The $200k Writer’s Secrets to Wealth

Jake Belford

9 min readAug 8, 2021

The lifestyle of The $200k Writer is closer than you think

“In a dark place we find ourselves, and a little more knowledge lights our way.” — Master Yoda

What is keeping you from becoming a $200k writer?

What do the top 1% of writers do that the other 99% don’t?

What separates a good writer from a great writer?

How does the $200k Writer manage their business?

What do they do on a daily basis?

What’re their secrets to success?

The difference between you and a $200k Writer lies in your focus, habits, and mindset. The $200k Writer focuses on the smallest details. They cultivate distinct habits. They’re strange in a good way. Most importantly, they know how to fight the inner demons of imposter syndrome and perfectionism.

Becoming a $200k Writer is well within your reach! But, it requires patience. Here’s your starting point …

What does The $200k Writer focus on?

“Always remember, your focus determines your reality.” — George Lucas

There are seven (7) things that The $200k Writer focuses on:

1. The $200k Writer thinks of niches like markets.

“To know values is to know the meaning of the market” — Charles Dow

The larger the market, the more profitable the client, the more they spend on marketing, and the more they pay their writers. High-paying clients sell expensive, high-quality products like software packages and financial instruments. They sell to large groups of customers, which means they can charge more. The larger the market, the more businesses are willing to spend on quality content. These businesses — and therefore their writers — produce content for a lot of eyeballs. More eyeballs mean more leads. More leads mean more revenue, which increases their marketing budget to hire more writers.

See how this works?

The $200k Writer writes for profit. That is, they spend time writing for people who want to read their work.

Some examples of profitable niches, or markets, are:

Information technology (I.T.)
Medicine & Healthcare
Tech & Business
Academic editing
Digital marketing
Finance

2. The $200k Writer understands their client’s needs.

“Nobody cares what you can do, everybody cares what you can do for them.” — Jack Butcher

Never forget: clients pay you to make their lives easier. What they’re doing now to solve their problem is not working. They want to outsource the solution. They feel pain and want it gone — forever.

The $200k Writer understands their role: be the remedy for the client’s pain!

For example, producing four (4) quality blog posts per month requires hours of research, sharp focus, and wide distribution. Failing to follow an efficient process results in poor writing, which depletes the client’s precious time and resources. Efficient, high-paying clients value their time above all else. They prefer to focus on the 20% of activities that produce 80% of their bottom line.

For most businesses, their marketing spend is their last priority. They know that producing a quality product is paramount for survival. Their next priority is distributing their product to their ideal customer. To do this, they need a thorough understanding of the financial engine which makes it all possible. Maintaining this system requires the full attention and focus of the owner and employees of the business. Only after production, distribution, and financing do companies begin thinking about marketing. The $200k Writer knows this is where they’re most valuable.

High-paying clients in high-profit niches would rather pay someone to manage their content for them. They know this is time well-bought, not time well-spent. Above all else, The $200k Writer understands their assignment: save the client time and energy.

Remember: it’s not about producing fantastic work; quality work happens when you cultivate and follow your process. It’s about saving your client time by producing effective, profitable content.

3. The $200k Writer understands they’re the CEO of their own writing business.

“The profession of book-writing makes horse racing seem like a solid, stable business.” — John Steinbeck

Like an intelligent investor, The $200k Writer balances their client mix like a portfolio. They weigh the risk and reward of each opportunity, no matter how perfect the opportunity may seem. They enjoy the craft of writing but they understand the opportunity cost of working on multiple projects at once. After all, they can only work on one project at a time — better make it valuable!

The $200k Writer weighs the pros and cons of the client and the project as one. They ask questions like:

Will this client pay on time? What evidence do we have of that?
Will this client need babysitting?
Are they asking questions beyond my expertise?
Are they looking for a sounding board or are they trying to buy back their time?
Does this client value their time like I value mine?
Does the client know the problem they’re trying to solve?

Asking these questions is how The $200k Writer analyzes each opportunity.

4. The $200k Writer is a high-value problem-solver.

“Clear thinking becomes clear writing; one can’t exist without the other.” — William Zinsser

The $200k Writer solves high-value problems. By solving high-value problems, they get the highest return on their time. Think about a craftsman putting together a luxury car by hand. It’s a tedious, refined process. They take more time putting the parts together but the quality of the end-product is higher. The $200k Writer hones their craft in the same way, preferring to write luxury pieces of writing that solve high-value problems.

To The $200k Writer, each opportunity is a problem requiring a solution. When the client and the $200k Writer align their focus, it saves both parties time and energy. The $200k Writer thinks about their own business like this, too!

Here are common problems for The $200k Writer’s business:

Too busy? They buy back time by contracting out their work or pushing out deadlines.
Too little work in the pipeline? They send more cold emails or lean on their strategic partners.
Overwhelmed and overworked? They refer the work out to writers in their network. They hire well. They keep an army at their aid.

5. The $200k Writer has an abundance mindset.

“When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears.” — Tony Robbins

There’s plenty of business out there for each writer in the market. There is so much work available they can’t possibly talk to every prospect. Losing a sales call, getting fired by a client, and not winning a project are steps along the path not the end of the road. With this mindset, The $200k Writer wins business one conversation at a time.

