Comments on: Freelance Writing Jobs for Wednesday, June 11, 2008

By: Ann G.

Ann G. — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:32:07 +0000

A note on the British job discussed earlier… he asks for your bank account information and routing code info to make “electronic payments.” While it may be legit, I’m not willing to hand that out.

By: Cynthia

Cynthia — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:23:36 +0000

Colleen,
First paychecks can take a little while as you have to be set up in the accounting system, w9′s etc. Once that’s done, they should come regular, but never feel bad about asking for what’s due you. If they balk when you ask, then there’s a problem with them and that’s a red flag.

By: Jodee

Jodee — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:18:23 +0000

@ Colleen: Thank you for sharing the good news!

Re your pay check: Did the employer tell how often they pay when you took the job? If that wasn’t clear to you, there is nothing wrong with asking them how often they pay their writers. You might want to confirm at that point that they have your correct mailing address.

I have had two checks from clients get lost in the mail and these things do happen. Each time the client issued a new one and it wasn’t a problem.

By: Colleen

Colleen — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:04:46 +0000

I landed my second gig from here today! Even though it’s not a high paying one, I figure if I get a few of the lower paying one I’m all set. Thank you so much! This site rocks!!!!

I’m still waiting to see my first paycheck from my first gig and I am praying that I wasn’t scammed. But they seem like a legit company. Does it sometimes take a while to get paid when the employer is paying by check? I don’t want to be pushy with them and lose the contract.

By: PJ

PJ — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 22:29:13 +0000

Re the article writer job in San Diego, $12.50 for an article of 900-1,250 words . . . and he claims he’ll pay for the first 200 articles as part of his so-called “contest” to find writers.

What a waste of time.

BTW, anybody finding that responding to ads with yahoo or other such addresses just results in a growing amount of spam?

By: Angie

Angie — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 22:13:33 +0000

I responded to one of your listings a few weeks ago for Simple Joy and they are going to use my article. Thanks! I love you guys! I look forward to scanning your site every day. It’s like a fix!

By: maryam

maryam — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 22:06:26 +0000

Um seeking UK Black writers isn’t discrimination, it’s called niche writing. It appeals to a certain audience, and that’s why it’s popular.

By: Ginny

Ginny — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:17:24 +0000

Anybody else try to apply to the English-Language Editor? My email bounced back from Craig’s List, saying it was undeliverable.

By: Colleen

Colleen — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:22:07 +0000

Great list Jodee! Thanks. After 5 weeks of nothing I am now in talks with three potential employers. Yay! Hoping to have my second contract soon.

By: Ann G.

Ann G. — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:20:36 +0000

@Katherine – There was one proofreading training post I found the Freelance Writing.com site –

I didn’t pay for it, but started the training that was supposed to be paid because you were working on real documents during your training. I did three and found mistakes that my teacher had missed. With the fourth, he’d told me I spelled Ouija wrong and that it was supposed to be spelled O-U-I-J-I. I corrected him and never heard another word, nor have I seen any payment for the training I had completed.

So should you come across that posting saying you can be paid to learn proofreading, I recommend against it. I’m not sure if he wasn’t happy with my work, didn’t like being corrected or simply needed proofreading done and set up a good ruse to get caught up, but regardless, I feel cheated!

By: Jenn

Jenn — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:17:25 +0000

Hi Jodee, I must join everyone else and thank you for the wonderful job both you and Deb do here. It is my favorite place for job searching. I have no success stories to report yet, but I’ve been applying to several places this past week, so something is bound to turn up.

I just wanted to mention that today’s posting under the title *Technical Research Writer Needed to Work from Home in Kitchener/Waterloo/Cambridge Area is SPAM. It says when you respond to the ad they will send you more info on the job, but it actually takes you to a getresponse sign up page. Just thought I’d let you know since they now have my email, and hopefully no one else will fall into the trap.

By: Katherine

Katherine — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:38:38 +0000

While we are in the question asking mode – I don’t have a writer’s resume – but have clips – can you recommend someone to put together a professional resume for me that will just highlight my writing career?
Also can you recommend any online proofreading courses? Thanks

By: Aaron

Aaron — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:49:33 +0000

First off, Jodee you do a wonderful job with this site! I do have a questions as far as breaking into the copywriting freelance area. How is this done, and is there an efficient way to get educated in this field? I am still a copywrite noobie, but would like to continue to branch out into other writing areas. Any advice from ya’ll would be great!

By: Jodee

Jodee — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:36:15 +0000

@ Nikki: I checked the exchange rate on this one before I posted it. It worked out to $9.72 US. I still posted it because I know many of you can write more than 500 words in an hour, which would bring the rate up above the minimum of $10, and there are a few people who visit here who have asked for jobs paying in GBP.

By: Nikki

Nikki — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:26:28 +0000

Note on the one looking to pay 5GBP for 500 words…works out to be under $10 in USD. If they pay via paypal, any fees work it out to be a little over $8. I used to contract with a UK client this is just my $.02 (in US dollars ) on what your pay will actually be.

By: Brandi

Brandi — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:24:07 +0000

@ann: The Euro-descent narrative is dominant, which is why we don’t need to be singled out for our experiences. The job is for TheBlackIntellectual.com, so it stands to reason that they’d be interested in the experiences of black intellectuals to fit their niche.

By: Kenna

Kenna — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:20:57 +0000

Thank you so much.

This is a great way to start the morning, flowing out for more work.

Don’t worry if there is a snfu here and there; it’s part of the process.

By: Jodee

Jodee — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 13:51:45 +0000

@ Del: I must have missed that part. Thank you for pointing it out.

By: del

del — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 13:40:27 +0000

The YBE magazine job states that it’s currently “unpaid” but they hope to pay starting in January 2009.

By: Yemi

Yemi — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 12:50:18 +0000

I love that the postings have been coming so early in the morning!

Thanks Jodee.

By: BooBoo

BooBoo — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 12:48:49 +0000

@Ann G.
I agree. Far, far too much.

By: Fiona

Fiona — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 12:45:18 +0000

Note on the article writer job in San Diego – he contacted me and has now turned it into a competition “because of the response.” Send him you articles and if he likes them he’ll pay $12 for them. It started to sound fishy to me.

By: Ann G.

Ann G. — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 11:57:32 +0000

Note on the freelance editor job. You have to complete a test to potentially land the job. The test involves proofreading an 25 page essay and then writing an essay of your own. I don’t mind proofreading a page or two to show my skills but a full 25 pages is a bit much IMO.

By: ann

ann — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 11:45:34 +0000

Searching for Young Black British/Afro-Caribbean Writers…

Seems like if they were searching for Young White British/White Caribbean Writers it would be discrimination. Hmm.

By: Jodee

Jodee — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:28:19 +0000

@ Shells: You are most welcome.