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You are receiving Jane Friedman’s self-study class, How to Earn a Living as a Writer. New lessons release every Friday through April 18, 2025. Browse the archive.
Week 2: 4 key ways that writers earn money
Last week, I told you that very few authors earn a living through book sales alone (read). If that’s the case, then how do writers earn a living if they don’t have a day job? (Let’s also exclude writing professors and others who work in the publishing or media industry; those jobs are tough to get and you can’t assume you’ll secure one, no matter your degrees or credentials.)
For most writers, earnings fall into these four buckets.
1. Sales
This includes sales of books, short stories, serializations, articles, essays, poems, newsletters—any piece of writing that’s published in print or online.
Sales happen within the context of market supply and demand. Writers stand to earn far less from the sale of poetry or short stories, for instance, than from the sale of a commercial novel. Book publishers in particular pay based on the perceived market value or market potential of the work. It does little good to accuse publishers of being greedy or uncaring for doing so; few can afford to pay more if they wish to remain in business. It’s why literary journals can seldom pay writers: most barely break even, if they do at all. I encourage writers to study and understand the business models of their publishing partners—that is, how they make money. That will directly inform how much they can pay you, or why they make certain offers and not others. And it puts you in a better position to negotiate. (More on that in a future lesson.)
If you’re a writer selling direct to reader, you’ll stand to earn more if you’re producing work where there’s active, demonstrable demand. For example, self-publishing novelists actively follow publishing trends in the Kindle ecosystem through services like K-lytics. Right now, cozy paranormal mysteries featuring animals are trending well and selling more. If sales is your main objective, being aware of such trends is helpful, whether you decide to write to market or not.
You can also see this dynamic at work in the Substack ecosystem. Substack publications that offer value for money, or that operate on transactional models, have to focus on content that’s in demand to gain paying subscribers. Just writing whatever pops into your head, or distributing random personal essays, will not lead to earnings; such material has low value in the market unless you are a well-known name. Just because Substack is popular for now, and an easy platform to use, doesn’t magically make your writing more valuable or easier to sell. There still has to be a value proposition or a convincing reason for people to pay for it. Leigh Stein has written about the difference between writing and content on Substack; I think there can be more nuance than this, but it’s a good jumping off point for thinking about this issue for yourself.
2. Patronage & gifts
Patronage is when people or organizations give you money because they want to support your work or art. Individuals may pledge money to your crowdfunding campaign for a book project, or you may attract support from rich benefactors (a way that many artists have survived throughout history). Some writers apply for or receive grants and prizes that sustain them for short periods of time.
Returning to the Substack example, many writers on Substack in fact operate on a patronage model more so than a sales model. The difference is important. With patronage models, you’re not emphasizing value for money. Instead, you’re emphasizing the meaning and importance of supporting you or your art. It’s similar to a PBS or NPR pledge drive. People feel good supporting the people or institutions they believe in and want to see continue in the world.
Writers who prioritize art making (or simply produce less commercial work) tend to seek institutional support of some kind, as well as reader support through platforms such as Substack, Patreon, Kickstarter, etc.
3. Advertising and sponsorships
For more than 100 years, advertising has been the traditional means of sustaining media operations of all kinds, except for book publishing, which means it’s consistently overlooked as a means of income for authors. But it shouldn’t be. Advertising dollars have been shifting away from traditional channels over to social media and to influencers or creators who reach a desirable audience.
While much of digital and online advertising has perceived low value because of unlimited supply and bad engagement, that needn’t be the case for meaningful, hand-placed ads and sponsorships delivered as part of your social media presence, email newsletter, blog, or podcast. Advertising can contribute some income—or a lot—to a writer who manages to accumulate a meaningful readership, assuming the audience has attractive qualities to advertisers. “Softer” forms of advertising, such as affiliate marketing, also offer moneymaking potential.
4. Services
Writers may have marketable skills they can use to help other writers. Some of the most popular offerings today include coaching, teaching, editing, marketing, and tech help. But here’s the rub: Whether you’re a writer seeking freelance jobs or a writer looking to hire a freelancer, the current marketplace is overrun by mediocre editors and marketers. The growth of self-publishing and hybrid publishing has helped to increase the number of people entering services. Yet there isn’t any formal accreditation process for most publishing professionals; many set up shop with little experience and few qualifications.
So it may take time to distinguish yourself from the crowd. You may have to specialize in a particular type of editing, or working with a particular type of client, to get your start. Many writers combine some teaching work with editing. They build their client list by offering online or in-person classes and then continue to work one-on-one with students seeking help after the class ends.
Many writers earn a living from two or three—if not all four—of these areas. Or they change direction when they find incredible success in one area. I personally earn money from three of these four. The one area I have not explored is patronage and gifts, since what I offer is very marketable and salable (thus far), but I may adjust my strategy in the future.
Exercise
For mid-career or established writers: If you’re feeling stuck, or if growth has stalled, decide if it would work better if you adjusted your earnings model. Maybe that Substack newsletter shouldn’t be a transactional sales model, but really a patronage effort. Or could you find sponsors or advertisers for it? Could you sell services to your newsletter subscribers?
For emerging writers: If you want writing to be your full-time living, you must pursue that goal with intention and a measure of curiosity for how other writers—especially in your category or genre—have made it work. Identify a contemporary, living writer you admire and consider successful, and study their career trajectory. Look for interviews where the writer offers transparency as to their earnings, business model, or frustrations with the publishing business. If you’re feeling bold, reach out for an informational interview and ask how their business works and whether they’re able to make a living fully from what they write and publish.
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The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (releasing April 2025)
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