The Retirement Newsletter: Writing in retirement — hobby or side-hustle?
Issue Number: -86 — ten ways writing could help pay your bills?
Welcome
Welcome to issue number -86. This week, I will look at another way to help boost your pension — writing. Currently, you may view writing as a hobby, but you could turn it into a side-hustle.
Over the last few months, I have written quite a bit about hobbies and side-hustles.
In Issue-89, I wrote about using exercise as a side-hustle to make some money. In Issue -92, it was reading. In Issues -95, I looked at the advantages of having hobbies and side-hustles. I have even looked at When is a hobby a side-hustle?.
Writing — hobby or side-hustle?
For me, writing is both a hobby and a side-hustle. I write every day in my journal, which is private for me. I enjoy the process, and I like looking back to previous years. I have also kept travel journals about significant trips and holidays. My travel journals were private, but I have turned some of them into blog posts. Hence, this makes it a side-hustle as the posts have made a small (minimal) amount of money.
When I was at school, I didn’t like writing, mainly because English was my weakest subject (what do you mean it still is?). But, during my career as a scientist, I had to become a professional writer. Scientists publish papers and write grants, and I had to write a PhD thesis. If you have ever wondered why my writing tends to be third-person, past-tense, and with a lot of passive voice, that is how scientists are trained to write. And that sentence was an example!
Over the years, I have been a mixture of a professional (work), pleasure (journals) and side-hustle (blogs and newsletters) writer. So, what are ten ways you could make some money writing?
Ten ways to make money through writing
1. Ghostwriter — Freelancing
First up, ghostwriting. Writing anything that isn’t attributed to you but for which you get paid.
Ghostwriting could include writing:
essays and book reports for students (I thought I would get the unethical one out of the way)
product descriptions
copywriting — advertisements etc.
books, newspaper or magazine articles, blog posts etc.
CVs and letters
You could get paid to do the above. You can pick up this kind of writing on websites such as ffiver or craigslist.
2. Self Publishing — Blogging
Setting up a blog and becoming ‘self-published’ is straightforward. Many sites can host your blog.
Over the years, I have used WordPress and Blogger. Both have worked well, and I was able to monetise the sites through GoogleAds and affiliate links. I never made much money blogging, but it was fun, and it paid for a few toys.
Now, I blog on Medium, where I get paid a small amount when a member reads what I have written.
You could join Medium and help support writers, publish your work, and get paid.
3. Self Publishing — eBooks
Another route to making money through your writing are eBooks.
I have seen quite a few people online claim to have made money through publishing on AppleBooks, Amazon and Gumroad. Plus, there are others.
Over the years, I have tried AppleBooks and Gumroad. I have made a little money, but nothing to retire on.
4. Magazines and Newspapers — Freelancing
This is like number 1 above, but you get paid and have your name on the work this time.
5. Guest blogger
Again, this is like number 1 above, but you get paid and have your name on the work.
However, you might not get paid, but it could be an opportunity to drive customers to your newsletter/blog/ebook etc.
6. Newsletters
Writing newsletters and blogging have a lot in common. The boundary between the two has become blurred.
I publish a newsletter on Substack. My subscribers receive the newsletter by email. But the newsletter also looks like a blog post on the Substack website.
I also write on Medium, where it looks like a blog post, and I also have email subscribers.
I would say that the only difference between Substack and Medium is the mindset I have when writing. I view Substack material as a newsletter and Medium content as a blog post. But, there is no difference.
You need paying advertisers or affiliate links to goods and services to make money with a newsletter. A third way to make money with a newsletter is to offer a paid version. But, you would need an audience that wants to pay. What often seems to happen is a newsletter starts as free and then offers paid content. Substack allows you to do this.
7. Tips and answers
Some websites will pay for answers to questions. Have a look around. There are also some websites, Quora being an example, that will pay you for questions.
8. Scriptwriter
This is like ghostwriting (see number 1 above), except you receive acknowledgement for your work.
As a scriptwriter, you could produce content for other people’s videos or podcasts or even your videos or podcasts.
If working for another person, you would get paid for the work. Like blogging, you could earn money through advertising or affiliate sales if you work for yourself. You could use subscription services such as Gumroad, Substack or Patreon.
Again, you could pick up scriptwriting on ffiver or craigslist.
9. Transcribe documents
This one is pretty self-evident, transcribing documents. Again, you should be able to pick up work on sites such as ffiver or craigslist.
10. Teaching
If you succeed in any of the above, you could sell courses on Skillshare or Udemy.
Or, you could teach writing in person at a local college or as a tutor.
Summary
Well, that’s ten ways that you might be able to earn some money through your interest in writing.
If you have any tips or suggestions about earning money through writing, feel free to leave them below.
Useful links
A list of the websites from above:
Amazon — self-publishing eBooks
AppleBooks — self-publishing eBooks
Blogger — blogging site
craigslist — find work as a writer
ffiver — find work as a writer
Gumroad — self-publishing eBooks
Medium — blogging/newsletter site
Patreon — subscription service
Quora — get paid to ask questions
Substack — newsletter/blogging site
WordPress — blogging site
Next week
Next week, in Issue -85, I will have a follow-up to Issue -87 — Getting my affairs in order— and discuss my funeral planning. (I know, morbid, but it is something we should all think about.)
Thanks
Thanks for reading this newsletter, and please don't hesitate to share it with your friends or on social media using the buttons below.
If you would like to say 'thanks' for the newsletter, why not buy me a cup of tea
Until next time,
Nick
PS, If you have something you would like to contribute to the newsletter — a story, advice, anything — please get in touch.