There’s an old adage that says if your writing don’t get ya paid, it should at least get you laid. We can help you with one out of two.

First, some disclaimers: nobody here makes a living by writing Dukes of Hazzard fanfic. (yet!) However, some of us have sold short stories to magazines, freelanced to companies and direct clients, and generated hundreds of pages of blogs and articles for the web. Two of us are currently full-time writers. Others among us are happily writing for the joy of it, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

The common denominator in our group is not a college degree. Instead, it is countless hours, days, weeks, months and years spent writing fanfic. By working with a known universe and known characters, we were free to hone our writing and technical skills. So if anybody ever tells you that writing fanfic is a waste of time, tell ’em to stuff it.

For those of ya’ll who want to get paid for writing, we have a couple recommendations for you. Elance offers a variety of writing projects, from 400-word blog posts to ebooks. The downside is, they are saturated with writers and the pay can be pretty low. Still, it’s a great site for networking, and you could latch on to a good-paying client once you’ve established yourself.

Another option: get familiar with a book called the 2014 Writer’s Market. It includes how-to’s on query letters, contracts, blogging for a living, and a big-ass list of book publishers and magazines that accept freelance material. It tells you what they’re looking for, what they pay, and how to contact them.

Our next bit of advice? Easy. 1) Write. 2) Do something with it.  This means reaching out of your comfort zone, contacting people, and being receptive to criticism so you can deliver what they’re looking for. Eventually, you will land that 3-book deal with an option on the movie rights. But you gotta be willing to do the work, and stick your neck out.

Go for it!