Good morning FWJ Friends! Happy Canada Day to all of my fellow Canucks! I’ve got gigs for copywriters, technical writers, translators, bloggers, and content writers for you today. An employer is looking for someone to write ebooks, and there is an interesting opportunity for a freelance magazine editor.
As a purely editorial comment, I wanted to share with you a portion of an ad I spotted this morning. (It wasn’t a freelance opportunity, so the ad is not on today’s list.) The employer posted the following statement: “If you are lazy, disorganized, lackadaisical or dumb, please do not apply!!” I would think that would go without saying, but maybe that’s just me. The fact that someone thought they needed to post this thought means that if you are applying for a freelance gig and are diligent, able to follow instructions, and have something going on between your ears, then you can get hired. Just a little encouragement to start off a new month.
As always, I hope you find a job with your name on it on today’s list. Do let us know if you get hired for any of these opps - your success stories help to encourage others!
Leads…
- Not Your Usual iPhone Blogger @ b5media
- Freelance Jr. Copywriter - New York
- Dictionary Editor - UK Contract Position
- Freelance Senior Online Editor @ Guideposts - New York
- Hebrew to English Translator Wanted
- English to French Translator for Metis Festival - Ottawa - Pays Honorarium
- Technical Writer - HW Support Manuals - Toronto - Part On Site/Part Telecommute
- Junior Blogger Position Available - Telecommute
- Legal Content Writers for Real Estate Course @ Ashton College - Vancouver, B.C.
- Winnipeg Junior Writers for Local Human Rights/Social Justice Issues ($20 per article)
- Technical Writers Wanted for Contract Positions in Heidelberg, Germany
- Copy Editor for One-Time Project - Paris
- Article Writers Needed ASAP - India
- Atlanta Luxury Men’s Magazine Looking for Fashion Writers/Stylist
- Writing, Gaming Internship Program - Atlanta
- Experienced Sports Blogger Wanted - USA
- Fresh But Savvy Writers for New Online Magazine - Telecommute
- Freelance Magazine Editor/Part Time - Telecommute ($1,750 per issue)
- Technical Writer - Six Month Contract - Atlanta
- Fashion Blog Writer with Some SEO Experience Needed
- Writer Needed for PR Work - Internship - On Site or Telecommute - Austin
- Technical Writer - Long Term Contract - Austin
- Technical Writer - Contract - Austin ($42+ per hour)
- Content Analyst: Foreign Language - Austin Area Candidates Work from Home ($12 per hour)
- Content Analyst - English - Austin Area Candidates Work from Home ($10 per hour)
- Amazing Freelance Fashion Writer Needed @ The Purse Page - Telecommute
- Freelance Writer: Nonfiction Articles @ Shakespeare Squared - Telecommute
- Online Music Magazine Looking for Writers - Internship - Telecommute
- Seeking Writers for EmploymentCrossing - Three Month Contract - Potential for Perm - Pasadena, CA
- Writer Needed - Educational Massage & Gay Community Topics - Contract - Telecommute ($150 per article)
- Interior Design/Home Furnishings Daily or Weekly Feature - Telecommute
- Hip Hop Site Needs Bloggers - Internship
- Writing/Copywriting Needed - Masters/Ph.D. Students - Miami ($35-$60 for 1000 words)
- Content Writers Needed @ Versaglobe.com - Telecommute
- Technical Writer - Contract - Minneapolis
- Editorial Intern - Applicants Must Live in or Near New York ($50 for 200 words)
- Junior Copywriter for Manhattan Content Creation Company - Freelance to Perm
- Four Talented Writers Needed for Monthly Columns - Organic Lifestyle Publications - New Jersey
- Freelance Copy Editor - On Site - New York
- Fashion Writer in Philadelphia Wanted
- Tech Writer - Philadelphia - 2-3 Month Contract - Mostly On Site, Some Off Site Possible
- Freelance Writer for StoreAdore.com - Philadelphia
- E-book Writer Wanted
- Technical Writer - Contract - San Francisco
- Technical Writer - Contract - Santa Clara
- French Web Editor @ World Bank - Washington, D.C
Good Luck!
