Write What You Know
Write what you know is the most often used writing advice in books and on writing websites, but what the heck does it mean? Well, I interpret it to mean that you take your life experiences and build them into prose. I have done this many times over the years and I have found it helpful to sit down and make a list of all my life experiences to brainstorm for fiction and article ideas. To get an idea of what I mean, here is my list:
I am a mother: I have a website called Defrazzle Mom.com that includes mothering tips and I have written articles on mothering for magazines and websites. I am a wife, a divorcee and former single parent: I have used all of these in my fiction and non-fiction writing. I am a former volunteer firefighter and dispatcher: I am using this in my current work of fiction. I used to clean apartments and work as a school janitor: These experiences have been fodder for how-to cleaning articles. I am a professional artist: I use this experience in my position as the Feature Writer for Painting/Drawing and as a contributing writer for Sketchup Magazine. I used to be a substitute teacher: I haven't used this one yet, but I will... I love to cook: I have turned this love into hundreds of articles, a column for Fit Christian Magazine and a serial cookbook.
You get the idea. So, if you are having a hard time coming up with something to write, maybe you should delve into your own experiences.
Image by Moi Cody
Creating Your Own Site
So, I've kind-of been at a crossroads in my writing career during the past month. Usually, I ghostwrite articles for clients, which brings in a great fee, but then the article is lost to me forever. Over time, I have become burned out with writing article after article, especially since I entered the writing world as a fiction writer.
I've decided to make a change.
My first step was creating a site where I could post my articles and receive 100% of the profits and retain my copyrights. This site is Defrazzle Mom.com.
Next, I decided to go back to fiction writing, since my dream is to be Nora Roberts. Hehe...
So, you may be asking yourself, "So, how is she going to support herself?" Glad you asked! As you probably already know, I write/wrote for several revenue sharing sites (Suite 101 and eHow). Those provide me with a great part-time income. I also have two clients that provide me with gigs that pay around $75-$100 per hour. So, I've figured that I only need to do the bare minimum of work to meet my income goals, while still having plenty of time to write fiction.
Sounds great, right? Well, maybe. I'm having a problem getting back into fiction writing mode after years of non-fiction. Sigh...
Freelance Jobs: What is Emerging Cast?
I recently saw an ad for Emerging Cast, a site much like Demand Studios, so I decided to check it out. The site has a list of article to choose from, just like DS, but here's the kicker: They pay around $2 per article and you don't get paid until you've passed a $50 threshold if you want to be paid by PayPal. If you want to be paid by check there is a $500 threshold and a $30 administration fee. Yah, don't think I'll be doing any articles for Emerging Cast. If you try this freelance job let me know what you think.
How to Make More Money from Ehow Articles
Willow Sidhe has posted a fantastic blog about how to make more money with your eHow articles even though we're not able to post more articles. She talks about using backlinks to build Google rank. Check it out:
The Freelance Home Writer: Making More Money from Ehow Articles
Do Residual Sites Pay Off?
I constantly see writers asking if residual pay sites pay off. I have been a member of eHow, a residual income site, since its inception. This site shows exactly how much money each article makes, so I can see if it was worth my effort. Here's how it panned out, below. I grouped the articles into how much they've earned and no article was placed in more than one category. Remember, each article only took around ten minutes to write.
82 articles made $.05-$4.99 23 articles made $5-$9.99 13 articles made $10-$14.99 17 of my articles made more than $15-$19.99 9 articles made over $50-$99.99 2 articles made over $100-$249.99 1 article made over $250 Total: $2299.77
So was it worth it?
Well, considering that the articles only took around 10 minutes each and I did almost no promotion, yah, I say it was worth it. I still own the rights to the articles, I can place them elsewhere and I'm still earning on those articles, so they will make even more money down the road.
Now that the site isn't allowing submissions any more, except from Demand Studio writers, I am putting articles I haven't sold elsewhere on FireHow. I'm told that other writers are having a lot of luck over there.
How to Make a Living as a Freelance Writer
The other day on a forum I frequent, a new writer asked how many articles she had to write a day to make a living as a freelance writer. Most of us seasoned vets answered, "It depends."
First, you have to decide how much money you need to make a day to live comfortably.
I have decided that I need to make around $75 a day to meet my financial needs. How many articles I do depends on my client. I have one client that pays $100 per article. One article and I'm good for the day's goal. If I'm writing for Demand Studios I need to write around 4 $20 articles or around 5 $15 articles to meet my goal. I rarely just write for DS in a day, though. I have another project that pays around $35 per article, so I'll combine one $35 article with 2 DS articles and call it a day. On days I particularly love, I'll have a client that pays $200 and up for an article. After those days, well, I can take a few days off, can't I?
Writing for Demand Studios
On some forums the other day there was a broo-haha about it being impossible to make money by writing for Demand Studios. Since DS is one of my go-to sites in-between bigger jobs, of course I disagreed. I was told that my posts helped several new writers, so I'll post them here.
On using your real name instead of a pen name: I have been with DS since 2007 and my name has been on all of my articles. I have yet to see an article where your byline isn't used. I use my real name because I often get choice assignments that I want my real name on.
