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.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Faith, Dreams and Self-fulfilling Prophecies
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen." (Heb. 11:1, KJV)
In November of 2009, I was going through some major heartbreak when in the midst of that it was revealed to me that 2010 was going to be "my year", a year of breakthrough and spiritual awakening unlike any that I'd experienced before. I saw myself in a great relationship, going forward with my education, and going back to the studio to work on my music. Almost in a flash, I could see things unfolding and blessings flowing down, and I claimed that for myself. Even though the next relationship was worse than the one I'd gotten out of, I developed a terrible case of writer's block, and I had trouble even finding a school with enough interest in me as a student to address the questions that I had in mind--I still stood my ground and said that this would be MY year.
Faith is the substance...
Lately I've been addressing the subject of faith often among my inner circle because there is a lot that we've all wanted but have not believed that we could have. For as long as we believed that we could not have what we wanted, our actions reflected not our inner desires, but those beliefs. Recently, though, the scripture in Hebrews began to speak to me on several different levels.
It was revealed to me several years ago that what you speak begins to exist in the "spiritual" dimension. I say spiritual in quotes because putting it in those terms makes it somewhat less real to the average person, but to those that understand that dimension as being every bit as real as that which is physically tangible, it will be perfectly understandable that there is more to life than can be seen and observed. In any event, I was taken in a dream to the plane on which all that is spoken becomes reality--whether good or bad. The houses, jobs, and relationships that people spoke into existence; the businesses, including one that a close friend would open a month after the dream; basically everything that people were causing to manifest with only their words. It was in this plane that I began to understand why the ancient mythologies (the Bible among them) depicted God as speaking the world into existence. ("Let there be... and it was"). I began to understand why the Kemites (Egyptians) refered to their writing as the metu neter--the words of the Gods or divine word. Your words cause things to exist, just as God's words called the world into existence.
Faith vs. Anti-faith
In November of 2009, I was going through some major heartbreak when in the midst of that it was revealed to me that 2010 was going to be "my year", a year of breakthrough and spiritual awakening unlike any that I'd experienced before. I saw myself in a great relationship, going forward with my education, and going back to the studio to work on my music. Almost in a flash, I could see things unfolding and blessings flowing down, and I claimed that for myself. Even though the next relationship was worse than the one I'd gotten out of, I developed a terrible case of writer's block, and I had trouble even finding a school with enough interest in me as a student to address the questions that I had in mind--I still stood my ground and said that this would be MY year.
Faith is the substance...
Lately I've been addressing the subject of faith often among my inner circle because there is a lot that we've all wanted but have not believed that we could have. For as long as we believed that we could not have what we wanted, our actions reflected not our inner desires, but those beliefs. Recently, though, the scripture in Hebrews began to speak to me on several different levels.
It was revealed to me several years ago that what you speak begins to exist in the "spiritual" dimension. I say spiritual in quotes because putting it in those terms makes it somewhat less real to the average person, but to those that understand that dimension as being every bit as real as that which is physically tangible, it will be perfectly understandable that there is more to life than can be seen and observed. In any event, I was taken in a dream to the plane on which all that is spoken becomes reality--whether good or bad. The houses, jobs, and relationships that people spoke into existence; the businesses, including one that a close friend would open a month after the dream; basically everything that people were causing to manifest with only their words. It was in this plane that I began to understand why the ancient mythologies (the Bible among them) depicted God as speaking the world into existence. ("Let there be... and it was"). I began to understand why the Kemites (Egyptians) refered to their writing as the metu neter--the words of the Gods or divine word. Your words cause things to exist, just as God's words called the world into existence.
Faith vs. Anti-faith
Matter, which is composed of atoms and makes up all that can be observed in the physical world, began as energy. However scientists theorize that if matter exists, then so must its opposite--antimatter. This antimatter, they say, has the opposite charge and would annihilate matter if both existed in equal proportions. The only example of this they've been able to create in a lab is a particle called anti-hydrogen, which is the opposite of hydrogen.
If you put that into a spiritual context, then you can understand faith as the opposite of anti-faith. Many call this anti-faith "doubt", but it goes beyond that. Anti-faith not only doubts the potential for good to happen, but it actively seeks out that which is not beneficial and causes it to be. Job, in speaking of all the calamities that befell his household, said that "...the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me." (Job 3:25) Often, people begin to manifest the things that they don't want just by giving them more energy than the things that they do want. Call it the law of attraction in action, or you can say that through their actions not only through their thoughts they are receiving something other than what will benefit them. Either way, anti-faith produces results in the same way that faith does.
