Deb just posted some excellent summer options for work-at-home parents and they’re handy but I have a few more suggestions along with some helpful tips. Summer, for me is a little like 3 months worth of chaos. Not only does my son’s free school shut down, but my partner’s kiddos are at the house more. Three kids + FT paid blogging + FT self-run projects = insanity on my part. It’s like a much longer winter break; ugh. First read managing work in a chaotic household for some general help then keep reading below for some summer specific tips. Summer [Read more…]
How to score blogging gigs in one easy step
March 19, 2010. 2 Comments
APPLY FOR BLOGGING GIGS! That’s it. I know, it’s simple and sounds too good to be true, but when you get right down to it, applying for gigs is the number one best way to get gigs. I only bring this up because I see folks all the time at forums, in writers chats, and on Twitter who note they’re looking for work over and over. I get email questions like, “How do I get work as a blogger?” Not to sound over simplistic, but honestly you might want to try applying for gigs. Heck apply for MANY gigs. In [Read more…]
Try not to suck as much as Chris Garrett
March 18, 2010. 1 Comment
Actually I don’t think Chris Garrett sucks. In fact, I was just telling Deb today that while I browse other blogs about blogging daily, his is the one I usually stop at and read. That said, Chris has an excellent post up – Why I Sucked at SXSW So You Don’t Have to (ha). Now, maybe he did suck there, or maybe not (I’m guessing not) but this is an excellent post to read if you ever attend writing events or conferences; plus you can see a cute picture of Deb in said post Also I was struck by how [Read more…]
What it means to make a living as a blogger
December 8, 2009. 5 Comments
Here at Blogging For A Living we of course talk about blogging for a living. Both as a blogger for someone else and as a blogger for yourself. Since we talk about this stuff all the time I figured it’d be good to define what we’re discussing – i.e. the distinction between blogging for yourself vs. blogging for others. Also important is what I mean when I say, “Make a living as a blogger.” That said, I thought I’d take a moment to break it all down. What it means to make a living as a blogger: To me, making [Read more…]
Blog & Web Writing Gigs for August 19, 2009
August 19, 2009. 1 Comment
A fair amount of decent paying gigs today, although I swear people are getting less and less clear when writing these things. It’s not that hard – Location? Pay? Hours? Duties? That works. I think maybe people are trying to be too fancy. In any case, no tip today but I do think this post is worth a read – Don’t Ignore the Hidden Job Market for Freelancers. Anywhere gigs: Engineering Blogger Established website seeks Editor in Chief – AND Blogger/Editor Needed for Pet Loving Startup – pay issues sounds super iffy on both gigs so approach with care Intern [Read more…]
Blog & Web Writing Gigs for August 17, 2009
August 17, 2009. 1 Comment
Jobs are back, although it does seem slim around the web re: anywhere gigs. Still, there’s some decent gigs today so check them out. Job tip o’ the day: Now that I’m back we’ll be resuming our how to get a blogging job series. If you haven’t been following along, you can get up to speed by reading the following… How to get blogging jobs and web writing jobs – getting started Finding blog gigs – starting out with no clips How to get a blogging job – advice from b5media’s hiring editor How to get a blogging job – [Read more…]
Blogging & Web Writing Gigs for July 25, 2009
July 25, 2009. 2 Comments
First off sorry no jobs yesterday – what with packing to move and work, it’s a little nuts around here. Secondly, congrats to Marye, who scored a KILLER gig via a job posting I listed here at Blogging For A Living AND actually tweeted to me about it so I knew. It’s double nice in this case because Marye’s a good friend, but even if I don’t personally know you, it feels much more productive when I hear someone gets a fly gig. So, if you score a gig from one of these lists leave a comment, tweet, or email [Read more…]
Blogging & Web Writing Gigs for July 22, 2009
July 22, 2009. 1 Comment
Well, it looks like I was wrong about gigs picking up mid-week. Still not much out there. However, just because it’s not on a job board doesn’t make a gig invisible. Deb has put together two new excellent resources… 40 Freelance Writing Markets Paying $100 or More (Much More) 50 Places that Hire Freelance Writers You can get a gig – you just need to keep your chin up and keep on truckin’. Anywhere gigs: Parent community blogger – too low of pay IMO BUT also super PT 2 positions – Article Writer/Web Content Writer Environmental Website writer – I’ve [Read more…]
