The 1 main reason most people fail to make money writing online

Last fall, I spotted two young writers who I thought probably had bright futures on this platform.

They had a knack for telling stories about their lives in an engaging, interesting way.

Any time they’d post something, I’d make a point of adding the articles to my “To Read” list and be sure to catch up with them later.

But as fall turned to deep winter, their flood of articles had turned to a trickle.

As deep winter turned into early spring, they were no longer writing at all.

Having not seen anything for a while, I did a name search on both and realized neither had posted a thing since March.

It was too bad, because had they just avoided the 1 main reason most people fail to make money writing online, you too would probably know who they are by now.

Why people fail

After a lengthy journalism career, then working as a writer/editor for a large organization, and now as a successful independent writer, I feel that I have a pretty discerning eye for writing talent.

The work might not always be grammatically correct or structured perfectly, but when I see writing with interesting turns of phrase, a unique style, or prose crackling with life, I take notice.

I don’t know why the two writers mentioned above stopped.

Perhaps they just realized they didn’t love it enough to keep rolling with it every day.

Maybe they got distracted by other projects.

Maybe they got discouraged because their work wasn’t getting the attention they thought it deserved and they were tired of writing for a small audience and very little money.

Maybe they just lost momentum. As I wrote in this piece about my favorite self-improvement book, momentum is hard to get going but, once you have it, it’s a lot easier to maintain.

Whatever the reason, the end result is that they succumbed to the №1 reason people fail to make money writing online.

They quit.

I know it can be tough to keep grinding every day.

The writing process is incredibly fun and rewarding — not just financially, but mentally/emotionally — but it can also feel hard and draining at times.

But always remember: if you leave the arena, you can’t win.

If you walk off the playing field, you forfeit.

How to win

I didn’t think it was possible to make money writing online.

Eight months later, I’m on pace to make what some would consider to be a modest full-time salary doing it.

So if you enjoy writing and you’re starting to get some good feedback, just keep going.

Yes, it can feel a bit draining to have to sit down in that chair every day and punch out new stuff.

When your writing is in a slump and feels like a struggle, it can be very tempting to quit.

I felt that pull after my writing business got off to a blazing-fast start and then hit a rough patch about 2 months in.

But if there are burgeoning signs that you might actually be good at it, push.

Anything you feel you need to get better at, you can get better at.

There are umpteen free resources out there to help new writers learn writing structure, tighten up their spelling and grammar, and stand out as a freelancer or on platforms like this.

I really wish the writers who caught my eye early on had stuck with it.

We now live in a world filled with endless crappy content, produced by lazy people who think their AI writing get-rich-quick scheme is going to work (spoiler alert: it won’t).

We need more writing with heart.

We need more people who respect the craft and who are willing to take that intimidating but insanely rewarding step of bringing their ideas to life and into the world.

A writing career isn’t built over days and weeks, it’s built over months and years.

So my biggest piece of advice to new writers is also the simplest: don’t quit.

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