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Writing for Money

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How do you get paid for writing?
This lens will help you make money with your writing. There are some fields in which getting paid for writing is extremely difficult. Fiction. Poetry. Playwriting. Screenwriting. You must have an idea and style that capture the imagination of the publisher or producer. Honing your craft is a long process of writing, writing, and writing. Editing, revising, submitting your manuscripts, editing and revising again. With very little encouragement or feedback.

If you want to be a professional writer, and get paid for writing, then take a look at some fields in which you can be paid soon, and paid well. These include technical writing, copywriting, corporate communication and educational writing.

This lens will explore the areas where it is easier to get paid for your writing.

Writing the How-To Piece 

Write the kind of information every publication is HUNGRY for!

We live in a complex world. We have gadgets and gizmos and things that click, and whirr, and spin. We have complex lives. We want to know how to do things faster, better, cheaper, easier, and with less stress.

If you can write a simple how-to instruction, you can get paid for that writing. Publications, from local newspapers to national and international magazines, are always looking for well-written pieces that tell someone how to do something.

Everyone knows Martha Stewart. Do you know that she often describes herself as a "journalist"? She created a billion dollar empire telling and showing people how to do things.

Anything that you know well, or that you can research thoroughly until you DO know it well, can be the topic for a great how-to article.

Information on Writing for Magazines 

See my notes on Writing for Magazines
Scroll down to the bottom of the page you get to at this link. Download the FREE PDF of notes I gave at a conference, on writing how-to pieces for magazines.

Feel free to e-mail me with any questions you might have.

Recommended Resources 

All of these resources will help you get paid to write.

Writing To Learn

Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 07/26/2008)
List Price: $14.95
Used Price: $2.88

Multiple Streams of Income

Amazon Price: (as of 07/26/2008)
List Price: $24.95
Used Price: $0.01

God Wants You to Be Rich

Amazon Price: $14.00 (as of 07/26/2008)
List Price: $14.00
Used Price: $0.08

Paying Writer Jobs 

Paying Writer Jobs in Yahoo Groups
To join this group in Yahoo Groups, go to the above link.

Paid opportunities are posted daily. It covers many areas of the country, and there are frequent telecommuting and freelancing opportunities.

More Writing Books 

The Well-Fed Writer: Financial Self-Sufficiency As a Freelance Writer in Six Months or Less

Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 07/26/2008)
List Price: $19.95
Used Price: $6.19

Bob Bly's Guide to Freelance Writing Success: How to Make $100,000 a Year As a Freelance Writer and Have the Time of Your Life Doing It

Amazon Price: $15.95 (as of 07/26/2008)
List Price: $15.95
Used Price: $8.45

Secrets of a Freelance Writer, Second Edition: How To Make $85,000 A Year

Amazon Price: $11.70 (as of 07/26/2008)
List Price: $15.00
Used Price: $0.01

The Wealthy Writer

Amazon Price: $12.91 (as of 07/26/2008)
List Price: $18.99
Used Price: $4.90

Copywriting 

Writing about products and services with a marketing and sales spin.

The field of copywriting is one of the best-paid areas of professional writing. As a copywriter, you write text that becomes part of advertisements, direct mail pieces, promotional material, marketing collateral, and web sites.

Copywriters need to be able to write clearly and concisely. They need to be creative, and yet understand the important aspects of writing a winning formula. They also need to be able to understand a product or service, and how best to represent that product or service in words.

Copywriters work for marketing deparments and ad agencies, and may also work on their own as independent consultants.

Learn to be a copywriter by studying the masters currently working in the field, as well as those who established the genre from the beginning of print advertising. Study marketing and corporate communication, and advertising.

Books on Copywriting 

Start and Run a Copywriting Business (Start & Run a)

Amazon Price: (as of 07/26/2008)
List Price: $18.95
Used Price: $3.61

Persuasive Online Copywriting: How to Take Your Words to the Bank

Amazon Price: (as of 07/26/2008)
List Price: $18.00
Used Price: $68.95

Advertising Copywriting

Amazon Price: $91.95 (as of 07/26/2008)
List Price: $91.95
Used Price: $3.16

Teach Yourself Copywriting

Amazon Price: $11.21 (as of 07/26/2008)
List Price: $14.95
Used Price: $6.16

Masters of Copywriting

Amazon Price: (as of 07/26/2008)
List Price: $97.00
Used Price:

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bagnew

About bagnew

Beth Agnew is an accomplished writer, educator, speaker and consultant. A true Renaissance woman, Beth's interests range from communications technology to teaching laughter. She is a keen observer of the human condition, and is a student of popular culture. Experienced in the areas of writing, teaching, and technology, she communicates passionately about complex things and does so in a simple way.

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