If you’re a Belizean who aspires to make money for your writing – no matter the amount – you might be familiar with the phrase “dat nuh wa mek money ya.” Or, you may be a part of the lucky few that have been told otherwise. Regardless, in a country whose population barely amounts to half a million, it’s fair to assume right off the bat that pursuing a career in writing won’t be rewarding (not financially rewarding, at least). After all, even being a writer from the Global North, like the U.S., is difficult, writers’ strikes and protests aside. But though it might be a difficult one to take, the path to being a writer in Belize isn’t an impossible one, and there are quite a few options. If you’re a lover of words looking to turn your passion into profit, here are some ways you can do just that.
Writing Job Options in Belize
1. Self-Publishing Your Books
An increasingly popular choice for aspiring writers, the craft of self-publishing has been made easier with applications like Kindle Direct Publishing. Even on a local scale, there are a handful of publishers that are willing to help writers go from manuscript to finished product. Just recently, former politician Godfrey Smith enlisted the aid of The Angelus Press Ltd to produce his Bocas Lit Fest longlisted book Diary of a Recovering Politician. Di Imagination Factri, Cubola Publishers, and Reynolds Desktop Publishing are also options available for those Belizean writers who don’t care to navigate the (often frustrating) complexities that come with self-publishing with the likes of Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Photo courtesy Channel 5 News 
Of course, turning the art of writing and publishing books (whether fiction or non-fiction) into a profitable career takes more than just time. Quite often, it requires loads of effort and even some luck. After all, not everyone gets to be a Stephen King or a Tomi Adeyemi. But as difficult as it is, it’s not impossible. Just look at local romance novelist (and my former classmate) Nia Arthurs. She’s been continuously building a career for herself as a writer and is now consistently putting out books that have a large following and some great reviews to boot.
Self-publishing is not for the faint of heart, and not for the impatient writer either. The same can be said for traditional publishing. To see the fruit of your labor, you’re going to have to put in lots of time, effort, and marketing.
2. Journalism
For those with a love for storytelling, a passion for current events, a knack for communication, or any combination of the three, consider journalism. It is, in my opinion, an underrated career choice for the aspiring writer, albeit a very demanding one.
Nevertheless, Belize is in desperate need of more journalists. It involves long hours and sometimes thankless work but it can be an immensely rewarding option when it comes to learning new things, meeting new people, and sharpening your communication skills. That’s whether you opt to go for the stricly editorial route (i.e newspapers) or you choose to mix things up with TV journalism.
3. Travel Writing
As is the case with a few tourism-related careers, writing for travel can be rewarding. And, there is a huge need for more travel writers in Belize. After all, who better to write about all things Belize than someone who has lived in and experienced Belize?
“Although travel writing has often been criticised for its complicity with colonialism and for reproducing outdated stereotypes, I think its basic impulse is a positive one: to encounter other peoples, find out about other places.”
Tim Hannigan (National Geographic)
I accidentally entered the world of travel writing during my years as a freelancer and now it’s my day job. Through it, I’ve not only been able to better shape my writing skills, but interestingly, I’ve also been able to find inspiration for my Fantasy and Science Fiction stories thanks to the places I’ve seen and the people I’ve met.
4. Copywriting
Though a very broad term that might overlap with other options for writing careers, copywriting is a rapidly growing niche. When I mentioned that travel writers are in high demand, that also – and especially – inlcudes copywriters.
As one article on Medium put it, “If you think about it: Every business out there needs a copywriter to promote their products and services. They need copywriting services to build their sales pages, their e-mail sequences, and so on.”
Though you might have to start small if you don’t have any experience with copywriting, it can turn out to be a pretty fun – and well paying – job.
Writing isn’t easy – and making money writing can be even more difficult. But those of us that refuse to let go of our passions usually find a way to make it work. So, at the end of the day, if anyone tries to tell you that there aren’t any options for writing as a job out there, tell them they simply don’t know what they’re talking about.
Khaila A. Gentle 