In our last post we talked about marketing your freelance writing services and how you should focus on basic market research, specialty target markets, and creating a marketing plan instead of aimlessly trying new ways to market your services. In other words, don’t just send pitches to anyone who might want to hire a writer. Narrow it down a bit. Figure out exactly who you want to target and find out what works and what doesn’t when selling to that audience by seeing what the competition is up to.

Now let’s talk about tactics — all of the things you actually do to land new gigs, from query letters and cold calls to increasing referrals from members of your network.

Freelance Job Boards Aren’t Enough

One of the most common questions I get from freelance writers is this:

Where do I find the high paying freelance writing jobs?

These individuals get frustrated because they spend countless hours on freelance job boards, classified sites or bidding sites (like Elance). Most of the writing jobs they find offer very low pay. They see other writers talking about better opportunities, but they aren’t sure where to find them for themselves.

That’s the inherent problem: they’re thinking about where the better jobs are. They’re asking the wrong question.

If this sounds like you, it’s time to rephrase. Instead ask how you can land these high paying freelance writing jobs.

Most of them are not found on job boards. I mentioned it in a recent post, but it’s worth repeating. The best freelance writing jobs are usually obtained in the following ways:

1. Repeat work from past or regular clients
2. Referrals from clients or colleagues
3. Clients finding you as they search for a writer for a specific project
4. Directly pitching clients you want to work with

Let’s explore these four things in more depth to explain why (and how) it might be time to leave freelance job boards behind.

Land More Work With Repeat Clients

Some of you may have only worked for content mills. If you don’t have any past clients, this section doesn’t yet apply to you. You’ll want to focus on the other tactics discussed below.

If you do have a stable of past clients (or existing clients) that pay better than content mills, it’s important to keep those connections alive. If they needed to hire a writer like you in the past, chances are good they’ll need you again. But if you don’t pop into their minds when that situation arises, they might give the gig to someone else.

What can you do?

1. Blatantly ask past clients if they have any upcoming projects you might be able to help with.
2. Pitch specific projects to them. For example, if you helped them with a holiday newsletter last year, send them an email and ask if they could use your help again this time around (maybe they forgot to plan one and your email will encourage them to get on it).
3. Offer a limited time, one-order sale for past clients who come back. This can be a great idea if you added a new service to your offerings and you think previous clients would have an interest in it.
4. Just be friendly. Get in touch. Maybe wish them well as we approach the New Year. Ask how things are going (and actually have an interest in what they have to say). Socialize with them using social media tools.

All of these things can help you stay on past clients’ radar so your name comes to mind the next time they need a writer with your specialty.

Be a Referral Magnet

Keeping in touch with past clients as mentioned above can do more than land you new gigs with them. When you become their go-to writer, they’re also more likely to refer you to others.

Just as you probably network with other writers (despite many of them being the competition), your clients do the same. They have their own industry contacts. And when people need referrals for writers or any service providers, they’ll turn to their trusted network.

It isn’t enough to stay in touch with past clients though. You can come right out and ask them for referrals; ask if they know someone else in the industry who could use your talents. Some won’t want to share you. Many are quite happy to refer you to their colleagues. You could even offer referral incentives (such as 10% off their next order for each referral they send your way that results in an actual contract).

Speaking of colleagues, don’t neglect your own. Whether you keep in touch via email, have local get-togethers, comment on each other’s blogs, or use social networking platforms, stay active in your community of writing colleagues.

Freelancers often get inquiries from prospects they can’t take on. Maybe the gig is out of their specialty area. Their time could be fully booked. Or maybe the gig just doesn’t feel like a good fit to them. If they think you might be a better fit, they’ll refer you for the job.

Giving referrals makes a lot of sense. I refer gigs to about a half dozen writers every week, and sometimes much more. Why? Because it makes you look good to the prospect when you put their needs first, even though you can’t directly work with them. On many occasions, prospects I’ve referred elsewhere have remembered that and come back to me for other gigs down the line when I could work on their project.

So get to know other freelance writers, especially those in your specialty area who are landing the kinds of gigs you really want. Let them know if you accept referrals. And send referrals their way when appropriate.

The referrals I give usually go to the writers I know best. That’s because if someone asks for a certain kind of service, I refer the first competent person I think of in that specialty. Those who stay in touch and build a professional relationship as a colleague come to mind quickly. If I only know someone in passing, chances are good I won’t even consider them.

