Can You Make A Living Writing Niche Interest Material?
When I was at University, the majority of the professors told their classes, “You don’t do it for the money, you do it for love.” Whether you make a living writing seems to be beside the point to a professor for the most part.
If you enjoy what you’re doing, then apparently two things happen. Firstly, money doesn’t matter, and secondly (and helpfully,) money follows you.
Ok.
When I went to another University, I took a class with a writing professor who was tasked with teaching us how to write and sell our words. His total published output to date… one novel, three short stories and four articles.
This isn’t an article about the merits or flaws in higher education though, it’s about a question a lot of writers have:
“Can you write stuff you enjoy and make a living writing niche material?”
Can You Make A Living Writing Niche Interest Material?
The above is a loaded question – especially for University-types.
The answer, for the most part, is “no.”
You can’t follow the advice of your professor and expect to make a living. If you write one book and spend five years doing it, then wait another year until you get an agent, another two years until they get a publisher and the publisher releases your book granting you £2000 of your £5000 advance, you’ll have to live on your credit card until then, and you’ll make an average of £250 a year.
If you intend to self-publish, then you need to check to see whether your material has any potential to sell. Otherwise, you’ll find out that you’re not going to make a living writing a lot quicker than the person above, but it’ll be just as hard when your novel sells ten copies in its first year, netting you a grand total of £50 profit.
As far as writing niche non-fiction and trying to make a living writing that way, there are a lot more factors to consider: Is anyone going to pay for your material? This is especially true if you’re into writing the politics/social studies/”journalism” type-stuff that’s popular on the internet.
It’s also true if you’re going to try and sell fitness/dating/health/wealth advice in $5 e-books.
However, the answer to “Can you make a living writing niche material?” can also be “yes.”
Most of my money comes from writing non-fiction “niche material.” The key thing is: It’s not one niche, and it’s not a niche that I’m doing for interests’ sake.
I’ve done copywriting for clients all over the world. I’ve written about how to construct an oil farm – which is definitely niche information. I’ve written technical manuals for building firms – which is niche material. I’ve done legal copywriting for legal companies. Again, a niche market (though a big, competitive one.)
These are all “niche interests” and there’s a ton of money in them. I know people who specialise in just one area of non-fiction copywriting and make a ton. One of them even lives in a city where the average monthly wage is $200. He lives on a beach and earns between $50 and $200 an hour. He enjoys himself, as you can imagine.
However, a lot of writers want to make a living writing with just their fiction. Can you do that?
Can You Make A Living Writing Niche Fiction?
This depends on the niche.
There’s also a better question: “Do you want to make a living writing niche fiction, or do you want to do something else?”
If I see someone online who knows what they’re talking about, then I have never had a problem getting in touch with them and picking their brains.
Towards the end of last year, I found someone who was writing fiction – and making a ton of money.
Naturally, I picked their brains. I told them the genres that I loved and about my background and what not. I’ll paraphrase, but said person told me this:
“You can write in any genre. But if you’re going to have your butt in the seat for eight hours a day, you have to make a choice: Do you want to earn $x an hour for your time or $xxxx?”
The advice they gave me was to forget what I liked reading, go to the Amazon Kindle bestseller’s list and see what was there. Then I should write my own version of whatever is selling.
I said that sounded like short-term thinking, and I wasn’t sure I could write in a genre I didn’t enjoy.
“Do you want to write for fun, or write to make money?”
I got asked that question. The fact is, I write to make money. I enjoy the process of writing – even when I’m trying to sell fitness products, I like the challenge.
I really love short horror stories. I write a few every now and then, and I make pocket change from them. I couldn’t make a living writing short horror stories though.
That’s my internal answer to the question above.
Let’s stop talking about me though. If you’re a fiction writer and you’re passionate about writing in a genre that isn’t romance or crime (or another big selling niche) you’re going to face a problem sooner or later:
You can sit in a chair for eight hours a day every day and potentially not make enough money to support yourself.
Or…
You can sit in a chair for eight hours a day every day and be practically guaranteed a lot more money because you’re writing in a popular genre.
At some point, you’ll have to make your choice, and you’ll have to consider all that that entails; do you love writing niche fiction so much that you’d rather do it as a hobby than make a living writing? If so, that’s fine.
Would you be happy being like H.P. Lovecraft and struggling to make ends meet and only getting recognition when it’s too late? A lot of people care more about their writing leaving a legacy than funding them. That’s cool too.
Or, would you like to make a living writing, whatever the subject/genre might be? Do you enjoy writing enough that you can write about topics that don’t interest you so that you can make a profit?
Can You Make A Living Writing Niche Interest Material? Final Thoughts
I’m posing this question because I figure that most writers are going to have to answer a variation on this question at some point.
For me, it came when I was already trying to make a living writing. I was on freelance websites, writing for pennies for clients and I chatted to the person mentioned earlier, and I figured, “Why not sell out totally and make a ton more per hour than I am doing?”
Some people are going to be sensitive because writing is an escape for them. Some people are going to question whether they can make a living writing in any world, and some people are going to think that the orthodox route of waiting for a publisher/media agency to take them on is the best route.
Whatever the question and whatever the cause – at some point you’re going to ask yourself whether you’re going to make a living writing stuff you’d rather not or whether you’re going to stick to your philosophical guns and not compromise on your words in order to make a living writing.
Consider this a “heads up” for when this happens.
(Or, alternatively, consider this a veiled confession for when I reveal I’m actually the author of the next 50 Shades of Grey or Hunger Games or whatever.)
P.S. This is a great article for readers to drop their thoughts in the comments section. You should do that right now!