Like a while back I did two articles for Real Beauty online, which is a Hearst publication. Hearst is the publisher of huge magazines such as Redbook and Marie Clare. I also do a lot of work for Modern Mom, which are good clips that have helped me to get work.
To get choice work keep an eye on the Special Assignments section of the forums and apply for anything that strikes your fancy. Typically, they choose writers that have a lot of experience in the area and have a history of producing quality work. Once you get in good with them they will offer you special assignments that aren't offered on the Special Assignment forum. These assignments pay MUCH more than the regular DS articles.
On using Demand Studios articles as clips and dealing with "those crazy copy editors:
DS is fine for your portfolio as long as you don't use DS sites like eHow. If you use their clients it's all good. Also, just a note, you don't have to use every site you write for on your portfolio. Pick and choose the plums. I have been a freelance writer for more than 11 years and make enough to take care of my family, since my husband is currently unemployed. I have never had a client tell me, "Hey, I googled your name and found out you worked for Demand Studios. I'm not going to be able to use you." In fact, I have gotten several jobs because of work that people have seen on eHow and other DS sites.
To use DS you really need to understand how to streamline your process. For example, don't wade through the titles. Type in keywords for subjects you like to write about. For example, I like to type in "art," "drawing," "watercolor," "photograph"...you get the idea. Only type in one keyword at a time, scan over the results, choose your articles, rinse, repeat. I do this for about 10 min. a day and I stay well supplied with articles.
Another tip: When you get a rewrite, consider if it will take you longer than five min. to correct. If it will or if you don't understand the directions, let the sucker expire and post it on Suite or eHow. Don't waste time with contacting the Help Desk or visiting the forum. It's not worth the aggravation or time. Just let rewrites roll right off your back and chalk it up to a new CE that doesn't know what they're doing.
If you (you is general, I'm not singling anyone out) want to be a writer, your going to have learn to deal with editors that make you want to scream. It's part of the business and you're not going to be able to escape them no matter where you write or how much money you write for. I used to get butt hurt about every little thing my print editor said, then I realized hey, I have two options. I can ignore what they say and move on, make the changes and make money. Boom. I like money. I don't take it personally. I don't let it bother me.
How to Make Money with Demand Studios
I just received an email from a new Demand Studios writer. Since I have been with DS since 2007, she wanted some tips from me on how to make it as a writer there. Here's what I told her:
Read all of the information that is in the resources area of the site. Check the forums regularly for new information. To get higher paying article, keep an eye on the special assignment part of the forum Make sure not to get a whole lot of rejections. They say that a 4% rejection rate is bad and the writer will be reviewed. Don't worry too much about your score. It will go up and down, but as long as you're in the average range or higher you should be okay. My scores have been between 3 and 5 and I have still gotten tons of special assignments that pay $20-$50 per article. Hope that helps all you new Demand Studios writers!
eHow is Using Copyrighted Images? Hmmm...
So, many of you may remember that eHow was in hot water last year for stealing unintentionally taking traffic from its users. Well, it has now come to light that eHow has been using images posted by users and placing them on other articles.
I was skeptical until I googled my own images that I had posted on my articles. Yep. eHow used my images to redirect traffic to articles they own. This includes illustrations that I have done for some of my how-to articles.
Here's an example of what I found:
I image googled the title of one of my eHow articles- "How to Illustrate Children's Books" I clicked on the image that I posted with the article I was redirected away from my article to "Children's Book Illustrator Job" These redirects wouldn't be such a big deal, but eHow are supposedly storing the images in an "eHow image bank" according to other eHow users. These images are used on DS (Demand Studio) articles without attribution.
eHow has no right to use my copyrighted images. I have only given them permission to use the image on my article.
This Week is My 4 Year Anniversary at Suite 101
Well, as of March 14th, I have been with Suite 101 for four years. I know there are some writers out there that would say, "Now why would you want to stay with a revenue share site for over four years?"
Well, I started with Suite to build a platform for my artistic endeavors. I signed on as the Painting/Drawing Feature Writer and now my art related articles get around 19,000 PVs a week. That's right. That's around 100,000 PVs a month.
Not a bad platform.
I also get:
Hundreds of views for my art blog on Suite Letters from readers telling me how I've inspired them Free art product samples to try out I've even gone on a few press trips thanks to my creds on Suite By now you're probably thinking, "Yah, yah, that's great. Now tell me about the money."
If you like making money by only writing four hours a month, then you'll like Suite. I make around $300 a month writing around four hours a month for Suite. That's $75 an hour. Not my best paying gig, but hey, it's pretty good money considering that it all started out as a side thing to boost my art career.
Plus, art articles aren't the best for ad click revenue. People come to see the articles, but poor artists don't tend to click on ads. So, I guess I'm doing pretty good.
How to Determine a Daily Wage in Freelance Writing
To make a living as a freelance writer you have to keep track of your daily wage. I like to determine how much money I need to make in a month, then determine how much I have to make per day to meet that goal and figure out which projects will help me meet these goals.
