Okay, so it's over.  I did try to get this issue out in time to be able to say it on the day, but since it's only a couple of days after, surely it's not stale yet?

Hmmm, maybe.

If you've been with me for a while, you'll know that I set goals regularly, not just at the start of the year.

And for me, those goals need to be measurable.

For instance, instead of saying "I want to earn more money from my copywriting business" I would say something like "I want to boost my copywriting income by $30,000".  Can you see how the first one is not really measurable, but the second is?

In addition, I always use a time frame.  It might only be for my benefit, but that goal needs to have a specific time frame so I can review it and see if I'm on track. (i.e. "I want to boost my copywriting income by $30,000 within 12 months".)

Another thing I do is set short term and long term goals.

Taking the above example, I might have a long term goal of $30,000 increase in my copywriting profits for the year.  But my short term goal may be an increase of $500 in the first month, then and additional increase of $1,000 in the second month, and so on.

Breaking your goals into bite-sized pieces makes them much more achievable and setting a long term goal but no way to get there.

Since it's related to this subject, I thought it also appropriate to discuss your writing business.  What is it you want to get out of your writing business in 2011? 

Is it more money? For those people interested in non-fiction writing, let me tell you about my experience. 

I have always been interested in fiction writing, but unless your publisher is a big NY publisher, I've found it doesn't pay the bills. 

As a result of this, I decided to take up non-fiction writing as at the time I'd been off work for over six months due to illness, and desperately needed the money.

So I began writing non-fiction articles for both online magazines and also print magazines.

I'd spent years trying to break into fiction, but managed to get paid non-fiction work in a matter of months.

My two favourite ways of earning money as a writer is via copywriting - where you're paid before you start work, and as a magazine writer (on or offline) where you are paid within months.  In both cases you are looking at reasonable start up rates.

As a copywriter I began at $30/hour. I now charge $120 an hour, and really should increase my rates again.  As a magazine writer, I started at a very low rate - $50 for 1,000 words.  Magazine rates can be anything from one cent a word (which is extremely low), up to $2/word. If you can get around 34 cents/word you're doing well as a start up.

You can also get work online as an article writer, and often in online magazines.

If you've not made a lot of money as a writer so far, and you are really interested in making more money as a writer in 2011, then you need to look at what you are doing, and what you need to change.

Doing the same things over and over will achieve the same results.  The only way to get a different outcome is to do things differently.

All that said, you do need to be educated in your chosen area of writing.  If copywriting and/or magazine writing are your preferred areas, but you don't have the knowledge to take them on, you need to learn.

Here are several books I recommend you take a good look at, each covering a different subject:

The Ultimate Copywriter

The Wealthy Writer

Writing for Profit: Break into Magazines

Travel Writing Secrets

The Low Down on Niches: Turn Your Writing into Cash!

Quick Cash Writing

Because this issue is all about making money as a writer, I've included an article from Dawn Carrington that's all about getting your foot in the door. This article is a little different from the norm, but I encourage you to read it.

Okay, that's it from me [FIRSTNAME], time to sit back and enjoy this issue.

Volunteering for Pay

 

© Dawn Carrington