I interview special guest Paulette Perhach about how she got started as a writer, how she handles the financial side of writing, and what people will learn from her forthcoming book, Welcome to the Writer's Life.

Writing & Money

Talking to Paulette Perhach About Taking Your Writing Seriously

I'm Nicole Dieker. I've been a full-time freelance writer since 2012, and I published my first novel, The Biographies of Ordinary People, in 2017. You might be familiar with my work at The Billfold, The Write Life, or Lifehacker. I've also written for Reviews.com, Popular Science, Wing World Magazine, and more. (So many more.) I know a lot about earning money as a writer. I earned over $87,000 from my writing in 2016—that's gross, so I didn't get to keep all of it, but we'll talk about taxes and business expenses on the podcast. We'll also talk about how to pitch, how to build relationships with editors and publications, how to conduct interviews when you're on a tight deadline, how to track (and grow) your income, how to track (and manage) your time—and for those of you who want to be authors as well as freelancers, how to write and self-publish a novel.