Almost every writer would love to do it full-time, but that’s not easy to achieve—especially starting out.

If you’ve self-published a book or two and are looking to make writing your full-time career, here are a few possible ways you can diversify your income streams as you transition from full-time work to full-time writer.

Teach online writing courses

Many people want to write a book but don’t understand what it takes. That’s where you come in!

If you’re a published writer, you have credit and expertise that others will admire. Use that to turn your passion into a teaching opportunity.

With so many skill-sharing platforms on the internet, find one that works for you and create a class to help teach others your tips and tricks to writing a great novel. Then, once the front-loaded work is finished, you can promote the course on social media, your website, and more. For every person that signs up, you’re generating passive income.

Speaking engagements

Speaking engagements are a fun way to make additional revenue that stems from your writing. Of course, a lot of it depends on the type of book you’ve published, but there are speaking engagements for any and every kind of book.

You will often have to start by doing them for free and then start charging. Typically, if you initiate the engagement, you do it for free and make money from book sales. If somebody reaches out to you about speaking, you can charge. 

If you write fiction for youth, perhaps send a copy of your book (or an e-book) to local schools, explain who you are, and inquire about an author visit to share your story with the students. Adult fiction? Check with local bookstores or coffee shops. If you can drive foot traffic to a brick-and-mortar business, they’ll probably be interested in hosting your event.

Even if you aren’t getting paid a speaking fee, building grassroots relationships will yield a positive return on investment down the road—and the money from book sales is always nice, too!

Create a content stream

There’s a reason why more and more people are becoming paid “content creators.”

Because it works.

For a writer, becoming a content creator doesn’t mean putting on a crop-top and dancing to the latest Tik-Tok craze (although, if you’re feeling adventurous, I can’t stop you from trying it). Instead, it’s about generating valuable content for your readers.

What kind of content? Basically, any kind.Blogs, eBooks, YouTube videos, social media posts, and more.

If you consistently create quality content for followers, you’ll get more followers, and when you get enough of them, you’ll earn affiliate deals and partnerships. For example, create a series of posts about how to make a website using Company X, and use an affiliation with Company X to earn profits for every referral that comes from your posts.

Companies pay networks to run ads during television shows. If you can grow a large enough platform, you can follow the same business model. To start, try investing 5 hours a week into generating valuable content for your audience.

Write more than books

If you’re a novelist, fiction is near and dear to your heart. That’s understandable—it’s my personal favorite, too!

But sometimes, especially in your early days as a fiction writer, you need to write other things than fiction to pay the bills. This could include copywriting blog posts for companies, email campaigns, or anything else you’d feel comfortable with. Pick a field or area you’re comfortable with and explore your options.

While wordsmithing emails might not be the thrill of world-building in a novel, it’s consistent pay and can provide supplemental income while you strive to become a full-time writer.

Now it’s your turn!

While all these methods can work, it’s difficult to tackle all of them at once. My advice? Pick one that resonates and start there. Then, once you’re seeing some paychecks flow from that method, add another.

No matter what you do, make sure your passion for writing continues to burn bright. If you have other ideas for supplemental income as a writer, Tweet them to me at @authorjjhebert.