July 1st, 2008 at 9:58 am
Thanks Jodee. I hope everyone is having a great week. I’m happy to announce that 2 weeks ago, I put in my notice at my full time job. I’ll be leaving after Labor Day to pursue freelance writing full time and also help my husband with his growing video production business (he does a lot of documentary type projects). I’m excited, yet nervous. Any tips from those who have made this kind of jump would be appreciated.
July 1st, 2008 at 10:15 am
Congrats Rachel!!! Would love to hear more about what your husband does - sounds fascinating. We just spent the past weekend watching auditions for an independent filmmaker - my husband is going to do a writeup for his website about it.
On a completely separate note, I’ve just got off the phone from an interview for a writer position with a nonprofit. It went really well so fingers crossed.
July 1st, 2008 at 10:23 am
I’ve been at this for two months and still only have one full time gig. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong in regards to my CV and applications, but I am getting very discouraged. If any of you successful freelancers feel like sharing any tips, that would be great. I’m starting to find it hard to even write these days
July 1st, 2008 at 10:39 am
Congrats on the move Rachel…
Jodee: I just wanted to say that employer note is funny. Sometimes, I actually think it DOES need to be said. Unfortunately, lazy people usually think that message does not apply to them.
Colleen: Don’t get discouraged. I know it feels like a lifetime, but two months is nothing! Just keep doing what you are doing. One full-time gig in two months is actually a GREAT record.
Have a great day, everyone!
July 1st, 2008 at 10:55 am
Would you consider making the “visited” links a different color in your coding? The brown color is better than the orange for viewing jobs, but it’s still hard to tell which job links we visited becaused the “visited” links aren’t color coded another color. Thanks!
July 1st, 2008 at 11:25 am
@Fiona - My husband does a lot of marketing videos for ski resorts in the midwest, and also does a lot of freelance projects when it comes to shooting bands that come to the area. For the last couple months he’s been involved in a project that is studying sea lampreys and sturgeon in the Great Lakes (interesting huh?) and starting this month he will be the video/film editor for a piece on President Eisenhower that has government funding and will be featured on PBS in the future. He’s finding that he likes the longer format things much better.
July 1st, 2008 at 11:31 am
@Colleen - I’ve been freelance writing for about two years now. Currently, I have five long-term clients, one is on hiatus while their new software is developed and then I have others who come and go when they need work completed.
I don’t really think you are doing anything wrong. Competition is fierce. I know this for certain after chatting with one employer who told me in one day he’d had 500 applicants responding to his Craigslist post. He stopped reading applications after the first 50. So many times it is all about getting your application/resume to the person before the others.
July 1st, 2008 at 11:53 am
@ Colleen: It took me 6 months before I was able to freelance comfortably full-time. If freelance writing were easy, everyone would be doing it! It’s the ones who persevere who are successful.
@Jodee: Happy Canada Day to you too!
July 1st, 2008 at 11:56 am
Rachel - sounds fascinating, especially the work with lampreys.
July 1st, 2008 at 11:58 am
Great list, Jodee! Thanks, as always.
@ Rachel - I just left my full time job at the beginning of June. I had it pretty easy because I worked with a lady from school who has her own freelance writing business, so I had work. I’ve picked up two of my own clients from these job boards. There are two things I can tell you.
One, make a schedule and stick to it - sometimes it’s very hard to get work done when that really good book is sitting by the bed. I was up all night reading last night - skipped doing any work most of yesterday, too, just to finish this book. It’s hard and I felt terribly guilty, but I haven’t had one day off in a month, so I felt justified.
Two, make sure you give yourself at least one day off a week. Doesn’t matter when, just take a day for yourself. It’s amazing the perspective that comes with being refreshed.
And that’s my two cents worth. Hope it helps and best of luck to you!
@ Colleen - Don’t be discouraged. Something will come along when you least expect it. I would say to keep applying, and scouring the web for more jobs you can apply for. Market yourself and the rest will follow.
