How to Make an Extra $2,000 Per Month from Home with Words

I'm often asked how I can effortlessly earn an average of $2,000 per month working from home with words while also homeschooling and leading an active life. 

The answer is not sexy or intriguing, and I don't have any life hacks. 

The "secrets" to my productive lifestyle are waking up early, setting goals, getting a bit less sleep, and working when I want to be doing other things.

Things to do Instead of Making Money

Here are just a few fun tasks I'd prefer to be doing instead of painstakingly writing that article or perfecting that proofreading job or publishing that book. I bet you can relate:

Languishing in bed every morning, sleeping as late as I can.

Binge-watching fantastic shows, movies, and podcasts.

Devouring All. The. Books.

Socializing leisurely at a coffee shop.

My Love-Hate Relationship with Scrivener

I got Scrivener in 2020 when the lockdown was first in effect and was surprised/happy about the reasonable price. Many of my favorite writers raved about this program, so I had to try it.

While I love how I can organize and move chapters around easily without much scrolling, I hate a few things even more, which are huge time-wasters in my writing career:

1. I can't make the screen bigger without making the font bigger like you can in, say, an Internet browser when you increase the screen print size.
   
   
2. I can't do a search. At least I could never get it to work, so trying to find one magazine market in a sea of several hundred market names was not possible.
   
   
3. When I compiled it into a Word document so I could do final proofreading, Scrivener randomly smooshed words together and randomly messed up the formatting, which wasted a lot of time. So my text might look like this:

How to Make a Living Writing Books

 

This author is an authority on book writing and offers tips on supporting yourself as a writer. Read on to find out what he says about public speaking, the kryptonite that keeps some writers from succeeding, and more!

Do you have kryptonite as a writer?

As a writer, you could have a "kryptonite"—that one thing you can't seem to get over. It can be a writing disability, a lack of time, or something else. The most successful authors, like LB Wells, can overcome these challenges.

There are some actions you can do to combat your weakness:

1. You need to identify it.
2. It would be best if you eliminated it.
3. You must take the necessary steps to prevent it from returning.

In a nutshell, developing your writing skills and imagination is essential to become a writer. It's vital to plan your writing week so you can write many words. It would be best if you worked on speed. It will be ideal if you have good time management skills.

The Art and Business of Writing by Chris Jones

Loved this book (The Art & Business of Writing) by the man who is also the editor at Fredericksburg Parent & Family Magazine. Here's the piece I wrote for them on how to raise a resilient child.

There is so much helpful advice in this book, and it's the perfect size ... not too long and not too short. It even went beyond where I am in my career right now and took it to business cards and web hosting (I just use free Blogger and have since 2008) advice.

My Self-Publishing Journey with Amazon and Beyond

Self-publishing is such a deep subject! There is a lot more involved than just the writing. Marketing, for example, is very important, as are editing and proofreading. I'm currently considering hiring an AdWords management company to help me with my marketing efforts so I can really get the word out about my self-published books.

I asked my writer friend Chris Lienke if I could use her questions as a basis for this post, then I'll sprinkle in some others as well. She says, "I'm considering publishing a writing book ... but need some details like this before spending too much time on it."  Here are some of her questions:

Kerrie McLoughlin's Books

First things first! If you're interested in learning about my unique self-publishing journey, just click here.

FULLY UPDATED with recipe descriptions/stories and meal planning advice in general plus more desserts and a new tater tot recipe!

What could be better than 35 tater tot casserole recipes all in one place? In addition to the naughty versions like Bacon Ranch, Fully Loaded, Buffalo Bleu Cheese, Chicken Alfredo and all sorts of other happy deliciousness, this amazing cookbook also contains dairy-free, skinny, gluten-free and vegetarian options for those times you want to (or have to!) eat in a more healthy manner!

And of course you have to top off a tater tot casserole meal with one of the 13 bonus easy dessert recipes, including Chocolate Suicide, Tutu's Chocolate Stars, Mock Apple Pie and Heavenly Sinful Bars. Your family will love you for this!

These recipes will have your family asking for seconds!

P.S. Make it for dinner, then heat it up in a pan with scrambled eggs in the morning for leftover delight!

 Head to Amazon here to purchase the ebook or print version.

Can You Consistently Write 500 Words a Day?

