It’s hard to make big bucks as a writer without taking yourself seriously as a business . Sometimes writers shy away from “business” because they think of themselves as artists first. But successful artists must also be business people as well I was explaining this the other day to my son, a drummer, who loves the Rolling Stones. What a business case study they are, after all!

If we can also do that as writers – think of ourselves as creating businesses, plural, that’s where some significant profit will come from.

I love to write online, and prefer to own my product and not write for magazines, because there is far more money to be made as the “publisher” instead of the hired hand. For example, I now have four websites up and running, each bringing in cash (although not up to six figures – yet). One sells electronic items, a subject I love writing about. My content – reviews, observations, reports on new releases – is what keeps my rankings high and visitors coming back.

Another site is about an environmental topic: I am a passionate activist and it gives me a way to write on a topic I love, as well as helping me get published in other publications, and building my reputation in this area to the point where I am getting requests for speaking engagements. Already, several revenue streams are building there, starting just from my writing interest.

I’ll be exploring a few writers here, examining how their writing works as a business, posting some mini-case studies here on my blog, so stay tuned. You’ll see how to analyze what works and what doesn’t, and which elements you can incorporate into your writing business to make more income.

I am a business owner, with several projects in development, which may not be writing businesses in themselves, but in which my primary role is as a writer. What is your business, and what role does writing play?