Leads…
- Writer @ The Motley Fool
- Call for Writers @ The Writing Realm
- Freelance Writers @ The Texas Education Association
- Freelance Curriculum Writers - Baltimore
- Math Item Writers @ American Institutes for Research ($20 and up per question)
- Grant Writer - Philadelphia ($20 per hour)
- Freelance Copywriters @ E*Trade Financial
- Freelance Copywriter - Miami ($50 per hour)
- California-Based Correspondent @ The Chronicle of Higher Education
- Freelance Editor (On Site) @ CCH - New York
- Technical Writer/Document Repository Librarian - Contract - Atlanta
- Writing Team Needed for Texas Real Estate Blog
- Copywriter for Websites - Dallas - Local Candidates Only
- History and Religion ($15 per hour)
- New Natural Sweetener - Health, Nutritional Copy ($350)
- Environmental Writer Wanted
- Music Industry Proposal Writer
- Freelance Writer - Miami ($0.11 per word)
- Freelance Writers & Proofreaders/Editors Wanted - Miami
- Freelance Copy Editor - Manhattan
- Multi-Ethnic, Urban Writers with a Spiritual Base
- Nationally Distributed Monthly Magazine Seeking Writers ($0.15 per word)
- Seeking Writers for Several Positions
Good Luck!
Jodee
December 11th, 2007 at 3:07 am
I don’t really know quite where to post this so I apologize if it is in the wrong place. But I have a question and everyone here seems so knowledgeable, I decided it couldn’t hurt to ask and see if anyone could help me.
I recently signed up at Demand Studios to be a freelance writer. Then I was contacted by Demand Media and offered $150 to write ten articles for eHow.com. It seems legitimate as I was even given the link to fill out a W-9 tax form before I could be paid. But I was wondering if anyone here had heard of or worked with any these groups. Do you have any advice?
I’ve never done freelance writing before so I’m a little nervous as to how best to proceed.
Also, what is a W-9 tax form and is that normal for freelance writing? I’m also concerned by that. I shouldn’t be, should I?
Anyway, I apologize if I put this in the wrong place. But I do thank anyone who can help me.
December 11th, 2007 at 3:59 am
Hi Nicole,
This is exactly the right place to ask questions.
I haven’t personally worked with them but I understand from posts on another board I visit that they are legitimate and that they pay on schedule. I’m not a US resident, so I can’t answer your question about a W-9 form but I’m sure someone here can clear that up for you.
December 11th, 2007 at 7:57 am
Nicole,
I haven’t worked with those companies, but regarding the W-9:
As a freelancer, you are considered an independent contractor (otherwise known as a 1099 employee) by many companies. If a company pays a contractor more than $600 per year, they’re required to report those payments to the IRS. I’ve worked with companies who have asked for me to fill out the form before I begin work, so I wouldn’t be concerned based on that alone. However, since the form requires your SSN, I would do some research to make sure they’re a legit company before filling out the form.
December 11th, 2007 at 8:20 am
Hi Nicole,
I’m looking at a W-9 form right now. A place I freelance for just sent it to me. A W-9 is a “Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification.” You give the form to the employer or requester and not the IRS. The form is for employers to have your tax information so they may file with the IRS the amount they have paid you. I suppose this is done so if you are audited your freelance paychecks can be traced back to its source and the IRS can tell if you reported the correct income. On the letter I received from my client, it said, “If you need assistance completing this form, contact the IRS at their toll-free number, 1-800-829-1040.”
The letter also gave me these hints about filling out the form:
1) Use the exact name and Social Security number as printed on your Social Security card (it also mentions the option of using an Employer Identification number, but I don’t think that’s relevant to your situation).
2)Check the appropriate box as to whether you are an Individual/Sole Proprietor, Corporation, Partnership, or other (I checked Individual).
3) If you have more than one address, use your remittance address, or where you would have paychecks physically sent.
I’m new to freelancing too. Good luck with Demand Studios!
December 11th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
The W9 form applies if you have earned over $400 in a year.
No other paper from the U.S. applies to contractors that are not U.S. residents, including the 1099.
Here is a post we wrote on Money Matters: Subcontractors that should help. In the comments section, you’ll find information about forms.
December 11th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
I ran into a similar situation that I’m still unsure about. And was coming here to post the question.
I was offered a position recently and was told that I’d be getting the first project in the mail. A few weeks have passed and I never received a thing so I emailed them. Now the “employer” says they cannot ship me the work assignment until I’ve proven I’m of legal age to work. They’ve asked for a clear photocopy of my driver’s license. I asked about blacking out my driver’s license number and they said that won’t fly that it has to be a complete copy of the license with the ID number clearly visible.
Even then I ponder their reasoning, I could be fourteen and just borrow mom or dad’s license for the project so providing it really doesn’t mean a thing.
December 11th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
@ Ann - My radar would’ve been up from the “project in the mail”. Photocopies of drivers licenses? The radar would be clanging away with red lights flashing. Handing out personal information like that is the highway to identity theft. Not saying that’s the client’s intentions, but you need to protect yourself first.
