The time when an author or freelance journalist could earn well are long gone; but many are finding rewards in 'portfolio' careers

When people ask me what I do for a living, I often have to think for a moment. A few years ago, it was simple – I was a journalist, working as a staffer for a regional newspaper group and earning, if not a fortune, certainly enough to keep me in high heels and sauvignon blanc.

Today, having been freelance for four and a half years, the picture is less clear cut. While I still write features, I also take on subediting work, copywriting, a bit of media consultancy, training and lecturing – I even did a postgraduate certificate in education a few years back, to facilitate this diversity.

Having a portfolio career suits me, and it's increasingly becoming a necessity in a market where it is less and less easy for writers to earn a living. A recent report from the Authors Licensing and Collecting Service revealed that 58% of well-established freelance magazine and newspaper journalists earn less than £8,000 from their writing – just under half the minimum income standard in the UK.

Louise Bolotin, who has been a journalist since the late 70s, has seen a huge fluctuation in her income sources over the years. In 2013 just 25% came from journalism, 10% from copywriting and 65% from corporate copyediting, subbing and proofreading. So far this year, journalism has dropped to 10% and there's been no copywriting work yet – although the other strands are still going strong.

"If I had the choice I would write more than I edit. I've always written and I love writing, but I can't bear the stress of pitching," she says. "All that rejection. When you just pitch into a black hole, it's soul destroying. I don't know what I would have done without my editorial work. I couldn't have made a living."

Bolotin says that for her and many others writing is a luxury done alongside other things that pay the bills.

The situation is as grim for authors. Another ALCS survey found that average earnings have dropped by 29% since 2005, to just £11,000, and only 11.5% of professional authors rely solely on writing to generate their income.

Best-selling novelist Miranda Dickinson published her first book in 2009, but only went full-time as a writer last September when she was pregnant. "I had four Sunday Times bestsellers but I was still working a day job and writing in the evenings and on weekends," she admits. "I think it's a myth that being a writer will pay all your bills. When I was offered my first three book deal, I had just been made redundant. By the time my book came out, I was working one day a week teaching singing, one day a week in a cafe, and two and a half days a week writing food trend reports."

But having other jobs stood Dickinson in good stead and made her appreciate the time she could spend writing. Today, having secured a second three book deal that will mean she can focus fully on her craft, she is aware she's one of the lucky ones. "I have lots of writer friends who are struggling, writers who publish twice as much as me but still have to do a day job," she says.

"You don't write a book to make money. If you do it because you love it, that sustains you. You have to be realistic and writers now especially have to be realistic because it's so difficult. It's not impossible but you have to be willing to work all the hours you can to make it happen."

Diversifying can ultimately be financially rewarding, as Janet Murray discovered. Having worked as a freelance journalist for 14 years, today she makes most of her income from running a PR training company, Janet Murray Media. "I treat my journalism like [supermarkets treat] baked beans – as a loss leader," she says. "Journalism comparatively doesn't pay well, so I almost don't count that in terms of my income. I don't think rates have gone up more than pence in the last 10 years or so.

"When I look at what I can charge for a day of training or consultancy, I might have to work for weeks and weeks to earn that by writing. I probably only make a few thousand a year from journalism; my company turns over more than £100,000 a year before expenses."

Murray thoroughly enjoys running her own business. "It's a way of using all the skills and experience I have as a journalist and getting rewarded for that, for the knowledge and expertise I've got."

There are plenty of more unusual options for journalists in this new media era too. Rather than getting "old-codgery" about the way the industry is changing, Tim Dawson, NUJ vice-president and founder of the New Model Journalism website, believes writers should embrace the opportunities available to us.

"There are huge numbers of really exciting and innovative models going on at the moment," he says. "A lot of them do give new ways for writers to earn a living from their work, which is a fantastic thing."

He cites examples like Peter Jukes, who tweeted from the UK phone hacking trial and raised more than £20,000 through crowdsourcing, and Phil Mac Giolla Bhain, whose blog about the collapse of Glasgow Rangers gained him impressive social media numbers (he currently has 23,800 followers in Twitter) and led to a book deal.

Dawson says there is money to be made from converting your back catalogue into an ebook, publishing an iPad magazine, or starting a hyperlocal reporting project, which could attract funding. Last year five news websites gained £10,000 each from the Carnegie Trust as part of the "Neighbourhood News" initiative.

"The possibilities of creating media of all different kinds are mind-blowing," he says. "We're able to record and digest and be creative with stuff in ways that were just impossible when I started my career. There are opportunities that there simply weren't before."