Full-Time Freelance Writing Tips

FantasticF

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Okay,


I'm relatively new but this section on the forum really stood out to me.


Why? Well, because I'm a full-time freelance writer.


By full-time, I mean I write close to 40 hours a week and get paid for it.


I've been doing this for close to 2 years and absolutely love it.


Now, what I also love to do, is help others do the same.


So, if anyone has any questions or wants to do the same thing I do...


Let me know! I'd be glad to help!
 
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Madeline Taylor

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Okay,


I'm relatively new but this section on the forum really stood out to me.


Why? Well, because I'm a full-time freelance writer.


By full-time, I mean I write close to 40 hours a week and get paid for it.


I've been doing this for close to 2 years and absolutely love it.


Now, what I also love to do, is help others do the same.


So, if anyone has any questions or wants to do the same thing I do...


Let me know! I'd be glad to help!

That sounds sooooo lovely! Sit at home (while bleeding over your precious WIP which nobody seems to want so you're on your umpteenth edit crusade) and write things you get paid for so you don't run out of coffee. :) Mate, you're living my life...
I've been thinking about freelance writing but to be perfectly honest I have no idea how or where to start. I've got an M.A. in English literature&philosophy and I spent 5 years teaching English as a second language so I do have solid academic background, though, I've got no idea if that helps in any way when it comes to freelance writing. It does help a bit in my preferred genre, which is historical romance (meaning that's what I try to write).
Basically, any info or advice you could give me would be brilliant since most of it, I imagine, would be new and useful info.

Thank you for wanting to share. :)
 

FantasticF

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That sounds sooooo lovely! Sit at home (while bleeding over your precious WIP which nobody seems to want so you're on your umpteenth edit crusade) and write things you get paid for so you don't run out of coffee. :) Mate, you're living my life...
I've been thinking about freelance writing but to be perfectly honest I have no idea how or where to start. I've got an M.A. in English literature&philosophy and I spent 5 years teaching English as a second language so I do have solid academic background, though, I've got no idea if that helps in any way when it comes to freelance writing. It does help a bit in my preferred genre, which is historical romance (meaning that's what I try to write).
Basically, any info or advice you could give me would be brilliant since most of it, I imagine, would be new and useful info.

Thank you for wanting to share. :)


Awesome! I'd recommend starting with eLance (google them).

You could easily make $300 to $400 a week there part-time.

I'd stay away from sites such as:

oDesk, Textbroker, iWriter, etc.

Guru isn't BAD but it isn't GOOD.

Also, you could always try directly contacting people.

Offer your services, aim at web design/SEO companies.

Hope that helps!
 

Madeline Taylor

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Thank you! I'll have a go and see if I can find something for myself. It's very kind of you to share and offer advice. :) ;)
 

Mystikal

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Is elance ran the same as sites like freelancer? I'm making around 230 a week, but would like to boost that to something I could actually live on! Any tips on how to make a great resume when you're mostly ghost writing, or how to save efficiently for taxes?
 

triceretops

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I write for TB, DMS, WritersAccess and Examiner. I made the most from Demand Media Studios until the whole damn near blew up--about $350 a week. I still belong but there isn't much for me to do.

Textbroker is about $70 to $100 a week, with only a few articles done a day.

I haven't written anything for WritersAccess yet.

Examiner is the biggest joke and scam that I've ever found in the content writing department. I earned 29 cents for a year with six article.

I'll take a look at elance. I presume they pay flat rate per article?

tri
 

WeaselFire

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Elance pays according to the terms you set up with the buyer. Elance just puts parties together, and securely (somewhat anyway) ensures payment. I've never made any large amounts of money writing content for sites or other jobs Elance brokers, but it's better than flipping burgers. At least I don't have to degrease my undershorts after every shift (there's no hope for the uniforms...).

Jeff
 

Mystikal

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I write for TB, DMS, WritersAccess and Examiner. I made the most from Demand Media Studios until the whole damn near blew up--about $350 a week. I still belong but there isn't much for me to do.

Textbroker is about $70 to $100 a week, with only a few articles done a day.

I haven't written anything for WritersAccess yet.

Examiner is the biggest joke and scam that I've ever found in the content writing department. I earned 29 cents for a year with six article.

I'll take a look at elance. I presume they pay flat rate per article?

tri


What is DMS? I'm going to have to try some of things. I work about 12-13 hours a day and end up with less than what I'd make in fast food. I have to agree that I'd choose more time spend writing than flipping burgers.
 