July 1st, 2008 at 12:05 pm
I just noticed the Interior Design/Home Furnishings writer position doesn’t pay.
July 1st, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Thanks guys.
I guess I just needed a virtual squeeze on the shoulder to let me know that the route I’m taking is quite normal. And I am going to stick with it. Perserverance, right?
July 1st, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Colleen: Great on having a gig!
When I started out writing freelance, I cold called chiropractors, indoor plant care companies, interior designers, video production companies and so on. Those who need educate and promote to their public to maintain a strong customer data base.
I wrote articles for their newsletters, websites and local publications. What was really cool about this was that I had ample work that I could rewrite and sell to other newsletters, websites — even custom publishing companies. I even designed simple newsletters to add to my purse.
The key though was to cold call in my area. Not by the Internet but by phone, foot and networking groups.
Better yet: Make a list of people you know who own a small business and need to promote. Look over that list and call them up, set up a meeting and make them an offer.
The Internet is great, but open your yellow pages and see how may chiropractors, pshysical therapists or massage therapists are in your area. They need to promote, and you can help them through your writing.
It works!
July 1st, 2008 at 4:38 pm
@ Canadian readers: Happy Canada Day from neighboring Maine!
@ Colleen: There’s lots of good advice here, and I agree with Kenna about cold calling. I choose my targets carefully, whether I’m going to call or send an e-mail message. This has gotten easier and easier, particularly now that I have a Web site with clips. I’m always ready with followup information and links.
No matter how you contact potential clients, be sure you have an angle on why *you* are the right person to write for them. Be ready for rejection but offer to follow up in a few months to see if anything changes. Ann mentioned huge competition for jobs. Most of my work is business writing, so I don’t think of other writers as my competition when I cold call or send unsolicited applications. Many of my clients wrote for themselves before I started working with them, so, in a way, they were my competition.
The marketing side of freelancing is lots of fun when pitches work, but I know from years of personal experience that it’s a real drag when they don’t. Good luck!
July 1st, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Coleen, I started freelance writing around seven months ago, and i have around eight jobs ranging from steady to ok. I now feel overwhelmed but, anyways that’s another story. What I did was apply like mad, and make sure I had relevant samples for my writing. I found in the process, as time went by, I kept getting better and fairer gigs once I knew the rules of the game more. Sometimes a lot of jobs doesn’t equate with fair jobs.
Now I have around four jobs I can say for sure are reliable and some that I don’t bother with as much. Hope this helps
oh yeah remember that for every rejection there is an approval on the other side of the corner.
July 1st, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Great leads! And Happy Canada Day to Jodee and all my other co-patriots!
July 2nd, 2008 at 7:44 am
I love your website, thanks so much for all the great leads. Alas, the competetion is fierce, but there’s enough jobs to go around for everybody…I hope…
July 2nd, 2008 at 3:56 pm
RE: changing the link color once visited
I mentioned this before, but a quick way to go through the job list and now lose your place is to open a new tab for each job as you go down the list.
I have Firefox, so all I have to do is right-click on each job link. Once I have gone down the list, I then go through the tabs, and email the ones I like to myself.
From there it is easy to re-read the instructions and send off a cover letter and resume. Also, that gives me a copy of the ad for my own records, to keep with my correspondence with them. I have seen some ads edited, and I have seen some ’scam’ ads replicated. Having my own records keeps me from re-applying for jobs that turn out to be jobs I am not interested in or turn out to be scams.
July 2nd, 2008 at 3:57 pm
I meant NOT lose your place. Sheesh. lol
July 3rd, 2008 at 4:55 am
It certainly took me quite a while to start earning a regular income. It has a lot to do with your ability to land regular clients, being able to show good clips and expanding your horizons. I think it takes some time to find your footing and learn where and how to earn consistently. I’ve been writing for a while (a few years) but only started doing it full time 2 years ago, when I felt comfortable that I would be able to pay the bills. So don’t rush it. Put as much effort as you can in the process, but don’t rush it. If you’re consistent and hard-working, it will come.