Hope Writes

A Look At Writing as a Viable Home-Based Business Option

Posted by Hope

For many new stay-at-home-moms and -dads, earning a respectable income at home becomes of utmost importance. After all, just because you’re staying home with the kids, that doesn’t mean you aren’t capable of, or don’t desire to earn your own money to contribute to your family’s income. One at-home business venture many seek to capitalize upon is providing a writing service.

Here’s the big question: Is writing a feasible work-at-home business option? Let’s take a closer look at this, then you can make the decision for yourself.

Writing Is A Service-Based Business

The first thing to note about writing is that it is a service-based business for most. Every writer I know got his or her start in the writing world by offering certain writing services to other businesses.

The online world of marketing makes writing appear to be a tasty business venture for lots, especially those with natural writing talent and ability. With Internet Marketers creating a high demand for quality content, writing seems to be one of the best and most lucrative businesses for someone just starting out. But is it really?

Writing is first and foremost a service-based business. What this means is that you must constantly market yourself as someone who offers a service to another business owner.

Service by definition means work done by one person or group that benefits another. Building a writing business means you will be writing content that will benefit someone else–not you. You’ll be expected to produce content according to your clients’ specifications, receiving no fringe benefits from any profit gained through use of your written content.

Some writers don’t have any problems with this type of business model. They simply love writing and don’t mind being responsible for turning out endless content that they’ll be paid for up front.

Writing Is (Most Often) A Thankless Job

Very few writers hear a word of thanks for a job well done from their clients. Even the most loyal clients often forget to say, "Wow! You really outdid yourself on this piece!"

There are some exceptions to this rule. Jennifer Dize shares:

"I am lucky to have great clients that do thank me and appreciate my writing. There are some that don’t even let me know they’ve received it which makes me nervous (and requires more follow up), but for the most part they are courteous."

So for the most part, unless you’re one of the few lucky ones who receives frequent encouragement, you’ll be writing lots of content in return for very little interaction with your clients.

This is attractive to some writers who consider themselves introverts. Some would prefer to be left alone to simply write, without extra or unnecessary interaction. But if you’re a writer who needs to hear those encouraging comments from time to time, then you should seriously consider this before offering your services as a writer.

Another thing to keep in mind is that by offering writing services to other business owners, you are essentially ghostwriting, whether or not you word it that way on your website or in your contract. As a ghostwriter, you are the silent partner, who does all the work but gets zero credit. You should ask yourself if you are truly willing to be paid to write content that you will not get credit for.

Furthermore, the content you write can only be unique for your clients. It can’t be some rehashed or rewritten content from you or anyone else. In addition, your clients will most likely require you to sign an agreement that basically signs away all your rights. Meaning, you will never be able to use that content in any form or fashion again.

You May Not Always Be Paid What You’re Worth

This especially holds true in the beginning of your business start-up. For the first year, you’ll probably feel obligated to accept work that you loathe at rates that are well beneath what you are worth. Writers tend to do this, thinking that they must pay their dues. While in some sense this is true, it is equally untrue that you must work for nothing in order to make ends meet.

Lucinda Reynolds writes:

"If you price too low, you can get bombarded with work but you will never have any free time and you will be stressed trying to deliver all of the orders in a timely manner. But on the other end, if you price too high you will have a tough time finding the clients that are willing to pay for the service. People still have the mentality that writers are "poor" or shouldn’t be paid a reasonable sum for their work. It can be hard to find that middle ground that will make both you and the client happy."

Another big problem for freelance service writers is getting paid when the work is done. Way too many writers do work on "spec" which essentially means they’re giving their client (in most cases, a total stranger they don’t even know) a line of credit. The writer does the work, then contacts the client with an invoice. Far too often, the writer then ends up waiting for weeks, sometimes months even, to be paid.

Some freelancers today are starting to catch on though and are beginning to require at least half the total amount due up front before they begin the project. Still others, like myself, require the full amount in full before beginning the project, making very few exceptions to the rule.

When I started out, my rates were pretty low. Too low, in fact. I set rates according to the "standard" as set by other WAHM "authority" figures. Looking back now, I realize that I should have valued my worth then and simply set my rates according to my level of experience.

Since then, my rates have significantly increased. Not all at once, but over a period of a few years. I value my time and my writing much more now than I did back then. To get what you’re worth, you first have to understand and acknowledge how much your time and energy is worth to you. Then and only then will others begin to value it as well.

Writers Work Long Hours

I’ve talked to a lot of writers throughout the years. A lot of writers I know who offer their services to other business owners often reach burnout points, and quite frequently.

