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How to Make $500 an Hour as a Writer
It starts with writing something besides blog posts
When I was a freshman in college, my English professor wrote a letter to my parents praising my writing skills and trying to impress upon them my potential to be a professional writer. My parents never showed me the letter. Instead, they threw it away and pretended it never existed.
I didn’t find out about the letter until 23 years later.
Why wouldn’t my parents tell me that one of my college professors thought I could be a professional writer? Because they were afraid that I might decide to be a writer instead of a lawyer.
My mom and dad wanted me to be financially secure. In their minds, being a lawyer was a much more economically prosperous path than being a bohemian writer.
I played the game like I was supposed to. I went to law school and became a lawyer — then I quit the law to become a writer.
My parents were wrong. Being a writer has been much more financially stable than being a lawyer. I even have a higher billable rate.
On a per hour basis, I charge my freelance writing clients more than I charged my clients as a lawyer. I often make $500 an hour doing client work. As a lawyer, I topped out at $300 an hour — and being a lawyer is much…
