London

Sell your (miserable) story
According to a source in the publishing world, there might be money to be made if you’re willing to sell your story and, quite possibly, your soul. Ever since Dave Pelzer wrote ‘A Child Called It’, there has been a wave of similar, depression-inducing (or, as publishers have it, ‘Triumph over adversity’) autobiographies by ordinary people on the market. It’s known in the business as ‘misery-lit’ and it’s booming. If you’ve got interesting enough material and the wherewithal to write about it, you could get paid £2,000 for your troubles, quite literally.
'The Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook 2007’ (A&C Black) lists all publishers.

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Wash cars
Invest in a bucket, sponge, fake chamois and a bottle of Zip Wax detergent and offer a car-cleaning service to your neighbourhood and beyond. It’s essential that you undercut the pro car-cleaners by charging say, £2 to £2.50 a shot. Be prepared to take the blows and dress fairly presentably so as not to scare off any prospective customers; wearing a hoodie, for instance, might not be a good thing. Our resident car-wash veteran, Wally Hammond, says, ‘You have to learn to take the rejections, around 49 in every 50 knocks. Keeps you fit, mind.’

Work as an extra
In order to be considered for work as an extra for film or TV you should register with a reputable agency (consult the website below to avoid being scammed). Typical rates of pay are around £60-£80 a day. Bear in mind that being an extra can also involve a lot of waiting around and early starts (6am is not uncommon). Working as an extra may not necessarily catapult you up the acting career ladder to a point where you are being papped in your pyjamas, but it can be an excellent alternative to the dreary purgatory of temping in an office. And you’ll be following in the footsteps of Ricky Gervais.
www.extras.co.uk

Exchange old games for cash
Next time you’re short of readies, have a look at your computer game and DVD shelf. You’d be surprised at how much value these items hold, particularly computer games. eBay and Amazon are clearly good options for shifting second-hand games and DVDs, but the best bet for anyone in a hurry who doesn’t relish the palaver of packaging stuff up and schlepping to a post office queue is to visit a games exchange shop such as Game Focus in Goodge Street.

The process is easy… First you need to take along a couple of valid IDs to get yourself an ID card. Then it’s simply a case of handing over your unwanted DVDs or games and receiving hard cash in return. Rates of exchange are pretty reasonable: for instance, a played copy of ‘Ghost Recon: Ultimate Warfighter’ for PS2 will fetch around £8. Newer releases, on the other hand, can fetch as much as £20 a game. What’s more, the staff are super-friendly and very knowledgeable.
Game Focus, 39 Goodge St, London, W1 (020 7631 0118/www.gamefocus.co.uk).