In the end, referrals are about two things:

1. Trust
2. Presence

If you stay visible by maintaining an active presence in your community and your colleagues (or past clients) trust you to do right by their prospects, you’ll get more referrals. And remember, the more you give the more you’ll get over time. People remember when you do something nice like that for them, and it can make them much more likely to return the favor.

If all else fails? Ask. There is nothing wrong with mentioning that you have some openings in your schedule if anyone has a referral to send your way.

Helping Clients Find You

If a prospect needs a writer fast, they might not have time to ask for referrals. They certainly don’t have time to post job ads, wait on applications, compare those applications, and eventually hire someone who happened to see the ad.

Instead they visit Google or their trusted search engine of choice. Or they visit a community they’re a part of and search there for service providers (such as forums or social networks like LinkedIn). If they find you and you feel like a good match, they’ll contact you. If they don’t find you, well, you’re out of luck.

We live in an instant gratification world. If a client wants someone now, they’ll find someone now. But if you aren’t easy to find, you’ll miss out on these potentially great freelance writing gigs. This is why I push the concept of building your writer platform so much. Your platform influences your level of visibility.

Here are some things your writer platform might include:

1. Your professional website (well-optimized for search engines)
2. A niche or industry blog
3. Free e-books or reports
4. Your articles strategically placed on other sites (such as through guest blogging)
5. Your social media profiles

In other words, these are places clients might find you on their own, and tools that would encourage others to tell prospects about you (like free e-books naturally attracting links and therefore helping your site rank higher in search engines).

There is a lot to writer platforms, which is why I’m finishing an entire book on the subject. What you need to know early on is that they’re designed to help clients find you instead of you having to actively seek out every freelance writing opportunity.

When you’re visible in your specialty area, rank highly in search engines for terms your prospects will likely search for, and you’re recognized as an authority source, you can have more inquiries than you could possibly handle.

If you want more examples of things you can do to build your writer platform and help clients find you more easily, check out this post from our archives:

30 Ways to Build Your Writer Platform

Teaching you about all of the basics of search engine optimization (SEO) is beyond the scope of this article. There are entire sites dedicated to it. For example, you might want to check out Michael Gray’s SEO Blog.

Hand-picking (and Pitching) Clients

While I’m a big fan of query-free freelancing (letting your writer platform and network handle the heavy lifting), you can’t always wait for gigs. Don’t get me wrong. Query-free freelancing doesn’t exactly take forever to benefit you. But setting up a website now won’t likely bring you a new gig tomorrow. And that’s exactly what some of you moving away from content mills need.

How can you attract great prospects with barely any wait at all? You can pitch them directly.

1. Decide what kinds of clients you want to work for.
2. Better yet, choose specific companies or publications you’d like to write for.
3. Evaluate their website or publication and come up with story or project ideas to pitch.
4. Contact the company and offer your services (in as non-spammy a way as possible).

This is the traditional way of landing new freelance clients, and it’s still popular (and effective). Here are three types of direct pitches you can use:

1. Traditional query letters
2. Email queries
3. Cold calling

Why do direct pitches work? Sometimes it’s just about following standards (like queries for magazine writing gigs). Frequently though clients don’t realize they even need your services until you pitch them. They’ll never advertise because they aren’t officially hiring. They don’t know they’re missing out on awesome opportunities (like launching a company blog or getting help crafting social media profile content).

Just like I said about referrals above, if you want something sometimes it’s best to come right out and ask for it.

Want to learn more about writing queries or making cold calls? I highly recommend Peter Bowerman’s The Well-Fed Writer which offers a lot of information on cold calling, as well as Linda Formichelli’s and Diana Burrell’s The Renegade Writer’s Query Letters that Rock. These books go into far more detail than I can here in a blog post, and both are worth having in your professional library.

As you hopefully now understand, freelance job boards are not the best way to find new gigs. You certainly won’t find most of the high paying opportunities there. Does that mean you have to completely ignore them? Of course not. You get to choose the ways you’ll seek new gigs. Hopefully you’ve found at least one new method here that you’re interested in trying though.

Do you have other ways of attracting clients? Share your tips and ideas in the comments below.

I love writing. It’s a great job to have and it lets me stretch my mind. But sometimes I just get so tired of writing articles! That’s when I take a break and try something else writing related. Let me tell you what I do to relieve the monotony…

Editing & Proofreading

A lot of people outsource their content, and the results they get isn’t always that good. Others simply want someone to look over content they’re written and polish it up. Either way, editing and proofreading is a great job for writers who love syntax and grammar, and are detail oriented.

