We get letters

Dear Deb,

I see lots of bloggers are now posting job leads. Since you are the first blogger to do this how do you feel about the copycats? Some of them are obvious and blatant rip-offs. Don’t you get frustrated when people can’t come up with their own original ideas? You’re still the best!

Regards,

Beth

Hi Beth,

I think there’s room for all of us! If others can make it work, why not?

Thanks,

Deb

Hello, Deb!

I have a quick question for you and I would love to hear opinions about
this incident. I saw a job I would be suited for from your page and I
sent an email asking for more information about the project because the ad
was pretty vague in its description. To me, it sounded like a lot of work
for a part time position, so I politely asked to get more information
about the project and how much time was expected of the writer to commit
to this project. I have a full time job and I freelance on the side, so I
wanted to make sure I would have enough time to do the project well.

I received a reply from someone at the company saying they were setting up
phone interviews and was asked to send them my contact information and my
top three choices of available time slots within the next week. I replied
and again said I wasn’t sure I wanted to actually apply for the job with
so few details and again asked for the amount of time the project would
take so I didn’t waste everyone’s time with a phone interview if I
couldn’t do the job.

I received a terse reply back informing me that there was no way she could
tell me a time because there were several positions available that would
be assigned as suited. I was then rudely told she didn’t have time to
explain each one via email.

Was I wrong to ask for more clarification of the project? The way the ad
was written it sounded like one project for one writer, not several
positions that were open. Is it better just to apply and then turn down
the job later? I treated this just as I would treat any job application
in the “real world” by asking for clarification. Is that taboo in the
freelance world? Thanks for your opinion!

Heather

Hi Heather,

As far as I’m concerned, it never hurts to ask for clarification. Keep in mind that not everyone will want, or have time to answer all of your questions. If this is the case, there are nice ways of stating this. The editor shouldn’t have been rude, and frankly, if that’s how she’ll treat someone asking questions, can you imagine what it would be like to work for her?

There’s no excuse for rudeness,

Deb

Dear Ms. Ng,

I’m a lurker on your freelance writing blog and have enjoyed the helpful advice and wonderful daily job listings. I am just starting out in freelance writing and blogging, though I have experience in the journalism industry and am a full-time employee at a newspaper. (I love blogging! I’m addicted!) Most of the gigs that have contacted me with interest pay writers based on a percentage of advertising. Many are Web sites that have recently been launched or will be launched soon. I have turned down a few sites because they didn’t seem like successful models – they didn’t offer anything new. But there are some sites that seem like they could be popular with the right marketing. Would I be wasting my time writing for these kinds of sites with the hopes that they might someday have a large following and generate revenue? Is that part of the risk you take as a blogger/online freelancer?

Thanks,

Danelle

Hi Danielle,

I personally won’t work for only revenue. Not unless the blog has major traffic and I already have an idea of how much I’ll earn. Lots of places show potential, but why should the owners be the only one who really earn, while the writers hardly get anything at all? I’m not going to tell you not to take revenue-only gigs, but I don’t want you to get your hopes up. Enter into these jobs knowing there’s a chance you may not earn a thing for several months, and then not much more after that. There’s also a good chance I’m wrong.

Only you can know if it’s a waste of your time.

Good luck!

Deb

Dear Deborah,

I am new to the world of freelance journalism gigs online, but I can tell one thing and that is that I am glad for your website. The quality of the gigs is much higher than any others I have found, so thank you!

I just wanted to know if most replies to a writer’s pitch for a given job take a few days, about a week, often two weeks or more or even more than a month for them to respond to. It probably varies from employer to employer, but is there a general amount of time it takes for them to respond as a rule of thumb?

Just wondering,

Conrad

Hi Conrad,

In my experience most respond within a couple of weeks to a month. There have been times when I received a response months later! In fact, every now and then I receive a response apologizing for taking so many months, and I have no clue what the author is talking about as it’s been so long. I think some clients have great intentions, they take out an ad and then find they need more planning and organizing before they begin to hire writers.

Hope that helps,

Deb

Dear Deb-

First of all I want to thank you for your blog. I am a newbie to both
your blog and freelance writing in general. My most pressing question
I’ve encountered as I begin my freelancing is how the heck do I know
how much is too much to take on? I work a full time job and I’ve
begun freelancing to supplement my income and I’d like to reply to
some of the job postings at freelancewritingigs.com but I don’t know
how to budget my time. Any tips would be much appreciated!

Thanks,

Lisa

Hi Lisa,

Girlfriend, are you asking the wrong person! You know how fish will keep eating and eating even when they’re not hungry? Well I’m sort of like that with work. Here’s how it works for me, I work 8 to 10 hours each day. I do this by waking up hours before the rest of my family, working while my son is in school and working again for several hours in the evening. If, by the time I’m ready to end my day I’m still not finished with my work (and this happens more than once) I took on too much. Give yourself an amount of time to work each day, say four hours. If you work longer than that four hours, either re-think the amount of work you want to take on or drop a gig or two to balance it out.

Don’t forget to take time out for life!

Deb

Dear Deborah,
My name is Marifaih and I live in Greece.I am interesting in writing.
I’m 18 years old (in a few months) and I love writing.I have started some blogs but always leave them cause I got blocked, or didn’t know what to write..I have noticed although that when I am told what to write about I can write pretty good!

Greek is my mother language.However, I speak english fluently (I have a Lower and a Proficiency degree).I also speak french pretty good (I have some degrees ,too).I study computer programming in university but I plan to attend journal classes when I finish it.

Well,the problem is , i didn’t exactly understand what freelance writing is..I mean can somebody get paid?What can I write for?In which language?
Thanks a lot for reading my mail.I’ll be glad to read your response.

Marifaih

 

Hi Marifah,

Forgive my bluntness.

If you’re always dropping your blogs because you don’t know what to write, you might not be cut out to be a freelance writer. You see, you’re always going to have to come up with ideas. While someone might give you a topic, no one is going to hold your hand while you write said topic. If you can’t keep up a blog, with topics that interest you, how can you be expected to write for someone else?

Freelance writing is working for a variety of clients on a variety of projects. You will receive an assignment and are expected to turn it in on or before the designated date. You can write in a variety of language, wherever there are jobs available. As to where you can find jobs, well…there’s this blog and plenty of other boards. Oh and yes, we do expect to get paid for our work.

Good luck,

Deb

Deborah,

How much time do you spend on Freelance Writing Job blog every day?

Tim

Hi Tim,

I spend at least one to two hours daily writing, maintaining and promoting FWJ. Sometimes more. Before Jodee came on board it was a lot more.

Best,

Deb

To all the people who ask if Deb prints fake letters. I sent a fake letter last week and she printed it. So yes she prints fakes she just doesn’t no it.

Ha Ha Ha

Ha -

This is me rolling my eyes.

Deb