From the monthly archives:

July 2007

Tips for New Freelance Writers

by Amy Derby on July 17, 2007

Because write-from-home.com is a website geared toward new/beginning freelance writers, I get a lot of emails from new writers asking, “How can I get started freelance writing?”

I tell them this:

1. If you’ve got a day job, don’t quit it just yet. It can take a year or more to build your freelance writing business to financial stability.

2. Decide what type of writing you’d like to do, then figure out if you can do it in a way that will allow you to stand out from the crowd. Consider what you already know more about than the average person, and try to find some way to incorporate that knowledge into the beginnings of your freelance writing career. For example, my career background is as a bankruptcy paralegal. My first freelance writing job was writing for a bankruptcy law firm’s newsletter.

3. If you want to write for magazines, don’t start out by writing a bunch of articles and hoping to find magazines that want to buy them. Magazine editors want material that is geared toward their readership. Learn what a query letter is and learn how to write one. For this, I recommend reading Jenna Glatzer’s article The Beginner’s Guide To Freelance Writing.

4. If you want to write for websites or blogs, consider starting your own website or blog on a topic for which you’d like to get freelance writing jobs. If you want to write content for environmental websites, start a blog about green living. If you want to be a travel writer, start a travel blog. When you begin applying for freelance writing jobs, you can include the link to your website or blog to showcase your talent and knowledge for the subject.

5. Write for free sparingly. Don’t fall for the job ads that offer “great exposure” or “experience” in lieu of monetary payment. If you’re going to write for free to build your portfolio, make a call to a local non-profit or charity, become a stringer for your local paper, or find some way to write for a good cause. No one will be impressed by your portfolio of articles written for most of the websites out there that don’t pay their writers. If you won’t be proud to showcase the website on your portfolio, don’t write for them for free.

6. Network with other freelance writers. One of the best ways to learn about freelance writing is to get to know other freelance writers. Visit forums and blogs for writers. Some good forums for freelance writers are: http://forums.writersweekly.com and http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums. Some good blogs for freelance writers are: http://thegoldenpencil.com and http://fabfreelancewriting.com/blog.

7. Simplify your job search. There are lots of different sites for finding freelance writing jobs, from sites where you bid on jobs to huge free sites like Craigslist. Fortunately, there are some websites and blogs out there that can help simplify your job search by bringing you a lot of job leads all in one place. Here are some of the better ones that are free: http://dailyjoblist.telecommuting-writing-jobs.com, http://www.freelancebloggingjobs.com, http://aboutfreelancewriting.com/jobs/currentjobs.htm, http://sunoasis.com/freelance.html, http://www.writersrow.com/deborahng, and http://www.freelancewriting.com/freelance-writing-jobs.php.

8. Don’t give up. Getting turned down for writing jobs and receiving rejection letters from editors can feel discouraging, even to experienced writers. Keep in mind that there is a LOT of competition out there. Learn from your mistakes, and keep trying. The end reward is worth it.

Since I don’t think there is only one way to begin freelance writing, and since I don’t know that my way is necessarily the right way for everyone, I tend to point new freelance writers to a few more resources:

My favorite book on beginning freelance writing:
Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer by Jenna Glatzer

Possibly the best website for freelance writers:
http://writersweekly.com
Writers Weekly has lots of articles for new and experienced freelance writers alike. They have an active forum for freelance writers. They list paying markets for writers and freelance writing jobs. If you subscribe to their weekly newsletter, you’ll receive it all by email every Wednesday.

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Freelance Writing Jobs - Telecommuting Writing Jobs for 7/17/07

by Amy Derby on July 17, 2007

A few select leads for freelance writing jobs from Telecommuting Writing Jobs today:

Get the whole list at Telecommuting Writing Jobs.

(leads for freelance writing jobs copied with permission by Telecommuting Writing Jobs)

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Avoid Freelance Writing Scams

by Amy Derby on July 16, 2007

In my almost daily quest for freelance writing jobs, I often come across suspicious looking posts. Later down the road, I’ll learn the ads were scams, usually because a freelance writer posts on a forum or blog about having been ripped off.

