Nine Reasons Why Professional Writers Should Write for Free—Part Two

by Lori Hatcher @LoriHatcher2

As promised, here's the second part of yesterday's post. If you missed yesterday, here's a link to Nine Reasons Why Professional Writers Should Write for Free—Part One

As I mentioned, life as a professional writer hasn't gone exactly to plan. But it's been full of a lot of opportunities that led to exciting things. And some of those opportunities have included writing for free. So here are reasons six through nine to consider following my path.

Nine Reasons Why Professional Writers Should Write for Free—Part One

by Lori Hatcher @LoriHatcher2

When I pictured my life as a professional writer, I imagined bylines in prestigious magazines, interviews with celebrities, and a big fat salary. I assumed I’d start out small (like volunteering on my high school newspaper), move up to a paying position (like maybe the editor-in-chief of our local newspaper), and then agonize over which plumb job offer to accept—the one at World Magazine or the one at Christianity Today.

My real life as a professional non-fiction writer is currently hovering somewhere between Step 2 and Step 3 and has included something I didn’t envision—writing for free. Although donating my writing seems contradictory to the goals of a professional writer, I’d like to share nine reasons why I think it’s a good idea to give our writing away.