That’s a very unusual demand for freelance work on the Internet.
December 11th, 2007 at 7:17 pm
@ Ann: I would have to agree with James here. Something just doesn’t smell right.
December 11th, 2007 at 7:45 pm
@James & Jodee — That’s what I thought. The project in the mail wasn’t surprising to me as it was supposed to involve listening to a new band’s CD and then offering a review they can use for the media. So I expected to get those sent in the mail, and that part didn’t send up red flags at all. But to ask for a license sounds off, especially after the email stating the first CD was being mailed back on November 10th. It was good money, but I’m passing on this one.
I was mainly curious to see if anyone else had ever had a request for a license. I’d never heard of such a thing before.
December 11th, 2007 at 8:21 pm
I had someone ask for a social security number once. I told them that I’m hesitant to provide that information based on the potential for identity theft (Hey, how many people are going to see that number? How do I know it’ll be handled carefully as sensitive information?). I asked why they needed it and if there was other information that I could provide instead that left me feeling more comfortable.
They didn’t contact me again. Had they insisted, I would’ve ditched the job.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:49 pm
Just my opinion, but no one should ask for your social security number unless they’ve already hired you. A SSN is required for a w9 form, so you can’t get out of giving it to them entirely, but I’d never give it up until I’m hired.
I can’t think of any good reason anyone would need a driver’s license. Sounds like some kind of racket to make fake ids to me.
December 12th, 2007 at 1:35 am
Nicole,
A friend of mine did an assignment for Demand Studios and said they paid her pretty fast. The editors there are very responsive to questions.
Also, about the W9. If you are uncomfortable giving out your social security number, you can also file for a Tax ID number from the IRS. It’s free and can be used in lieu of a SS#.
Overall, I think it’s pretty standard for freelance jobs to ask for a W9, especially if they plan to have a lot of work available.
Let us know if you decide to go through with it. Thanks…
December 12th, 2007 at 2:09 am
Thanks to everyone for the advice!
@ Amy Derby: I’ve been researching the company a bit and they do sound legitimate. The general idea seems to be that nobody understands how they are making money but they are making it. A lot of it.
Also, do you think I have been hired if the member of the “editorial team” told me that if I decide to do it all I need to do is write ten articles and post them at a particular website, send in an invoice with the titles and the W-9 form, and they will send me a check for $150? Like I said, I’m new to this and quite confused.
@ James Chartrand: Thanks for the link. I’m hesitant about giving my SSN out, even if they sound legitimate, for all the reasons you mentioned. Especially as the information they sent me says that they are based in Santa Monica, California but send invoices to Bellevue, Washington before send checks on to me in Pennsylvania. It kind of seems like a lot could happen in that time. Would you do as M.M. suggested and request a Tax ID number or give them your SSN? If you don’t mind my asking, of course.
@ M.M.: Thanks for the word about your friend’s experience with Demand Studios.
I think I’m still up in the air about whether or not to do it. First, I’m still a bit overwhelmed as I’m new to this. And second, the assignment is to write 10 articles on completely new topics not already done in the 40,000 odd articles already on the website so I’m having a bit of trouble coming up with ideas.
I really hate to bother you all so much but I just thought of another question that maybe you’ll be so kind as to help me with. Demand Studios reserves all rights (work for hire is the phrase, I think) to anything I write for them. Is this a good thing or a bad thing in freelance writing?
Again, so sorry to ramble on and bother you so much. Thanks ever so much for listening and helping me!
December 12th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
@ Nicole - another radar goes up when you mentioned “write, post, and get paid after.” There are no guarantees. They’re asking you to have blind faith - but they are the ones to be directly, immediately benefited. Why don’t you ask them to send you the money and just have plain old blind faith you’ll write and post?
Generally, normal operations on the net is 50% deposit, 50% on delivery.
Making a lot of money on the net - especially with articles and content and especially if “how” isn’t clear, isn’t normal operations.
Now, I’m all for cash. I can make a lot of good, fast cash growing pot and selling it in the spring when demand is high and supply is low.
However, at the end of the day, I have to live with myself. Sure, I made lots of cash in a ridiculously short amount of time. But I also fed someone’s unhealthy habit. Maybe the pot I grew gets bought and resold. To kids. To young kids. Maybe to my kid.
But hey - I made a lot of money, right?
It’s an extreme, harsh example, but the point is, every thing you do in life has to be something that you can live with at the end of the day based on what matters.
Work for hires SUCK for writers. You are no longer a contractor - you are an employee of that company. You have no rights. You have no rights to your work. SUCKS. Thank god we don’t have it here in Canada.
However, work for hires are extremely common and generally completely misused because the people who tag on that label to work really have no idea what it means.
Not a bother to give my thoughts, by the way. Keep up with the questions. It’s all good and you may be helping someone else, too.
December 12th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
I’ve never really had an issue handing over the copyright to my writing, but then they are usually nondescript articles that would be of no use to magazines or any printed book.
