Posted by Jodee Redmond
Looking for writers to create editorial style articles of approximately 500 words on topics related to world news through the view of Christian eschatology. Pay for articles is $10 – $20, with higher pay for longer articles.
Please send e-mail to larry.amon(at)gmail.com.
by david 14 Comments
by Contestant Mary Hay Davis
1. Not All of Your Time Will Be Spent Writing – When I committed to becoming a full-time freelance writer, I had glorious visions of spending my days pounding away at the keyboard creating masterful compositions. What I neglected to consider was how much of my time would be consumed by administrative tasks such as bookkeeping, invoicing, website maintenance (just to name a few) that took a good chunk of time away from my writing. [Read more…]
by david 44 Comments
by Jodee Redmond
Good morning FWJ Friends! Today was a much better day on the job lead front, and I’ve got opps for bloggers, technical writers, and copywriters for you this morning. There are gigs for content writers and one for a comedy writer as well. I hope you find something on today’s list that will be a perfect fit for your skills and abilities. If you do, please pull up a (virtual) chair and tell us about it!
Leads… [Read more…]
by david 17 Comments
I noticed a thread on another discussion board talking about whether more established writers should help newbies. Apparently, some people think that we should leave the newbies to their own devices and not answer questions or give them a helping hand along the way.
This attitude is just plain wrong. Ever since I’ve been working online, I have been impressed more times than not about how generous people have been with their time and their advice. Some of them were people I was working with at the time, and others were just people who popped up to share their experiences on a message board and then went on their way.
People who will only share what they know if the WIIFM factor has been dealt with exist in the brick and mortar world, too. I wonder if they get some kind of a power trip from hanging onto their knowledge like a piece of hidden treasure.
One of the things I like about writing for a living is that I am constantly learning something. It might be an interesting fact, a great quote that I hadn’t heard before, or how to tackle an assignment in a different way. If it weren’t for people I’ve “met” online sharing what they know, I wouldn’t have learned
and a lot of other things….
I’ve mentioned a few times here that the business of writing is about building relationships, and when we are generous with what we know by sharing information with other people, we are doing just that. We all have to start somewhere, and it doesn’t take a lot of effort to share what you know with your colleagues. Even if you don’t see any “benefit” from doing it immediately, doing the right thing is always in style.
Besides, at some point that new writer may be in a position to hire you!
by david 27 Comments
by Contestant #2
A writer’s income can fluctuate greatly and finding ways to save money is essential for trying to maintain some balance between your income and expenses. You can reduce your expenses with these helpful tips compiled specifically with the writer in mind:
Forget the long distance feeling. If you frequently make long distance phone calls to your clients or editor, invest in a prepaid long distance phone card to reduce your long distance calling expenses. Be sure to check all the details on the back of the card for possible service charges or restrictions.
Stop the Spies. Save money on costly computer repairs by installing anti-virus and anti-spyware software on your computer. Reputable computer related websites such as www.pcworld.com have various anti-virus and anti-spyware software that you can download for free. Some programs are available for a limited time trial period and some can be used indefinitely.
Don’t dodge the draft. If you are printing your work to proofread and edit, change your printer preference setting to ‘draft’ mode to save on your ink usage. However, never print your final mailing manuscript in draft mode – editors prefer crisp, clean fonts.
Get acquainted with your local printing house. If you have a large project to print, save it on a CD and email it or hand deliver the disk to your local printing house. A 100 page manuscript will cost under $10 to have printed, whereas you would need two ink cartridges to print it from your computer at a substantially higher cost.
The tax man beckons. If you run a legitimate business and designate space in your home specifically for office use, you may be entitled to some tax deductions on your income tax return. Check with your government’s income tax department for all the particulars.
Reduce, Reuse, Refill. Whilst working on a large project that will require multiple pages of printing or editing, you can save money by purchasing a refillable ink cartridge kit and refilling your own cartridges instead of purchasing new ones.
Pass on the post-it notes. Little sticky post it notes are super convenient but can be expensive and sometimes get lost. Reduce your use of post it notes and keep a permanent record of your notes by investing in small spiral notebook. No more sticky notes sucked up by the vacuum cleaner!
Free webhosting – yours for the taking. There are plenty of free webhosting companies that you can use to create and host your author’s website. They are easy to use with pre-existing templates, guest books, blogs, and photo uploading capabilities. You can also upgrade your site with add on features for a nominal fee. A few sites to check out are: www.freewebs.com and www.bravenet.com.
Free yourself with free classified ads. The internet is host to various free advertising venues where you can promote your services at no cost. Popular sites such as www.kijiji.com and www.craigslist.org are home to hundreds of classifieds ads and receive thousands of hits each day. Both sites are simple to use and free of charge for basic ads.
Cheap promotion and publicity. Promoting oneself need not break the bank – become a celebrity in your own community, home town, or city. Offer your services at events held by your local school, library, or arts council. Consider reading at an elementary school, guest speaking at a high school career day, or judging the library’s writing contest.
