By jdroth
It was late last year that I realized I could potentially make a living writing for the web. It was today that I knew that this was true. I make a modest (but decent) income at the box factory. But for the last week, my web income has equaled my income from my real job. Scary, huh?
Now this is just one week. Though I’m making good money from my writing, there are many ups and downs. But even the lows are higher than I could have imagined. On November 25th, I made $29.29 in web income. That is the last day my earnings dipped below $30. My best day was last Tuesday: I made $169.90.
Over at 2blowhards (still one of my favorite blogs), Michael writes:
Planning on getting rich writing sci-fi or fantasy novels? Think again. Tobias Buckell writes that the average advance for a first sci-fi or fantasy novel is $5000. Five years and five novels later, the average author is pulling in around $13,000 per novel.
I used to want to get rich off writing sci-fi or fantasy. Then I decided I just wanted to get rich off writing books — I didn’t care what kind. More and more, it’s clear that I may never publish a book (at least not in the traditional sense)! I’m already making twice what a sci-fi novelist makes, and I have complete control of my content. There’s little motivation for me to change directions at the moment.
Some people — and perhaps you’re one of them — look disdainfully upon web income. “You’re not making money from writing,” is a common observation. “You’re making money from advertising.” I can understand this delineation, but it’s not one that I make.
I am writing, and publishing that writing, and it’s making me money. I don’t feel guilty about it. I don’t feel as if I’m compromising anything. Did I ever dream I’d make a living writing about personal finance? Nope. But now I can’t imagine anything else I’d rather be doing.
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Oddly enough I make about a 50/50 split between web income and creative income :-) creative income trends a bit higher than the
The last few months, I’ve made more from writing online than my “day job,” but I’m not quite ready to leave the corporate world just yet. Are your figures just AdSense, or do you take monthly earnings from Text Link Ads and FeedBurner and calculate the daily portion?
I’m in a similar position re: earnings from writing online vs. earnings from my job. One thing to consider, however, is that the typical worker ‘earns’ a lot more from their job than just their salary — health insurance is a bitch, and there are also a number of other benefits (retirement matches, etc.) that come with a real job. So be sure to consider the whole ball of wax when thinking about cutting the cord and striking out on your own. The beauty of writing, of course, is that you can do it as a sideline and still earn a solid chunk of change.
I’m not even close, but the extra money from blogging is very nice.
That’s extremely good for one day! I made over $100 in a month before but never in a day. This isn’t your only blog is it? Keep pluggin away, it seems to be paying off nicely.
“More and more, it’s clear that I may never publish a book (at least not in the traditional sense)!”
This may be true, but only if you want it to be. “Get Rich Slowly” sounds like the perfect book title, and I’m positive if you wanted to write a book you would be able to find a publisher.