A Choice – Writing for Love Or Writing for Money

Write From Home as a Novelist or a Freelance Writer

Nov 11, 2009

For many writers, the dream is to be able to work from home doing what they love - in other words, to make money writing. What are the chances of succeeding?

It's a tempting prospect: being able to sit down every day and earn a good income doing what you love. Most writers don't have that luxury. To give writing the time they'd like, they have to quit their jobs. But if they stop work... the money stops too. They have to face the facts: the mortgage doesn't pay itself, and there's no fairy godmother in real life to leave groceries on the doorstep.

They need to make money from writing, and the sooner the better. The trouble is, writing a novel is generally a slow process. Years can go by before a writer sees any money at all. Often, fiction writers are faced with a choice: keep writing because they love it (and stay poor) or switch to writing something that pays.

So how does a writer decide whether to write for the love of it, or to write for money?

Writing for the Love of It

People usually start writing because they love it. They love coming up with a plot; they love creating characters, and they love the joy of getting lost in the writing process. They don't want to give this up and write something they don't like, just to make money. What are their options?

Solution A: Stay in a 9-5 job, and write (for the love of it) in any available spare time. The benefit is that writers who truly enjoy their work actually look forward to sitting at the computer for a few hours after dinner – it doesn't feel like 'work'.

Solution B: Compromise. Work part-time hours (perhaps accepting a reduced standard of living) and write on days off. This may mean that there's only just enough money to pay the bills and eat, but nothing left over for treats or holidays.

Solution C: If writing is important enough, think about making major sacrifices – for example, relocating to a small town where houses can be bought cheaply, or selling a house and renting for a year with part of the proceeds. Warning: this should not be undertaken lightly! Consult with anyone else who will be affected by this decision.

Setting up a Home Business: Making Money Writing

Some writers are quite happy wearing different writer's hats. They enjoy playing with words, regardless of what they write. They're equally at home writing books for children, short stories, articles, or ghostwriting books and website content for others. These writers are lucky indeed; they can apply their talents to many different writing projects. Countless people have built solid writing careers out of freelance writing.

Freelance Writing Opportunities

Those who decide they are comfortable writing in any genre or form can find many jobs. Here are just a few working-from-home ideas for writers:

Using Writing Skills in the Workplace

Often, writers who are desperate to escape the 9-to-5 workplace overlook writing opportunities within a company. Think about offering to edit and/or produce a company newsletter, or asking about writing in-house training courses. The experience is also useful for gaining work later as a freelance writer.

The ultimate decision has to be made by the individual writer. What's it to be... writing for the love of it, with the hope of one day earning enough from writing to survive? Or is it possible to write for money and be happy doing it?

A good way to dip a toe into the water is to take long service leave or unpaid leave for six or twelve months to give full-time writing a try. If it doesn't work out, at least there's still a job to go back to!

The copyright of the article A Choice – Writing for Love Or Writing for Money in Freelance Writing is owned by Marg McAlister. Permission to republish A Choice – Writing for Love Or Writing for Money in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.