7 Ways To Make Money Writing and Reading in 2022

The writing profession isn’t known to be a very lucrative profession. When I first decided to take writing seriously I was a bit nervous and wasn’t sure how to make a comfortable living after I graduate college. But here’s the thing, like any other profession you have to know how to make the most money in your position.

As I continue toward graduating college, I’ve got to hustle. And here are the many ways you and I can hustle towards financial stability as writers. Yes, it may require more work or more strategic work. But writers don’t have to be broke. Not all time anyways.

Of course, some other professions are more obviously lucrative, with some professions that promise faster financial success and more financial security. But sometimes being a successful writer requires a bit more work and a lot of writing. Here are 7 ways you can make money as a writer this year. Some of these methods can be side hustles and others can turn into a stable source of income. Find which one is best for you.

Book clubs are still in. In fact, they’re as in as we make them. And as technology advances and people’s interest in books and other media take different forms, book clubs too can run a bit differently and make you money.

There are many ways to make money with a book club…

The most obvious is through membership. Book clubs can be free or have membership fees. These membership fees can cover not only food, drinks, entertainment, and other membership perks, but those fees can also help you make a profit. Some books clubs are generally free but have membership fees for special access to exclusive content/workshop/classes/sessions. These exclusive sessions can cover the most popular and in-demand books. They can also be way more in-depth and rewarding sessions than the general sessions.

Book clubs can also make sales. A book club owner can also be a book seller-reseller, book promoter, etc. As the book club grows in number and develops into a community, you can recommend the best books and such to the people in the book club.

Book clubs can also host events with the coolest authors, publishers, editors, and agents. These kinds of events are great for bringing in large sums of profit collected from admission fees.

Book clubs are not ordinary: As you lead a session you provide the members with valuable analyzing skills, comprehension skills, and more things all related to reading and writing. You and your member’s standard of quality for writing and reading also grow. Which we know is a part of becoming a stronger writer. They become better readers, writers, and whatever other literary thing they do. You also gain the same skills as them but are also able to run the book club according to your schedule. This allows you time to work on your books and works, live your life, and pay your bills.

Now in today’s progressive technological climate, running a book club can be fun in new ways. Take your book club online and run them through different forms and with a little more pizzazz to stand out a be successful.

This number was so versatile and full of money-making opportunities that I elaborated on them in a separate blog post that you can read here.

You can submit your creative work to magazines/journals, and websites that accept creative work and pay writers for accepted submissions. Yes, that’s right accepted submissions. Acceptance is not always guaranteed, but rewards and incentives are sure and instant. Each platform has its own set of rules and standards by which they accept creative works. Some even have submission fees. So be sure to check those out before you submit anything.

If your submission gets accepted, not only can you make some money, but you also get to build your reputation and audience.

These literary journals/magazines sometimes have specific seasons and times that they accept submissions and some of them accept submissions all the time. More established journals can have higher submission fees, but also are the more large and influential platforms. Some of these influential and more established journals don’t offer any compensation or payment, knowing that the author or writer may already receive lots of traction just for being featured in their journal.

Newer journals often have no submission fee and have a growing audience. They can also be very lax with submission rules and policies. Journals and magazines can also accept submissions based on genre

Literary Magazines/Journals Accepting submissions

Writing articles isn’t reserved for political journalists. Writers with an interesting opinion on anything can also write articles. The question is where and how? There are many different kinds of articles to write and topics to write about. There are also new emerging platforms making it easier for writers to earn money writing articles on topics of their choice.

Writing articles can look like many things. You could write articles remotely from anywhere or you could find a local or state newspaper or publisher (of any kind) to write for. Writing articles for a company, website, publisher, magazine, or newspaper can come at no monetary cost to you. Maybe just travel fees (bus, train, plane, etc.); Writing online can be completely free or can cost you some money. It depends on where (on which platform) you write.

If you write articles on your own self-hosted website or platform, you could be paying for hosting, and other website tools (website design, emails marketing, general marketing including ads, social media management services, etc.)

If you write for an online platform, you could write for free or pay a fee some websites charge for a better chance at success. These charges help you reach a larger audience and sometimes give you more writing tools for easier and more efficient writing.

Some online platforms where you can write articles and make money include Medium and Newsbreak

Medium

NewsBreak

A local newspaper or any kind of publishing company

You can start this immediately. Making money with writing contests may not be the most ideal way to make consistent money (even though it can be done). But it is a way to make big money. Writing contests can also get your work exposed to influential and established writers, publishers, agents, authors, etc.

The amount a person can earn from a writing contest can range from $50 – $2,000. There are also contest outside of this range. Some contests charge for admission and others are free to compete. But don’t be afraid of admission fees, contests with admission fees often have big prizes. In some contests, writers can win publishing deals, gadgets and etc. alongside or instead of a cash prize.

My go-to website to find the best and latest writing contests is Reedsy.com.

Find a writing contest to join here The Ultimate List of Writing Contests in 2021 • Win Cash Prizes! (reedsy.com)

Similar to submitting creative work to publications acceptance and winning is not always guaranteed, but once you win you can make a lot of money. Some contests offer feedback for all submissions. So even if you lose, you and your work still get exposure and feedback.

If you are skillful in many types of writing or an expert in one writing skill you can offer services. Offering writing services are usually done through freelancing on sites like Fivver or Upwork. But you can also spread the word through friends and family or through your own website or platform. Some types of skills often offered include

• Proofreading
• Social media content writing
• Blog article writing
• Copy writing
• Essay writing
• Product descritpitions
• Infographic writing
• Letter writing
• Ghost writing
• Speech writing
• Resume writing
• Ad writing
• Data writing
• Lesson plan writing

I know I’m not the only writer with a ton of books I read and don’t read. It is common for writers to collect books. And this collection hobby/habit/tendency can also make you and I, money. Right now I have more than ten books I am looking to get rid of, trying to make more space in my library. And as they say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. If you have books you don’t need

You can re-sell books on or through

1. Amazon FBA
2. Ebay
3. Through an online platform like Bookdeal.com
4. A local bookstore

You can share or monetize your love and expertise for books with a blog, Youtube channel, podcast, Patreon account, book club, or anywhere you can talk about your favorite books or book series. You can discuss your books in many ways. You can provide extensive analyses with details, plot significance, historical relevance, symbolic defining, etc. Or you can just give a review saying if you like it, why or why not.

Similar to how people talk and monetize their love for shows and movie series, you too can keep up with your favorite books and share all you know like release dates, information about sequels, not so easy to notice connections between multiple books, etc.

Through the mentioned and many other mediums, you can monetize this with brand deals, ads, or affiliate marketing.

You don’t have to wait to become an author for you to finally see and expect some money. Start now. Sometimes even after one of your books gets published you may not always make as much as you hoped. Writers are people too, so we do have to pay our bills and don’t have to always live below our means.

Choosing to become a writer, especially a novelist or fiction writer, is an exciting adventure full of surprises. Be financially literate and work towards funding your hobby or passion so that you can continue doing it until that same hobby or passion can eventually make you money.