When it comes to finding ways to make money online, a lot of people turn to their hobbies that they currently love doing. What if they could turn those hobbies into a money-making opportunity?
Writing is one of those passions, but if it is a hobby, I do urge many people to keep it that way.
There’s nothing wrong with enjoying your hobby and making a bit of an income from it. Maybe you get enough for coffee, takeout once a week, or something small like that. However, after experience of turning a passion into a job, I tend to suggest not to do that.
One thing that I’ve found over the last decade and a half of writing online is that I no longer have the passion for it that I once did.
I used to write a lot for fun. Throughout my university days, writing was an escape.
I would get my coursework done — I did a computer science degree! — and then I would spend my time reading, writing, and watching TV shows. Some of my writing would be blog posts, and some of it would be fanfiction and other works of fiction.
Even when I first started writing for work, I would use my fiction writing as a way to escape.
Then the workload increased. Suddenly, I was a full-time writer, and I was always staring at the computer screen.
The passion for fiction writing left me.
Yes, there are still times that I think about the characters, and every now and then, they bring me a good idea, but the passion is no longer there.
I’m trying to change that with more of a work-life balance, but it’s hard.
I even stopped writing some of the content that I loved to do.
That’s changed in the last few months, but for the longest time, I was purely writing for other people.
I would create content about lifestyle and home décor that wasn’t a passion at all. Then when I wrote about entertainment topics, it was based on what the company wanted or what was trending well at the time.
Now, I get a little more freedom as I’ve started up my own blog again. I get to write about what I want to write about a little more, and the creativity and passion are starting to come back.
But, you have to start treating your hobby as a job. That means doing things that you don’t necessarily want to do.
You’ll need to think about finances, marketing, SEO, and so much more.
If you don’t want that, then keep your hobby as a writing. Put it somewhere to earn a little bit of money on the side, but don’t make it your whole career — unless your big dream is to become a published author, of course!
What do you think about turning your hobby into a job? Are you trying to do it? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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