Freelance Writing Jobs for May 6, 2009
May 6, 2009 by Deb
Filed under Writing Gigs
Good morning. In looking at the schedule ahead, I see I have a very busy day. I’m finding that if I begin work at 7:30 when my family is on their way, and work straight through until 2:30, I have 7 uninterrupted hours to get things done. After that, I have time for my family, the house, and more. Of course, this is easier said than done as I find myself working ten hours a day and more.
Still, I think today’s tip of the day is to find uninterrupted blocks of time to work, and try and do this the same time every day. This puts you in the proper “work” mindset and allows you to be more productive than if you’e dropping what you’re doing to break up fights or make snacks for your little guys. Before my son was in school, I woke at 4:00 a.m. and worked until 7:00 or 8:00 a.m. and again during the two and a half hours preschool was in session. Having regularly scheduled blocks of time also helps others to understand when you’re busy and when you can be interrupted.
How are we liking the leads lately?
When are your blocks of time?
Leads…
- Freelance Writers - White Bear Lake, MN – $40/article
- Writers Wanted to Write Books
- Freelance Copy Editor – NYC
- Call for Pitches – Financial Crisis – Huffington Post
- Expat Life Blogger and Networker - $20 – $30/post
- Financial Regulation Writer
- Freelance Bloggers
- Freelance Copywriter for Landing Page
- Cell Phone Reviews – $55/review
- Articles on Writing – $10
- Freelance Writer for Medical Spa
- Creative E Mail Blast Copywriter - Toronto
- Wine Writers - Vancouver
- Financial Newsletter Writer – Vancouver
- Seeking 3 Creative Copywriters
- Content Writers for SmartMoneyJournal.com
- Technical Proposal Writer - Gilbert AZ
- Freelance Writer/Blogger – $15/post
- Copy Editor – Monterey – Telecommute OK
- Writers - Various topics – $20 – $30/ hour
- Writer for Marketing Articles
- Educational Writer – Math, Chemistry, Biology, Music – $20/hour Telecommute OK
- Freelance Music Trivia Writer Wanted - Kennesaw, GA – $300/month
- Writer/Blogger for Technology/Science/Future Blog
- Writer for Article Website - $20 – $25/article
- Fashion & Environmental Bloggers
- Freelance Bilingual Copywriter
- Writer for Health Insurance Website
- Proofreading/Editing
- Writer for Special Project - $35/hour
- Full Time “Bro” Blogger - May be telecommute.
- Seeking Bestselling Author for Ghostwritten Novel
- College Web Magazine Seeks Writers
- Grant Writer - $400
- Ghost Writer Needed
- Writer Needed - seattle – 60 day contract
Good luck!
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Right now, my block is very short because of half day kindergarten, but once school kicks in again, I’ll be able to work from 8:30 until about 2 and still have time get some workouts in. I currently find myself working even while the little one is home until just after lunch and then we hit the road for a while and back to work until the older one is home. You give good advice – I think I’d procrastinate less if I had a more regular routine for myself.
I keep sending in queries, and am writing for a few nastily low-paying AMS and article services. I love these leads for the most part but am not getting the amount of responses I think I should be getting by now. I’ve been reading this blog for several months and don’t know what else to do.
WHY DID I GO TO ARTS SCHOOL????
Most of the time my roommate is gone to work during the weekday from 8am – 6pm. Fortunately I don’t have kids to cause distractions, but I do have a puppy that seems to have figured out her own schedule. She eats at the same time, sleeps at the same time, and wants to go out at the same time every day. It works out well because I get good four hour chunks of time, then a convenient break that allows me to come back focused.
Today, however, my roommate is home and won’t be going to work until later. This has the dog in a more playful mood and I am distracted.
My schedule varies month to month depending on what my goals are. For this month, I’m getting up at 7 a.m., spending half an hour waking up reading e-mails and browsing sites, then doing 12 kilometers on the elliptical + pilates and weights, having a light breakfast, then I take a shower and settle in for 3-4 hours of work. I try to have my freelance work done by noon.
I take a break at noon and watch a show or two, or play a game for a couple of hours, then I get into the creative writing (chapter work, or short story prep). Sometimes I’ll put a nap in there somewhere. Wife gets off work/out of class around 6 or 7 and I generally go out with her for a walk to the park in the evening, then we get home and I make her dinner while she does her blogging and such. Sometimes I’ll sneak some bonus work in during the evening hours , usually taking about 45 min to an hour to do so, and by then it’s 9 or 10 p.m. and we watch our favorite shows together and head to bed around midnight. Pretty much the same routine every day.
