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Freelancer Issues That Get Me Down – Sometimes

By on January 31, 2013. 2 Comments
Freelance Writer

I like to think of myself more of an optimist than a pessimist. I could be wrong, but I think that’s a trait that could influence the success of a freelance writer. After all, you need a certain degree of positivism to take that leap – leave your regular day job pay and strike out on your own. There are times, however, when all this freelancing business gets to me. I know I should not complain. This is, after all, what I had been aspiring for while I was still a corporate drone. This was – and is – my [Read more…]

Categories: The Dark Side of Freelance Writing, Writing Life Tags: , , Writing Jobs | Blogger Jobs | Online Content Jobs

When a Freelance Writing Job Doesn’t Pay

By on March 8, 2011. 11 Comments

There is perhaps no other topic in the freelance writing world that generates more controversy than the concept of writers writing for free. Bring it up and lines in invisible sand are drawn, commenting spikes and in the case of Harlan Ellison, a few F-bombs are dropped. It’s understandable. Shady publishers and editors prey on vunerable writers who want to see their names in print. Writers are constantly burned by “write for free now and earn later” promises in which “later” never comes. However, in the angry buzz of the debate something gets lost. Choice and education. There will always [Read more…]

Categories: Article Writing, Fair Pay, Freelance Business Tips, Freelance Writing, Monetizing Blogs, The Dark Side of Freelance Writing Tags: , , , , ,

Magazine Editor Steals Article, Admits It, Asks for Payment

By on November 12, 2010. 10 Comments

I couldn’t resist it. The Gawker article or the pun in my subheading. Normally, I ignore the good old writer vs editor vs Twitter and Facebook trolls vs media snapshot thing. Or I read it, giggle, and move on with my real work. Today I couldn’t walk away from the trainwreck.  The editor for Cooks Source so brazen, the topic too juicy and, well, it’s Friday, I’m always down for a bit of fluff. If you haven’t heard, Gawker has a fantastic post about a writer who found out her article was lifted from the original site it was published [Read more…]

Categories: Article Writing, Freelance Writing, Legal Stuff, News for Freelance Writers, Plagiarism & Copyrights, The Dark Side of Freelance Writing Writing Jobs | Blogger Jobs | Online Content Jobs

Why You Shouldn’t Write for Revenue Sharing Sites

By on November 9, 2010. 51 Comments

Last week, I wrote about unanticipated successes.  One of the stories I relayed involved an article I wrote while experimenting with a site that pays based on residuals.  A few years ago, I wrote a brief no-brainer of an article for a revshare site that has subsequently generated several hundred dollars in earnings. I mentioned my overall disdain for involvement with most revenue sharing sites in the front-end of my post and thought I’d go into a little more detail about why I feel the way I do.  I’d hate to think that my story of an exception to the [Read more…]

Categories: Article Writing, Best of FWJ, Freelance Business Tips, Freelance Job Options, Freelance Writing, Freelance Writing Advice Column, Freelance Writing Business, Just Good Business, The Dark Side of Freelance Writing, Web Content Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Three Bags of Gold

By on August 24, 2010. 10 Comments

I’ve chopped off my finger. I’ve betrayed my friend. I’ve pulled the plug. I took the gold and ran.

I bet you’ve done it, too. Maybe you’ve stayed pure in ways that I haven’t, but you’ve compromised your responsibilities. You’ve done something short of your best work. You’ve pandered to an audience, to a client, or to your own writing vanity. You’ve made your deals with devils, even if your devils are incredibly cute and small.

If you haven’t, I bet you will. Someday.

Categories: Best of FWJ, Copywriting, Freelance Business Tips, Freelance Writing, Freelance Writing Clients, The Dark Side of Freelance Writing, Thoughtful Stuff Tags: , , , , , , , Writing Jobs | Blogger Jobs | Online Content Jobs

A Toilet, Illiteracy and a Return from Vacation

By on August 17, 2010. 6 Comments

Goddamn money.  It always ends up making you blue as hell. —Holden Caufield in J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye Summer is over.  Vacation is over.  The Royals are buried.  One kid is in school and the other is in daycare.  Things are normal. Scratch that last one.  Things are never normal. Case in point:  J.D. Salinger’s toilet. I made the hideous mistake of watching television news this morning.  A story about the place where the super-reclusive author of Catcher in the Rye once did his business somehow managed more airtime than the ugly suicide bombing in Iraq, the trickle-shallow [Read more…]

Categories: Freelance Writing, The Dark Side of Freelance Writing Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Four Types of Freelance Writing Sites We SHOULD Be Talking About

By on March 8, 2010. 19 Comments

The content site discussion is getting old. Some freelance writing bloggers see the merits, others don’t, and neither the twain shall meet. What strikes me about the content site debate is that we focus on one or two evil sites as if they’re the only problem. If we’re going to be discussing the best places for freelance writers to work and caution them against certain other opportunities, I personally feel that there are worse places and those are the ones we should be discussing. When we debate content, we generally focus on two main issues; pay and poorly written content. [Read more…]

Categories: The Dark Side of Freelance Writing, Web Content Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Writing Jobs | Blogger Jobs | Online Content Jobs

The Dark Side of Freelance Writing: Burnout

By on February 25, 2010. 9 Comments

Not everything about freelance writing is bunny slippers and bon bons. Sure, we have the best life. We have flexibility and the abililty to work anywhere we please, pick and choose our own clients and set our own rates.  With all the perks, freelance writing also has a dark side. We already explored what happens when clients don’t pay in a previous “Dark Side” post. Today we’re going to discuss another topic we don’t touch on enough here at FWJ, burnout. What is Freelance Writing Burnout? I think every freelancer has experience burnout at one time or another. For me, [Read more…]

Categories: The Dark Side of Freelance Writing Tags: , , , ,

The Dark Side of Freelance Writing: When Clients Don’t Pay

By on February 15, 2010. 22 Comments
tales from the darkside

We often talk of the benefits of freelance writing, extolling on its flexibility and comfort. Something we don’t cover enough is what I call the “dark side”  of freelance writing including scammers and non payers. One thing I learned over the years is how so many freelancers are embarrassed after being “stiffed” and don’t want to admit they’d been had. I don’t think there’s anything to be ashamed of. The more we talk about these situations, the more ammunition we have to protect ourselves against unsavory clients. Here’s a question for you: What do you do if a client doesn’t [Read more…]

Categories: Fair Pay, The Dark Side of Freelance Writing Tags: , , , , , Writing Jobs | Blogger Jobs | Online Content Jobs
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