If you can understand the concept of anti-matter and matter canceling each other out if they exist in equal proportions, then you can understand the passage found at James 1:6-8:
"But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways."
Wavering shows a lack of faith, and is in essence anti-faith. Thus, if your faith in God is equal to your lack of faith in God's ability to work in your life, then you won't receive anything. They cancel each other out. Nothing bad is going to happen, but neither will anything good.
Dreams and Self-Fulfilling Prophesies
So, as often happens to me, right after I put forth that analogy for the first time, something happened to test my own theories. An accidental experiment, almost, but the best illustration of these concepts that I've seen in a long time.
I recently, within the last month, began communicating with this brother who I consider a perfect match for me as far as personality, spirituality, and interests. We're both homebodies, both have a strong belief in God without really thinking that constant churchgoing has to be a part of that. We both love music, write, perform, etc. We've actually traveled in some of the same circles... I sometimes get the feeling that there may have been times when we just missed each other. Nevertheless, we found each other and something in my spirit said "This is it. He's the one."
Acting on that inner knowing, I asked my best friend (who met him several years ago) about him. After her initial shock, she told me that from what she can remember, he's a cool guy and if I treat him well he would treat me just as well.
Several weeks passed and my guy and I continued talking. The connection was undeniable, the chemistry almost tangible. The more we talked, the more I began to feel myself drawn towards him. Thankfully, the feeling is mutual, and some decisions were made. First, we would see each other exclusively, which meant cutting off others I'd been hanging out with casually before we started communicating. Then, we began making other plans for our near future that would show each other and those in our circle that we were serious about making a move soon.
In the midst of all of this, I've been spending a lot of time with my best friend and talking over things that are happening in our lives--events, dreams, relationships, etc. She told me about this dream that she had that was very interesting. She dreamed that she looked outside and there was a large crowd of people waiting along the street near her house, gathered almost as though they were waiting to watch a parade. Before she could ask what was going on, she saw a large blue and white ball descend from the sky, then light up and return as a burst of light. When she asked what that meant, she was told that "Winter is coming", to which she responded "Good, because I'm tired of this heat." Then she went home and closed her door.
When my friend woke up, she looked up the meaning of winter in her dream dictionary, and it foretold something bad happening. She began to worry about a situation in her household, but I told her to just pray about it because I had faith that something wonderful was about to happen for both of us.
Later that same day, my guy and I discussed something that out of respect for his family and wishes I have hesitated to speak of in a public forum, but I will say it meant good things coming this winter. Of course, I told my best friend, and we discussed how the concept of winter usually is negative in a dream because of the perception that things are dead (or hibernating) in winter and waiting to be rejuvenated in the spring. However, the people and even her looking forward to winter in the dream pointed to a different perception from what is commonly accepted.
You may be wondering how does this become a self-fulfilling prophecy? Well, as news often does spread, my best friend was so happy and excited about what I told her was to come in the winter time that she told someone at church (who knows me, her, and my guy) what we were planning. That someone told someone else, and they all began to call my sweetheart and wish us well.
Ok, so now, everyone is literally looking forward to winter, just like in the dream. It's funny how these things begin to come to pass, whether through apparent coincidence or through the actions of those involved.
As predicted, I found love this year. This year, I'm getting it right in many areas, that one included. Also, people are looking forward to winter. Funny how these things work out, isn't it?
I am sure many will wonder what this has to do with them, or if my purpose in writing this was to selfishly gloat and throw my blessings in their faces, but that's really not it at all. My point is that many things can manifest in our lives just through changing our focus to reflect what we want from the universe instead of what we do not want. Instead of telling ourselves that a goal is out of reach or something is impossible, we can begin to treat all that we desire as being available and within our grasp. We can begin to reach for what we want, stop looking at what we've been told or have told ourselves that we can't have, and move forward towards something greater than anything we'd previously imagined for ourselves.
If you put that into a spiritual context, then you can understand faith as the opposite of anti-faith. Many call this anti-faith "doubt", but it goes beyond that. Anti-faith not only doubts the potential for good to happen, but it actively seeks out that which is not beneficial and causes it to be. Job, in speaking of all the calamities that befell his household, said that "...the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me." (Job 3:25) Often, people begin to manifest the things that they don't want just by giving them more energy than the things that they do want. Call it the law of attraction in action, or you can say that through their actions not only through their thoughts they are receiving something other than what will benefit them. Either way, anti-faith produces results in the same way that faith does.
