March 26th
Freelance Writing Jobs for Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Good morning! Here are your freelance writing job leads for this morning. I did run across a lead for a summer intern (for college credit) and I have added it to the list. I remember that some of you indicated you would be interested in these types of opportunities. If I find more, I will make a point of clearly marking them so that readers looking for paid positions can skip them.
Leads…
- ColorsNW Magazine Seeking Freelance Writers
- Personal Finance and Real Estate Writers @ LifeWire/About.com
- Freelance Writer @ Midlands Business Journal - Omaha, NB
- Corporate Marketing Writer/Reporter - Newark, NJ - Telecommute 80% of the Time
- Mac Tips/Tricks Blogger @ MacTips.org
- Managing Editor, Finance and Investing Editor @ Silver Monthly
- Internet Research Geeks @ Newsbios.com
- Movie/Celebrity Bloggers
- Environmental Consulting and Engineering Firm Needs Freelance Writer
- Content for Web Site - 50 Pages
- Freelance Writers @ OneNewsPlaza.com
- Looking for a Well Rounded Writer - Georgia
- Experienced Grant Writer Needed
- Copy Writer/Content Writer - On Site - Atlanta
- Local Atlanta Magazine Needs Writers
- Kids Writer/Producer - Atlanta
- Translator Needed - English/French - Telecommute
- Technical Writer for Large Internet Search Co. - Contract - Richardson, TX ($55.00 per hour)
- Summer Internship @ Local Home Magazine - Dallas - College Credit
- Copywriters Needed - Dallas - Contract
- Seasoned Technical Writer/Business Analyst - Contract - Plano, TX
- Freelance Newspaper Writers - Pearland, TX
- Medical Creative Writer - Part Time - Los Angeles
- Writers/Editors Needed with International Travel Experience
- Short Scripts for Green Screen - Telecommute
- Writing/Editorial Work @ Impact Learning Systems - Contract - Telecommute
- Proofreader to Provide Quality Control Language Review - Telecommute
- Sports and Entertainment Blogger - Weekend Work
- In-House Translator - Montreal/Telecommute
- Copywriter - Freelance @ Best Buy - Vancouver ($40-$50 per hour)
- Final Proof Reader - Eagle Eye - Telecommute
- Course Writer/Creative Writer
Good Luck!
Jodee
Posted
on
Wednesday, March 26th, 2008 at 5:39 pm under
Hello! I have a dilemma and was hoping someone out there could help me. I applied for a writing job with a marketing company and they requested a sample. I tried to find the original ad to make sure of the pay (before I went to the trouble) and couldn’t, so I went ahead and sent the sample. I was offered a job,(which I have not yet accepted) just to find out they only pay $1 per every 100 words. Is there a graceful way to back out of this situation? I’m new to freelancing, but I have to think that 1 cent per word is not good pay.
March 26th, 2008 at 7:19 pm@ Antoinette
If you don’t want to tell them that the rate of pay is the reason, you could thank them for their offer, but explain that your situation has changed and you are no longer available. If you like the company but not the rate of pay, you could tell them what rate you would be willing to accept and see if they will negotiate. Another option is to start at the low rate but negotiate an increase in 30 or 60 days.
If you need work now, you do have the option of taking this gig while you look for something that pays better.
Hope this helps.
March 26th, 2008 at 7:30 pmThanks Jodee, that does help. I have been feeling kind of bummed that it’s taken so long to land my first gig and I was super excited to be offered this one- until I saw the pay- so I guess it was kind of a let-down, but I suppose everybody has to start somewhere.
March 26th, 2008 at 7:45 pm@ Antoinette: It might be easier to do the penny a word stuff if you think of it as an entry-level wage only. I have a few clients who started me off with small jobs at a relatively low rate of pay and over time I have been offered better gigs that pay a lot more from them. This is an opportunity to show them what you can do and to build up your portfolio.
March 26th, 2008 at 7:49 pmI’d do it if I was just starting. But, just keep applying for better stuff and drop them ASAP, as gracefully as possible of course.
March 26th, 2008 at 8:08 pmPersonally, I’d tell them up front they’re not paying enough if that’s how I feel. but that’s just me.