Product & Service Reviews

Writing reviews on products and services can be a great way to break out of the mold and let your personality shine through. Reviews can be written for clients, or done as a side project on a niche blog. Not only is writing reviews fun, but you can get some pretty awesome free stuff out of it. Reviews are a great job for writers with personality who love sharing their opinions.

Blog Commenting

This is a lower end white-label service that I recommend doing in your free time for a site like Fiverr or Gigbucks. Commenting on blog posts takes seconds and it gives you a chance to try out different styles of writing and tones as you adopt different personas on the fly. I recommend only offering 10, 15, or 20 comments per gig, to keep time requirements low. Blog commenting can be a great job for writers who like reading or have some free time they want to use to make a little pocket cash.

Idea Generation

Similar to blog commenting, this lower end white-label service is recommended for writers good at generating ideas but not necessarily interested in blogging about every topic under the sun. An example is a list of 25 blog post ideas about “optimizing your blog” that I did for a client. I made about $60 just by writing out talking points and prospective titles in an excel document. Writers who find themselves plagued with ideas can often perform this service, or sell idea pre-created lists of ideas for unique blog and article content.

Mentoring and Coaching

Some writers are more seasoned than others. For those who are experienced and pulling in a decent income, coaching new writers can be fulfilling and profitable work. New writers join the market everyday, and only a handful ever break in with some success. Others are underpaid, overworked, and losing their passion. Mentors and coaches can help reignite that passion.

Affiliate Marketing and Information Products

Creating your own product or selling affiliate products is an outstanding way to generate passive income. This works especially well if you’re a niche writer with a product that caters directly to your clients. Perhaps it’s a watered down DIY version of one of your services, or just a resource on how to get started in your niche. Either way, writers with a more business-oriented mind might find promoting affiliate products a lot of fun.

I believe the key to enjoying a fulfilling freelance writing career is to look beyond the writing. Digging deeper into the various aspects of a writer’s abilities lets you have fun and keeps you from getting bored. What do you do besides article writing? Share your talents in the comments below!

About Corey Freeman

Corey Freeman is a professional SEO blogger. She also runs Writing Whale, a site dedicated to helping aspiring freelance writers get started.

Here are a few things you can do to bring old clients back:

1. Reach out.

The most important thing to do is just contact your past clients. See how they’re doing. Touch base. Bring them back into your network and remind them that you were the kind of freelancer who really cared about them and their business (or if you didn’t, now’s a good time to start).

2. Mention that you’re available.

You can’t be afraid to let people know that you’re looking for new freelance writing jobs. You don’t have to be pushy and pleading. Just mention that you have an opening in your schedule should they be interested.

3. Pitch a specific project.

Did you write content for a newsletter around this time last year? Why not contact that client and pitch a similar project? Is there something going on in the news that would suit your old press release client perfectly? Then pitch a new one as a way to tie the company to current events. Clients don’t care that you need a gig. But they do care about opportunities to help their own businesses. Go into the conversation armed with an idea, and you’ll increase your chances of coming out with a paying gig.

4. Request referrals.

Referrals are one of the best ways to land new freelance writing jobs because they’re jobs that generally aren’t advertised (meaning you have little to no competition). But you don’t have to wait around hoping someone refers work your way. Ask for those referrals.

Contact past clients and mention that you have some new client spots open now or opening in the near future, and ask them if they know anyone who might be interested in your services. You could even encourage referrals with a discount — maybe 20% off their own next order if they refer someone who becomes a paying client in the next couple of weeks.

5. Offer promotions and discounts.

As a last resort if people are mildly interested but hesitant, consider offering a one-time discount for returning clients who haven’t worked with you for a certain period of time. For example you might offer a limited time sale of 10% off for any client who comes back after having not worked with you for at least six months. If you offer sales too often you might get the opposite effect where clients will hold off on ordering, waiting for the next discount to come along. So use this marketing tactic sparingly.

How else might a freelance writer bring former clients back? How do you approach past clients about the potential for new freelance writing gigs? Share your stories and tips in the comments below.

Your Website: http://www.patch.com/

Compensation: 50 per 500 word article

A new online local news publication, Historic Annapolis Patch, is seeking writers and columnists to contribute. The website is locally focused so we are specifically looking for contributors who live in or near the Annapolis area and know it well. Writers should have journalism experience. Columnists can come from all walks of life but should be interested in writing about a specific topic of interest, whether its food, wine, boating, arts, etc. Interested candidates should send writing samples and a resume to: marym@patch.com.