Often, the writing scams are for content writing jobs — usually the ones that offer a few bucks per article. I can often spot the ones that aren’t legitimate, because even their ads aren’t genuine — they’re usually plagiarized, often rip-offs of a previous poster’s ad for content writers. My feeling about those types of writing rip-offs is that if you’re foolish enough to offer your freelance writing services for $3 per article, you’re asking for it.

Then, there are the ads (usually on craigslist) for screenwriters or collaborators, or ads written by people claiming to be publishers or agents soliciting material from new writers — usually for a fee. Once again, if you’re foolish enough to believe that publishers and agents spend their time trolling sites like craigslist looking for submissions, you’re probably in for a good lesson learned the hard way.

But then, there are the more clever deceits. For example, while browsing Deb’s Freelance Writing Jobs blog, I noticed a craigslist ad posted by a publication calling themselves Life Gardens — their ad is here, although I suspect it will be flagged/removed soon. They claim to be paying $50-$200 for personal stories. Because I’ve been published by Common Ties, a legitimate site publishing personal stories, I immediately recognized the text of the Life Gardens ad as almost identical to the one Common Ties frequently posts on craigslist. To me this means that even if Life Gardens is legitimately purchasing stories, they are already plagiarists, so God knows what will be done with any submissions they receive. (My guess is they won’t pay at all — but that’s just my unconfirmed suspicion.) What’s unfortunate about this type of thing is that many new writers will probably submit to them and get screwed over. If I hadn’t been familiar with Common Ties and hadn’t recognized the Life Gardens ad as plagiarism, I might have submitted to them myself.

The lesson here: Always do some research on a publication, before you submit, in order to help protect yourself from getting scammed. Although a lot of times a gut feeling will be enough to go on, good scam artists do a better job of seeming legitimate. A simple Google search can often confirm a suspicion. If Google doesn’t turn up enough results to go on, that lack of feedback in itself might be a good sign to pass.

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Freelance Writing Jobs - Telecommuting Writing Jobs for 7/16/07

by Amy Derby on July 16, 2007

Looking for freelance writing jobs? Here are a few from today’s Telecommuting Writing Jobs daily job list:

Want the full list? Visit Telecommuting Writing Jobs.

(leads for freelance writing jobs copied with permission by Telecommuting Writing Jobs)

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Dealing with Depression as a Freelance Writer

by Amy Derby on July 15, 2007

There is no longer any denial of the links between creative people, including writers, and depression. I have struggled with depression since childhood, since long before I began my freelance writing career. However, I’ve noticed a connection between the isolation of my self-employment as a freelance writer and the frequency of my bouts of depression.

Over the years, I’ve learned the major triggers and contributing factors that make my depression worse. The major ones are:

* lack of sleep
* not eating regular meals
* feeling alone
* worrying about money
* excess stress

As a freelance writer, my triggers for depression are almost built into my career.

Example: I take a rush assignment and stay up until late hours of the night working. I skip dinner and breakfast. I’ve set myself up for lack of sleep and blood sugar issues.

Example: I foolishly believe I can rely on a client to pay me the $1500 he owes me for a project — after all, he’s always paid on time before. When the check doesn’t arrive by the end of the month, I start to panic about the rent. Now I’m stressed and worrying about money.

Example: My friend from San Francisco emails to say he’ll be in town for a few days. Unfortunately, I’ve already committed to a project which I know will require me to work 15 hour days the week my friend will be here. Because I feel alone, I begin to wonder whether it’s worth it to work in such an isolating profession.

9 days out of 10, I love what I do. I enjoy working at home. I appreciate not having to wear a suit. I don’t miss the office politics or endless gossip. But, like all other professions, a freelance writing career has its drawbacks.

Unfortunately, when I’m depressed, I tend fall back into the workaholic patterns that were necessary to survive a paralegal career. After all, if I’m working, I have no time or energy to concentrate on how crappy I feel. It’s either that or not get out of bed, blow off clients, and ultimately flush my career down the toilet. Not the perfect balance, to be sure, but for me, that’s just how it is.

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