Creative people find innovative ways to make money, and although it may not be the kind of work for everyone, if you’re good at writing essays you just might be able to make a little cash doing it.
A recent non-scientific study (i.e. search engine click) revealed several different options for the essay-savvy entrepreneur.

The first and perhaps best idea is to enter contests. There are literally hundreds of different types of contests. Literary clubs, colleges and universities, historical societies and large newspaper chains all sponsor essay contests. Prizes range from $100 to $10,000. I’m not kidding. If you’ve got time, you could enter a new contest every day.

A second way to make money writing essays is to write for publication. This is perhaps the most difficult way to make money with essays, and it may help if you’ve won a few contests first. There are all sorts of literary journals, magazines, and now websites that offer opportunities for publication. The key to being published is to a) be a great essay writer with something interesting to say, and b) to be the niece or nephew of the publisher of a journal that publishes essays.

The third and perhaps most profitable way to make money as an essayist is to write essays for students. With a marketplace of millions of unethical kids with paypal accounts, you could sell essays every day to kids as young as eight. High school students could be a particularly lucrative market. Obviously this is a seasonal business, but a particularly tough history teacher could lead to hundreds of dollars in profits from one school alone. With hundreds of thousands of schools nationwide, it’s likely you would become a millionaire within three years. This business also could make a nice franchise opportunity for the particularly devious entrepreneur.

Before you consider any type of career as an essay writer, check the laws, fines, and prison terms in your state. Please note that this article does not condone the writing of essays for students and should not be construed as a recommendation from an expert to quit your day job to become a freelance essay writer.