How This Writer Makes Money Writing for College Textbooks

by John Soares

My first pay as a writer was actually an advance on my very first Northern California hiking guidebook, back in 1991.

I used my cred from that book and subsequent hiking guidebooks to write nearly 100 articles for newspapers and magazines about outdoor topics.

My biggest bylines were in Sunset magazine and VIA (the travel mag from AAA). I also had a monthly hiking column that ran in six newspapers for several years.

Making a Living Writing Educational Supplements for College Textbooks

My main writing niche for nearly my entire career has been creating educational supplements for college textbooks—instructor manuals, lecture outlines, student study guides, test questions, and similar materials.

I did my first project back in 1992 while I was still teaching political science courses at the local college, and I have done more than 300 projects since. It’s a perfect niche for me because I love to learn new things and also reinforce what I already know.

Last year I released the third edition of my book Writing College Textbook Supplements: Developing Test Questions, Quiz Questions, Instructor Manuals, Lecture Outlines, and Other Curriculum Components. It contains detailed information about how to land projects and also the specifics of how to complete those projects.

This is a big niche with a lot of work, but increased competition has driven the pay down a bit.

Expanding Services Into Consulting and Coaching

I continue to get a few textbook supplement projects that pay $60 per hour and more. These come from past and ongoing marketing efforts.

I’ve also written website content for businesses that has paid very well. It’s always best to give a quote for the entire project rather than an hourly rate. This often allows you to earn more than your hourly rate.

I do some consulting about marketing and branding, usually as a package deal combined with writing services. I also coach freelance writers, primarily about finding niches and getting more clients.

Making Money Writing About Hiking

In recent years I’ve expanded into new niches, primarily writing various materials for nonprofits and also creating web content for businesses.

In addition, I’ve put more emphasis on hiking guidebooks for my publisher, Mountaineers Books. Two came out in 2018: 100 Classic Hikes: Northern California, fourth edition, and Day Hiking: Mount Shasta, Lassen & Trinity Alps Regions.

And my most recent book arrived last June: Hike the Parks: Redwood National & State Parks. I’ve really enjoyed spending a lot of time on the trails, and I’ve put more effort into my Northern California Hiking Trails blog as a way to boost book sales and earn affiliate income.

Use SEO and Targeted Websites to Find New Clients

It’s important to look professional online.

For example, I created a website that targets businesses and nonprofits looking for writers in Southern Oregon, where I live. I used good SEO principles when I designed the site and wrote the content, and I’m now on page one for relevant search terms, which has led to multiple new clients.

I also have a detailed LinkedIn profile and a professional business card.

Why It’s Important to Call Potential New Clients

When I have initial email contact with a promising potential client, I suggest we jump on a quick phone call. This allows me to determine if we are a good fit, and it gives me the opportunity to sell myself.

I do 10-15 minutes research online before the call about both the business and the person (website and LinkedIn profile), and on the call I discuss the best ways I can help the business be more successful through my writing services.

Tips for Young Writers: Pick a Niche, and Develop Good Time-Management Habits

For starters, pick two to five niches that pay well, and then start marketing your services to good prospective clients in those niches, beginning with the niches that have a combination of the best pay, the most work, and the highest degree of interest for you.

I created a short self-guided course on the process: Find Your Freelance Writing Niches: Make More Money for Less Work.

You also need to develop good time-management habits. Above all, find extensive blocks of time that you can devote to writing and marketing where you won’t be disturbed by people or distracted by other factors, like email or other Internet attractions.

And before you jump to writing full-time, be sure you already have multiple clients paying you good money, along with a solid plan to increase your writing income.

Finally, make sure you have several months’ savings in the bank, or a partner/spouse that can cover all the bills while you ramp up your writing business.

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John Soares has been writing full-time since 1994. He is the author of Writing College Textbook Supplements: Developing Test Questions, Quiz Questions, Instructor Manuals, Lecture Outlines, and Other Curriculum Components and Find Your Freelance Writing Niches: Make More Money for Less Work.

Details about both, along with advice on getting more writing done in less time, are at his Productive Writers site. John is also the author of several guidebooks on Northern California hiking trails; his most recent is Hike the Parks: Redwood National & State Parks. John lives in Ashland, Oregon with his partner Stephanie.

For more information about John and his work, please see his website, his Productive Writers site, and his Northern California Hiking Trails blog, or connect with him on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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100 Classic Hikes: Northern California: No one knows this premier hiking region better than author John Soares, who now offers his fourth and fully updated edition of 100 Classic Hikes: Northern California. And while he’s still in love with many of the old trails, some of them have become unsafe or less accessible. The good news is that this gave him the chance to fall for some new trails, which are happily now included in this new edition.

The old-growth forests and multiple mountain ranges of Northern California beckon the 10 million urban inhabitants of the Bay Area—who need outdoor experiences BADLY! This new edition not only gets them to the best of nature not far from their door, but looks tremendous on an urban coffee table, too. New hikes in this edition include:

2 in the Bay Area, including the Coastal Trail in San Francisco
5 in the Redwoods and along the coast north of the Bay Area
4 in the Sierra Nevada, including two summits: Ellis Peak and Sierra Buttes
2 in the Russian Wilderness in the Klamath Mountains

Available at Mountaineers Books.

Find Your Freelance Writing Niches: Make More Money for Less Work:

Over the span of my 25-year writing career, I’ve spoken with dozens of freelance writers and read comments and stories from hundreds more on websites and forums.

The most common complaint? Income too low.

Are you satisfied with your income from freelance writing? If not, you need to find the areas of specialization where you can thrive and make a good income.

Available at Productive Writers.