I really like this article. I’m new to the freelance writing industry (3-4 months) and being an Asian writer (Philippines), most employers just don’t give us decent rates. It’s sad because there are a lot of qualified writers out there who aren’t native English speakers.

Anyway, I have the same problem as everyone else here. I don’t want to accept writing gigs that pay $5 an article but I don’t really have any choice. I currently only have 2 employers who pay me $15 and $25 per article but work from them doesn’t come often. So I’m forced to take $5 to $6 gigs just to be productive.

For sure If I spend 1 hour daily looking for work, I will certainly land a $10-$30 gig in one month.
In any cash I believe I have enough samples already published:http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=James_Abugah
And when you start cheap, you will find it difficult to move upscale.

James
Nairobi
Kenya

I’m desperate to move up and get better paying freelance writing jobs. You depicted my case when you mentioned working hard and for long hours, just for little amount! I need help!

Kareen

Being new to the freelance scene, I have exhausted all my search engines looking for these elusive high paying writting gigs. I discovered that they all require either clips, samples or a note from God. So I turned to the $2 dollar gigs for something much more valuable, experience. In a weeks time, I have accumulated a folder full of clips and samples submissions. I saved all my critiques and feedback like study notes for a test. Now, I’m ready to take on the bigger fish. I have also worked my way up the payscale.

I am a freelance writer. I believe you should charge what you are worth. Good article but it fails to give us fellow writers any specific links or sites on where to find the better paying jobs!

I get a quick reading all of these posts. I decided to try my hand at writing as well. God knows I wrote, and read, enough when I went for Political Science major. How I ever had the energy, or desire to do that I don’t know, but….this gig has definitely been interesting.
I have done some of the low ball gigs, not really knowing really where to start. I thought that if I did some of these. Get the ball rolling, that I could work up from there.
Through looking at all the posts, for those of you who have obviously done this for a while, where are good places to look online (presuming you don’t mind me asking)? I found Helium, which I thought looked interesting. You have the marketplace, where you can submit an article, and the bidder takes the best one…but of course this means you may not be paid for your efforts! They also have a section where you can just write and post your articles. You maintain your copyright over the articles, editors look at them, and if interested they get in contact with you…this seems tedious too, but at least it gets your work out their for everyone to see.

Suggestion for the Newbie?

Yours Truly,

Shani

It’s scary, but you NEED to simply start looking for higher paying clients – even if that means having less work to do for a little while.

Jeremy Reeves
http://www.controlbeatingcopy.com

For the people who are taking the $3 gig, please please don’t sell yourself short. Also, don’t be so desperate that you’ll take “anything.” It has to do with value. You also need to think about your ROI. Is it worth your time to write for an hour for a measly $3?

I know some people are writing for writing’s sake, however most of us are in the “business” of freelance writing and we need to think like business owners and profits. That’s what I’m quickly learning (especially from fellow copywriters). Just remember to value yourself and your writing!

One thing I quickly learned is that most articles for the internet – especially low-paid ones- are not even written for people, just for search engines. That’s why they don’t care if they’re well-written as long as they contain the right key words. I rarely write articles any more, because web site content, e-books and ad copy pays a lot better.

I also made a very happy discovery when I stopped quoting by the hour and switched to $0.20 a word. That way people don’t have to worry if I really worked all the hours I billed for or how long it really took me. They know exactly what they are paying for and what it will cost them and I make a lot more. People who would never pay $50 an hour if I quoted by the hour, wind up paying me over $100 an hour with no complaints when I write fast.

As for people unable or unwilling to pay $0.20 a word, that’s their problem not mine. If I was writing for fun, I would work on my own projects, not other people’s. Just build up your clips and don’t be afraid of rejection and keep raising your rates as you get experience and remember it’s a job, not a hobby, so deserve to get paid like a professional

You mean “…to my husband and me.” (You wouldn’t say, “…a serious blow to I.”) If you’re going to be a writer, this is very basic stuff.