When looking for freelance online jobs, you'll often see no pay or very low pay jobs with the promise that once the company makes it big you will be first in line for the big paying assignments. This is akin to banking on your neighbor or relative remembering you when they make it big time or become famous.
First of all, most likely they'll never make it to the big time money and jobs. It's just a sad fact that not all new companies make it, and that those who do probably won't be generating huge revenue for at least years.
Another red flag of little return on your work is when you are promised exposure for your work. If this promised exposure comes with decent pay, it might be good work. However, if the exposure is the pay you are likely getting ripped off or sold short for your work.
Remember that if you are getting started you may take some gigs now that you wouldn't dream of years from now, but that doesn't mean you have to work for free.
It seems that since all literate people can write to some degree, many people feel that everyone can write. Therefore it isn't a valuable skill. This is far from true. Most people can speak, but can they speak persuasively to a crowd? No. It's the same difference. There are many niche writing skills; not all writers are masters of all styles. An ad copywriter might be a horrible fiction writer; a fiction writer may be an awful technical writer.
Search writing companies, websites, and jobs in Google or another reputable search engine. If they've been scamming people or not paying for work rendered then you know that they aren't worth the bother. If there are few negative comments among the sea of good comments then you know that the company is probably reputable. You can also check them out in the Writer Beware forums and the Better Business Bureau if you are still hesitant about working with them.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Writing
I'm a freelance writer, and I have been for about ten years now. I've written on lots of different topics and in lots of different formats. I love to write.
While there is decent money to be made in freelance writing, it can take a while to find lucrative markets for your pieces. And there is no guarantee that you'll make money on a piece you've written.
With that said, if you enjoy writing there are many online resources for paid writing jobs. However, many of them are extremely low paying. Some pay less than a penny a word (which might be okay if you enjoy the topic and want to write about it for your own enjoyment). If you want to make money you certainly won't be able to make your living on those low paying pieces.
There are also many scams out there. You'll often find scams on Craigslist in the writing job section. If someone asks you to submit an original article so that they can see your writing style they may be planning on selling that article to an online content website for their own gain. There have been some people who've done this and then they bragged about it on "hacker" style websites. How conning an honest person is anything like computer hacking I'll never understand. I guess it makes them feel smart.
Anyway, here are some sites I've used (with varying degrees of success) to make money over the past several years:
I haven't really ventured outside of these three sites much simply because I have enough work to keep me busy between the three of them and my own writing goals (fiction, blogs, etc.). There are tons of writing websites out there, some of which I'm sure are good, but I haven't had direct experience with them.
Some popular sites that writers I know have also worked for include:
If you want to write for print magazines, which are more competitive to get published in but generally pay much more than their online counterparts, a good resource is http://www.writersmarket.com.
I'm sure that I will touch on freelance writing again, but I wanted to give an introduction to those who are interested but have no experience so far. I think the sites listed above are a good starting point for finding work online.
One more resource is Writer Beware. It's a great blog by experienced writers. It contains info about writing scams, signs to look for when working with a new company/agent, and a list of scammers with a track record of screwing writers out of work and/or pay. Here's the link: Writer Beware.
While there is decent money to be made in freelance writing, it can take a while to find lucrative markets for your pieces. And there is no guarantee that you'll make money on a piece you've written.
With that said, if you enjoy writing there are many online resources for paid writing jobs. However, many of them are extremely low paying. Some pay less than a penny a word (which might be okay if you enjoy the topic and want to write about it for your own enjoyment). If you want to make money you certainly won't be able to make your living on those low paying pieces.
There are also many scams out there. You'll often find scams on Craigslist in the writing job section. If someone asks you to submit an original article so that they can see your writing style they may be planning on selling that article to an online content website for their own gain. There have been some people who've done this and then they bragged about it on "hacker" style websites. How conning an honest person is anything like computer hacking I'll never understand. I guess it makes them feel smart.
Anyway, here are some sites I've used (with varying degrees of success) to make money over the past several years:
I haven't really ventured outside of these three sites much simply because I have enough work to keep me busy between the three of them and my own writing goals (fiction, blogs, etc.). There are tons of writing websites out there, some of which I'm sure are good, but I haven't had direct experience with them.
Some popular sites that writers I know have also worked for include:
If you want to write for print magazines, which are more competitive to get published in but generally pay much more than their online counterparts, a good resource is http://www.writersmarket.com.
I'm sure that I will touch on freelance writing again, but I wanted to give an introduction to those who are interested but have no experience so far. I think the sites listed above are a good starting point for finding work online.
One more resource is Writer Beware. It's a great blog by experienced writers. It contains info about writing scams, signs to look for when working with a new company/agent, and a list of scammers with a track record of screwing writers out of work and/or pay. Here's the link: Writer Beware.
An Introduction
I've created this blog to be a source for parents to consult with for work from home and freelance work opportunities. I just picked "mommies" to make an alliterative title. : )
Anyway, I will post about online jobs I've tried and found successful as well as some resources I've researched but decided that they just weren't for me. Everybody is different, so those opportunities may be a great fit for others even if I didn't like them.
I'll also give hints and tips on how to save money, pass along coupons and deals, and any other things I think will be of interest to parents trying to make a living at home or just trying to make extra money while at home.
If you have any tips or ideas you'd like to suggest just send me an email to: laura (at) lbmeditorial (dot) com. (make sure to swap out the at and dot words for the symbols- I am trying to avoid spambots!)
Anyway, I will post about online jobs I've tried and found successful as well as some resources I've researched but decided that they just weren't for me. Everybody is different, so those opportunities may be a great fit for others even if I didn't like them.
I'll also give hints and tips on how to save money, pass along coupons and deals, and any other things I think will be of interest to parents trying to make a living at home or just trying to make extra money while at home.
If you have any tips or ideas you'd like to suggest just send me an email to: laura (at) lbmeditorial (dot) com. (make sure to swap out the at and dot words for the symbols- I am trying to avoid spambots!)
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