: Re: Writing as a second job A lot of people here aren't professional writers, but write in their own free time or for their own pleasure. It's not uncommon, though, wanting (or dreaming) to make

@Ravi5107385

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...are there some opportunities where one could profit from his/her
writing skills?

Yes indeed, there are many opportunities - but it comes down to which writing skills you have, and how well you can sell what you have to offer.

As a professional I use a wide range of skills depending on the kind of job I'm doing: expertise in grammar and orthography are valuable when copy-editing; good vocabulary and an understanding of different demographies helps tailor the content/style to suit the audience (whether for a plain-talking public speech or a sophisticated academic article); creative flair is useful for writing fun pieces; analytical skills are important for policy writing; and turning a meandering interview with a person your company rescued from homelessness into a short, sharp personal profile or human interest article takes a whole packet of skills.

I trained as an English teacher but for 20 years I mostly worked in social welfare. My expertise in the field led to a role as a policy officer for a peak body, where my writing skills were invaluable in crafting policy submissions, writing reports etc. That led to a 6-year position writing organisational policies and strategic reports for a large non-profit, as well as writing/editing their annual reports. And last year I went freelance, picking up work writing internal policies as a way to pay the bills while I try my hand at writing fiction.

You do need good writing skills if you expect someone to pay you to write for them. But consider this: while big companies have their own writers on staff (internal policies, annual reports, public submissions, advertising & promotions, newsletters/e-bulletins & other communications, etc), most small-to-medium businesses have to outsource whatever of this they can afford to produce. It's not uncommon for a business to have identified a need but then forgotten about it until your exploratory contact reminds them - and there you are ready to do it for them! Of course finding this work isn't quite so simple, but once you've done a few small jobs - perhaps for a "bargain" price - it gets a bit easier.

Your country's (or state's) writers' association, authors' society or similar organisation will have more resources on the different ways writers ply their trade for income while pursuing their more creative personal writing projects.

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