Finding blog gigs – starting out with no clips
July 19, 2009. 14 Comments
If you want to work as a blogger or web writer and by work, I mean make a living, then you have to start somewhere. Of all the email questions I get, “How do I actually get started without a portfolio” is probably the most common question. It’s true that clients want to see clips but most don’t care what sort of clips they care more that you wrote the clips well. Are there clips in your past? If you honestly feel you have zip in the way of a portfolio, the first thing to do is take another look [Read more…]
Avoiding the temptation of easy to score but low paying gigs
June 29, 2009. 4 Comments
Yesterday we looked at how to quit accepting low paying gigs and how to make a living wage as a writer. But what if you really can’t find a gig? Should you take a low paying job because it’s better than nothing? As noted in the last post, a while ago I needed to pick up a couple new gigs. I applied for tons and didn’t hear back from any of them for a good long while. Frustration kicks in and those low paying gigs start to look better than nothing. Trust me, I do get the appeal of the [Read more…]
Make living wages as a freelance writer – how to quit writing for low wages
June 28, 2009. 14 Comments
Deb’s fabulous post last week, WAHMs: Make Sure the End Justifies the Means, was, as Deb noted, based on a thread or two from WAHM.com’s WAHMs Who Write board. Being a WAHM myself, I’ve been to the boards in the past but quit visiting a long time ago. I just got tired of some folks being so excited by monthly wages that wouldn’t even cover my monthly grocery bills. It’s too frustrating to read. There are ups and downs big time in freelance writing, but one thing is always true, you never have to work for wages like the ones [Read more…]
Blogging & Online Writing Gigs for June 2, 2009
June 2, 2009. 7 Comments
Not too many gigs today, but I’m a little short on time. Here’s how my first of June kicked off – my Internet provider had service outages most of the day. Swell! Yeah, it’s only the 2nd, and I’m behind for the month – lame. Which brings me to my job tip o’ the day… Have a back-up plan: Posting ahead is always valuable, but so is having one, a back-up place you can work if say, your Internet is out for more than a day, and two have phone numbers of important people, like editors or a blogger pal [Read more…]
Online resume mistakes you may be making
May 31, 2009. 14 Comments
Applying for online writing gigs is a writing talent all on its own. If you make a mistake you’re not kicking off this whole, “I can write for a living” deal very well. Because you’ll be sending your resume / work bio by email, you need to adjust it for the web. Following are some mistakes not to make when applying for an online writing gig – be it a blog or other website. Mistakes when applying: You cut and paste from Word or another doc. application: This can result in some funky formatting and make your email look unprofessional. [Read more…]
Improving the job market for bloggers and online writers
May 29, 2009. 14 Comments
Improving the job market for bloggers and online writers is a big task. Since I started posting gigs here daily I’ve noticed a slew of terrible jobs and a much smaller selection of decent jobs that actually pay a fair wage. I don’t think the fault is all on the lame clients who offer low-pay jobs though. A lot of it is dependent on us, the folks who want said jobs. For example… 1. Apply for work IF you’re qualified: I was chatting with Deb yesterday and she noted that she was shocked by the amount of people who applied [Read more…]
Blogging & Online Writing Gigs for May 28, 2009
May 28, 2009. 2 Comments
There were mainly suck jobs posted around the boards yesterday hence the me not posting any gigs here yesterday. However, today I found enough to post – not as many good anywhere ones as I’d like to see, but lots of local gigs. Bonus job tip o’ the day: Clients hiring for blog and online gigs are not just looking for writers, they’re looking for folks who can find and edit images. It’s rare that a blog client wants to do this, and it’s usually included in your job tasks. With that in mind make sure you know where to [Read more…]
