Write for cash - you CAN do it!

Write for cash? Before you dismiss the idea, saying that you hate putting pen to paper, read on to see how to earn extra income.

What is writing apart from words written down instead of spoken? Speaking comes naturally to us, and yet many of us struggle to capture our words, so that others can enjoy or share our knowledge.

What could I write about?

The pace of life is so fast nowadays, that things we took for granted in our younger days, often fascinate the younger generation.

The jobs we used to do may not even exist any more.

For example life on a farm, after the war, was very different from today's methods of agriculture or animal husbandry. It is very unlikely that we will ever revert to the old ways, and if we don't write down our stories they will be lost forever.

First hand experience of living through a World War for example is something, hopefully, today's youth will never be exposed to. But that doesn't stop them being curious, and wanting to know what it was like.

Or perhaps you have some funny stories from when your children were little - things they said or did - that would entertain people? We all have a story to tell. Just because a job was a way of life to us, doesn't stop it holding interest for others.

Write for cash - Start small

If you can pick out an event that happened in your life, whether recently or in the past, and write a paragraph or two about it, then you could send it to a newspaper for their letters page. The nationals pay well and are always looking for "fillers" to slot in amongst the longer articles they publish.

Magazines also have a never ending need for short pieces with human interest. Somebody writes them, so why not you?

Move onto to longer articles

If you can craft a longer piece, and maybe even accompany it with photographs, then you could submit it to a suitable magazine. The trick here is to only submit it to one publication at a time!

Do your research first, and check out what type of article your chosen magazine usually publishes. If most of their articles run for 1000 words, you are probably wasting your time sending in anything much longer. If they are written with a humorous slant then a really dry, factual piece is likely to be sent back to you with a rejection slip.

Earn money writing online

It isn't just printed media for which you can write for cash. The Internet has opened up a whole new market. There are a number of skills to learn, when it comes to optimising pages for the web, but there are huge quantities of material needed on an ongoing basis.

There are Web sites for almost every subject under the sun and therefore opportunities for everyone. You can specialise in a very small area or concentrate on more general themes.

There are a number of sites to visit if you are looking to earn money from freelance writing for the web. Perhaps the most well known is elance.com. This is an online marketplace where writers and buyers can find each other. As a writer, you can peruse the listed jobs and bid on those that appeal. There are different "levels" of membership starting with a free account, however you get more choice of jobs with a paid membership.

Elance will take a cut of your earnings and put the rest into your account. All communications between buyer and seller are handled online so that there is a record of what has been agreed.

Publish your own material on the web

If you write for cash, and your work is published on the web, who benefits? Well, yes you get paid for your time, and then that's it! You cannot use that material elsewhere. To earn more money you have to write something else.

It is well worth considering publishing your written work yourself, on your own website. If you add in some affiliate links, such as the Amazon affiliate program or place Google Adsense ads on your page, it can continue to earn you money on a daily basis.

This is what is known as passive income, or in other words money that comes in with little or no continuing effort after you have set it up.

If retirement is just around the corner for you, then now is the ideal time to create income streams like this. Then, when you do retire, you will have the time, and money, to enjoy yourself.