Making money at home by writing may sound appealing, but not everyone is suited for it. The following are some skills and personality traits that writers need. Do you have what it takes to write for pay?
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First of all, you need to enjoy writing. If English was your least favorite subject in school and the thought of writing an essay sends shivers up your spine, you should consider other ways to make money from home. On the other hand, if you do enjoy writing and have a good set of basic grammar skills, writing from home could be a profitable venture for you. Simply enjoying the writing process may not be enough, though. Writers spend a lot of time at home working alone. Do you find it easy to work by yourself or do you prefer to work with a group of people?
Writers need to be able to meet deadlines and they need to work well under pressure. You may get an assignment for a 500 word article that must be completed that same day. Writers also need to be excellent researchers. You may get an assignment to write an article on something you have never heard of, a place you have never visited, or a hobby you have never tried. Do you know how to find quality information about a subject and do you know how to take what you have read and break that down into your own story?
Many professions require a “thick skin”, and writing is no exception. How well do you handle criticism and rejection? As a writer for hire, you are being paid to write something for someone else. You may think it is the best piece of writing since Shakespeare, but your opinion doesn’t count. The customer is always right and if your customer doesn’t like what you have written, you will need to start over or take the article in a new direction. Is that something you could handle?
If you are going to be working as a copywriter or ghostwriter, you may not receive credit for your work. While it is becoming more common in the “book world” to give credit to a ghostwriter, the general notion is that the ghostwriter goes unknown. The owner of a website may ask you to write several articles or blog entries for her. Would it bother you to see her take credit for your words?
Of course, these are just a few, general examples. If writing is something you want to try your hand at, by all means, go for it!
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