The Freelance Writing Jobs

1. Ghostwriter – are you a rapper? I sure as heck am not. But if you are, and you can write good punchline verses, there’s a rapper who would love to pay you to be his ghostwriter. This freelance writing job pays $250.
2. Copywriter needed – do you write compelling copy? If so, this job pays $.10 per word, and they want someone who’s out of the box, daring, and original. You know–the usual when it comes to copywriting. This freelance writing job pays $.10 per word.
3. Travel writer – if you’re a travel writer but you can’t seem to find gigs that pay well, look no further. Cracking the barrier at $.50 per word, this job will very handsomely reward you for travel articles. This freelance writing job pays $.50 per word.

Freelance Job Tip of the Week

I may have said this before, but I’ll say it again: when you own your own business, there is no such thing as no opportunity. Anyone you meet is a potential client, business contact, or vital asset. Any business you patronize is potentially hiring someone freelance. You will do very well without these aggregated job lists so long as you remember that there’s a job around every corner. But there won’t be a sign listing it. You will have to ask for it, charm it out, and market yourself aggressively. So long as you can do that, you will be great. And I know that you will be great.

Worst Freelance Writing Job of the Week

In order to bring on our next travel blogger, we’re going to do something a bit different. We’d really like to connect with the travel blogging community and get to know all of you out there who have travel blogs. We pay our writers between $75.00-$100.00 per post and our end goal is to build a top notch travel blog. Hopefully that will give all of you out there an incentive to participate in our hiring campaign.

Note: If you are an SEO/Keyword article marketer, please note that we are specifically looking for bloggers who can write engaging, compelling content that people love. We want you to showcase your personality in your entry.

The Benefits to You
- If you are selected as our next writer, you’ll be among good company with at team of excellent bloggers. Check out our writers page to learn more about them.
- Exposure: Ultimately Flightster will turn into a flight booking engine which receives thousands of visits a day, and your writing will be exposed to that audience.

In order to give as many travel bloggers as possible an opportunity to participate, we’re going to run the contest for two weeks. The deadline to enter will be Friday July 30th. The following travel Tuesday will do a roundup of all the entries and we’ll narrow it down to the 10 finalists. We’ll feature the articles of the finalists and the readers will vote on who should be the next blogger on the Flightster Staff.

- Write a Blog Post About Anything Travel Related on Your Blog: The first thing that we’d like is for you to write a blog post on your own blog about anything travel related. We figure why keep you from doing something you’re already doing
- Link to Flightster In Your Post: In your blog post, find a way to incorporate any of the current articles on Flightster or even this post (http://www.flightster.com/2010/07/20/how-to-become-the-next-paid-writer-for-the-flightster-blog/) as a link. This will enable us to know that you want to be considered for being chosen as the next member of the Flightster writing staff. We’ll be doing a roundup of all the entries as part of the contest and return the link love back to you.
- Tweet Your Post with the hashtag #FLIGHTSTER and follow us on twitter to to keep track of what we’re doing. We’ll also retweet your post to all of our followers
- Subscribe to the Blog: I encourage you to subscribe to the Flightster blog since we’ll be announcing all of our updates on this campaign via the blog.
- Become a Fan on Facebook: We’ll also be running many contests and cool travel giveaways via our Facebook fan page, so check out our fan page.
- Get our Attention: If you’re even more eager to get on our radar put up videos, podcasts, pictures or anything on your blog and share them on twitter with a mention of @flightsterblog. The main thing we’ll be looking at is your blog post, but if you’ve got some really creative ideas that will definitely get our attention.

So basically you want to increase your Google Pagerank but you think to yourself, hmmm. How do I do this while appearing to have an artificially high number of readers? I know! Why don’t I run a contest to see how many suckers I can get to jump through hoops like a job application is a damned circus. Then, once I’ve gotten a ton of Facebook fans, Twitter exposure, and go from maybe a pagerank of 1 to 2, I’ll hire the idiot who jumped through the greatest number of hoops by sacrificing the largest amount of his dignity. Awesome!

By the way, their pagerank is currently 0. Don’t help them. I already did just by looking at the dang thing.

Anyway, I’m still the resident humor writer so don’t expect me to be too far gone. I hope to be making you laugh every week now, so this isn’t goodbye. It’s just so long to the job lists. FOREVER!