Remember what your grandmother used to say; take care of the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves!
by david 10 Comments
Good morning FWJ Friends! It’s quiet on the boards this morning but I do have some opps for bloggers, technical writers, and translators. There is a listing for a music critic, as well as one for a screenwriter. If you get hired for any of these, please stop by and let us know. Your success stories encourage and inspire other writers!
Leads…
Good Luck!
Jodee
by david 6 Comments
The other day Jennifer asked if one needed a college degree to blog. I didn’t get a chance to respond, but I’ll admit here and now I never graduated college. I always loved to write, however, and as an editorial and administrative assistant in a busy publishing house, I was able to learn from some of the best in the business. I thank my lucky stars for that experience as it allowed me to be a successful freelance writer and blogger.
Heck yeah. How many times have you come across a poorly written blog post and walked away either wondering what the blogger was going on about, or wanting to fix his misspellings or tighten up his sentence structure?
Now I’m not saying you need an advanced degree in communications, nor am I saying you have to follow a strict journalistic format. My point is that if you’re going to be writing for others you should have a good command of the language, a way with words, and the ability to get one’s point across without digressing too much.
What I love best about blogging is its informality. I can use my own voice and talk in the manner I feel most comfortable. The last thing i want is for someone to walk away from a read feeling as if I didn’t say anything or that I’m a really poor writer. Poor writing skills detract and distract.
Yes. You do need skills. Perhaps not in the formal sense, but if you want to blog, you should know how to write first.
by david 20 Comments
by Misti Sandefur
Whether you choose to self-publish your book or publish through traditional publishing, you’ll always play a part in the marketing process. Yes, many of the big publishing houses lend a hand with getting the word out about your book, but when you help market your book using your own techniques, you’ll see much bigger royalty checks.
Over the course of eight years as a published author, I’ve discovered unique places to market my books — places you may not have thought of. With that said, I’d like to share my top 10 list of unique places to market your book.
1. Carnivals
If you’ve ever went to carnivals in your local area you know there’s usually a variety of vendors selling items such as fireworks, knives, food, crafts and more. Why not add your books to the mix. Get in touch with your local city hall to find out how you can set up a booth at an upcoming carnival in your area. You’ll have to invest in your books and possibly pay a fee for the booth space, but the final result could be profitable!
2. Flea Markets
Each time I visit flea markets, I see many vendors selling SMC products, and after a while it gets boring. Why? Because each booth with SMC products sell the same things. As an avid reader, I’d love to come across a few flea market booths selling books, but I’ve not discovered too many of those. Honestly, I get tired of seeing SMC product after SMC product, so if I ran across you selling your book at a flea market, I’d probably run to your booth! A change of scenery will attract attention.
3. Local Festivals
Build your local brand and get recognized by your community by selling your book at local festivals. Contact festival organizers in your area and ask them how you can set up a booth at the next festival. It may surprise you just how much traffic your booth could attract.
4. Hospital gift shops
Visit hospitals in your area and speak with them about stocking your book in the hospital’s gift shop. Even if you have to arrange to stock them on consignment, it could be worth your time and investment. After all, visitors and patients need something to occupy their time at the hospital, right?
5. Theme parks
Each year theme parks attract thousands of people, but the rides aren’t the only thing they enjoy. Many visitors also enjoy shopping in the gift shops scattered throughout the theme parks. Next time you visit a gift shop at a theme park, speak with the manager or owner about stocking a few of your books in their gift shop. Take along your brochure, a sell sheet and ordering information to leave with them. If the theme park is nearby, you could arrange to place your books in the gifts shops on consignment as well.
6. Mail order catalogs
Find catalogs related to your book and contact the person who distributes the catalog. Ask the person how you can go by having your book placed in their catalog. You may have to pay a fee, but it could be worth the investment. Another option would be to make a deal with the person distributing the catalog and offer him or her a percentage of all sales. Making this deal could save you from having to pay a large advertising fee.
7. Yard sale
Next time you have a yard sale place a few autographed copies of your book on a table of its own. Discount the book to where you’ll still make a profit. Include a free bookmark with each sale.
8. Billboard signs
Although billboard advertising is expensive, they say it’s effective. Think about it for a minute. How many billboards do you read when you’re the passenger in a car? Personally, when I see an ad on a billboard for something that interests me, I write down the information I need to find out more. Then, once the driver and I reach our destination, I refer back to the information about each product or service I wanted to find out more about.
If you believe you can work billboard advertising into your marketing budget, visit Outdoor Billboard (http://www.outdoorbillboard.com/) for a listing of billboards for rent and sale.
9. Public benches
Marketing your book on a public bench is also costly, but effective. You’ll usually see benches with advertising on them at intersections, parks, bus stops, golf courses and in front of stores. To learn more about bench advertising, Google public bench advertising, include quotes around the phrase.
