There is NO NEED to write from the heart to make money as a writer. I speak with firsthand experience from that. Does writing from your heart make your writing better? It can. It does not have to, and I’m mostly speaking about journalism-type writing. And if you’re doing SEO-type writing, I can’t imagine why on earth writing from your heart would be relevant at all!

That being said….welcome to all the hobbyists! I certainly don’t think you have to write full-time or as your main source of income to be considered a real writer.

It’s true that few novelists, poets, playwrites or short story writers are in it for the money – but that’s mainly because they can’t MAKE money as a writer/artist. You can make money as a writer for hire and ALSO write from the heart, but that’s a different matter.

If you intend to make a living as a writer, the huge majority of us have found that simply writing “from your heart” is a sure way to the poor house.

Lisa

I respectfully disagree that low-paying work is that detrimental to a freelancer’s career. Yes, paying a writer $10 or less for even a 250 word article is an insult, unless that writer is going to keep earning income on that article for the rest of their lives.

While that $30 payout would be very nice, the client who paid you will be able to earn on your work forever, long after their original $30 investment has been returned. With sites that pay you a percentage of the earnings your work generates what you write becomes not a product but an investment, and you earn on it as long as the site stays active. If and when it does close down your rights to your articles don’t go with it.

I’ve wanted to be a full-time writer most of my life, but quite frankly I’m not yet good enough. Outside of my small, specialized niche I don’t feel comfortable saying to an editor “Yes, I’m sure I can do this. I know I won’t let you down.”

So I guess that makes me a hobbyist. But my “hobby” is writing for a website that has paid me to write and continues to pay me to write every day. Not much, of course, but it does pay, and the more articles I write the faster my money grows. If I were a professional writer who could devote eight hours a day to this I’m confident that in the span of a just a few months I could be making as much as any professional going after $30-$50 jobs. Eventually I will.

Given what I know about business (and it’s a little more than I know about writing) I think the days of $50 writing gigs are disappearing not because casual and part-time writers oversaturating the labour pool but rather pragmatic businesses looking for cheaper, more efficient ways to meet their content needs.

I don’t know if this forum allows it, but I’d like to invite you to check out my profile on Helium.com, and see for yourself how this “hobbyist” is embracing, not rejecting what might be the new normal for freelance writers.

I agree with Sheri, a majority of the jobs out there are horrible. But outsourcing is usually the culprit. People in 3rd world countries can live off of 2 cents a word. Most freelance writers are left in the cold which is why I’m throwing most of my time in my book. It’ll pay off WAY more than a slew of articles at 2 cents a word!

I’m a full time writer with 4 years experience. When I started, I could find $30 – 50 an hour writing gigs on Craiglist. Now, most are for $10 an hour or less. Way to shoot us all in the feet hobbyists!

The biggest difference, IMHO, is that writing for a living is all about “business” – managing clients, marketing, deadlines, invoices… and the “product” is a customized publication written for a purpose and a client.

When you write “for yourself,” at least in theory, you have the freedom to pursue your own interests, write in your own voice, and take your time at it.

Different worlds. It’s like the difference between being a fine artist and an illustrator: both are talented, but where one is creating art, the other is producing product.

Of course, a lot of us do both!

Lisa

As I see it, hobbyist writers deserve as much respect as anyone else. The do have a place in the writing world, that’s for sure.