "Way too much incorrect information in this thread " is a forceful statement to say without taking the time to tell us more. I was just curious if we could have some examples of why the writer held this opinion. Maybe they are an author or a publisher and have direct experience with this?

From my research into publishing, working with publishers and editors, writing for magazines, and now self-publishing, I haven't seen anything in this thread that is grossly incorrect. I've seen some things that will work better in some situations and less well in different situations.

But then again, I'm not travelling the traditional publishing path, nor the modern one. Everyone's experience differs and I would love to hear the story that led to such a strong opinion.
 
#29 ·
Anyway, I wanted to share where I am with my writing career. Today I'm waiting near my computer for the email with the proof for the book. It's the first proof with all the photos and layout, so I'm very excited sitting here pressing the 'check email' button every 10 seconds.

We've just finished a successful Kickstarter to pre-sell the book. We went with Kickstarter to raise funds for printing (local, eco-friendly printing instead of print on demand), but it was also to test the market. Are there enough people interested in this topic to justify a print run? Apparently, there are. Mine is such a niche topic, even people in hobby textiles were surprised by the response. This is wonderful news. But it's also daunting to know that I've sold 500 books before it's even printed. That's a lot to live up to.

But I'll just keep at it until it's done. Insomnia makes for great productivity. I'm looking forward to getting the books out and starting on the next one.

I'm also realizing I haven't written anything for a magazine in a few months. Wondering if I have time to pursue this while I wait for the printing?
 
#31 ·
Been gone for a while...

First, never use a local print shop to print your book. It's not cost effective and rarely will you find one that knows what they're doing in printing books.

Second, if you only have an hour to invest in learning publishing, you'll never get the information you need. Most people who self publish lose money on it and it only makes sense in supporting your main business. If you get.paid to lecture in a topic then writing a book on that topic to sell at the lectures makes sense. It also adds credibility for your lecture business.

The biggest problem with self published books is the lack of proofing and editing. That's an expense covered by a traditional publisher that you have to cover yourself.

Self published print books rarely get picked up by distributors and thus won't appear on shelves at book stores. You might sell a few copies through local book stores but that's a very limited outlet.

The world is in ebooks. They're not hard to produce, look at Kindle publishing and Smashwords. And they do work in color.

Selling your book is 90% of the work. Writing is the easy part. Traditional publishers handle this, self publishing makes it up to you.

Marketing is the important part of earning money. Make sure the book you do will have a market before you do it.

There are a million things you can write for money. Many won't work for you but many can. Web content is rarely one of them, too many writers who'll do it for five bucks. If your living costs are so low that you can do it for five dollars, then go for it.

The only requirement to be a writer is to write. The only requirement to be a professional is to get paid for what you do.

A homestead forum is not the place to get information on writing for money. You really need to go to a new forum, no matter how daunting, and learn there. Absolute Write is one of the best with many people who have done and are doing what you want. Read the forums for a while, introduce yourself and get your toes wet.

Now, if you're looking to write down stories and memories for your family, forget all this. Write them down, print them up and hand them out. You won't make money, you have a very limited market but your grandkids may eventually be interested.

Jeff
 
#32 ·
I've embarked on the journey of creating my first book. I finished writing it last spring, and have spent the last few months working towards getting it published. We are very nearly there and it should be out this winter.

It's been interesting, this idea of writing for a living. I'm not there yet, but this seems like a good first step.

Anyone here supplement their income with writing? Or maybe you are a writer, and ink on paper (text on screen) is your main source of livelihood?
Hi! So glad I found this post! To answer your question, "Anyone here supplement their income with writing?", my answer is in the "hopefully affirmative" category. This very evening, I am going through technical writing studies in hopes of eventually putting myself in a position to work from home as a technical writer.

Best of luck with your book/publishing!
 
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