THE DREAM
Imagine if you could crank out 500 words every single day. Let's say you were working on parenting magazine articles. You could easily get one article done every week (1,000 words is a long one) with time to edit, research, then submit. Every. Single. Week. That's 52 articles a year working for you as passive-ish (you still have to send invoices)/residual income in the form of REPRINTS.

This could also translate into several blog posts per week (one day to get those 500 words out and one day to edit/research/create graphics).

This could also mean 50 days to 25,000 words of a book. Even if you then take another 50 days to work on a cover, get the book proofread, make sure it is all coherent, etc., you have a book in 100 days.

Let's say you're a blogger AND a magazine writer AND a book author. In just ONE YEAR, how many books, blog posts and articles could you knock out if you could just make sure to sit down and get 500 words written every day?

THE PROBLEM
Time. Time is always the problem. And interruptions. And life in general, intruding with its obligations like laundry and dishes and cooking and hygiene and weddings and funerals and parties and errands and clogged toilets and car problems. Oh, and sometimes also those cute children running around and also sometimes that pesky little thing called a full-time job that pays the bills while we chase our writing dreams. And yes, I do realize that even when my kids are grown and gone from the house, I will still have lots going on pertaining to them.

THE SOLUTION
Have you tried dictation using your smartphone? Not some fancy machine and not even some fancy app. I'm just talking about maybe using the Notes app on your iPhone that comes pre-installed. I am a huge fan of walking outside for my FitBit steps while writing at the same time by dictating my articles and books. I feel super amazing on those evenings when my 8-year-old has soccer practice and I can walk the track ... he's happy and I'm getting exercise while getting work done.

I also dictate while driving, which I know might be controversial, but before I got a phone I was writing all my notes long-hand in my lap on a notebook. Tell me which is more dangerous! I don't actually look at the screen while I'm dictating, which often makes for some funny untangling of words later on, but I can just talk and talk stream of consciousness style, and end up with something I can work with later.

When the file is done or when I get home, I just send the note to my email box. Then I grab it and put it in the correct project file on my laptop (you might be more progressive and use Google Docs).

You could dictate while nursing your baby, while making dinner, while folding laundry or waiting for your kid to get out of a drama rehearsal.

*This post was 511 words and I cranked it out super fast over our Homeschool Lunch Break, then edited later.

I would LOVE to hear how this works out for you or if you already do it!

The Nifty 15 by Honoree Corder and My 100 Days Chart

I have a new writer girl crush and her name is Honoree Corder. You can check out The Nifty 15: Write Your Book in Just 15 Minutes a Day here and then I suggest you also follow her on Amazon so you always know when she comes out with something new. While I'm driving home from taking my teens to jobs and countless activities, I am also reading/listening to her Prosperity for Writers and You Must Write a Book.

Here's the review I left for this book, but please know that I am also planning on applying this to my article writing as well. Fifteen minutes a day carved out just for that purpose would yield an article every couple of weeks pretty easily. That could mean 12-24 articles for your stable of articles every year, depending on if you are writing quick regional parenting pieces or longer, national pieces that require queries. Every single year! You are not some flash in the pan writer ... you are in this for the long haul and you need to write every day to keep up the habit.

"Just the kick I needed. Yes, I already have a couple of books I have self-published and I did those in increments of whenever-the-baby-is-sleeping or early-in-the-morning until I couldn't think anymore. Lately I'm finding it harder to focus and needed a set amount of time to just sit and do it. And know that I had done it that day and that I didn't have to do anymore. But once I get started, it's like sex ... you get going and you want to keep going. I'm excited to see what happens with each of my projects in 100-day sets. I found a 100 days of school graphic/game that I printed out to color in each day that I do what I'm supposed to do. I'm actually coloring in every 15 minutes I do. I could do days or increments, either one works to make progress. I just like to see that I'm doing SOMETHING; otherwise it's easier to only do my proofreading work or find excuses to watch Scandal. Rock on, Honoree! Moving on to your next book and the next ... thank you!"

So instead of making my own thing from scratch, I Googled "100 Days Writing Chart" and came up with a 100 days of school chart! It printed a little grainy but it will work for my purposes. If I miss a day, I have to write for 15 extra the next day. I printed one out for each project. I'd love to have a full hour a day to work on 4 different projects because it's hard for me to focus on just one thing to completion, but we all work differently :-)