MAKE MONEY FROM WRITING

Easy Ways to Get Author Services on a Shoestring

Can’t afford that fancy editing software or luxury writer’s retreat? There are cheaper ways to do things.

Photo by Ankush Minda on Unsplash

Many writers (like me) struggle to make enough money from their writing to be able to give up the day job. And yet writers are constantly bombarded with offers of products and services!

You can pay for advice on covering letters, writing workshops, social media consultations, proofreading, book blog tours, email outreach, books reviews, author websites and many, many other things.

Some of these things aren’t necessary, some can be done much cheaper, and some for free. Here are some ideas for writers on a budget…

Writing software

I’m a big fan of Scrivener, which is quite reasonably priced. I’ve found the support to be excellent and you get free lifetime updates on your version of the software. But many of the things people like Scrivener for can be done more cheaply.

For example, you can actually do quite a lot of structural organising in a Google Doc using tabs for different notes, thoughts, outlines etc. Google docs also save all your earlier versions in the same doc: just go to File > Version history. PowerPoint slide sorter is a good visual way to move chapters around (similar to Scrivener’s corkboard). And to compare things side by side, you can use View Side by Side in Word or even have an extra monitor. (Terry Pratchett had six!)

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Beta readers and MS feedback

There are a number of sites where writers can share work and receive feedback and offer feedback in return. Community-based critique sites like Critique Circle, Scribophile, ABCTales and Wattpad typically operate on a give-and-take system, where members earn credits they can use to get critiques of their own work.

Mutual arrangements with writer friends work well too. Joining a writing group (aka critique group) is another brilliant way to get free feedback. In my group, when one of our members competes an MS, we’ll dedicate an evening to reviewing the whole book together.

Writer retreats

Not everyone can afford a fancy week away in the mountains or by the ocean. But a retreat is a state of mind if you’re prepared to be flexible. You can reproduce the key elements — carving out uninterrupted time, designing a comfortable, inspiring space, and establishing routines that foster creative thinking — even in your own home. More here on How to build your own DIY writer’s retreat

Reviews

I’m constantly bombarded by people offering to review my books in return for a fee. But apart from the ethics of this, there are lots of ways to get reviews for nothing. As Hope explained recently, you can start by asking people who are interested but without being pushy and letting your story do the work.

Sites like Voracious Readers Only, Hidden Gems, Book Sirens, and Library Thing have big lists of regular reader-reviewers, and will send out ARCs on your behalf once you sign up. Some will continue to send out after the book’s published for a fee. Some will also capture an email address in exchange for sharing your ARC, so even if someone doesn’t write a review (and not everyone will) you can add that to your email list if you have one…

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Email lists and newsletters

You shouldn’t need to pay a lot to get started on building an email list and sending out newsletters. Lots of platforms offer free plans, with intuitive design features and basic analytics. I use Mailchimp. Find a useful comparison of different options here

Author site

There are lots of free options for building your website. Jane Friedmann has a great guide to getting started here — she recommends Wordpress.com as the best place to start. But you could use Substack or even Medium as a promotional platform. Both work best if you have regular fresh content to share.

Another, very stripped-down approach is Linktree, which is basically a free page where you can add and update links to all your key author things, such as places to buy your books, your socials, articles you’ve written, reviews and author events. More info here.

Training courses

MFAs and other long-term writing programs are out of the reach of many of us. But I’ve found that many very short courses, as well as being much more affordable, can offer the inspiration and expertise to kickstart your creativity or reinvigorate your writing.

Many courses and workshops such as Matt Kendrick’s highly rated Write Beyond the Lightbulb series also offer a pay-what-you-can-afford option.

Dan Brotzel’s latest novels are Thank You For The Days and The Wolf in the Woods

Permission granted / Bloodhound Books