If you can understand the concept of anti-matter and matter canceling each other out if they exist in equal proportions, then you can understand the passage found at James 1:6-8:
"But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways."
Wavering shows a lack of faith, and is in essence anti-faith. Thus, if your faith in God is equal to your lack of faith in God's ability to work in your life, then you won't receive anything. They cancel each other out. Nothing bad is going to happen, but neither will anything good.
Dreams and Self-Fulfilling Prophesies
So, as often happens to me, right after I put forth that analogy for the first time, something happened to test my own theories. An accidental experiment, almost, but the best illustration of these concepts that I've seen in a long time.
I recently, within the last month, began communicating with this brother who I consider a perfect match for me as far as personality, spirituality, and interests. We're both homebodies, both have a strong belief in God without really thinking that constant churchgoing has to be a part of that. We both love music, write, perform, etc. We've actually traveled in some of the same circles... I sometimes get the feeling that there may have been times when we just missed each other. Nevertheless, we found each other and something in my spirit said "This is it. He's the one."
Acting on that inner knowing, I asked my best friend (who met him several years ago) about him. After her initial shock, she told me that from what she can remember, he's a cool guy and if I treat him well he would treat me just as well.
Several weeks passed and my guy and I continued talking. The connection was undeniable, the chemistry almost tangible. The more we talked, the more I began to feel myself drawn towards him. Thankfully, the feeling is mutual, and some decisions were made. First, we would see each other exclusively, which meant cutting off others I'd been hanging out with casually before we started communicating. Then, we began making other plans for our near future that would show each other and those in our circle that we were serious about making a move soon.
In the midst of all of this, I've been spending a lot of time with my best friend and talking over things that are happening in our lives--events, dreams, relationships, etc. She told me about this dream that she had that was very interesting. She dreamed that she looked outside and there was a large crowd of people waiting along the street near her house, gathered almost as though they were waiting to watch a parade. Before she could ask what was going on, she saw a large blue and white ball descend from the sky, then light up and return as a burst of light. When she asked what that meant, she was told that "Winter is coming", to which she responded "Good, because I'm tired of this heat." Then she went home and closed her door.
When my friend woke up, she looked up the meaning of winter in her dream dictionary, and it foretold something bad happening. She began to worry about a situation in her household, but I told her to just pray about it because I had faith that something wonderful was about to happen for both of us.
Later that same day, my guy and I discussed something that out of respect for his family and wishes I have hesitated to speak of in a public forum, but I will say it meant good things coming this winter. Of course, I told my best friend, and we discussed how the concept of winter usually is negative in a dream because of the perception that things are dead (or hibernating) in winter and waiting to be rejuvenated in the spring. However, the people and even her looking forward to winter in the dream pointed to a different perception from what is commonly accepted.
You may be wondering how does this become a self-fulfilling prophecy? Well, as news often does spread, my best friend was so happy and excited about what I told her was to come in the winter time that she told someone at church (who knows me, her, and my guy) what we were planning. That someone told someone else, and they all began to call my sweetheart and wish us well.
Ok, so now, everyone is literally looking forward to winter, just like in the dream. It's funny how these things begin to come to pass, whether through apparent coincidence or through the actions of those involved.
As predicted, I found love this year. This year, I'm getting it right in many areas, that one included. Also, people are looking forward to winter. Funny how these things work out, isn't it?
I am sure many will wonder what this has to do with them, or if my purpose in writing this was to selfishly gloat and throw my blessings in their faces, but that's really not it at all. My point is that many things can manifest in our lives just through changing our focus to reflect what we want from the universe instead of what we do not want. Instead of telling ourselves that a goal is out of reach or something is impossible, we can begin to treat all that we desire as being available and within our grasp. We can begin to reach for what we want, stop looking at what we've been told or have told ourselves that we can't have, and move forward towards something greater than anything we'd previously imagined for ourselves.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
When The Saints Go Marchin' In!!!
Hey folks, what up? I'm sitting here listening to my little cousins rappin their own special "Who Dat" song. I know everybody got one these days, but if I could only figure out how and where to upload this joint you'll know why it's something special.
I figure if I keep bouncin, I'll stop fidgetin... Do ya'll know how long we've been waiting for this day? Man, the night the Saints won the playoffs something occured to me: Franklin's got it's first black mayor, the U.S. got it's first black president, and now, in 2010, Black and Gold Superbowl?!!! We better get our minds right, cuz I'm startin to think 2012 really might be the end of it all. For real. LOL.
Nah, seriously, ya'll enjoy the game because I know I will.
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