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.

1. PR Writer – if you are PR writer who works in beauty/fashion and you’d like to make money, then you should apply for this job. Per placement, you’ll be compensated so hit this one up if you like money. This freelance writing job pays a minimum of $50 per placement.
2. Hip-hop ethnographer – I don’t know what an ethnographer is. If you do, and you are one, then you should apply for this job. I would also encourage you to like hip hop, as that’s something that you’ll be covering. It pays well! This freelance writing job pays $500 for the assignment.
3. Art writer – prerequisite number one: you must know art. Prerequisite number two: you must like art. Prerequisite number three: you must write about art. Seems pretty easy! This freelance writing job pays $50 per page–just be sure it’s 500 words or less.
4. German translator – können Sie Deutsch sprechen? Wenn ja, dieser Job ist Ihnen ideal! Schicken Sie einen Email mit früher Arbeit und Seiten. Danke! Dieser Gig zahlt $800 dem Job.
5. Website writer – a spectacular About Us section is needed. Can you write it? Only your body of work and application to this job will tell. This freelance writing job pays $50 for the assignment.
6. Script writer – have you ever made a commercial script before? Do you love the Museum of Sex? If you said yes to both then apply for this job. It’s a great opportunity! If you’re into that sort of thing. This freelance writing job pays $250.
7. Screenplay writer – this freelance writing opportunity involves helping write a screenplay that’s a sequel to a thriller. To forewarn you, this job sounds like it could go either way. Be assertive, ask a lot of questions. Make sure that it’s not going to consume your life for not much pay. But it could be awesome, so that’s why it’s here. This freelance writing job pays $5,000.
8. Real estate blogger – this topic is making me fall asleep just by writing it, but if it fascinates you then kanpai! It pays well, and I hope you know a lot about property taxes. This freelance writing job pays $50 per post.
9. Wedding planner – are you a writer who has experience planning weddings? Specifically, your input would be needed on second marriages and how children are treated for that arrangement. If this sounds like you, then you’re probably the only one out there. But it pays well! This freelance writing job pays $0.20 a word.
10. Songwriter – I will simply quote from this but the singer is looking for someone to ghostwrite a song that is something “like Prince would write”. If you have enough funk in you then by all means, this is the job for you. This freelance writing job pays $200 flat.
11. Arabic/Cantonese/Hindi translator – if you speak any of those languages, there’s a need for a translator. Unlike virtually every other translation job I have seen out there, this one pays a decent wage. Please feel free to apply. This freelance writing job pays anywhere from $600 to $3,000, depending on the language.
12. Local news writer – if you live on Long Island and you like news, then you should start getting paid for it. You will need, and I am quoting here, “a computer with internet” so I hope you’re not reading this blog with your psychic powers or anything. This freelance writing job pays from $350 to $1,300 per week–find out the per word rate!

For this tip of the week, I want to turn things over to you, the readers. What would you like more tips on? What would you like to see less of? And more importantly, do you even care about the tips? I would like to know!

This one’s a doubleheader because there’s two of the exact same kind. I will indicate which is which.

Medical Transcriber for a busy private practice. You listen to a recorded dictation by our Doctor and you type a diagnostic report based on it. Part/time (relatively flexible schedule, you can negotiate to do some reports at home). Compensation by check: you will be paid per report (average of 50 reports/day, often more), rates TBD based on experience level, nice neighborhood in Manhattan with plenty of transportation options. Expect a brief training period of about 2-3 days.

AND

Brooklyn Playwright is seeking a Secretary with EXCELLENT computer skills for 1-3 weeks and/or possibly long term.

My outrage at these ads is not that they seem like bad jobs. In fact, they seem like quite good jobs. I would sure as hell apply for them if I were a secretary (really? people still say that?) or a medical transcriptionist. In fact, had I the training, I would have applied for these jobs because they sound interesting, fun, and look like they both pay well.

But why am I not applying to them?

Oh right, because I am a ding dang WRITER. I am not a medical transcriptionist. I do not get paid to listen to audio recordings and then write them down. That is not writing. That does involve writing things down, but that does not involve any creativity on my part. If you want a transcriptionist, you do not want a writer.

Similarly, Brooklyn playwright, I am disappointed in you. You of all people should know that writing doesn’t involve hitting keys on a keyboard. It involves creativity, prose, grammar, and style. Why the hell are you idjits posting damn secretarial work in the writing section anyway? Unless you like getting flamed by the already angry writers on Craigslist, you ought to move your inquiries for work elsewhere to a more fitting section. Like anywhere else.