And sometimes it works out well for all anyway. I recently had an article I’d written get picked up by a national nursing magazine. I still don’t know why they wanted it, but they approached the tourism website and asked if they would sell it. Though I’d handed over the copyright, the site owner contacted me and informed me of this - gave me 75% of what the magazine was buying the article for and everyone was happy. Not every website owner will be this nice, I’m sure, and I also know I could have had the whole 100%, but in the end the amount of money he’d paid me to write the article in the first place covered the 25% cut that he took.
Sometimes, just having faith in your “boss” works well in the end.
December 13th, 2007 at 12:08 am
Another good topic of discussion. My thoughts on rights are that it is extremely difficult in today’s market to find a paid writing job that allows you to retain all rights to your content. With so many “citizen journalists” in the world (evidenced by millions of blogs and social networking communities where people spend hours of their time contributing content for nothing more than fun) media outlets have learned that they can get content extremely cheap or even free. Obviously, this doesn’t mean they can get “high-quality” content on the cheap, but the point is, if they are paying for it, they at least want to have the benefit of owning it.
All in all, this isn’t so much different than writing for Time magazine, where the publisher wants exclusivity for what they print. At the end of the day, it’s tough to find a writing job where you retain all the rights, but a good writer should always read the fine print. At the very least, make sure you’re guaranteed two things: 1) a byline, and 2) permission to use anything you write on your own personal sites or blogs. If you get these two guarantees, then you have little to complain about–you’re being paid to write, you get a credited byline and you can still promote your work through your own outlets. I don’t know many writers who are looking for much more than that…
December 13th, 2007 at 2:45 am
@ MM - I tend to take a very different view than “At the very least, make sure you’re guaranteed two things: 1) a byline, and 2) permission to use anything you write on your own personal sites or blogs.”
While I’d love to have fame with my name in lights, I do prefer to eat and have a warm home at the end of the day. If it comes down to the choice between being paid well for my skills and talent and being paid nothing because I want my name visibly indicated, I’ll choose the money.
Nothing wrong at all with your point of view either, of course. But I wouldn’t want anyone reading to pass up making a living for holding out for a byline, thinking that was the only choice.
December 13th, 2007 at 8:28 am
@ M.M.: I hadn’t really thought of it that way, but it makes perfect sense. About the “citizen journalists” and media realizing they can get what they want cheap, that is.
And, in regard to what you said about the byline and permission to use what I write on my personal sites and blogs, I went back and reread the contract that I would be agreeing to and found something interesting that I hadn’t quite understood before (so thank you for pointing me to it). Anyway, is this what you meant? “Without further obligation to you, we may use, reproduce, edit, change, add to, take from, translate, reformat, or reprocess the Contribution in any manner…We may, but are not obligated to, provide attribution to you in connection with any Contribution or to display, use or otherwise exploit any Contribution. We have the right, without liability to you, to use any ideas, suggestions, or questions provided by you to us. We may, in our sole discretion, use and display any biographical information or photographs that you provide to us in connection with this Agreement.”
I’m new to this, so I could very well be wrong, but that seems a bit drastic.
@ James: I definitely see your point about choosing money over fame and fortune. These articles would be simple how-tos that I’m not particularly concerned over. The original email I was sent stated that if any of the ideas I had covered any topics I written about anywhere else, they would not be accepted. Is that normal? I can see the point that an employer wouldn’t want to pay for work someone else had already paid for. But I’m wondering if I’d run in to the same thing in other places and have ten topics off limits from short how-to pieces.
Thank you both so much!
December 13th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
@ Nicole - Very cool, they acknowledge your authorship and reserve the right to publish your name (or not) as they see fit. That’s a good thing. I’d be all over this.
As for ideas covered elsewhere, you may want to recheck your wording. Making sure you don’t write on ANY idea covered ANYWHERE is impossible - say I write on how to breed dogs and you write on how to breed Schapendoes dogs, you’d be in trouble. Our IDEAS are identical even thought the angle is slightly different.
However, asking that your content be original and not be copied elsewhere makes perfect sense.
While I don’t usually plug stuff, you’d probably learn a lot and have your questions answered by reading our ebook, Write for the Web . It helps writers get started on their road to making money.
December 14th, 2007 at 2:17 am
James — I think you misunderstood me. When I discussed the two things I’d want guaranteed (byline and individual rights) I was coming from the perspective that this was a paid job and so the money was already assumed. I agree 100% with you that as a writer trying to make a living, getting paid is priority No. 1.
But the conversation was about rights, and my take in short is that if you are getting money, a byline and have permission to use your own content, then what else can you possibly want??? Maybe I’m myopic, but I dont see many situations in online writing where something you write will go on to make heaps of money that you never see. Now, if we were talking about a screenplay, then this is a whole different ballgame…
Nicole — That contract sounds pretty standard. It looks like they will give you a byline but if they change or manipulate the content, you are not liable for any consequences. Also, they seem to be somewhat interested in syndicating content (also good for you) and in receiving your biographical info, photos, etc. This second part tells me that they think writer bylines and bios offer credibility, which is why they stipulate the rights to use them in the contract.