Construct Your Own Word Search Puzzle for Profit

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Use the word key to solve the puzzle and know what words you have used as well.
Use the word key to solve the puzzle and know what words you have used as well.
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Remember, as you try to solve the author's puzzle, that each of the 54 words in the list appears somewhere in the block of letters, spelled either forward or backward, in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal straight line. In some cases, the smae letter in the same position on the grid is used in more than one word.
Remember, as you try to solve the author's puzzle, that each of the 54 words in the list appears somewhere in the block of letters, spelled either forward or backward, in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal straight line. In some cases, the smae letter in the same position on the grid is used in more than one word.

You don’t have to be a professional writer to make good money with words . . . and if you doubt me, spend a few minutes at your local newsstand looking through any of the numerous word-search puzzle magazines now being published. Virtually all of the games in those specialized periodicals — as well as the similar puzzles featured regularly in mainstream consumer and trade magazines — are produced by people who have simply exercised a little imagination and tossed in a bit of humor to turn their spare time into cash.

You can puzzle for profit, too! Just how much money you make for any given word search quiz, of course, will depend on the payment policy of the publication in question . . . and on the size of the brainteaser itself. An 11 X 11 square (that is, a letter grid containing 11 rows of 11 letters each) may pay as little as $6.00. On the other hand, selling a 21 X 23 “biggie” to a widely circulated national magazine could bring $100 or more. In my experience, though, $15 is an average payment for a medium sized square.

Those seemingly small amounts can really add up, however, when you consider that — with practice — you can construct a salable word-search puzzle in a little over an hour. I spend about 15 hours a week on this sideline myself and net more than $600 a month!

How to Get Started

To develop a feel for this unique craft — and for what editors buy — study a variety of word search magazines. Scrutinize each puzzle carefully (paying particular attention to the relationship between the title and the word list, and to the way words are fit into the grid), and try to imagine the process the author went through to produce that particular game.

  • Published on Nov 1, 1983
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