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.

1. Standup writer – are you a comedy writer? You can get paid pretty handsomely for a 10- to 15-minute gig that someone will buy off you. My tips, in case you haven’t done this before: write more than you think you should, and push for the higher pay on this gig. Writing standup is friggin’ hard. This freelance writing job pays $250 – $500–and you’d better not ask for less than half a gee!
2. Calabasas reporter – do you live in Ventura through Calabasas? I don’t, and I have only the vaguest idea of where it is. But if you do, then maybe you ought to consider being a freelance reporter for this publication. They’re paying decently, and they seem pretty dang legit. This freelance writing job pays a minimum of $50 per assignment.
3. Business plan writer – first off, you’d best have some experience writing business plans. If you’ve written to angel investors or venture capitalists, all the better. You’ll be writing a business plan for this gig, which I guess you’ve already figured out. This freelance writing job pays $500 for the business plan.
4. Dermatology reviewer – if you have your MD or DO (and I’m going to be sort of surprised if you do, but you never know) then this is the job for you. If you do not, skip to the next job. If you specialize in dermatology, all the better. You’re doing medical content review, and the pay is pretty decent, although more than likely a pay cut if you’re a doctor. This freelance writing job pays $50 per hour.
5. Port Chester reporter – just like the Calabasas gig above, you’d best be from Port Chester, NY. Get ready to be a freelance reporter, and try to find awesome stories that don’t suck. Seems easy enough, right? This freelance writing job pays anywhere from $50 to $200 per assignment.
6. Hindi video blogger – we don’t necessarily have  set rate for being a video blogger, but I happen to have experience doing video blogs. They count roughly the same as per article, although they can be easier to write. Heck, they don’t even necessarily have to be scripted. This freelance writing job pays $200 per five video blogs at one to five minutes each–and at that rate, I’d keep it at the short end.

Never, ever, ever work for ‘exposure’. Is this obvious? Absolutely. But let me tell you why. The thing is that you might find this job that pays nothing but exposure. Awesome, you think. I’m writing for a blog that can at least get me some visibility. A lot of these sites claim that they can’t pay you jack, but they can get you seen. Oh, but then you find out the Google Pagerank. Are you not supposed to obsess on pagerank? I suppose. But if you’re writing for a blog that’s at P2–and this is the painfully obvious part–you are not getting goddamn exposure. You are working for free for a tiny website that is not making it. Sure, the site might explode tomorrow and reach P6, but you are still not getting paid. If the site’s that big (even at P2), then they should be able to sell ads at a premium and pay their dang writers. If they’re not, they have a poor business model. And if someone has a poor business model, do not work for that person.

Hot damn am I sick of these coauthor jobs on Craigslist. You’ve seen the type–I’ve got an incredible story, blah blah, we’ll both make a million, kid, you’re gonna be a star! Well, this one is the straw that broke the comedian’s back. I cut some pertinent info, but the basic sentiment is there. I’m gonna break this one down for you. He’s in italics. I’m in bold.

Presently I am working on the second edition and have already added quite a bit of new material. However, the basic structure of the new version has yet to be determined, as it will be changed dramatically from the original.

Translation: be prepared to be my editor!

After self publishing the second edition, I plan on investing some capital marketing it, including a book tour/vacation with plenty of business expenses to be written off.

Oooh, he’s investing capital. That is a fancy word for money. Clearly, this man knows what he is doing.

The book was classified as political science by iUniverse. I would classify it as antiestablishment if there were such a classification.

If you want to classify a self-published book on how to get 200 miles per gallon out of your car as antiestablishment, I guess that makes more sense than political science. I am guessing iUniverse didn’t create a nutty bastard category yet.

This is a part time gig. I request that you spend 4 hours per weekday for a total of 5 weeks working with me on the book at my apartment probably first thing in the morning.

Oh boy! Spending time with a retired engineer/conspiracy theorist! It will be like The X-Files, only Mulder and Scully have been replaced with a loon and an underpaid writer!

I am looking for an educated, enthusiastic, rebellious, bohemian, to assist me in several capacities.

Bohemian translates to ‘willing to work for nothing’.

You’ll be compensated at the rate of $10.00 per hour, payable in cash at the end of each day of work. I will also credit you in the published version when our work is completed and will guarantee you in writing a minimum of 10% of the profits, depending on how much I feel you have contributed.

