Are you looking to become a writer and earn money with your writing online? I have good news; it is completely possible if you know what you are doing. Writing is something that many of us dream of, but few dare to attempt.
For most of us, we start reading at a young age, however, at this point, it never crosses our mind, the process of how those words arrived on the page in front of us.
Inspiration comes in all shapes and sizes
For me it was when I was eight, I was permitted access to the older section of the library where I found the Roald Dahl collection, needless to say, I was hooked. The way he made the characters come to life; it was as if they were there in front of me. I couldn’t get enough of this new world I had found. I gained great respect for writers and understanding of the skill it took in order to keep a reader hooked and wanting more.
If I’m honest, I never thought I would become a writer, Maths was always my strongest subject and at that age, I’m pretty sure my life goal was to become a pink Power Ranger. Although, this didn’t stop me from writing, A LOT! As a child I was writing stories, lists, invitations, speeches, scripts, songs and anything else I could think of, there was paper everywhere!
This leads me to a very important question:
Do you want to be a writer, or do you want to write?
You might be thinking to yourself, ‘Aren’t they the same thing?’ The answer is NO. The reality is that in the region of only 1% of aspiring authors become world-renowned writers like Stephen King or J.K. Rowling. Howbeit, this doesn’t mean you can not write for a living and if you enjoy the process of the writing itself and this is what drives you, then you have the chance to succeed. The good news is that it’s something that everyone can learn although it doesn’t come easily to everyone. Be prepared to put in the effort and most crucially accept and learn from constructive criticism.
Some things to keep in mind!
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Make sure you understand what you are writing about
Do your research before you get started, make sure you know your topic inside and out.
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Read the instructions carefully
There is nothing more demoralising than getting halfway through your article and realising that you must rewrite some of it or worse still, all of it.
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Keep your articles structured
Keeping your writing organised is important for the flow of the text. No reader wants to be jumping from one topic to another and then back to the first one again. A simple way to do this is to plan what you want to say into paragraphs before you start writing.
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Set goals!
Some days we get up and our head is buzzing full of ideas, so much so, that we feel we could accomplish a 10-day writing marathon. Don’t get complacent as this will not always be the case. There will be a day you wake up and your head is empty, and writing will be a struggle. It is days like this that your goals are important for you to stay on track.
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Read!
Anything and everything, immerse yourself in different writing styles. It will not only widen your vocabulary but also help your writing to flow more easily. You will find some recommendations here to get you started.
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Always strive to improve
Remember, writing is objective so never be disheartened by someone saying they don’t like your work. This being said, you should always take on board comments that have been made, taking criticism and making it constructive is a valuable skill to have.
Ready to become a writer!
In this day and age, more and more people are looking for alternatives to the standard 9-5 job. If you have always fancied yourself as a writer, then going freelance might be ideal for you. Many people find the idea of being freelance daunting as they have no idea where to start, so they just don’t. The idea of taking the risk of putting time into something that may not work out is scary, we know but at TopContent we are always here to help!
The fact is that we are always looking for new talent and welcome new writers all the time. We have a large selection of work available in a range of languages, so why not get started by writing a couple of articles in your spare time, with us by your side guiding you through it.
Join the team here and live your dream!
