Can we make money from writing? by Deborah Jenkins

Proud to be a household name in Caribbean primary schools (dream on Debs!)

I had always dreamed of making money from writing. That is, to spend my time doing what I love most while simultaneously making a living from it. In my mind at least, this was quite different from writing and publishing my novel, as I've always assumed I wouldn't make money from it. By that, I mean I would be unlikely to be successful enough to contribute much, if anything, to the family income. (But that is by the by. The pleasure I would derive from actually seeing my novel in print would far outweigh the lack of remuneration.) So in my mind the two things were always completely separate.

I have heard that the average annual earnings for a writer is around £12, 000. When I left my 'serious' teaching job to go 'seriously' part-time, I prayed for opportunities to supplement my income with earnings from writing. Although this seemed a huge step of faith at the time, it probably wasn't as bad as all that. There are always ways for teachers to earn extra money - supply, tutoring, exam marking etc. But it was quite extraordinary the way the opportunities came and in the end I didn't need to pursue any of these.

The first opportunity came through a neighbour. Her company was looking for someone to write textbooks and she, a free-lancer, had too much on. I've written two sets of textbooks now, one for a large well-known educational publisher and another for a smaller, lesser known one. Both of them were social studies textbooks and teachers' books for schools in other countries, the Caribbean and Pakistan respectively. I knew very little about either of these parts of the world, let alone anything about their politics, economics or history, but I knew I could find out. The books were aimed at primary school children and I knew a great deal about them. Having taught for many years, I also believed I knew what kinds of information and activities would engage and interest them. It was a fascinating experience and I've learned so much. From those two projects I had advances of £7,000 (the large company) and £2,000 (the small company) and the great thing about textbooks is, once they've sold enough to cover the advance, you get royalties for many years to come.

The second opportunity I pursued myself after another teacher-writer friend had success with the tes. I pitched an idea to them and they liked it. Then they asked me to contribute to various on-line blogs on a range of issues all related to teaching, some of which I was confident writing for, some less so. But I took everything I was offered, figuring that if I didn't know too much about the subject, I probably knew someone who did. The pay was minimal for these pieces, generally £50 a piece, which meant the time/pay ratio was poor, but I figured if I was 'faithful with a little' they might offer me 'a lot ' one day. I was careful to make these articles as good as they could possibly be and eventually this came to pass. They offered me more serious articles sponsored by large companies and now I earn around £250 for 1000 words. The last pieces I did were a series of four which were really interesting as well as remunerative.

My third opportunity also came through approaching the publisher. I had been using 'Inspiring Women Every Day' for years and one day I thought to myself, 'I reckon I could write these.' So I approached CWR with an idea and they liked it. I've now just finished my second series for them. They pay £30 per day so the longer the month you're asked to write for, the better! There have been other things too - articles for Woman Alive, a travel company my husband used to work for and the old NUT magazine.

Part of my dream has been fulfilled. Although I don't make enough from writing to do nothing else, the income I get from it these days is more than I ever imagined. The problem, of course, is balancing the time taken for the teaching and paid writing against my STILL UNFINISHED NOVEL!! But take heart. If you dream of earning money from your writing, it's not as difficult as you'd think (in my experience).

How to get started: -
1. Whatever your background or profession - teacher/parent/carer etc.- the chances are that somewhere there is a publication/on-line presence writing about it. (Throwing your eye along the magazine counter in Smiths can be a good place to start.) Think about how you could use the experiences God has given you to help others.
2. As Georgina Tennant mentioned in her recent excellent article in the Christian Writer, Do not despise the day of small things (Zech. 4:10). If you are offered something small or badly paid (or even something non-paid), it might be an opportunity to show what a good writer you are, resulting in better things later.
3. Don't be afraid to approach companies with ideas. Find their website, look at the submissions process and follow it rigidly.
4. Read any publication you are thinking of writing for avidly, noting style, content and general way of approaching the issues you think you could write about.
5. Ask God to show you how you could use your writing gift and keep your eyes open for opportunities He might bring you. They might be in 'unlikely' places.
6. Believe in yourself. You might be asked to write something you know little about but if you are a writer, you can write anything. You probably know people who could help you and your best friend (google) certainly will.

Click on the link to see the novella on amazon
Deborah Jenkins is a freelance writer and school teacher, who has written articles, text books, devotional notes and short stories. She also writes regularly for the TES. She has completed a novella, The Evenness of Things, available as an Amazon e-book and is currently working on a full length novel. Deborah loves hats, trees and small children. After years overseas with her family, who are now grown up, she lives in East Sussex with her husband, a Baptist minister, and a cat called Oliver.