This month I have decided that I need to make at least $50 per day or more. To make sure I make that goal each day I assign a monetary value to each project on my to-do list.
For example, one of my projects pays $300. I can break this big project down into manageable chunks that equal $50 each. So, if I do one of those chunks, I met my goal for the day. The trick is to make sure you get all of your chunks done by the project's deadline or else you won't get paid anything.
I also apply this formula to my writing on residual income sites. For example, on Suite 101 I earn around $300 per month. My contract states that I must post four articles a month. So, I divide my $300 by 4, which is $75 per article. This only works because I am going to get paid the $300 no matter how these new articles do.
Make sure not to take jobs that will take a lot of time for very little money. This will make it harder to meet your daily wage requirements.
This isn't a perfect science, but it helps me regulate my time well and allows me to take care of my family.
How to Make it as a Freelance Writer
I have been a freelance writer for more than 11 years. I started out writing articles for print mags and now I do mostly web writing with a little print.
I've found that the best formula for me is to have around 1/3 of my income be residual. This allows me to still be making money even when I take a day off, which is important since I have health problems and two young children.
Also, I think it is important to have as many clients as possible at one time and to be continually looking for new clients. I've found that 90% of clients disappear, go out of business, etc. after a few months and you need to have another in the pipeline. This is incredibly important if your family relies on your income.
Freelance Writing Work at Break Studios
For those of you that are looking for an alternative to Demand Studios for a freelance writing job, I present Break Studios.
Break Studios is exactly like Demand Studios, except the articles a shorter (250 word minimum) and are $8 each.
The Upside to Break Studios
Each of the $8 articles are super easy to write and the titles are easy to understand. You don't have to provide a photo, either.
The Downside to Break Studios
If you think Demand Studios has silly rules, you haven't seen anything yet. Break Studios requires:
The first sentence of bulleted items must be bold The site only accepts non-user generated (.org, .gov and .edu) for cited sources; coms are not allowed as references Articles must be done the same day they are claimed I think I'm going to pass on this freelance writer site for now, but it may be useful for budding freelance writers out there.
Photo by Steve Knight
Make Money on the Web with eHow
eHow, and its owner's, Demand Studios, has been touted as the new wave in web content and as a huge money maker on the web. In fact, eHow has been featured in many high-profile publications such as Wired and the New York Times lately.
Now, we know that Demand Studios is making a killing with the site, but what about the people writing the content? How does this residual income site work?
Changes at eHow
As of late, eHow has been going through a "clean-up" process, which eHow claims will bring a new sense of high standard and respectability to the site. Unfortunately for the people who write content there, this clean-up means losing articles. Since articles are what earns money on the site, inevitably, writers are losing money.
So, eHow isn't the get-money-quick scheme that it used to be. There's no more posting clone articles in-mass and then raking in the dough for those who used to have hundreds of articles on the site.
How to Make Money on eHow
Today, only legit articles that are well written and full of information are allowed. If you are a good writer that knows your subject, this shouldn't be a problem.
So how do you make money on eHow now that it's changed gears?
First, read the sites guidelines and follow them when writing articles.
Second, read Desolator's Guide to Ehow. It is jammed-packed with info that will help you earn a lot from your articles. This guy is crazy, but he's great at telling you exactly what you need to know to milk eHow for all it's worth.
For examples of eHow articles that have made it through the clean-up, take a look at mine here: Alina Bradford's Articles
Update: eHow is now only accepting article submissions through Demand Media Studios. To write for eHow you will need to fill out an application at the Demand Media Studios website.
Best Places to Find Freelance Writing Jobs
The first step to becoming a successful freelance writer on the web is knowing how to find freelance writing jobs quickly. The key is having a list of go-to job websites that always have a fresh list of job opportunities for freelancers. These job sites must have a large about of telecommuting jobs as opposed to sites that focus on on-site jobs.
Here is my list of sites that meet this criteria:
Elance.com
I’ve heard a lot of discussion over whether or not Elance is a good place to look for jobs. A lot of this debate has to do with the fact that Elance has a membership fee and takes a cut (around 8%) of the profits. I have to say I love Elance. I’ve found tons of work and a lot of repeat customers there. Any fees and percentages are worth it, to me. You can get creative writing jobs, ghostwriting jobs, technical writer jobs and more from Elance.
I have been a long-time fan of this site for finding freelance writing jobs. It is a blog that lists a round-up of freelance writing jobs every day. It saves you tons of time searching on sites like Craigslist.
Online Writing Jobs.com
This site is great. The jobs are always fresh and there is tons of variety.
Digital Point Content Wanted Forum
If you want some freelance writing jobs that offer quick cash, the best place to go is the Digital Point Content forum. Content buyers post their needs there and forum dwellers snatch up the jobs like hotcakes.
Have a content article or two sitting around not making money? You can sell them on this forum, too. Mine always get sold within 24 hours. You probably won’t bag much money, but it’s better than getting no money, right?
Freelance Writing Jobs Yahoo Group
Sign up to this group and you get a fantastic, irreplaceable weekly round-up newsletter of all the hottest freelance jobs for that week. I just got a job from pursuing this email last week.