I love the line about how your pay will depend on how much he feels you contributed. Personally, I’m on the fence about being between 15% and 16.7%.

That means when I sell my first million copies you will earn roughly $100,000, assuming that I earn $1.00 per book sale. A little work now could mean a huge payoff a few years down the road.

Yes, and I suppose buying oceanfront property in Arizona will eventually pay off, provided California conveniently slides into the Pacific.

This is your opportunity to get published and change the world. A building may last 500 years, but a book lasts forever.

As does bullshit, and I don’t mean the bovine kind.

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.

The Freelance Writing Jobs

1. Music writer – are you based in NYC? There’s a sneaky little assignment waiting for you; you’re going to go to four stores in the city as a secret shopper. It’s a 2,000-word assignment but pays well, so hit it if you’re a music aficionado as well as a super spy. This freelance writing job pays $250 for the assignment.
2. Cover letter writer – basically, you’re going to be writing the best cover letter you have ever written to help this guy get a job. If that sounds like it’s up your alley, have at it. This freelance writing job pays $50.
3. Teen magazine writer – if you’re down with Justin Bieber and the Twitter and the YouTubes then I suppose you ought to try for this one. The pay’s good but you do need to be fast–they have a tight deadline. This freelance writing job pays $50 per article.
4. EcoBlog writer – do you love the environment? I mean, I guess, more than you should? Well, then why not get paid for it? Keep these articles short and sweet and you’ll be well compensated. This freelance writing job pays $200 for five short articles–that’s under 400 words each!
5. Fashion PR writer – my background is about the furthest thing from PR, but yours shouldn’t be if you want to book this gig. A boutique PR firm is looking for writers to do press releases, bios, and pitches. This freelance writing job pays $75-$100 per press release, $50-$75 per bio, and $25-$50 per pitch.

I see an awful lot of retaliatory Craigslist postings where people bitch about the quality of articles, or even attempt to call out a bad employer or job. While that’s noble, it also looks whiny. The posting is likely to get flagged and removed anyway, so although you might feel like you’re doing good, you aren’t doing much good. In addition, you just clog up Craigslist with pointless entries, making it even harder to navigate. Leave the kvetching to professionals (like me!) and just chug away. If you need to feel like you’re doing something, send me some of the worst and I’ll eviscerate them for you. Like this next one!

Men’s Weekly, an online men’s magazine, is searching for talented writers to write about technology – Cell Phones, Laptops, Alternative Fuel Vehicles, New Gadgets, etc. We are searching for someone who can write grammatically correct articles that are optimized for SEO while maintaining journalist quality as well as keeping the articles in an easy to read, entertaining format. This is an opportunity to get in with an aspiring men’s magazine that is on track to compete with Askmen, Men’s Fitness, and several other publications. The first month will be considered a probationary period in which your skills as a writer will be analyzed. Once the probabtionary period is over, compensation will begin.

Any interested persons should email their resume and writing sample for immediate response.

Regards,

Men’s Weekly

So you’re telling me that I get to work for you for free for over a month period and then after that–after careful consideration–you will at last condescend to pay me? Oh happy day! Thank you, benevolent employer! I appreciate your magnanimity, and hail you on high for your wisdom and care. Give us this day our daily bread, O Men’s Weekly, and forgive us our sins!

In the meantime, I have an idea with what you can do with all those free articles. I think you guys out to print them out, tie them carefully into a large bindle, and then cram them up your rear. Anyone who agrees to this must be a masochist of the highest order, who maybe gets off on being abused in the workplace instead of the bedroom. The most you should ever send any employer is a few clips of work you’ve already done. Basically, this is indentured servitude. Even crap office jobs pay you during a probationary period, and even interns get free lox with their bagels. Men’s Weekly, get bent.

Most very sincerely yours,

Clint Osterholz, genius, esq.

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.

