For those on my friend's list who have considered writing for a living but do not know how to go about finding people who will pay them for it, here is some help. Several sites are looking for content and copy writers, but some are better than others when it comes to paying promptly and supplying assignments.
My favorites on the low end of the payscale:
Iwriter.com pays by the article. They've reduced the pay recently, but there is a very steady stream of work for those who want it. You can get $1.62 for a 300 word article, $2.43 for a 500 word article, and $4.05 for 700 words. If a requester really likes your work, that person can hire you directly and at a higher pay scale. This site is my favorite because you have the option of being payed weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.
Interactmedia.com is another site similar to Iwriter, but with a different payscale that is based on a per-word fee. The amount you can make varies but most of the articles I've seen people request are worth between .7 cents and 7 cents a word. That works out to about $1.40 per 200 words at .7 cents or $14 per 200 words if the assignment pays 7 cents a word. That site offers pretty steady work as well, but the good assignments get taken a lot quicker than the ones that pay poorly. Keep that in mind.
For both sites, in order to qualify, you have to sign up and provide a work sample. Neither site is hard to join as they do not have the highest standards for new writers. That works for people who are just starting out as article writers and may have a few problems with grammar, researching ability and other issues. However, if you are a seasoned writer and want to find work that is more suited to your abilities, there are other sites to consider that pay almost as quickly but have a stricter qualifying process.
Higher paying sites include:
ConstantContent.com is a site with a long list of submission guidelines. If you can manage to produce a good enough sample to join this site, you will be rewarded with access to a job board that has articles that range from $10 to $40. A person could make a really good living writing for this site, but if you have the confidence and drive to do this it would be best to leave the lower paying sites alone so that you have time to focus only on jobs that will pay you well. As for me, my confidence level is not quite there although I get really good ratings on all of the sites that I have joined.
Textbrokers.com pays slightly more than Iwriter or Interact Media, but not as much as Constent Content. Their job board is constantly full of assignments, so there should be no problem finding steady work. I love this site for the variety of assignments that are available.
Essay writing sites:
If you do not have a problem with the thought that you may be helping some student to cheat, there are a lot of academic writing companies out there that are willing to pay well for someone to write reports, dissertations, and other assignments. Now, they claim that it is only for "research", but who are we kidding? That student is going to put his or her name on those papers and quicker than you can say "I'm done", receive a better grade than classmates who put their all into their work. It is truly a shame, and somewhat scary considering that I have seen doctoral dissertations for nurses, engineers and lawyers posted to those boards. Seriously, do you want to hire a lawyer knowing that I might have been the one to do his graduate study coursework? Nevertheless, here is a list of sites that hire freelancers to do academic writing.
Essaywriters.net is perhaps the easiest site to join because while they ask if you have credentials, they do not really do a lot of checking before they hire. That is not the best endorsement of a site that I can give, but it is the truth. If you can answer a few questions about plagiarism and coherently write an essay about essays in less than 10 minutes, congratulations--you may now write on this site.
eSWO.net has a stricter joining policy. As a matter of fact, I have not yet gotten word from them concerning my application. For their site, you actually have to produce 3 writing samples--one in MLA Style, one in Chicago Style and one in APA.
Bidding sites are sites that make you bid on work against other freelancers around the world. To be honest, my experience on these sites has not been as positive as on the other sites. Freelancer.com has a lot of openings, but it is hard to make any decent money if you have to bid against people who are willing to write 1000 words for $2. Seriously, I would rather find work on the other sites. If you have the patience, and the time to wait for that big assignment, feel free to check it out. Guru.com, Elance.com and oDesk.com are all similar in the kinds of work you can bid on and the number of bidders that you are competing against.
Well, that's all for now. I have to get back to work. If this post or my previous one have inspired you to try your hand at writing for a living, good luck.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Articles, and deadlines and ratings--Oh MY!
It's been an interesting year. What am I talking about--it's always an interesting year. My life changes more in an average month than the average person's does in a decade, but I always seem to find myself in the same place I started but in a different position. Strange.
