Which online writing and blogging jobs pay the best?

This week we’re discussing single parents who write online for a living.

Writing for a living is rare depending on your niche, and I’d wager that freelance bloggers and web writers fall into an even rarer niche. Single parents who write online and blog AND make a good living probably fall into an even rarer niche. At least up to this point. The good news is that web writing gigs are on the rise.

The Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-09 Ed. says these general writing jobs are where the best opportunities are:

• “Technical writing, blogging, and other writing for interactive media that provide readers with nearly real-time information.
• Print magazines and other periodicals increasingly are developing market niches, appealing to readers with special interests, and making Internet-only content available on their websites.
• Businesses and organizations are developing newsletters and websites, and more companies are publishing materials directly for the Internet.
• Online publications and services are growing in number and sophistication, spurring the demand for writers and editors, especially those with Web experience.”

The OOH also notes, “Replacement needs are relatively high in this occupation because many freelancers leave because they cannot earn enough money.” Which is good news if you’re looking for work, but sort of a downer too; others leave because pay is low, but people are ready to step in.

The above is just general information though. In the last post, I noted that as a single parent you need to aim high and find the highest paying gigs. Where are those jobs?

First of all, to know if you’ve got a decent paying gig on you hands you need to calculate your hourly rates in order to figure out if a client is worth it. No writer should skip these steps, but they’re very important if you’re the sole bread winner. It doesn’t pay to take 20 low paying gigs vs. 5 higher paying gigs and these steps help to point this out.

Where I’m seeing (or not seeing) the best paying writing jobs online: Read more

Tips that can make working at home as a single parent easier

In my last post I asked if single parents can successfully work at home and make a living writing online or blogging. In this post some reasons why you might try, and some basic tips.

Why would you try something like freelancing as a single parent, especially when the odds are stacked pretty high against even non-single parent writers?:

• You have a small baby and would like to stay home to care for him.
• You’re homeschooling your kids – hard, very hard. Been there personally and it’s soooo hard. But it’s one reason.
• You don’t have reliable transportation to another sort of job.
• You can’t find work that fits with your kid’s schedule.
• You just feel that writing is the gig for you.

Personally, I stay home and write due to my son’s school. We were unschooling, then when the ex got way too lame for his own good let alone mine, I left and my son was still at home with me. That was way too much stress, and just plain too hard on me, so now my son attends a free school. It’s perfect for an unschooler, but there are no after school programs, and so I need to be available for him from 3pm until bedtime. Before I split with my ex, I was a PT at-home writer, so the transition to FT was a little more natural for me. If I don’t work at home my son will have to go to public school, because no decent jobs end at 3pm (like his school) and for me that’s a horrid thought.

If you have a choice, another job is way easier though.

But say you don’t have another choice. Some things that can make it easier to work at home as a freelance writer and single parent include the following… Read more

Can single parents make a living working online freelance writing & blogging

I don’t know how many single parents read this blog, but I tend to blog what I know, so this week, we’re going to look at something I know a lot about, making a living freelancing as a single parent.

You can look online and find hundreds of articles about how to make a million freelance writing, but in reality, I think the outlook is bleaker than people say. From most of the many writers and bloggers I talk to (not just single parents) money is short or just about on target vs. overflowing. If you’re a single parent the odds are way harder for you to make it as a successful freelance online writer or blogger.

As a single parent you’ve got:

• Kids, dinner, chores, etc., but all on your own vs. split in some nice way.
• A limited availability of long hours.
• No partner’s health insurance plan.
• No partner’s help should something fall through.
• Limited ability to take on a PT job doing something else should you have a bad writing income month.
• No back up.
• Limited ability to attend press events you’re invited to and you can’t just pop off to interview a good source at any old time.
• Lots of stress.
• Did I mention LOTS of stress?

Read more