MONEY
How Much Money Did I Make from Writing in 2020?
A Random Writer Tells All
You probably have no idea how much money your writing friends actually made last year.
Why? People are secretive about money. They’re oddly reluctant to disclose that kind of information.
Not me! I write personal essays — I enjoy being upfront about stuff that others prefer to keep mum about.
I even get paid for it!
Having counted up the money I made from writing in 2020 while preparing to do my taxes (yes, I’m one of those annoying people who starts working on her taxes in late December) I figured I’d share it with you.
In 2020, as a writer I made…
(Cue drum roll and clash of cymbals…)
$4,879.00
So how does this sum break down?
$3,409 came from publishing my work — both originals and reprints — on Medium.
The fact that two of my stories were included in Chicken Soup For The Soul Collections brought in another $400.
I received $700 from the Broad Street Review, a terrific Philadelphia-based arts and culture website (where I get paid $100 for a personal essay which, a month later, I can then post on Medium.)
Royalties from my books brought in a whopping $90. And the rest comes from the Funny Times, and a smattering of other newspapers and websites.
Could I make more money if I left Medium and only wrote for venues that pay essayists like me considerably more than I make on this platform?
Probably.
Am I going to make that move?
Probably not.
Because?
I enjoy it here. I’m having fun. I like being part of a community of writers. I like how easy it is to publish my work on Medium. And I love to read your work.
This is a very cool place.
There’s also the fact that in 2020 I earned $6,368 working as a Writing Coach. For decades, I’ve helped writers improve and publish their work. And since most of my clients are coming from this platform these days?
I’d be meshugge to leave Medium.
So what will happen in 2021? Will I double my writing income? Will I become one of those Medium Millionaires who earns thousands for every post? Will Ev Williams give me another Medium T-shirt? Or will my earnings go into the toilet?
Stay tuned!
And thanks for reading me in 2020.
Writing Coach and editor-for-hire Roz Warren, who writes for everyone from the Funny Times to the New York Times, can help you improve and publish your work. Drop her a line at [email protected]. (That’s Ros with an “s,” not a “z.”)