Writing for Money – Without Being Published

Posted by Debbie Dragon on March 28, 2009

I used to hate it when someone would ask me “What do you do for a living?” because I never knew quite how to answer the question. Do I say I’m a stay-at-home mom of two boys? Do I say I’m a writer? Both are correct, but telling people you are a writer for a living always opens the floodgates to a million other questions, like “Oh, what have you published?! Have I read anything of yours?” I know it’s out of curiosity and people are genuinely surprised to hear that I earn my living as a writer- particularly when I say “Oh… yeah… I haven’t published anything officially…”You can probably imagine the blank stares and confusion that statement brings!

How does a writer earn a living if she hasn’t published anything?! Listen closely, (well, read carefully anyway) I’m about to explain it once and for all- and will even teach you how to be a profitable writer, too- without having to get anything “published” if you don’t want to. I’ve been doing it for six years now, and we haven’t starved yet.

The Unpublished, But Not-Struggling, Writer

I know that the general belief from non-writers is if a person claims to be a writer but he or she hasn’t had anything published, then the person has to be living on pennies. Or they must have another source of income. It’s because of what everyone envisions as a “writer”.

The novel writer.
The magazine writer.
People who write to see their names in print, and who make royalties on their sales, or earn an income from the newspaper or magazine they write for.

But there is an entire world of writers who do neither and are surviving just fine! I’m one of them. I’m what you would call a ghostwriter… an online writer… and a writing coach. I often write pieces that other people claim to have written. So it’s true that I may not see my name in the lights, but honestly, I write because I love it and because I want to earn my living doing something I love. The pieces that do have my name on them are found all over the internet, and simply searching for my name on Google or your favorite search engine will show you some of what I’ve done over the last six years.

I also write a lot of web content. That’s the stuff you read when you are browsing the internet. Pages and pages of information on every topic imaginable. I write A LOT of that. In real estate, it’s “location, location, location.” Online, it’s “content, content, content”; and because content is what’s important online- online writers are in high demand. I teach people how to find freelance writing jobs through my mentoring program, Make Money From Writing – it’s another source of income for me of course, but I really enjoy showing other people how writing simple articles can lead to additional income or even a full time career.

Did you know that you could make a living writing ebooks? 40 to 100 pages of information that’s organized like a book and then sold via online downloads? Yeah, I actually have business cards that call me “The eBook Writer”; because I have written so many of them. On an average month, I turn out four or five ebooks for my clients.There are limitless opportunities for earning a living as a writer, and you don’t always have to wait until your novel is picked up by a publisher to start seeing the big bucks.

I’ve been making my living as a writer for more than six years and I’ve never “published” a thing.

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