Arash Lahijani profitable side hustle: Writing computer game backstories

Arash Lahijani was a high school senior when he discovered he might earn money composing backstories for computer game characters.

A pal of his had actually paid a Fiverr freelancer $70 to do it for a Grand Theft Auto character, he remembers– so he began investigating, and understood there was a market. Even much better, it was something he might do as a side hustle after school and throughout weekends.

A week later on, in April 2021, he set himself up onFiverr Since then, he’s made $62,400 composing more than 400 character backstories for an online variation of the computer game Grand Theft Auto, according to files evaluated by CNBC Make It.

In simply his 2nd complete month on the platform, he made $9,700 “I never knew that writing could make me $10,000 in a month,” Lahijani, now a 19- year-old sophomore at New York’s Baruch College, informs CNBC Make It.

Unlike experts who establish characters and plotlines for computer game studios, Lahijani particularly composes for users who play Grand Theft Auto 5 Roleplay, a multiplayer computer system variation of the popular console video game. In this model of the video game, gamers need to send character backstories to sign up with particular servers and have fun with specific users.

Lahijani, whose customers vary from “50-year-old dads to 15-year-old kids,” does not make that type of money year-round. His additional earnings is reliant on the number of hours he works, and as a full-time trainee, he can just devote 3 to 4 hours each day throughout the academic year: In September, he just made $1,750

Here’s how Lahijani found out how to compose computer game character backstories and how he prepares to grow his earnings through writing:

Lahijani states his writing abilities aren’t from English classes or extracurricular interests. At Baruch College, where he has a complete scholastic scholarship, Lahijani is studying data and quantitative modeling.

Rather, he states his propensity for storytelling originates from composing and listening to speeches. In high school, he was a grade president, the school treasurer and the creator of the computer technology club. He likewise dealt with the Nassau County district lawyer’s workplace, as part of a county effort for school security.

Those public speaking experiences taught him how to compose a “hook” around which his speech would revolve, he states. Those very same kinds of hooks now work as the very first and last sentences of his character backstories, he includes.

Lahijani, who passes Jimmycanwrite on Fiverr, provides 3 kinds of plans for customers, which cost in between $45 and $195 each. The most pricey choice, that includes a 10- page backstory that takes about a week to compose, is the most popular, he states.

For those exceptional stories, he asks each customer about their character’s birth place, age, task, strengths and weak points and their objectives for the future– however those information aren’t needed. Lahijani in fact states he chooses dealing with little or no context, due to the fact that it provides him imaginative license to comprise a story from scratch.

Once, throughout a bout of author’s block, he switched on the television and enjoyed a weatherman. He thought of that individual’s backstory, and it ended up being the plot of his next story, he states.

With every character, Lahijani comprises a life occasion that impacted their character, describes why they’re relocating to Los Santos– the imaginary city where this specific video game is set– and what their goals are.

“It’s a virtual world, so if I write about a liquor store owner, that’s how he’ll appear in GTA, dealing with people coming in to buy alcohol,” Lahijani discussed. “In my mind, I’m helping my clients see their character through major life events.”

Full- time authors at computer game studios make approximately $56,417 annually, according to ZipRecruiter. If Lahijani made his optimum of $10,000 each month, he ‘d make 2 times more than that.

For one of the most part, Lahijani utilizes that money for useful things. He states he invested $12,000 on an utilized automobile and put $6,000 in a Roth IRA account.

Sometimes, he treats himself and his household. He’s put a few of that cash towards travel, and purchased his mom a $1,550 diamond locket for Christmas in 2015, he states.

Lahijani states he does not prepare to pursue a composing profession after graduation, deciding rather for financing and threat management– however he prepares to keep composing as a side hustle.

One pleased customer just recently asked if he would compose a tailored kids’s book for their nephew’s birthday. Lahijani didn’t take them up on the deal, however it assisted him understand he might use his composing abilities to more than simply computer games.

“I never realized I could be so skillful doing this, and now I think I could use writing to help other people do other things,” Lahijani states. He just recently published on Fiverr that he wishes to tutor high school trainees on how to compose college admission essays.

“I want to give people the confidence to write,” he states.

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