Leads…
- Science TV Blogger @ b5 Media
- Freelance Copywriter - Philadelphia
- Freelance Reporter @ The Indianapolis Star
- Freelance Grant Writer - Austin, Tx
- ArticleAuthors Looking for New, Talented Writers
- PR and News Release Writer ($20,000-$40,000 per year)
- Christian Freelance Writers Wanted ($1 per word)
- Full-Time Mobile Phone Blogger @ Mobile Express ($1,000 per month)
- Technology & Celebrity Bloggers @ Content Quake
- Freelance Proofreaders @ Haggin Marketing - Chicago
- Biz Plan Writer Needed - Dallas
- Press Release Writer Needed ($0.10 per word)
- Blogger Needed to Write About Los Angeles
- Writer Needed for Nutrition Book Proposal
- Freelance Writers for New Magazine - Miami
- Freelance Sports Writer for Miami Weekly Newspaper
- Copy Editor/Proofreader Needed to Work on a Freelance Basis - Midtown West/New York
- Freelance Writers for Marketing Communications Company - Warren, NJ
- Contract Business Writer - anywhere in Arizona ($200 per section of operations manual written)
- Simply English Proofreading Accepting Applications for Editors
- LivePDX - Bloggers
- WordPress Blog Writer Needed ($20 per post)
- Part-Time Freelance Editor/Writer - Dupont Circle/Washington, D.C. ($50-$60 per hour)
Good Luck!
Jodee
January 10th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
There is an ad above for Article Authors - I just wanted to let everyone know that it is legit company and everything written in the ad is true. I’ve been with the company since its inception. I know the ad is on a site that often has a lot of scams or really low paying gigs - so I just wanted to put in my two cents about this one.
We really are a close knit group of writers, there is a lot of internal support, and the boss is great to work for.
January 10th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
No matter how “legit” they are, I doubt I will be submitting “two full pages” of samples to anyone.
January 10th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
Nothing there saying that samples can’t be previously published works, is there?
Robin, if you don’t mind (and without being too specific), is the pay fair? If you don’t want to tell us all what you are making, could you tell us whether or not this would pass Deb’s $10/gig rule? Is pay timely and consistent?
Thanks for your 2 cents!
January 10th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
I appreciate the advice, Robin. I also agree with Matt, however, two full pages of samples seems like someone who is trying to squeeze a lot of writing out of a lot of people.
It just seems suspicious.
January 10th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Thanks for the clarification, Robin. I wasn’t aware that it was unusual for a company to ask to see samples. I took two full pages of samples to mean two tearsheet scans or pdfs of previously published work. Is that not what they mean? Just wondering if there is something that I am missing.
January 10th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Anne, it’s not unusual to ask for samples. It’s unusual to ask for two full pages of samples.
January 10th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
The pay for Article Authors is dependent on the word count. It’s not going to make you rich, but, you can pick and choose which jobs you wan to take (as long as you get to them first).
I don’t feel comfortable giving the exact pay here on the blog. But I will say that pay is almost always very timely.
As for samples, previously published samples are fine - and I am sure links to published works would work too.
When you send a sample to anyone for any job, you should always put a disclaimer at the top of the page - the one I put is “The following is for sample purposes only and may not be reproduced or published in any form.”
It lets the prospective client know that you aren’t submitting the work to be published but only as an example of your excellent skills.
January 10th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
I just don’t see the problem with the samples since they are not asking for free articles that they get rights to. I think it’s reasonable to ask for a true indication of your work so that the owner(s) can determine your fitness for their clients–especially since it is their business’s name at stake, not yours (because all work is ghostwritten, correct?).
It seems like the scammers are making us all very suspect and cynical of what could potentially be a good opportunity. What a shame!
@Robin–thanks for the help and your willingness to pass along an endorsement!
January 11th, 2008 at 12:18 am
Nothing personal Mary, but if you can’t tell someone’s writing ability by reading just a few sentences, let alone a few paragraphs, then either it’s a scam or it’s over-kill. Waaayyyy over-kill.
Methinks if they’re interested in your writing after looking at a reasonable 1 page sample, they can ask for another sample that is more specific to what they’re looking for.
Otherwise it’s probably not worth your time.
January 11th, 2008 at 12:25 am
I’m not sure what the cut-off for low paying jobs is here, but the site’s price list to clients for content writing is:
Custom Website Article Creation
Up to 250 Words - $8
250 - 400 Words - $12
400 - 600 Words - $15
600 - 800 Words - $20
800 - 1000 Words - $22
Obviously I’ve no idea what proportion of that winds up with writers, but you’ve got to figure it’s pretty low paying.
