Sep 30 2008
Quick Tips
I have a new schedule to fit in all my work and happiness. This schedule says I have a very small amount of time to blog today. So, here are a few quick tips for freelance newbies:
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1. Don’t write anything for free. Yes, I know the ad on Craigslist says the employer needs you to write a review of something so they can check out your mad skillz as a writer and decide whether or not to hire you for one million dollars a year. It is a lie. Don’t do it.
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2. Don’t sign up for a login to that dating website that wants to hire you to write web content. If they are really considering hiring you they will have a generic login and password for employees. If they ask you to sign up, they will spam you or sell your email address.
3. Don’t write a 500 word article for $1. I know web content is easier than print, and I know it pays less- but $1 for 500 words? Okay, if you are desperate, need something for your resume’ or know the subject like a flea knows veins…I guess you can write it. But still- $1? Umm…that’s less than half a cent per word. That is 2 one-thousandths of a cent. That is…that is no.
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4. Come back here every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday for updates. Surprise updates possible on weekends with nak’d pictures of my cats a total possibility.
Hi:
This is great advice, especially the advice not to write for free. I never respond to an employer who requests sample stories or posts before making a decision. The employer should definitely be able to to gauge your writing style, and whether it’s a good fit for the position, by your previously published writing.
Keep up the good work.
Dan
http://indycomics.today.com
Yeah the problem is that people from poorer countries get a lot of the writing jobs because one buck for them is like ten bucks for us in these so called Industrialized nations. It is a lot of money for someone in the Developing World who can live on 50 bucks a month.
HI, All:
Not to be a jerk, but I have to take exception to the second post here. I really can’t believe that people in the United States are losing writing jobs to people from poorer countries. I’ve heard people complain about that before, but to me such a notion seems rather ridiculous. In fact, I challenge someone to find me some proof — a statistic, an anecdote, anything — that proves that writing jobs are “being lost” to writers from poor, developing countries.
Dan
http://indycomics.today.com
http://workfromhomecouple.com
Hi Dan- thanks, I’ll try!
Hi yanjiaren, funny, I hadn’t thought of that. To address that and Dan’s second post, I’ll say that I hav noticed buyers on GetAFreelancer asking for native English speakers, which could at least suggest that some folks from other Countries are bidding. I don’t know anything more than that though.
Hey again Lenin- AC does pay pretty low but I still write for them occasionally. I get about .01 per word through them and I mostly do it for variety. Through Demand, I get almost .04 per word- but it is very formulaic and can get tedious. AC lets me break it up. Today.com averages about 1.5 per word as does Textbroker. Also, I am concerned about keeping all my eggs in one basket so….again with the AC