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I honestly don't see how you could make a full-time living writing for content farms. Not if you pay for your own health insurance, at least (which I have to do). It's not a bad way to supplement other income, though.
 

triceretops

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DMS is Demand Media STudios. They pay about the highest in the content farm market--$30 an article, which run 400 to 500 words in length. However, they are showing signs recently of hiring only persons with degrees in specific fields, or nearly so. It would not hurt to submit anyway. You might get lucky and get accepted. But I would offer several areas of expertise. If you have other articles published in respectable mags and online sites, by all mean list them all, plus any academic training, certifications and licenses.

Let me know how it goes. I've known several people who have easily made over $1000 a week, and that is how you can afford dental and medical insurance, plus any other expenditure. At $350 to $480 per week, I was able to support a household of six for over 18 months. Easily. And that was only writing three short articles per day.

tri
 

FantasticF

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@Mystikal - You get 40 free credits a month with their free membership. You use those to bid on jobs. The lowest bid doesn't always win. Sell yourself in your proposal and attach relevant samples and you can easily land jobs. Good luck!

@Triceretops - eLance doesn't JUST have writing gigs but if you do stuff in that category, you bid on the job so you name your price. It's not the best place to finish but it is one of the best places to start as far as steady work goes.

@Weasel - What kind of approach did you take? I made around $500 my first week on eLance and that was a couple of years ago. A lot of people just save a generic template for proposals and copy/paste to every job they bid on. I write each one as I go and make sure I keep them short, sweet, and address the project directly to let them know I actually read the job description. I also sponsor my proposals and attach at least 2 samples relevant to the job or link them to my blog.

@Writer - You could definitely afford insurance once you got going. eLance, maybe not so much but it depends on the cost of living in your area. eLance isn't my only go to source as I have outside clients that give me regular work. All in all, I make about $500 a week on eLance and another $500 outside of eLance. I don't have insurance though so I'm not sure what it costs BUT...I do know it can't be any worse than making minimum wage at Walmart and paying $50-$100 out of every paycheck for insurance. Just a thought. Good luck!
 

Mystikal

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So, what is the different between freelancer.com and elance? I find on freelancer people don't want to pay you for your hard work which has become very discouraging. I don't really want to get into another program like this.
 

FantasticF

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So, what is the different between freelancer.com and elance? I find on freelancer people don't want to pay you for your hard work which has become very discouraging. I don't really want to get into another program like this.



On eLance, there is an escrow which your client has to fund before you start work. So, they don't have the money and neither do you. Unless they formally file a dispute via eLance (say you do poor work and refuse revisions), it'll automatically release within 15 days BUT 99% of clients will release the money within 48 hours max. I've never had anyone not pay me on eLance. I think it is mainly due to the fact that folks on freelancer are pretty cheap and when you work with cheap people, you get cheap results. eLance is just a starting point though and a damn good one at that. Eventually, you'll want to branch out and find your own clients. On eLance, I've ghost written novels and screenplays but mainly do web content and a lot of medical texts. I typically get around $10 to $15 per 500 words and do around 5-10 pieces a day on there.

Outside of eLance, I'm able to charge up $25 to $30 per 500 word piece and do around 3 a day of those. It took me around 2 years to get to this point but I personally know people making $50+ per article. Hope that helps. Save enough money to take a week or two off.

Then come back and I'll teach you how to secure your own clients and more or less...double your money.

The work honestly kind of sucks sometimes BUT...it is still writing and it pays which beats a day job any day in my opinion.
 
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Mystikal

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Thanks, I'm going to check out elance later. I have a few clients that I originally found on freelancer, but we began working off the site (and its amazing fees). One I have been working with for nearly a year now, but they've recently been cutting my work, so I am starting to look around (just in case). How do you find clients off of the sites? How much do you advise to put back for taxes? Thanks for your help.
 

FantasticF

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Thanks, I'm going to check out elance later. I have a few clients that I originally found on freelancer, but we began working off the site (and its amazing fees). One I have been working with for nearly a year now, but they've recently been cutting my work, so I am starting to look around (just in case). How do you find clients off of the sites? How much do you advise to put back for taxes? Thanks for your help.

Connect with webmasters, get active on forums (business, marketing, etc).

Start a blog, use SEO, drive traffic to it.

Maybe get a site + domain for your services.

"Cold email" as in find random companies, email them, offer your services.

As far as the tax situation, that depends on where you're at.

And how much you make. BUT...

Generally, I put aside $20 for every $200 I make.

Almost everywhere though...

You aren't taxed until you make over $600.
 

ralf58

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I can offer one piece of advice. I've worked as a freelance writer, freelance editor, and staff editor, and I can tell you that there is one simple thing you can do to make your work stand out.

Once you finish it, read it through before sending it in.

Sounds obvious, but I can't tell you how often I've been convinced that people skip this step. And as an editor, it's annoying. (And don't say that it's the editor's job to proofread. Yes, but it's also the writer's job to turn in good copy.)

