by Michelle Lynne Smith

Created on: January 05, 2010

Writing can sometimes be one of those pursuits where your success depends on the whimsy of others at any given time. If people aren't searching Google for your topic, or publishers have gotten tired of or haven't discovered another point of interest, then you could see your income declining. There are ways to get through these periods however.

The easiest way to ensure your writing income is steady is to write for as many different sources as you can reasonably manage. Do some research, and you will discover that there are plenty of online writing sites, as well as freelance opportunities. There is also the more traditional newspaper or magazine. Approach some editors with a good portfolio, and you may find yourself with a new wrting job. Even if it is not full time, it will help ensure that you have a steady stream of income coming in.

Be careful that you don't spread yourself too thin however, as this can have a negative impact not only on your income, but on your credibility as a writer as well. Writing for ten different online sites may sound impressive, but it could mean that your writing quality is suffering and that each site is not getting all of the attention from you that it should be getting. If you feel like you could be doing more, build up slowly, only taking on more commitment when you have grown accustomed to your writing pace and schedule. 

Once you have established the sites, customers or editors you will be writing for, make some sort of schedule that allows you maximum writing time. If you are writing for more than one person or site, be sure to spread out the workload as evenly as possible so that one assignment is not getting all of the attention. When you're drafting your schedule, make sure it is something you can stick to. You can't expect a steady source of income if you only write a couple articles a month.

While it is important to get as many articles submitted as possible, the key to a long term steady income is the quality. You could submit 100 articles to Helium and enough to fill three pages of a newspaper to your editor, but if it is only mediocre writing, then don't expect to get too much out of it. The better your articles are, the more recognition you are likely to receive. And though it may take some time, eventually readers will notice the great quality, and you could find yourself with a steady audience and regular readership, which is one of the best ways to ensure a steady writing income.

Long story short, the best ways to make sure you are receiving a steady income from your writing is to write for as many sources as possible without sacrificing the quality of your writing and to stick to a schedule, treating writing like a regular job with regular hours.

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