They keep an abundance mindset concerning skills, too. There’s plenty to learn. Us writers will never master our craft. But this is encouragement, not a reason to quit. The $200k Writer understands they’re playing an infinite game: there are unknown players; each player has their own strategy; new players are entering the game at all times; there are no fixed rules; there is no beginning or end. Your option is to show up as often as you can and give it your all.

The $200k Writer shows up daily, at least to sharpen their tools.

6. The $200k Writer knows exactly who they’re competing against.

“The idea of competition, particularly in a creative atmosphere, is always there; if you don’t acknowledge that, you are doing yourself and the process a disservice.” — Jake Gyllenhaal

They’re not competing against all the freelance writers in the world nor the writers in their niche. They’re competing against the writers who put in more work than they do. To stay competitive, they must show up every day to write thousands of words, win new business, and publish quality content. The $200k Writer plays a simple game with simple rules.

7. The $200k Writer adores their clients.

“There is a spiritual aspect to our lives — when we give, we receive — when a business does something good for somebody, that somebody feels good about them!” — Ben Cohen, Co-Founder Ben & Jerry’s

The $200k Writer loves delivering quality work for their clients. They’re excited to share their progress because the client appreciates The $200k Writer’s process. Watching The $200k Writer craft quality writing is like watching a woodworker build a canoe, or a tailor measure the perfect suit. It’s an art. They have fun producing the work for their clients because they know each moment of joy will come through in the finished product, which makes the client happy, which makes The $200k Writer want to produce more work, and so on …

What’re the habits of The $200k Writer?

“You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.” — John C. Maxwell

The job of the writer is to find and pass on valuable information, not to create it out of thin air. You’re a conduit not the source of energy. For each project, The $200k Writer knows to get the hell out of the way and go to experts to learn about the topic.

The daily habits of The $200k Writer are well within your ability. Here are their most common habits:

They take long walks
They take regular breaks
They focus on what they can control
They treat their business like a business
They keep a daily writing habit of at least 300 words
They develop new business daily, or they pay someone to do it for them
They know the fastest way to scale is by spending money to get more time
They lean into what makes them unique, knowing this is their edge
They have a healthy relationship with their phone
They have a healthy relationship with their inbox
They have a well-defined process
They use virtual assistants
They share their secrets
They invest in their tools
They show their work

What does The $200k Writer do differently than other writers?

“Amateurs go faster. Professionals go further.” — fs.blog

The $200k Writer does 9 things underpaid writers don’t:

They tell the prospect their rate upfront.
They protect their energy and focus like it’s their most precious asset
They understand the fun is in the act of writing but the money is in editing
They write fast because they can focus not because they type faster
They’re religious about their recovery. The more they relax and unwind when they’re not writing, the better their writing is.
They know their value is in their process. Like Elon Musk says: “the factory is the product.”
They research fast by understanding where to find valuable information
They understand each client has a competitor. They find their competitor’s weaknesses and strengths and share them with the client.
They keep iterating until they and the client are thrilled with the work

What is keeping you from being a $200k Writer?

There are 4 mindsets keeping writers from earning what they deserve:

1. Imposter syndrome

“I’m not good enough. There’s someone better than me. I don’t deserve to ask for more.”

This is the hardest mindset to get over. David Perell offers this valuable perspective:

“When you do ambitious and important work, you are far beyond your capabilities. So by definition, you are an imposter. If you only did things you were ready to do in your career, you’d end up doing nothing.”

World-class writing coach and poet, Ellen Fishbein writes:

If I wasn’t an impostor
I’d be virtuous & brave —
but my courage is all posture
& I mostly misbehave.
If I wasn’t an impostor
I would take a leader’s stance —
but I’m bound to make a wrong turn,
so I’d best not take the chance.
…then again, I’ve seen no roster
listing who’s best fit to lead —
what if leaders ARE impostors
taking risks in times of need?

2. Perfectionism

“If this isn’t perfect, I will fail and never earn more work again.”

Perfectionism is our rebranding for fear. We fear the judgment of others. We fear finishing a project because finishing one project means we have to find a new one. We fear our own success because success leads to more responsibility, which opens the door to stress and anxiety.

The $200k Writer knows this fear is a fault in our wiring. It’s imaginary. The easiest way to get over perfectionism is by publishing a ton of work, consistently, over a long period.

3. Fear of selling out

“This work in front of me isn’t big enough. I’m doing it for profit, not for passion. I want to do world-changing work. I want to do something bigger.”

This is a tough one to overcome. The writing purist will tell you to write what comes naturally to you and produce work that sanctifies the creative pursuit of writing. The $200k Writer will tell you quality writing is paid for in quality dollars. Which one would you rather be?

4. Resignation

“I’ve tried hard and this is the only progress I’ve made. I guess this is how it’s going to be forever.”

Your circumstances are temporary. The $200k Writer knows their circumstance is the result of their habits, tendencies, and systems. This means you can break habits, fight bad tendencies, and build new systems to get out of your circumstance. Free yourself from your circumstances!

Building a career as a writer takes time, but it’s always worth it. You’ll get paid to learn the craft!. And if you stick to these principles and put in the daily work, The $200k Writer can become your reality.