“Writers don’t make any money.” If you grew up with a talent and affinity for writing, it’s likely that you heard that more than once or twice.
And, unfortunately, it’s true that most writing jobs don’t get paid much money. Unless you sell blockbuster novels, the vast majority of novelists need a second job to support themselves.
Similarly, for most bloggers, they can’t make money from just writing their posts, and even journalists are woefully underpaid for the work that they do.
That said, though, there are still a few fields in which writers can flex their skills AND make great money.
Here’s what you need to know about each one:

Technical Writing
What it is:
Technical writing is, as you might expect, technical. It takes complex topics in science, technology, healthcare, and even finance and breaks them down to make them more understandable.
How it pays:
The average technical writer salary falls in the $75-80k range.
What they write:
They write things like technical documentation (think: user manuals, assembly instructions, specifications), Standard Operation Procedure documentation, technical reports and studies.
Who can do it:
The writing needs to be clear, straightforward, precise, and easy to understand, so if creativity is important to you, this isn’t the career for you. Technical writers need to be systematic, detail-oriented, with the ability to understand complex technical information and distill it in a way an average user can follow.
How to get into it:
Technical writers do need additional training (beyond their natural skills for attention to detail and logical thinking. They also need to acquire specialized knowledge of the field they’d like to get into.
Pros and cons:
For the writer who loves detail, thoroughness, and turning complication into clarity, this role is a great career choice. By that same token, though, a writer who craves more creativity in their day to day work won’t be happy.
This is a skilled and valued role so it pays well, but the work can be tedious and repetitive. It might be better for people who love the process more than the actual output.
Grant Writing
What it is:
This is another one that might be clear from the title: Grant writers write grants. They research funding opportunities for organizations, create grant proposals, and submit them.
How it pays:
The average grant writer salary falls in the $60k-66k range.
What they write:
Persuasive proposals designed to secure funding.
Who can do it:
Grant writing is as much about leg work as it is about writing, so grant writers need to be thorough researchers, and adept at keeping track of details, facts, and figures, as well as masters of persuasive writing.
How to get into it:
Grant writers need extensive training in writing and structuring proposals, including research, citation, solution presentation, and executive summaries. They also need to have a good understanding of grant organizations and the evaluation process, some of which can come from training, but even more so will come from volunteering time within organizations. New grant writers may want to apprentice with a more experienced grant writer to gain experience.
Pros and cons:
Grant writing is great for writers who love to research and produce in-depth, detailed reports, which is certainly a pro for some and a big con for others. It’s also a great opportunity to help non-profits and other worthy organizations secure funding and assist them in meeting their overall goals.
On the downside, because, by definition, these organizations are in need of funding, grant writing doesn’t pay quite as well as the other writing professions on this page.
Copywriting
What it is:
Copywriting is marketing and advertising writing. It’s writing that connects people who have a want or a need with the best solution to that want or need.
How it pays:
Copywriting is, hands down, the best paying writing career. While the “average” salary online is reported at $76-85k per year, those average often (mistakenly) include content/blog writers.
A brand new (trained) freelance copywriter can charge $50-60 per hour, meaning that they have the potential to make $100,000+ right out of the gate. On-staff roles tend to pay slightly less, only because companies off-set decreased salary with benefits like health care and paid vacation.
What they write:
There’s probably copy (the words copywriters write) within arm’s length of you right now! They write websites, emails, banner ads, social media ads, direct mail, billboards, packaging, brochures, donation request letters, videos—all kinds of things. If it’s designed to sell or to persuade, it’s copy.
Who can do it:
Copywriting involves both creativity and strategy, so it’s a great career for writers who like to solve puzzles and who are able to put themselves in their audience’s shoes to craft insightful copy. Freelance copywriters need to be able to manage their own schedules, of course, but for people who struggle with that, on-staff copywriting is a great option.
How to get into it:
Just like with the others listed above, copywriting is a true career and, so, it requires training. Writing copy is different from crafting any other kind of writing. Fortunately, though, there are top-quality online programs that provide all of the training, support, and feedback you need to learn, plus guide you through exactly how to build your experience and land clients/a job. (One of them boasts 12,000 happy students and provides a complete career training in one.)
Any training must include not just learning how to write copy, but also exactly how to market your services, how to price those services, how to find and land high-paying clients, and how to work with those clients. Once you go through that training, though, you’re immediately ready to start landing work, with no additional training or apprenticing needed.
Pros and cons:
There aren’t many cons to this one. Copywriting has been popular with creative writers as a day job for a long time since it allows you to be both creative and strategic. (F. Scott Fitzgerald, Joseph Heller, James Patterson, and Salman Rushdie all started out as copywriters—among many others.)
It’s an entirely merit-based career, so your age, gender, background, previous education, and even level of experience doesn’t matter: As long as you can write great copy (and demonstrate that), companies will hire you.
For people who aren’t comfortable freelancing, there is still plenty of need for on-staff copywriting employees, as well.
And, because companies and organizations value effective messaging, copywriters continue to be highly sought after and highly paid. (Curious about how AI affects copywriting? Check out this video).
Read more about copywriting here >
Last Updated on January 26, 2025