freelance writing jobs Archives - Addicted to Writing

11 Writing Job Requirements That Are Against Freelance Nature

Posted on April 25, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

freelance picture — Image via teknosarj.com.

This is how wikipedia defines freelancing:

“A freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is somebody who is self-employed and is not committed to a particular employer long term.”

Pay attention to the “free” in the word freelancing. Freelancing is -by definition- different than a regular desk/office job. You don’t have one boss, you don’t have set working hours. You don’t typically make the same income every month.

Unfortuntely, economy is almost always tough, and many employers in the marketplace have some unreasonable demands, or just demands that resemble more of the demands of a controlling office boss.

Below are some of these unreasonable, un-freelance-like demands that I run into often:

1. Hourly pays

Some employers want to pay you hourly. While it can make sense for some writers, most freelancers like to freelance because of the freedom.

Some jobs can take you 30 minutes and some can take 4 hours. When you are expected to bill in, your performance and motivation can dramatically decrease.

Of course if you manage to snatch a writing job that pays $500/hour, by all means please take it. I know I would.

But jobs that pay $10/hour? Thanks, but no, thanks.

2. Webcam on desktop turned on

There are freelance job sites (such as odesk) and employers who request that they can see you working. It is a very odd demand, as even your ex office boss didn’t probably have a chance to watch you directly, unless you worked in a very small office.

How can you concentrate or feel liberated when you know someone can observe you anytime? Yikes.

3. Bidding

There are many bidding job sites, such as Elance, Guru, oDesk and more.

The concept on these sites is that an employer gives you his budget and you estimate how much your time should be worth. Then you make a bid at a common denominator.

But of course the employer will be likely to choose the writer that charges less, given that the credentials are equal. This doesn’t work in the favor of the writer as the cheapest most qualified writer tends to get the job. The only benefits here is obtained by the employer.

And since most projects don’t really involve impressive budgets, these bidding sites decrease the amount of money the writer is going to make.

4. No-pay jobs and Internships

The idea behind applying to a job is to make money. Some job posters do not disclose how much they are offering. And you quickly find out that this is mostly because they don’t intend to pay at all. Under the name of internship, recognition and work-experience, you are supposed to work for free. But who is going to pay for the bills?

5. Very low pay

Some businesses ask you to turn in about 10-20 articles a week. This is doable, unless you are expected to get $5 or less for each article. Then why would you do it? You could write whatever you wanted for user-generated content sites, and maybe earn even a little more, without being obliged to write about something you don’t have control over.

I am not defending content mills blindly, but I am really opposed to taking $5/article jobs. The lowest I ever went for was $10/500 words -on a topic I could write my eyes closed. Let me put it this way: I used to talk about these topics (my favorite bands) all the time when I was in high school. No one paid me then.

If an article is going to take you a lot of time, and it is not on a subject you’d write about even for free, even $20/500 words is low.

6. Low pay, but maximum quality requirements

Some companies do offer to pay you $1-5 per article, and moreover, they demand the quality of a $50-100 article. Yes, you heard right. This is not any more rational than a guy who demands a loyal wife while he wants to be allowed to sleep with whomever he wants. These are things that should never happen!

If noones takes these jobs, no matter how desperate they are, people won’t post it. If there is no supply, how can there be demand?

7. Only employing people from certain countries

Many employers have some specific location requirements. Of course being from New York would help if you are to write New York-related articles. But if you are going to write about universal topics, such as blog traffic tips, what difference does it make if you are in New Zealand and your employer lives in Japan?

8. Only hiring people of 5 years’ experience

Some jobs go very overboard with their requirements, such as demanding multiple years of experience. While experience is a bonus, not all jobs really require that much experience. Sometimes experience is wanted only for experience’s sake alone.

I mean, if you have 5 years of experience, chances are you are not applying to jobs to get clients. Clients are contacting to hire you.

9. Phone calls and face-to-face interviews

One of the most appealing things about freelancing in the 21st Century is that you can handle anything via an internet connection and a laptop.

However some editors like to treat their freelance writers as they are office-bound, or as if freelancers need to live nearby. While it might be helpful on some occasions, having to meet/see your employers is something you did frequently when you weren’t freelancing.

I’m not opposed to the occasional skype conferencing, but commuting to offices? It wouldn’t work unless you lived close to where the hiring company is located. Remember one of the most attractive things about freelancing versus office jobs: Eliminating commute!!!!

10. Revenue-sharing job ads

Many internet writers take advantage of revenue sharing sites such as Factoidz. I did. I actually still do. It is fun to get paid while I do article marketing and link-building.

However when I am searching for writing gigs, I don’t want to run into ads of a million sites who only pay according to your adsense earnings. There are already many websites that work in that fashion. If I were satisfied with their paychecks, I’d write for them only. After all, nothing hardly beats the freedom of writing about whatever you want.

11. Job ads of sites already famous for revenue sharing such as Hubpages and Suite 101

It might be a blessing for newbies to find out about as many revenue-sharing sites as they can but for a more seasoned web-writer, it becomes old and boring news. Because chances are you already checked out Hubpages or Suite 101 ages ago and you are either writing for them or you aren’t.

I really don’t want to see their ads on my favorite job-hunting sites!

What writing job requirements do you find against freelance nature? Do you agree with any of these 11 pet peeves of mine? What are yours?

The Writing Gig Checklist: What Makes a Writing Job Worth Taking?

Posted on April 19, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

Gerard Butler and Katherine Heigl at the The Ugly Truth premiere — Gerard Butler and Katherine Heigl at the The Ugly Truth movie premiere. Image via accesshollywood.com

If you have seen the movie The Ugly Truth, you might remember that Gerard Butler’s Mike accuses Katherine Heigl’s Abby of having a checklist when it comes to men. We all have our requirements when it comes to the type of people we want to date. And it only makes sense that as writers we have our checklist for the type of writing jobs we are willing to take.