What you communicate when you turn in sloppy work is that you care more about racking up as many jobs as possible than about delivering a good products.

So when I'm a writer, not an editor, as often as possible I finish my jobs a day early, let them sit overnight, and read them before sending them in. So does my husband (also a full-time freelance writer).

People notice. It makes a difference to your reputation, especially once you get into the more lucrative forms of freelancing.
 

Mystikal

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I make about 200+ a week, so was thinking about 80 a month should be good, but I'm worried it wont. This is my first time doing taxes as a freelancer though and a lot of the income comes from overseas...which is another issue because a few people have told me I can't claim without a w2 which I don't think is true.

I do try to reread everything I do, with the exception of bulk orders that pay incredibly low. In my first few months I was kind of taken advantage of...well not really, but would get huge orders of articles for very little pay and since I was desperate I took the work.

Thanks for the tips guys.
 

TurnMyWay

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Thanks for the offer to help FantasticF, I know I have a few questions getting into this.

I live in the US and will be writing articles and web site content for clients from other English speaking countries, and the tax situation is just a bit confusing. It's my impression that articles are not a taxable service, but I'm not certain of that, so if anyone knows please advise. For now I'm not charging tax for it.

My other business and tax-related questions are:

1. Is it necessary or beneficial to upgrade from a Sole Proprietor or is that 'good enough?'

2. Quarterly taxes are bothering me. You estimate how much you're making, and send the IRS a certain amount 4 times a year? This sounds like a huge hassle, mainly because I hate accounting, taxes, and anything of that nature. Should I just hire a CPA or is there an easy to understand site where I can get all of this information in one place?

If anyone can chime in and answer my concerns that would be much appreciated. I'm getting into this primarily because I've taken a full-time job that I feel very good about, but the pay is lousy and I'm afraid I won't be able to meet my monthly financial obligations having taken such a large pay cut.

I've started writing for clients already at an extremely affordable rate ($5 for 350-600 words), simply to get my feet wet and gain experience, and then I'll scale up my price when I feel as if I'm truly worth it. I won't have much time or patience to deal with complex tax and accounting issues, so expert opinions are needed.

Thank you!
 

Debbie V

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Thanks for the offer to help FantasticF, I know I have a few questions getting into this.

I live in the US and will be writing articles and web site content for clients from other English speaking countries, and the tax situation is just a bit confusing. It's my impression that articles are not a taxable service, but I'm not certain of that, so if anyone knows please advise. For now I'm not charging tax for it.

My other business and tax-related questions are:

1. Is it necessary or beneficial to upgrade from a Sole Proprietor or is that 'good enough?'

2. Quarterly taxes are bothering me. You estimate how much you're making, and send the IRS a certain amount 4 times a year? This sounds like a huge hassle, mainly because I hate accounting, taxes, and anything of that nature. Should I just hire a CPA or is there an easy to understand site where I can get all of this information in one place?

If anyone can chime in and answer my concerns that would be much appreciated. I'm getting into this primarily because I've taken a full-time job that I feel very good about, but the pay is lousy and I'm afraid I won't be able to meet my monthly financial obligations having taken such a large pay cut.

I've started writing for clients already at an extremely affordable rate ($5 for 350-600 words), simply to get my feet wet and gain experience, and then I'll scale up my price when I feel as if I'm truly worth it. I won't have much time or patience to deal with complex tax and accounting issues, so expert opinions are needed.

Thank you!

Since state laws and tax rules vary, please consult a tax professional in your state. Any advice you receive here may not apply to your state taxes.
 

freelancemomma

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I honestly don't see how you could make a full-time living writing for content farms. Not if you pay for your own health insurance, at least (which I have to do). It's not a bad way to supplement other income, though.

I don't get it either. I suppose I'm spoiled after getting $1 per word for my magazine work.

F.
 

maxitoutwriter

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Hmmmm, I like your tips. You recommend eLance? How do you succeed with them?
 

FantasticF

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Hmmmm, I like your tips. You recommend eLance? How do you succeed with them?

It's a good place to start but I haven't messed with eLance in around 6 months or so. I was actually able to land a full time job from home managing the content of several big websites so I'm not sure how it is nowadays and I think they merged with oDesk which kind of sucks.

I honestly don't see how you could make a full-time living writing for content farms. Not if you pay for your own health insurance, at least (which I have to do). It's not a bad way to supplement other income, though.

To me, there is a big difference in sites like eLance and content farms. Either way, working for yourself is tough regardless of what field you are in. One week, you might put in 8 total hours and make $500. The next week, you may have to sit behind the computer for 12 hours a day to hit that number. It really just varies. I don't recommend that anyone quits their day job and just "goes for it" but at the end of the day, you can do whatever you want. Just know that it definitely IS possible. Either way, good luck!