Freelance opportunities for non-US writers

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GHWard

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I really appreciated the responses to the Freelancercareers question! I noted that there are a large number of shady 'professional' sites out there pitching opportunities for non-US writers.

Can anyone on the forum recommend reputable sites that would consider the works of both US and non-US writers (based on personal experience)?

Thank you!
 
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Bushrat

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You can give Elance and Odesk a try. Anyone can register there, but most jobs are very poorly paid.
 

FantasticF

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eLance very well may be your best bet...

But I would recommend finding your own clients (email 10-15 businesses or sites a day).

Most people in the US that want to hire writers, won't hire non-US writers.

If they do, they're going to expect to pay chump change.

That's just the way it is so yeah, I'd recommend building your own client base.
 

veinglory

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I very rarely have a company ask if I am American (I'm not). The only issue is around filling out the tax forms as some do not understand that you do not need to provide a social security number. So it can simplify matters of you get an ITIN number you can use. The difference might be that I do not use any of the job aggregation sites--the ones I tried to use were a PITA. I just Google around to find freelance stuff that matches my expertise areas.
 
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Abderian

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I've used Odesk and Elance quite a bit and with a careful eye you can generally spot scams. I agree with Bushrat though, the jobs that I've seen get hired out to non-native speakers usually pay out at a much smaller rate.

Are there any ESL schools in your area? I worked for a school in Japan and when they found out I could do a bit of writing they hired me to create original stories for their students. Maybe that's an area you can explore.

Best of luck!!
-A

Ahem, not being from the US doesn't mean you're a non-native English speaker.
 

Abderian

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Are we? The OP's question was:

Can anyone on the forum recommend reputable sites that would consider the works of both US and non-US writers (based on personal experience)?

Nothing there about ESL.
 
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amyall

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I apologize for creating some confusion with my first ever post on AW.

GhWard is certainly looking for recommendations regarding useful websites for writers who are not based in the US. Completely understood and I mean no offense to either the ex-pat community or anyone else who might be offended.

My suggestion was to look into ESL schools for opportunities to create original works for them. I found that worked well for me when I lived outside the U.S. so I thought it might be useful to others.

Cheers!
-A
 

veinglory

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I think so, becaue I frequented those same freelancer boards and they cater to lowest pay band content writers who are predominantly from the nations of India and rhe Philiphines where an American dollar goes a lot further and so low wages are still worth taking
 
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Abderian

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Not sure which boards you mean, veinglory. Odesk and Elance, maybe. There are other freelancer sites mentioned on this thread where a non-native speaker wouldn't get past first base (nice American idiom, lol), such as Scripted.
In my experience most sites don't give a ff where you're from as long as you can write American English. I'm British and have been writing American English when required for years.
The presumption I sometimes encounter that Americans are the only people that speak native English rankles. A Scottish friend of mine was in Arizona once when he was praised by someone for how well he could speak the language. "Speak it?" he said. "Lady, we invented it." When he told me that story, I did point out that, strictly speaking, that wasn't true (I'm English).
I think it's worth pointing out that there are Canadian, Irish, Australian, New Zealand, British and even South Africans who are native English speakers, too.
 

herdon

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I agree that the original question made no mention of ESL and I wouldn't assume it was about ESL without it being specifically mentioned.

That said, I'm not sure why amyall deleted her post. I thought it was a good suggestion. I'm sure ESL schools would be a fine place for both a native writer and an ESL writer to look for a freelance job.

On to the question at hand, there are plenty of non-US writers at About.com. They have a spanish-language section of the site, plenty of non-US topics, and any general topic (tech, etc.) would be perfectly fine for both US and non-US writers. They are also ramping up their efforts to hire more expert writers, with a lot of new topics already posted and coming in the next few months.
 
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veinglory

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The low rent platforms like Freelancer would be an example I think if OPs experience of placed where those living in first world nations just couldn't work for the rates that get paid by 99% of the listers.
 

amyall

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... That said, I'm not sure why amyall deleted her post. I thought it was a good suggestion. I'm sure ESL schools would be a fine place for both a native writer and an ESL writer to look for a freelance job. ...

I had thought it best to delete my original post in favor of one more specifically worded. Is that poor forum behavior? You'll have to excuse me, I'm quite new to the etiquette.

Thanks
-A
 

allias

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As for "content mills" you can also try to sign in with content BLVD or demand media studio.
 

kdaniel171

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You can also check job listings on Mediabistro - sometimes they offer freelance jobs in countries other than US. And oDesk suggests many opportunities for non-US writers.
 

Charliex

freelancing is always risky, particularly if you are not located in the same country you work with. I live in the us, however I had different cases. anyways, I've recently started working on writology.com which is one of the most safest sites to me, cuz according to their policy the customer should pay before writer starts working and it makes me feel more secure. hope this helps
 

DMGWriting

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I currently freelance on Upwork and Freelancer, which are great sites for building up your reputation, there is plenty of work out there.

I plan to establish myself as an expert and eventually branch out and bring clients to my own website.
 
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