Maybe Mike wasn’t a doctor or a lawyer. Maybe he did try to appear a lot cruder than he actually was. But in essence, he was nice, fun-loving, handsome, and romantic- and these are qualifications many women aren’t willing to stop searching for.

As writers, we may sometimes settle for less pay because we like the exposure potential or the topic. Or we might be willing to write something that is less exciting because of the prestige. But in general, there are some jobs that put a smile on our faces more than other gigs.

Here’s my checklist when it comes to accepting a gig:

1. The topic is fun for me. I hate writing about stuff that doesn’t interest me.

Technical writing, for instance, might pay the good bucks, but it does bore the hell out of me. And the main reason I became a writer is that I love writing- if I am writing about something that makes me feel good.

Being picky about the topics might make it hard to make more money, but in the long run, it will make you happier. And remember the great writing tip – if you like what you are writing about, it is a lot easier to write something great and enjoyable for the readers.

2. Pays via Paypal. I’m sorry, but this is the 21st century. Why use checks, when PayPal makes it easier for both the sender and the receiver?

3. Pays in accordance to the work it requires. There is no one specific flat fee that will please writers. $15/article may sound outrageously low, but if it takes 15 minutes to write that article, it just might feel better than taking a $100/article gig that takes several hours of research, several hours to write and more hours to edit it. Maybe it is just me, but I value my time. If it is going to take that long, and that much effort, maybe that job should pay $500/article.

4. The editor is helpful: The good thing about being a freelancer is that you don’t have a boss. The bad thing is that sometimes you feel like you have multiple bosses. They are called editors. I appreciate an editor who tries to get the best writing out of me. I don’t mind editing, just as long as my editor acts like a helpful mentor, rather than a merciless critic who acts like they don’t know what it is like to be the writer at the mercy of the editor.

5. Allows a byline/bio: Promotion is a writer’s best friend. It is beneficial to have a gig that will not only give you credit, but also some crucial information about you and your background- hopefully with a link to your website.

There we go. These are the 5 things I look for in a writing gig. What are your requirements?

7 Benefits Writers Can Get from Applying to Freelance Writing Jobs

Posted on April 10, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

writing cartoon — Cartoon on Writing via justkiddingcartoons.com

Applying to individual freelance job ads can sometimes be a tedious process. You might also feel like you would rather self-publish (it can be a book, or simply blogging) than going through all the formality of writing cover letters, customizing resumes and selecting or creating appropriate samples. Still, while it is not the most fun activity for writers, applying to different freelance gigs has many benefits:

Benefit 1: Market Research

You get to see which jobs are in demand, what’s expected of the blogger/writer (resumes, samples, blogs, years of experience, etc…). You also see what kind of jobs are available and how much which jobs pay.

Benefit 2: Publishing Industry Research

Sometimes there will be ads from publishers that they are expecting manuscripts. Now, you can and should search about them and see if they are trustworthy. But if they are in the clear, the good thing about these types of ads is that even though you don’t happen to have the manuscripts or collections of poetry they want. You will be able to add names to your list of publishers. Because you will be able to know what kind of stuff they are usually in need of, you can submit your work accordingly later on.

Benefit 3: Different Kinds of Jobs

There are jobs for editors, copywriters, article writers, article rewriters, website content with seo focus, novelists, bloggers, fiction writers, photographers, researches, business plan or grant writers and more.

You can analyze your strengths and weaknesses, along with your interests and expertise and be able to work as a writer in more areas than one.

Benefit 4: Enhanced Address Books

Some of these jobs come from craigslist. It is free to post ads on that site so many people choose their service. After all, who doesn’t like a respected website that doesn’t charge? The only problem with it, however, is the contact address of the poster of the job ad. More often than not, people choose to give a craigslist address. The address expires after the job is gone so you don’t have to option add the contacts and keep them for future use.

However some ads include the actual e-mail address of the editors. So even though one job isn’t right for you or you are not here, you can always use it later if you have a relevant sample. There is also the fact that craigslist addresses allow a very small attachment size in total. So a colorful CV with a nice picture, along with writing samples may be out of the question. However when private addresses are given, you are only limited by the storage capacity of your email account.

Benefit 5: Traffic to Your Blog and Articles

When you apply for jobs, you will often be asked to show samples. But most employers are happy with links to your published work online, especially if the job in question requires writing for the web. So you give links to your relevant articles. If the article is on a website where you earn money per page view, you will have at least guaranteed one view. If the link is to your blog, you will have gained one unique visitor. If the employer doesn’t hire you but likes your writing all the same, you might just have gained a reader.

Benefit 6: Entering the Database

Many employers would rather choose to work with writers they have already worked with. And instead of going through all the hassle of posting another ad, they would rather look at resumes and samples they have already acquired. There is a big chance that a writer who wasn’t perfect for the previous job might just be the right person for the current gig. It is always beneficial to be in the database. Because the next job might just find you.

Benefit 7: Customizing Your CV

I had previously discussed that looking for a job in writing wasn’t all that different than job-hunting in other areas – Customizing your CV is necessary in all professions if you are applying for different positions.

You don’t want to send movie reviews to a fashion editor. And you don’t want to send an academic article when you are applying as a gossip columnist.It takes time, but after a while, it becomes easier to prepare quality resumes, customized appropriately for the targeted job and it won’t take much of your time after you have gotten used to the process.

Plus, keep in mind that there are many individuals out there looking to hire writers to write their resumes for them. If you become good at this area, you can use your acquired skills to help others and make money through the process as well.

So do you agree with these benefits? Do you have any more benefits to add? Let me know.