The Freelance Writing Jobs

1. Technical writers – if you don’t know much about science or chemistry, you’d best skip this one. It’s heavy on the science and light on the fluff content. You’d be compensated well for your specific knowledge, but be sure you have some. This freelance writing job pays $250 per article.
2. Investigative reporter – a father’s rights advocacy group is looking for a reporter who can work on a contract basis. You need to be comfy with confidentiality. Your work will be plastered throughout the web. This freelance writing job pays $250 per article per assignment.
3. Medical script writer – in addition to writing good scripts, you need to have an impressive medical background. If that sounds like you, then you’d be ideal for this job. I get the impression that the medical part’s more important than the experience writing scripts part, but that’s something I’ll leave up to you. This freelance writing job pays $1,000 per script.
4. Business writer – you wouldn’t be doing a business plan, but you would be writing about business. Is that something you’d be fine with? Hit this gig up in a hurry. This freelance writing job pays $.10 per word.
5. Market: Sinn & Skinn – this is technically a market, although it is not one we have yet listed here on AFW. Sinn & Skinn is an adult community dedicated to providing sexual and provocative content. You would not be writing erotica but rather discussing aspects of sex, sexuality, and dating. The ideal submission is 750 – 1,500 words. This freelance market pays $100 – $250 per submission.

Freelance Job Writing Tip of the Week

Maybe you’re not a collaborator, but I’ve become one. I know I’ve done enough barking in the job tips on reaching out to people but I can’t stress it enough. Since having reached out to other writers, my work has grown by leaps and bounds. Not only have I found more work, but I’ve gotten better. I relaunched my website because it was woefully inadequate compared to others’ (well, and it still ain’t great, but I blame that on other factors now), and I met a ton of great people in the process. If you don’t have at least one or two regular partners in crime, get them. They are vital for your business.

Worst Freelance Writing Job of the Week

Ok, finding writers has been harder than I thought, so I’m reposting. If you have problems with doing research or doing academic essays, then please don’t apply.

We’re looking for Professional Freelance Writers. However, we are a new company, and cannot afford to pay outragsous salaries, and we don’t have the money some have to dish out. We can afford to pay $300 per article or project. Writers must be business professionals are knowledgable of business process, and the business world. We need specialist in accounting, business, economics, marketing and management. If you have the experience, or the skills needed, then please apply. If not then please don’t! Base pay is not negotiable. It’s $300 per article and nothing more!

The pay ain’t bad, so why am I posting this job? Well, it’s quite simple. Read all the attitude. Would you date someone who posted a dating profile that was this snotty and rude? I think not. Then why would you waste your time working for someone who talks to you like a jerk? If you’re looking to be paid an outragsous salary (namely, one you can live on) then you might want to look elsewhere. And with good reason.

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.

The Freelance Writing Jobs

1. Laptop writers – normally, I tell the people who want to use your blog for exposure to get bent, but if they pay well, they pay well. This gig offers a decent rate with little else in the way of expectation. If you’re willing to give your baby to sponsorship, feel free. This freelance writing job pays $.10 per word.
2. Alumni magazine writer – are you a top-notch journalist who can produce good content quickly? This alumni magazine might just need you! The gig looks really good, so get it while the getting’s good. This freelance writing job pays $.25 to $.40 per word.
3. Film writer – if you know what a logline is, you’re already 50% qualified for this job. This is a low-budget sequel to an original indie film that was produced. You can catch it on Netflix if you’re concerned about what you’ll be signing up for. This freelance writing job pays $5,000 for the project.
4. Website/auction writer – you’d be writing up quick 100-word entries for online auctions as well as producing content for this company’s host of sites. The minimum that they are willing to offer is $.05 per word–but you’re not going to settle for that, right? This freelance writing job pays between $.10 and $.25 per word.

Freelance Writing Job Tip of the Week

Do not be afraid to ask for more. Business is always about negotiation, and you shouldn’t shy away from discussions of payment. Think about it this way: if you think you’re worth it, why wouldn’t you fight for yourself? You’re selling a product here, and you have to convince the employer that you’re gonna be worth your weight in gold–their gold, by the way. I have lately been posting gigs with slightly less than our minimum because I expect you (and you should expect of yourself) to play hardball and ask for more. If you aren’t, then this site is not going to be very helpful for you, and you’ll be getting underpaid to boot. What objections do you have to asking for more? Let me know in the comments below.

Worst Freelance Writing Job of the Week

I don’t ever link to bad gigs, but…

Well.

Write content that does not already exist on the site ehow.com, you will submit articles to me along with 5-8 keywords for each article. 300-500 words per article. Drawing on your personal experience/country/culture is a definite plus. A couple hundred articles would be great!

Awesome. This comes to me from Brian Orelli, who apparently exists solely to make my job that much easier. You would be working for someone who in turn works for a content mill. This gig sort of reminds me of dogs who eat their own poo, because it stinks and is completely unnecessary and will only lead to something that stinks even more. Avoid.

Also, it’s on Elance. I mean, really.

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.