When a person decides that writing is his passion, it often starts with the fantastic dream of getting an advance on a work of fiction or poetry from a major publishing house. Most people who choose writing as a career have to face the reality that in order to live off what they want to write, sometimes you have to start writing what other people want and need. Business writing is a great way to break in and eventually steer your writing career toward your own goals, even if it’s less exciting than writing about something you’re passionate about.
Companies need writers. Check out any number of online freelance sites on any given day and you’ll find an average of 300-1000 potential clients assigning writing jobs. There’s no reason for you, even a young com
Most of these sites have free memberships but very limited features and benefits. Most websites expect you to subscribe on a monthly or monthly basis. On these sites, customers pay the site to post jobs, and subscribers pay for the opportunity to bid on the best, most profitable jobs. Some of these tasks may lead to other tasks for other customers or through word of mouth.
Freelance sites will also offer services such as hosting. Hosting is where a client has a job to fill, and they will pay the full amount budgeted for that job, or a percentage of the agreed price for the service the writer or writers group will provide. These funds are usually held by freelance sites and are released to authors once they have completed the work satisfactorily to the client’s specifications. Usually, the guidelines and milestones for each project are negotiated before work begins.
Many freelance sites will insist that you use their messaging system to make most (if not all) contacts through the site, and will prohibit any direct contact between customers and service providers via email, instant messaging, or phone calls. This is not only to protect the interests of the freelancer site, but also to avoid harassment from hiring clients or service providers if something goes wrong. Such data is especially necessary if there is a dispute between the customer and the service provider that requires arbitration.
There are a few things to keep in mind when deciding which website or sites to market your writing services to. Search through your favorite search engine and look up the name on the site to see what other service providers and even customers think of using the site. Have other users of this site priced your services too low to win a job from you for well below the living wage? If a disagreement arises between the customer and the service provider, is there an on-site process? How to deal with complaints from both parties? Is there a remedy if there is a problem between the customer or the service provider? These are all factors to consider when choosing a freelance site.
Most potential clients will want to see a sample of your work. This could be an actual article you are writing for publication, or it could be simply made up. However, sometimes a potential customer will send you an article to review in your own words, or break it down into multiple articles to see what you can do.
Once you’re done with your article, you’ll want to run it through the many anti-plagiarism sites on the web. The highest cost per use is about 0.05, and the free cost depends on donations from users and the companies that use them. This is done to make sure you don’t accidentally pick up or use someone else’s words, and also to make sure your content isn’t being misused elsewhere. Some freelancers report that their articles have been rewritten and their submitted bids reused as someone else’s content. If this happens to you, keep records and report such violations to the freelance workplace. Writing is about creativity, but also about originality, making good originals for your customers.
When you use these sites, you submit bids for jobs that interest you and offer compensation for jobs you can accept. Many will announce the budget they are willing to spend. Over time you will get a good idea of fair compensation for the amount of work and experience required. Don’t be afraid to offer more than others can for the same job. Sometimes your samples and experience can discourage lower-cost bidders because the client thinks your work is more appropriate. Many of these sites have a very large or unlimited number of vacancies if you are a subscriber, you can make an offer if you subscribe
Timely fashion is very beneficial both personally and financially. Closely protect your feedback and reputation with your customers, and most importantly, communicate with them openly and often. Some people expect you to be motivated, while other clients will follow you every step of the way in your creative process. Both methods have their pros and cons. But in the end, it all comes down to how best to work as a writer. If you remember these things, you will soon pay for what you write.
