In a previous life, I did PR (public relations).

Doing tech-related PR and blogging opened my eyes to the world of copy-writing.

Weird as this sound, and much as I write A METRIC TON about writing, making a career of the act and art of writing never crossed my mind.
This is a bit of an ironic turnaround.

My Dad didn& #39;t want me to study International Relations as an undergrad.

He didn& #39;t want me to study Communications and PR.

He wanted me to (like my brothers) study Engineering (whichever I preferred). I chose Chemical Engineering.
I went from Chemical Engineering to Economics of Technical Change to Human Geography and Political Science (and in the latter, to Public Policy and International Relations).

But I also did MBA coursework (something I rarely publicize). One of my favourite courses was ...
... International Marketing. Another course I loved was Marketing and Public Relations Campaigns. THAT was mostly when I realized "oh wow, people can GET PAID to write convincing copy that extolls the virtues of products and services".

During my MBA, I met SPEECH WRITERS.
I met people who GOT PAID to write politicians& #39; speeches.

For those of you who have done communications, or who studied an undergraduate degree in English, Literature, or the like, this might be like "oh wow, I can& #39;t believe you did NOT know this".

But, to me, this was NEWS.
These friends I made helped me realize that yes, writing CAN be a service, and you CAN make money off writing. One of the most important things I learned from this particular friend who did speech writing was how much to charge for a speech and how to make it a product/service.
She told me: "oh, I charge anywhere between $1,500 and $5,000 for a 1,500 words speech."

YIKES. This was AMAZING.

You can also do writing on retainer fee/monthly quota (aka, "I& #39;ll write 5,000 words per month for your website, 10 blog posts, $2,500 per month retainer")
You can also write "per piece" (aka, "I& #39;ll write two articles per month for you and I charge $750 per piece. If it involves additional research, I charge $1,500").

To my friends who do freelance journalism and professional copy writing, this thread may be like "YOU DIDN& #39;T KNOW?"
But remember... I was trained as a chemical engineer, and then as an economist of technical change. To me, making money involved getting a 9-5 job that was then paid every 2 weeks.

I did not know I could make money off writing, and off selling services. This was foreign to me.
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