Such writers rarely take vacations. Their health begins to suffer because they are spending too much time in front of a computer screen. They neglect family time and don’t exercise anymore. They basically live at the computer, eating meals there, and writing at all hours of the day and night, trying to keep their heads above water.

The biggest reason why writers find themselves in this position is because their prices are too low. They end up taking on more and more work in an effort to meet their desired monthly or weekly income. And then at some point they realized they’ve bitten off more than they can chew. Now they’ve got a boat-load of writing to be done and not nearly enough time to do it in. Frustration kicks in, and some writers even become depressed, seeing no end in sight.

Does this sound familiar? I’ve been through this myself and it’s not a pretty sight. You become so entangled with all the work on your desk that you feel like you can hardly breathe. It becomes unbearable and you have to keep burning the candle at both ends just to stay even.

The Bottom Line

Having read all this, you’re probably wondering why in the world I, a writer, am saying such things. I’m saying it because it’s the truth. I’m saying it because I want every person who is considering starting a writing business to go into it with eyes wide open.

Writing is a wonderful thing. But to start, run and manage a writing business, you have to have extremely thick skin, be able to put in many hours, and can market yourself more than you write. No matter how much work you manage to get, at some point it will all be finished. And unless you give marketing 65-85% of your time, you won’t keep work.

Lots of service-based writers find themselves at an impasse at some point. Burned out, frustrated, lonely, and tired they wonder if it’s even worth it anymore. Many will discover that it isn’t.

While some writers enjoy writing for others, they long to turn writing into a personal income venture, rather than a service based business. Yet they aren’t sure how to make the switch, or they can’t find the time to devote to their own personal writing projects.

Jenn Dize says:

"I enjoy it [being a service provider] for now, and I feel incredibly lucky to have found this opportunity to stay home with my son. But I’d like to get to a point where I write for myself and my personal projects. That is a leap I haven’t figured out how to make…it makes me nervous."

Lucinda Reynolds shared her aspirations with me, too, saying:

"While I do really enjoy being a service provider, I do have aspirations of creating my own information products to increase my income. I would love to eventually write mainly for myself and do two or three copywriting jobs a month.  My biggest dream has always been to write a novel."

While writing for others is one way you can definitely earn money at home, I’m not sure I can promote it as a business model that you should turn to for a long-term plan. Just take a few minutes to read through this thread on the Warrior Forum and you’ll see that writing for others as a business isn’t always fun and easy. It’s tough. It’s tiring. It’s nerve-wracking.

Do you think writing is a viable home-based business option? Why/why not?

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4 Responses to “A Look At Writing as a Viable Home-Based Business Option”

1. Work from Home Guru Says:
   March 10th, 2008 at 4:07 pm

   To answer your question, yes, I think writing can very well be a viable home business. I have worked as a freelance writer for a while now, and while I will admit that the beginning was bumpy, once I found my groove, it was pretty smooth sailing. For me the trick was to quickly get myself to working on larger projects, which of course paid more money. I have never taken small jobs like you see in the forums, where they want you to write a 300 word article for $5, that’s just absurd. I started out being payed per word and then gradually began increasing what I charged , all while seeking larger opportunities. Write for some magazines and colleges, you can make upwards of a $1000 per article, which doesn’t take to many of those to make a living each month.

2. Laura Spencer Says:
   March 10th, 2008 at 4:42 pm

   Very good post for those who might be considering getting into the writing business.

   I’m not sure that I agree with this statement: “…unless you give marketing 65-85% of your time, you won’t keep work.” I’ve found the actual figure to be closer to 20 to 30%. (Of course, with social media it would be easy to start spending 100% of your time on marketing.)

   The other commentator has a point when they suggest that you be selective about your clients. That can make all of the difference.

   Laura Spencer’s last blog post..Of Note: The Word Wrangler

3. Hope Says:
   March 11th, 2008 at 7:53 am

   @Guru: Thanks for your keen insight. I totally agree.

   @Laura: I’ll concede that I may have overshot that percentage for established writers, but if you’re just starting out, you *have* to spend a lot of time marketing yourself before the work starts rolling in. Being selective with clients is absolutely a necessity in this biz. Otherwise, you’ll end up burned out ASAP. Thanks for your thoughts!

4. S.P. Says:
   March 13th, 2008 at 3:49 pm

   I am a freelance blogger for an online internet company. Not really what i’ve always dreamed of, but it’s nice.
   This post has been inspirational for me because I want to work for myself instead of others. That first step must be taken. I realize it will be hard, but the journey of 1000 miles begins with a step I hear.
   How should I go about finding work writing for magazines and colleges?
   Craigslist isn’t that legit. Can i find listings in magazines?
   I don’t know where to begin, but I want to begin. I do a lot of travel logging. But can write anything really.

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