In the part of the world where I come from, Ghana, writing is considered more of a hobby than a profession. Mostly, people who can write and create beautiful worlds that we did not know existed are encouraged to write for fun, rather than to make money.
In recent times, that notion is fast changing as we have seen a shift in the type of writers we are birthing. Some writers are showing us that there is real money to be made from writing. All one needs is a compelling story to tell to an audience who loves to read. Every man is a storehouse of amazing stories begging to be told. In 2004, author of the Harry Potter books, JK Rowling, made history when she became the first billion-dollar author. Who said we cannot make money while pursuing our passion?
This article focuses on some ways a budding or established writer can make money.
- Author a book
The very first way to cash out as a writer is to write a book. As I said earlier, you are a walking storehouse of stories waiting to be told. There is no strict rule on what you should write. You can write on anything – from fiction to non-fiction. What experience do you have to share with others? Put it in a book. What have you observed that you want others to take note of? Author a book. In recent times, there is the option of coming out with an e-book or the hardcopy. Either way is a sure way to sell your story. It is even better when your book is both in hardcopy and e-book versions. This is one of the ways to build a legacy and immortalise your ideas while making some cool cash.
JK Rowling has sold over 400 million copies of her books. James Patterson, author of Along Came a Spider, became the first published writer to sell one million e-books. Who said authoring a book does not pay? Recently, famous Ghanaian actress Yvonne Nelson launched her memoir. We woke up to news of AMG Medikal, a Ghanaian rapper, buying a copy for GH¢100,000. In the week that followed, rumours of the book being sold out was rife. You may want to consider writing that book you’ve been putting off.
- Selling a writing course
We all can teach what we know to others. As a writer, teach others to write too. There are a teeming number of people who want to learn how to write. They need the guidance of someone who knows their stuff. That’s where you come in. Thankfully, we don’t need to be confined to a physical classroom. There are many online platforms that we can employ to teach others the art of writing. Platforms such as Selar, Udemy, Teachable, etc. are available to make this venture a smooth one. This means we get access to a larger audience and get to sell our courses at competitive prices.
For writing courses, it is best to teach things that you have practised and have worked for you. In other words, create your own niche and develop as you learn more. Courses can be sold over and over again. Changes can be made to better develop the course based on feedback and new knowledge. Are you ready to get paid teaching what you love doing?
- Ghostwrite/ Write a book for someone
Writing for someone is one of the oldest ways to make money as a writer. This practice has always been with us – from our days in secondary schools when we wrote love letters for our mates to our days in the university when our mates paid us to write that dissertation for them. Ghostwriting simply means writing something for someone who will be named the author. Mostly, the original idea comes from the named author while the ghostwriter develops the idea into a book or written material.
Most of the books we have enjoyed and continue to enjoy were written by ghostwriters who were paid to do so. The famous book, The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People – authored by Stephen R. Covey – was written by Ken Shelton, who was duly acknowledged by the author. Trump: The Art of The Deal by former President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, was written by Tony Schwartz. Let me bring this home. Recently, Captain Prince Kofi Amoabeng of defunct UT Bank authored two books. Guess what? It was written by George Bentum Essiaw. Are you sleeping on this opportunity to make some good money?
- Start a blog
Blogging is touted as one of the cash cows for writers. A blogger is someone who writes on an informational website on any topic. There is nothing too mundane to write about when it comes to a blog. You can write short stories, poems, information on different fields, and so much more.
The money comes in when you are able to monetise your blog by inserting advertisements of various products into your blog. This way, you are paid per view of the ad on your blog. To make the most out of this option, you should build a thriving community who enjoy reading your blog. Another option to consider is placing links of products in your blog that will pay you a commission when the product is purchased from anyone who clicks on the link on your blog. That is what we call affiliate marketing. The last option is when people donate to you personally because they love what you write.
- Become an editor
If you love writing and want to make some money from it, becoming an editor might just do it for you. Every author needs the services of a professional editor. Someone who corrects grammatical errors, make suggestions of the plots of a story, characterisation, fact-checking etc. What better person to trust with one’s material than another writer!
In editing, there are different things to do. We have the developmental editor, proofreader and copy editor. They all play specific roles to help make different types of writing better. The developmental editor looks at the book on a large scale. He or she works more on the plot, characterisation, writing style rather than going through the material sentence by sentence.
The copy editor concerns him/herself with the grammatical errors, consistency and so on. They do not dwell on the plot and characterisation though they can if there is a problem. The proofreader is what I call the mechanical editor. They strictly stick to spelling errors, grammatical errors, punctuation errors and formatting errors. Does editing come naturally to you? There is a ready market waiting.
We shall look at other ways to cash out as a writer in the next article. It is necessary we acknowledge that writing, as a skill, has a place for you anywhere. There is money to be made in any of the ways discussed earlier. You only have to find your niche and grow it. See you in the next article!
>>>Samuel Agyeman-Prempeh is a Certified Professional Trainer (CPT) by the International Association for People & Performance Development (IAPPD) and a publishing consultant assisting busy executives to write and publish bestselling books. He has served as Head of Protocol at a diplomatic mission, Corporate Affairs Officer at a French multinational agribusiness, and as Events & Media Correspondent for a digital ad agency. He can be reached via [email protected]
Esther Wepia Kopiah is a young, gifted writer with a penchant for exceptional storytelling. Currently the lead writer at Lumière Creatif, she believes we all have stories worth sharing. She is well-versed in writing biographies, articles, fictional stories and poems. She can be reached via [email protected]
