To ask if you make money from writing?

I am (among other things!) a copy writer - I write content on a subject I know a lot about, for whoever needs me to.

This often means writing in a 'house' style or particular tone, writing about rather boring things, battling to correct duff information.

Often these days I am fixing stuff produced by someone else or AI, which is deeply boring.

Sometimes I write for magazines and I have co-authored a book on the relevant subject. Sometimes I write off-topic if its something that can be researched or I am provided all the info and it just needs putting together.

I got into it by... being around the industry a long time, knowing the right people and spending a lot of time taking someone elses excess work. THis pays less than dealing direct with the client and comes with tighter deadlines, but is a lot less hassle. Its pretty unusual unless you already know someone doing such work who trusts you (as its likely to be their name on the work ultimately, if anyones is!).

I don't earn anywhere near what a healthy, able bodied person would earn as I can't work the hours you almost certainly can, but it is sufficient that I actually have savings now!

I work in nhs communications, although as a manager I write less PRs these days. Before that I was a journalist but the pay is terrible.

I’m a freelance copywriter. I work part time and earn between £50-70k per year so it’s definitely do-able!

@StripedTomatoes what is a UX writer?

I write freelance for a magazine. It's a fairly small side hustle alongside my main job that brings in a few hundred a year.

Basically, I pitched myself at a specialist hobby area that I'm quite knowledgeable about and made some direct pitches to editors in that field. Most ignored me but thankfully one didn't. Been doing it for a few years now and really love it.

There's truth in the old adage - write about what you know.

I'm a UX writer on £50k a year. All I've got is an English degree, no technical qualifications whatsoever.

I work in financial services and we have people that write content for our website, promotional material, financial reports etc etc. They will absolutely not be replaced by AI (although they do use it as a tool)

I’m self published and have made five figures with two books over the last 3-4 years.

Not a replacement for a full time job but way more than £500

Same as @NightOwlEarlyBird , I am an author, a novelist. I make a significant part of my income from writing (I've won awards and all!) but still have to keep up the day job, because I'm single and royalties can vary SO MUCH from month to month.

The market these days is extremely selective - suddenly EVERYONE thinks they can write a book, but getting published is a very different matter. You could try self publishing, of course, but I think the average earning for a self published author is about £500 over a LIFETIME. They say you've got more chance of being struck by lightening than being a successful author.

But nothing ventured and all that, so why not have a go?

I'm a professional author (novelist) and am conventionally published. I do make money from it, though most novelists I know, including me, also have side gigs like teaching, doing editorial work, etc. I always wanted to be a writer, and got into it by submitting my work to agents until I finally managed to get one. I can't really comment on non-fiction writing (which it sounds like maybe you're considering?) but can tell you that becoming a novelist is definitely not something to consider if you're hoping for extra cash! Some novelists strike it lucky, but in general it's a tough way to make a living. We're all chumps who love it and would do it anyway. 😜

What sort of writing are you thinking of doing, OP?