It’s another slow week out there in freelance writing job land! My guess is that the job fairy saw its shadow so we’re doomed to four weeks of bad jobs. Fortunately, baby birds, I’ll still feed you. Just stick around until the end of the post.

The Freelance Writing Jobs

1. Marketing writer – you’d be covering an event/fundraiser for this gig, so first and foremost ask if you need to be nearby. They’re asking for experienced writers only, so please skip this one, newbies. It looks pretty straightforward and should be easy enough. This freelance writing job pays $125 for the story.
2. Ladies’ man writer – I wish I were making this one up, but I’m not. If you’re smooth with picking up women, this is a great job. You’re ghostwriting a book and video series to be paid a section at a time about how to pick up women. It pays well, so who am I to judge? Maybe I’m just jealous because I’m not qualified. This freelance writing job pays $125 per chapter with an anticipated budget between $3,000 to $8,000.
3. Market: Air & Space – when it’s slow, I’ll be covering markets to remind you that, yes, sometimes you can just write whatever you please and still get paid. This pays really well (anywhere from $150 to $2,500 per article) so check it out if you’re an aviator. If you haven’t before, check out our writers’ markets!

Freelance Writing Job Tip of the Week

I have noticed a few writers’ websites that are very hard to navigate or are poorly designed. Remember that this is still a business and unfortunately your content alone will not speak for itself. You should invest in good design and make it easily navigable. I was able to do mine on the cheap and went with a sort of minimalist scheme so my technical incompetence wouldn’t shine through. If your site looks like it was designed on Angelfire circa 1998, it’s time for an update.

Worst Freelance Writing Job of the Week

Big hat tip to Brian Orelli, who seems to live for finding these terrible gigs for me.

I would like to see your written work first. Please set up a WordPress blog (free blogs on wordpress subdomain are at http://en.wordpress.com/signup/), write 100-250 words on one of the topics above and include a link to the category on Software.com that you want to write about. For example, if you really love antivirus software (like my Dad, he is enfatuated with it, but can’t get it to work) write a newsworthy post about it, show that you know what you are writing about and include a link to www.software.com/antivirus. If you also like graphic design do the same and include a link to one of the relevant categories on Software.com. Wow me by taking it a step further with some social stuff of your choice, include details in your post and you’re looking good. 

Remember: show that you know and love the topic, that you can pick newsworthy stories, that you can make it enjoyable to read, and you can follow a brief! 
Cheers, 
Chris

Oh look! You have to MAKE A BLOG first, as if your own website, resume, and samples weren’t enough. Do I really need to tell you why you shouldn’t even waste your time?

Oh, I do. Sorry. That’s what Jenn pays me for. Why would you make a damn blog for someone who wants to see your work? You’re not a designer. That’s what he should pay for. Of course you should know how to use WordPress. And if you don’t, learn. If you don’t want to, don’t apply for the job. But this is unnecessary and pointless busywork. Frankly, it’s not worth the time spent to make a proposal for this guy who’s controlling to the point where he wants to ensure that you know how to bold your words in WordPress. Lame. Skip this one.

If you’d like to look through longer aggregated lists of freelance writing jobs to help you save time in your job search, All Freelance Writing recommends Anne Wayman’s freelance writing jobs at AboutFreelanceWriting.com.