10. Local mall
Phone the mall in your area and ask to speak with the person in charge of leasing. Once you have that person on the line, ask them how much it costs to lease a space in the mall, as well as the best locations to sell books.
When paying for booth space, team up with another author in your area and share the cost.
Have you discovered a unique place to market your book? Then by all means help add to this list by sharing in the comments area below. If you know of more than one unique place not already mentioned above, feel free to share your list on your writing-related blog, and mention this post as your inspiration. But don’t forget to return here and leave a link to your post in the comments area, so we writers can add to our list. 😉
by david 15 Comments
by Becky Scott
Many writers forget that as freelancers, we’re also businesspersons. There are things we must do, no matter how distasteful. Paperwork. Marketing. Deadlines (okay, so maybe some of us don’t mind deadlines).
Our reality, though, is that we must take care of our business if we’re going to really make it as a freelancer. And there are things we can do to make it easier on ourselves so we can do what we love – write!
1) Find a system and stick to it.You can waste a lot of time chasing the newest, shiniest organizational system. You don’t need that. Find something that works for you. Then use it consistently.
2) Track your expenses.If you track as you go, it will make tax time so much easier for you. Who wants to spend all day going through receipts? Just a few minutes each day or week is all you need.
3) Have a plan.Plan out your time. Take an hour or two a week to do administrative work. If you take regular bites out of it, it’ll be less scary.
4) Use a calendar.It doesn’t matter if you like paper or electronic calendars. Just use one consistently to track deadlines – that includes when payments and invoices are due, as well as your writing deadlines.
5) Track your payments.Know how much money you have outstanding. When you get a check, deposit it. If you only go to the bank once a week, keep your checks together until then. And after you deposit, mark the invoices paid. If you do this as you go along, you won’t panic thinking you lost a check. You’ll know exactly where your money should be.
6) Get a business checking account.You’ll look more like a legitimate business and that’s good for your taxes. And for some writing jobs, too. Businesses sometimes like to hire other businesses.
7) File paperwork regularly.Again, if you want to have more time to write, do those little administrative tasks regularly. Like filing. Take little chunks out of it rather than making it into a big monster that you dread attacking.
8) Market yourself consistently.Don’t just wait until you don’t have anything lined up. Take some time every week to send out queries, scan the job listings daily, and keep the work rolling in. Don’t you work better when you don’t have to worry about where the next gig is going to come from? If you market consistently, you’ll have work consistently.
9) Get an accountant.Unless you’re a CPA yourself or you just really like tax stuff, hire an accountant. Yes, you’ll be paying for a service that you can probably do yourself given enough time. But do you want to spend your time wrestling numbers, or writing?
10) Track your clients.Remember that company that needed a report last year? Have you followed up with them for more work? And the editor that loved your article four months ago? Did you follow up to say thank you? Tracking satisfied clients can garner you more business. Just give them a quick call or e-mail to see what they need from you.
These ten things can sometimes seem like huge chores to a writer. But if you break them into chunks and work your way through them, you can move on to what you are really here for – to write!
Becky is a freelance writer and editor in San Diego, Ca. She writes about a variety of topics including business organization and productivity, automotive info for women, personal blogging and celebrity real estate gossip. Visit her online at www.beckyscorner.com
by david 55 Comments
The last few days, I’ve seen a few too many ads posted online looking for writers where the client wants to pay something in other than legal tender. Being rather passionate about what I do and feeling a bit crusty today besides, I decided to share a few thoughts with you on this matter.
Here’s a few examples of the “offers” I’ve been recently where employers are offering writers the chance to write for :
Now, I can use good karma as much as the next person, but as far as payment is concerned, that doesn’t really cut it. When the day comes that I can buy groceries or pay my bills in “karma” or by showing someone my name in print, we can talk. Until then, I am a professional writer and I deserve to be paid for what I do. And if I want “exposure,” I’ll give Hugh Hefner a call…
I appreciate that a business owner must keep an eye on outgoing expenses and that not all clients have deep pockets. The excuse that you have a startup and can’t afford to pay doesn’t fly with me. If you can plan for and find funding for other expenses involved in running a biz, then either you budget for writers or you do the work yourself until you can afford to hire someone.
I am not into suffering for my art. I work hard and I deserve to be paid like anyone else who works and offers a service. That doesn’t mean that I can’t be flexible and I won’t try to work within a client’s budget. I can and I do.
Now, there is always more than one side to a story and I have to wonder if writers are not contributing to this problem, too. Are some of us so desperate to get our names “out there” that we are willing to give our work away? To my mind, an employer wouldn’t be offering these kinds of terms if on some level they didn’t think it was OK.
Being a good writer is both a skill and an art. If writers want to be treated like skilled professionals with a valuable service to offer, then we need to start seeing ourselves in that way first. Then it will be much easier to say “No” to someone who wants us to give our talents away.