I do my freelance work in the morning because she’s either at work, or she sleeps in when she has days off, and I can get my work out of the way by the time she is off work or waking up. On Saturdays and Sundays in particular she’ll sleep in till noon, so I have plenty of time to get my quotas in before she’s up, then I get her breakfast made and we kick back and watch a couple of our shows and usually head out for an afternoon at the park, or sometimes we’ll see a movie or hang out around the house and work on craft stuff or play video games all afternoon/evening. Pretty relaxed, for the most part.
I’m really trying to keep my freelance work down below 4 hours a day, so I don’t burn out. I’m making 25-30 dollars an hour on average right now, and I shoot for 100 dollars a day, which is usually right around the 3.5-4 hour mark. As long as I start by 9ish, I can usually be wrapping up shortly after noon, sometimes close to 1 p.m. Then I have the afternoon to do whatever I want.
It’s been a weird year for me. The school year started out with high school bus service dropped to cut the school budget, so I had to start transporting my son to and from the high school (10 miles away.) Once I had a carpool established, I was only doing afternoon pick-ups every other week so I’d start work at 7am and work until 1pm during the week and then scattered hours through the weekend. This spring, two of the moms decided that since their sons were participating in track, they no longer should have to drive the other boys and dropped out. The other mom could only do afternoons, so I now drive mornings and she picks up. My schedule now is 8am to 2pm and I still work some weekends.
Summer vacation is nearing. This year, I’ll have a friend’s daughter with me five days a week because her daycare provider burned out and took a job with a fast food chain. My daughter offered to keep her busy in the mornings, so I’ll probably get up at 5am, shower and then work until noon.
One thing I’ve learned is never to come up with too rigid a schedule because situations change. Like T.W. I aim for $80 to $100 a day and once I’ve reached that mark, I’m move on to other things like laundry, dinner prep, housework and then reading for my review site.
Hi! The expat blogger link is broken! It goes right to “page not found” but on FWJ.
@ Melissa: I Googled the phrase “Expat Life Blogger and Networker” and found this link for the ad: http://jobs.problogger.net/view/2243
Hope that helps!
)
I work in two stages 10am up to 5pm, when the house is empty; then, from after 11p up to 4am, when the house is quiet. I try to do about 10 hours a day — research, writing, and crunching numbers.
I am another shift worker, I go from wakeup to about 2-3 with writing what I have outlined the previous night, and then about 6-10 at night I outline for the following day;)
Does anyone know if Atlantic Publishing (second gig on today’s list) is legit? I did a search and some unusual stuff came up. Just checking.
@Guichard: How do you do it? Coffee? I am jealous!
First off – I must know where you get these funny coffee clip art graphics. I just love them and want to use them myself!
As for blocks of time, I’m a morning person, so I’m at my desk by about 7 a.m. After checking emails to make sure no emergencies have popped up for the day, I use my white board and list my tasks and client must-do activities for the day. Then I’m off and writing. I work in blocks from about 8 am to 10, take a short break, then work until noon, another short break, and do another four hour block. I seem to be able to concentrate for about four hours, then I’m beat and need a break. Fortunately, with an active young dog, the breaks are mandatory and involve long walks and ball playing!
@emmbee – I reviewed books for Atlantic Publishing. They paid on time, but then forgot they’d paid me and two weeks later emailed me saying I hadn’t submitted an invoice and therefore wouldn’t get paid. So their record keeping seemed to be off. Everything seems to be sent to one person, I’ve never dealt with anyone other than
I’m not 100 percent on their book writing jobs. I’ve heard the book is due within 90 days. That’s a pretty short timespan to complete an book.
Ugh. Having a husband home is distracting. I meant “anyone other than Amanda.”
I try to find blocks of time, but it’s difficult to do so because I’m homeschooling my 16 year old nephew. We work in 40 minute chunks per subject (7 of them), but it isn’t uninterrupted because questions come up along the way. We work in this manner until my other 3 children get off thier bus at 3pm, and then it’s homework and reading time with them. Following that is, of course, supper and housework. So, unless I stay up all night (Calgon, take me away!), I can’t really find an uninterrupted chunk with the type of schedule I carry.