I am in school now, studying Business Administration at South University Online. So far, my grades are really good because the classes are really easy. I mean, I'm the perpetual student at heart so there is really nothing the professors have said that I don't already know. The only difference is that now I am getting the tangible evidence of what I know to show off to those who were doubters. LOL. Seriously, though, I really do need to complete this degree if only to prove to myself that I can. I am determined, and if I can stay on track, I will be done with the Bachelor's Degree portion in 2013. My goal is to have my MBA by 2016 and my DBA by 2020. Of course, if it turns out that the world really does end in 2012, I guess all bets are off. Maybe Jesus will grant me an honorary doctorate for teaching Bible study all these years. (*smiling*)
All the kids are back in school now too. YAYYY!!! My youngest is loving it, but it is a challenge because she has diabetes. I get daily updates from the school nurse, and it is kind of funny when she is trying to figure out why Mary's morning blood sugar is 230 when she claims to have only eaten a cup of sugar free jello for breakfast. I had to let her know that it was not jello but the oatmeal that she ate before leaving home that had her sugar at that level.
Did I tell you I'm writing now? Yeah, full time, freelancing from the comfort of my own bedroom. Fun times... sometimes. There are times, though, that I am tempted to just try to find a real job. However, living in Franklin, LA without a car is different from living in Clearwater, FL or Atlanta, GA because at least there is public transportation in those areas. Here, what passes for public transport is St. Mary CAA's work transportation van, which may or may not get you there on time. Thanks, but no thanks. Right now, I control when and how hard I work. My goal for next month is to make at least as much as the average job outside the home. Currently, I'm making anywhere from $3 to $6 an hour depending on the kind of assignments I take, but that is quickly changing as I develop a reputation on certain sites. On iWriter.com, where I have a 5 star rating, I have one client who likes my writing so much that I am the only writer he will hire to produce content for his new websites. Since it's pretty much the same thing from one site to another, his articles only take about 20 to 30 minutes to write and I am able to complete a 9 article assignment in about 3 hours.
I sometimes struggle to meet the deadlines on the academic writing sites, but because I am a thorough researcher and my results are consistent, requesters are often willing to overlook that. I am getting better with scheduling assignments so that I do not become overwhelmed. It will be great when I get everything lined up so that I am writing for only one site a day or on a similar schedule to that. Right now, it's a matter of finding balance.
I am in school now, studying Business Administration at South University Online. So far, my grades are really good because the classes are really easy. I mean, I'm the perpetual student at heart so there is really nothing the professors have said that I don't already know. The only difference is that now I am getting the tangible evidence of what I know to show off to those who were doubters. LOL. Seriously, though, I really do need to complete this degree if only to prove to myself that I can. I am determined, and if I can stay on track, I will be done with the Bachelor's Degree portion in 2013. My goal is to have my MBA by 2016 and my DBA by 2020. Of course, if it turns out that the world really does end in 2012, I guess all bets are off. Maybe Jesus will grant me an honorary doctorate for teaching Bible study all these years. (*smiling*)
All the kids are back in school now too. YAYYY!!! My youngest is loving it, but it is a challenge because she has diabetes. I get daily updates from the school nurse, and it is kind of funny when she is trying to figure out why Mary's morning blood sugar is 230 when she claims to have only eaten a cup of sugar free jello for breakfast. I had to let her know that it was not jello but the oatmeal that she ate before leaving home that had her sugar at that level.
Did I tell you I'm writing now? Yeah, full time, freelancing from the comfort of my own bedroom. Fun times... sometimes. There are times, though, that I am tempted to just try to find a real job. However, living in Franklin, LA without a car is different from living in Clearwater, FL or Atlanta, GA because at least there is public transportation in those areas. Here, what passes for public transport is St. Mary CAA's work transportation van, which may or may not get you there on time. Thanks, but no thanks. Right now, I control when and how hard I work. My goal for next month is to make at least as much as the average job outside the home. Currently, I'm making anywhere from $3 to $6 an hour depending on the kind of assignments I take, but that is quickly changing as I develop a reputation on certain sites. On iWriter.com, where I have a 5 star rating, I have one client who likes my writing so much that I am the only writer he will hire to produce content for his new websites. Since it's pretty much the same thing from one site to another, his articles only take about 20 to 30 minutes to write and I am able to complete a 9 article assignment in about 3 hours.
I sometimes struggle to meet the deadlines on the academic writing sites, but because I am a thorough researcher and my results are consistent, requesters are often willing to overlook that. I am getting better with scheduling assignments so that I do not become overwhelmed. It will be great when I get everything lined up so that I am writing for only one site a day or on a similar schedule to that. Right now, it's a matter of finding balance.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
