Tightrope: Gifted writers have good opportunities

— -- Hi, Ms. Edmunds: Because of the recession, I have been unable to find employment. I read your columns regularly, and I know that you often suggest honing a skill and using it to make a living. My skill is writing. How do I turn my ability to write into a full-fledged business? I have been writing resumes and bios for people and I would love to reach deeper into the writing business. But I am beginning to lose faith in ever becoming successful. — Maria

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Over the past few months I have received many e-mails from folks asking for help and advice on riding out this tough economy. There is no doubt that business has been slow for many, and the economy is still a tremendous challenge. But the worst thing you can do at this time is to lose faith in yourself and your ability to make a decent living. This is no time to forget the many things that will allow you to prosper. There is always a resource to help us when we need it most.

With the countless websites available, it's sometimes difficult to find sites that are truly helpful to a struggling entrepreneur. But, I managed. And again, the Internet proved to be valuable tool.

I had the good fortune to talk with C. Hope Clark recently about the good work that she's doing to help writers make a living. In 1999 her love of writing led her to work for various online companies. A group of aspiring writers asked Hope to do a workshop for them on how to write for the Internet. After word of the workshop's success spread, people started e-mailing her for tips on writing for the Web.

Hope responded by putting together a regular newsletter, Funds For Writers. Among ways writers can make money, as her website Fundsforwriters.com relates, is through writing grant proposals for various purposes. Within a couple of months, she had 1,000 subscribers.

Today, Hope has thousands more subscribers and many more thousands of visitors a month. Her site offers many resources to grants, contests and other income sources. Fundsforwriters.com has been selected by Writer's Digest as one of the 101 Best websites for writers.