March 26th, 2008 at 8:43 pmHere’s an update…. the guy just sent me a list of the work he needs done on a daily basis: 10 articles (based on specific keywords) @ 500 words each, with a specific keyword density (7 to 9%). Maybe I handled this the wrong way, but I respectfully informed him that the amount of time needed to complete this amount of work on a daily would force to me command a higher rate than he is offering at this time. Hope I’m not making a bad name for myself at the beginning of my freelancing career- but his demands seemed a little unreasonable to me.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:27 pmThere was a job that I just applied for that wasn’t listed in here, but I know many of us tend to hit up similar sites.
At FreelanceWriting.com, there is a pending add offering 10 cents a word for writing music related shorts (50 words or less) for a new site. I wanted more information.
I just got the reply and am still snickering. I hope people are smart enough to avoid this. In order to “get” the job, you must go to his Web site, enroll and give him your credit card number though he promises you will not be charged. I’d avoid that one!
March 26th, 2008 at 9:31 pmThat’s hard to believe Ann G. So did you get the job?
Antoinette, I would have done the same thing. I thought you meant it was just an article or two. In that case I would have done it just to get a clip or two. But 5,000 words a day for $50…WOW!!
March 26th, 2008 at 10:41 pmAs I’m sure many other writers here have noticed, where the employer/client is based makes a big difference in the rate of pay they feel is adequate–not always, but often enough that it bears consideration.
Employers from India and China are used to their citizens making wages much lower than Americans or many Europeans or Canadians, so they will likely balk at what we consider even moderate pay.
March 26th, 2008 at 11:25 pmThis is directed to Antoinette. For that ridiculously low rate of pay, I would suggest just writing some of your own articles and publishing them yourself at Associated Content.
If you write a pretty good article, you can submit it for payment, which is generally $3 to $10, but you also get bonus payments of $1.50 for every thousand views.
I don’t claim to make a lot of money over there, but I had one article that gets a lot of traffic and puts an extra $10 in my pocket a month.
There’s nothing like residual payments!
I also think the site is decent looking enough to show your page to (some) possible employers and use as a sample of your writing style.
There are people who make a couple hundred extra a month from work they’ve done over the past few years since the site has been around.
Or, s%*t, start your own blog at blogger.
Best,
March 27th, 2008 at 6:57 amChris
I agree with L.L. I have a client from Europe who is starting out a new online gambling website now that the laws in Spain are changing. Right now, I’m being paid 5 cents a word which isn’t much by industry standards, but as soon as the site launches and begins making money it will increase. I’m happy with that. Plus, they pay weekly on within hours of my invoicing them, and to me that is worthwhile. One of my biggest named clients is sitting still paying invoices dating back to mid-February and I’m not happy with that.
I find that offers from Asia usually fall in the penny a word or less range. I turn those down. I’ve had offers from Canada that were 10 cents per word. A Mexican company bowed out when I wouldn’t go lower than 5 cents per word.
March 27th, 2008 at 5:48 pmI think you did the right thing. Sounds like an article farm to me. Unfortunately, there will probably be someone willing to come on board not long after you declined.
I know we’ve posted several timesa about that sort of thing. I agree that a few articles at that rate may not be so bad, but that amount of work precludes you from getting anything else done! Particularly, higher paying work.
As long as you did it respectfully (which it sounds like you did), I don’t think you made a bad name for yourself - I think you are just developing standards. I had to do that once and they just deleted my profile. However, I’m still getting project alerts….hmmm. Didn’t cross-check their mailing lists
Just keep looking - you may very well find other $1 per 100 words gigs that would have a far more reasonable load, still allowing you to do other gigs at the same time that might pay better.
Good luck! I’m in a similar situation with you, though I’ve found gigs that have paid a little more than that. Cast a lot of lines and you are bound to catch some better fish. Just be careful what you wish for -
March 27th, 2008 at 6:43 pmOops, cut myself off. Be careful what you wish for. I did that a few months ago and now I have work coming out my ears!
March 27th, 2008 at 6:44 pmAssociated Content is ok for the most part. They allow you to publish whatever you want (with the obvious exceptions), and pay promptly through PayPal. However, you will need to make sure your content there is web- and ad-friendly (search engine optimization, etc.). This is very different than print writing so it depends what you’re trying to do. Good luck.
March 28th, 2008 at 1:54 am