Can I make money writing?

[KillingTime]

Im in school and my schedule is so crazy that I'd really rather not have a clock-in job right now.... the hours are always unpredictable, having to fill-in for people etc. I hate it.

I recently met some people at my college that were making ok money (for a student) on their own. One was betting on games, the other sold dubbed videos online.

I really like this idea, I don't mind working hard BUT while I'm in school I really need the freedom to work when I have the time. Money isn't an issue, I only need enough to get by, I don't have many expenses.

I can't think of any business ideas, however I am a very good writer and have a vast knowledge of sports nutrition and all forms of strength training, weight-loss, bodybuilding and general fitness. I have no credentials, this is just from years of experience.
Anyone think I can make something of this? Not looking for a career, just something to make money on the side during school.
My only concern is I don't have credentials, but I really know my stuff and have competed in bodybuilding shows before.

Any chance to make some $ with this? Anything I should look out for? Once I publish an article, is it no longer mine?

 

[Kev07]

make a website, once you get enough traffic, you can get bigger sites(google, etc) to put ads on your site and they'll pay you for that

 

[Bible_Belt]

Once I publish an article, is it no longer mine?

That should depend on the terms of the agreement that you make with the publisher. If you make a web site, put a simple copyright notice on each page, like 'Copyright Killing Time, Unauthorized Use Prohibited.' Unlike trademarks or patents, you don't have to register or pay anything to get copyright protection.

 

[Reyaj]

Bible to put a copyright on a web site, can you just put something like

Copyright "C" My Web Page 2007 and its protected?

You sure you don't have to register anything legally?

 

[Yotsuya-san]

I recently met some people at my college that were making ok money (for a student) on their own. One was betting on games, the other sold dubbed videos online.

Dubbed videos? What kind of videos are these? Streamed downloads are the thing now. Used to be VHS, now it's VCDs. But what he does sounds like video piracy unless he created the videos himself or owns copyrights to them. He better hope he doesn't get caught, especially if he's selling anime or something hot like that.

 

[Page]

OK, I'm a technical writer in training. (And I already freelance)

Here's the deal:

Look for technical writing jobs in your area (newspaper classifieds, craigslist, freelance job websites, etc.) to see what's out there. Every so often an opportunity will fall right in your lap when you aren't expecting it.

There are tons of contract jobs out there, you could probably still do them even if they aren't in your immediate area of knowledge.

Most tech writing jobs are essentially work-for-hire, so your client will own the copyrights to anything you make when its all said and done. Just remember to have a clause in the job contract (have a generic one drawn up) that allows you to use the work in your portfolio.

Tech writers are supposed to have a Technical Writing Certificate from a university, but there is such a high demand for writers that most employers won't care if you don't have one if you have a good portfolio.

You will also need some good tools, particularly for document preparation.

For a decent word processor, get openoffice: (http://www.openoffice.org). It's better than paying for MSoffice if you don't have Microsoft word already.

For document layout, get Scribus. (http://www.scribus.net) It's free and can do decent page layout. Indesign is better, but this will do fine if you can't afford Adobe stuff.

 

[Hyde]

OK, I'm a technical writer in training. (And I already freelance)

Here's the deal:

Look for technical writing jobs in your area (newspaper classifieds, craigslist, freelance job websites, etc.) to see what's out there. Every so often an opportunity will fall right in your lap when you aren't expecting it.

There are tons of contract jobs out there, you could probably still do them even if they aren't in your immediate area of knowledge.

In addition, there are plenty of websites online that are looking for writers. The copyrights will belong to the website or company that you're working for, but is that really a bad thing?

Also, something that's been slowly growing in popularity is professional blogging, but the chances of you making any sort-of money through blogging is slim-to-none. However, many bloggers have gotten decent jobs from companys that came across their blog's.

There's always the option to write a book and get it published.

There's plenty of options out there for writers (degree or no degree). You just have to keep your eyes open. As Page said, an oppurtunity could fall right into your lap when you least suspect it.

 

[mpimpin]

Not sure if this thought has crossed your mind but have you thought about being a personal trainer? You could prob even find some clients while at school.