January 11th, 2008 at 12:26 am
IMHO, good writing - not that AP reverse pyramid - has a lot to do with article contruction. A few sentences would not be able to show that.
January 11th, 2008 at 12:28 am
I disagree. Reading a few sentences does not tell you if a writer can organize and succinctly word an entire piece, while still getting the point across.
I visited the Articel Authors site. They are essentially a writing team that handles a large variety of projects. This leads me to believe they are asking for ‘overkill’ so that they can see if writers have a range and depth of writing skill that might translate across a variety of projects. I did not get the impression they wanted to draw out the application process by asking for subsequent samples–just that they wanted an idea to weed out the unworthies.
I wouldn’t give anything away to anyone, but I cannot see the problem with attaching a few old pieces to give a potential client a taste of your abilities.
January 11th, 2008 at 12:31 am
@Matt - (almost) anyone can put together a few sentences. If I had to hire a writer, I would definitely want to see a completed piece written from start to finish. I wouldn’t want to know if they could just write grammatically correct. I’d want to know that they could fashion an organized piece from beginning to end that flowed and logically concluded. I don’t see asking for that as overkill - I see it as a smart business move.
As for asking for two pieces - that seems to be the going thing. “Please forward your resume and two writing samples” is pretty much what I see in most ads. Are two pieces necessary? I have no idea, but I wouldn’t let it stop me from applying to a job I was interested in.
Whenever I submit a piece as a sample, I always but my disclaimer at the top, rename it something like - Sample Article - Robin S - Title of Article.doc. Then I put it in a specific writing samples folder in Word that is broken down into categories. That way, when I need samples, I often can just bring up ones that have been used to apply for other gigs and it doesn’t take a lot of time at all. Of course, it’s taken me a while to build up a lot of articles in my sample article file. There are many other articles floating around on my hard drive that haven’t been “samplized” yet.
January 11th, 2008 at 12:32 am
@John
Deb usually won’t list a gig that pays less than $10. From what you posted, I would guess this wouldn’t quite make the cut, because like you said the site will take theirs first.
Probably not the worst paying gig and not the best, but it might be worth it for some extra cash considering this is just a grab and snatch job with no adminstrative duties or client miseries to add!
January 11th, 2008 at 12:59 am
Even if Article Authors splits their fee with writers, (which I doubt) that comes out to $4 per 250 words. Considering research and writing time, that means you will be working for less than $4/hour. Don’t waste your time folks. It’s more profitable to spend that time sending out proposals. Maybe if writers stop writing for sites like this, they will realize that this isn’t something we do for fun … this is our profession … and we should be paid accordingly.
January 11th, 2008 at 2:00 am
Robin,
(almost) anyone can put together a few sentences.
We’ll have to agree to disagree.
I can tell by reading just a few sentences of replies to many posts here at FWJ who I would even consider contacting for writing work.
I don’t see asking for that as overkill - I see it as a smart business move.
Not when potentially good writers (not meaning myself) pass on the offer by submitting samples because of the over-zealous expectations and the relatively low payments they can offer (judging from John’s post of their displayed rates for article buyers).
Bev,
Even if Article Authors splits their fee with writers, (which I doubt) that comes out to $4 per 250 words.
Absolutely. I wouldn’t even consider blogging for double that rate on a topic I know and love and wouldn’t have to research, let alone write articles at that rate!
January 11th, 2008 at 2:02 am
Sorry, meant to say when potentially good writers (not meaning myself) pass on the offer by not submitting samples
January 11th, 2008 at 2:37 am
Now I know why I usually only comment once and don’t get involved with discussions. I spend half my day checking the discussion instead of writing.
I didn’t mean to start yet another discussion on what is acceptable pay. But the discussion seems to be going in that direction, and since I am employed by Article Authors, I am going to respectfully remove myself from the conversation.
January 11th, 2008 at 6:24 am
Thank you for the input Robin - I’m sure you stayed with Article Authors for a reason
It’s good to know that they’re not as scam-ish as they look
January 11th, 2008 at 8:54 am
I’d like to point out that I work for Article Authors as well… it’s obviously not my place to discuss the specifics of payment, but writers do get their fair share of what the site charges. It’s better than 50% of what the site makes from the jobs (and yes, even better than 51% *laughs*), so it beats your “$4 an hour” estimate. They aren’t the best gig that I’ve got, but I’ve definitely been doing my share of work for them lately because they’re better than a few gigs that I’ve had.
As for the “writing samples” question, I sent links to previously-published articles online for mine. They’re in no way asking you to do original content for them… they just want to see that you can actually write more than just a paragraph.
January 11th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
I worked for this company for a bit but never got the chance to jump on a job. Seems that a select group of writers got all the good writing jobs and everyone else got what was left. It really was not worth the time or the effort for the pay rate.
January 12th, 2008 at 12:06 am
I’ve worked with AA since it’s inception too - and I want to say that because of the foreign writing market, and the LOADS of applications that come in from overseas, it’s important to see samples, so that the owner can see if the writer can actually string one sentence together, a couple of sentences into a paragraph and a couple of paragraphs into an article.
I could easily write one paragraph and make it stellar- anyone could, but not everyone can write four paragraphs and put them together so that they flow into a natural sounding article. There’s nothing to say you can’t send a link with your previously published work.
With that said, yes, the payouts are much better than $4 for a 250 word article. It’s better than $0.02 a word, which is fair, especially because the freelance market is so completely fierce and competitive. Don’t forget there are clients who are out there that will use a $1 / 500 word freelancer and know they’re there. They don’t understand that the article isn’t well written until they receive it from the writer.
With that said, I love AA. I love working there and the group of authors is great. I’ve been a mod there for quite some time, more than a year and a half, and none of the writers on the team seem to balk at the pricing. In fact, for many, AA is their bread and butter place. Our boss works hard to increase our client base and the articles posted on the board.
As for “Considering research and writing time, that means you will be working for less than $4/hour.” Well, I write a 250 word article in much less than an hour. If its a hard one to research, then it *might* take me a half an hour, if its an easy keyword driven SEO article, 15 mins tops. I’ve been a professional writer freelancing for more than 5 years, as well as a reporter for a newspaper and an editor for a newspaper. I know that the key to making it is to have a broad range of knowledge and to be able to turn out an article quickly. I don’t take articles I’d have to research for 45 minutes in order to write it, unless its a big one with big pay. So, with that said in accordance with AA, there are enough writers around with enough specialties that there’s no reason to have to research a lot to write an article. Something will come up that meets your expertise and you won’t have to research much at all.
Just my $0.02.
January 12th, 2008 at 4:38 am
I’ve been with AA since its inception, and I don’t take work from anyone else any longer. The pay is timely, and the work is regular if you log in regularly to check what’s available. For the past year, I’ve easily made enough taking jobs from AA to make the equivalent of a full time salary every month. For the two years before that, it was better than a supplemental income.
I’ve worked with a number of other similar writing groups and put up with unprofessional and unethical treatment, far lower pay than I get writing for AA, and more headaches than I have time or patience for these days. Writing for AA, I don’t have to worry about chasing clients for my money, being cheated or spending my writing time drumming up work - that’s the boss’ job and I’m more than happy to part with a cut of the pay to not have to worry about it.
I agree with everything that Steph said about the quality of writing, about the time it takes to write a 250 word article and about the competitiveness of the market. With nearly five years of freelancing under my belt, I’ve researched and learned enough about almost any subject under the sun that I can easily write a 500 word article that is fresh, original and written to order without doing more than fact-checking in far less than an hour. I regularly make $18-30 an hour writing web content, and I stopped being ashamed of it the day I realized that - y’know, I’m too busy writing things I get paid for to spend much time writing whiny complaints that I’m not getting paid what I’m worth.
January 14th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
It’s better than $0.02 a word, which is fair,
Ouch!
Not for me, thanks!
Especially if they need two full pages of samples to decide if you can write right.
January 15th, 2008 at 3:54 am
$0.02/word means $5 per 250 word article.
Maybe you should raise the bar a bit.
January 15th, 2008 at 6:21 am
I said “better than” two cents per word, and that the pay was higher than $4 per 250 word article - Im not going to post the payouts here, becuase that’s not up to me to post or decide…i was trying to be vague…so to be more clear, the payouts are HIGHER than $5 for 250 words, more than two cents per word.
January 15th, 2008 at 6:23 am
Oops sorry, I meant to say - I realize what you are saying though, that you dont think two cents a word is enough and that i need to raise the bar hgiher, expect more.
However, I am busy with work, make enough money to support my entire family from home on my own with these ‘two cents per word’ articles. I dont overwork myself, many days i choose not to work at all, and still i make good money. I realize that by your standards I could do all that in less time if I looked for work that paid more than two cents per word, but the fact is, that work can be hard to come by and there’s nothing to say that I will win those jobs.