Freelance Writing Jobs Friday July 10, 2009

laptop with coffee It’s Friday and we’ve got 71 writing, editing, blogging and translation jobs for you.

I’ve had another thought about scams and such. It seems to me most of the problems come from ads wanting bunches of articles in a week or so. I could stop publishing anything that asks for more than say 5 or ten articles. I’m sure it would mean some genuine missed opportunities, but it might eliminate some of the more questionable advertisers. Let me know what you think of this approach.

One more thing: If you get a response asking for money upfront, don’t pay it. Come back here and tell us about it in coments, please.

If you’re new here or just want some help applying for writing etc. gigs online, the category How to get freelance writing jobsand the article, How to land a writing job may help And when you land one, or two, or more, let us know!

Low Paying Gigs:

Might Be Worth Considering:

Canadian writing job seekers may find what they want at the Canadian Freelance Writing Jobs Blog. Deb Ng publishes jobs at Freelance WritingGigsas does Jennifer Mattern at All Freelance Writing.

Write well and often,

Two newsletters:
Abundant Freelance Writing - a resource for freelance writers including 3x a week job postings.
Writing With Vision - for those who want to get a book written.

Image from http://www.sxc.hu

Tagged as: blogger jobs, editing jobs, employment, freelance writing jobs, translation jobs

{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }

Debra July 10, 2009 at 10:21 am

Hi, Anne,

Firstly, thank you so much for the leads you provide. While I think your suggestion is a good one, given that there are so many of these untoward posts as of late, I also agree that you may be eliminating possibe viable leads in doing so.

I’ve begun to include something to this effect when I reply “*Do not contact job applicant about other services, products, commercial interests (i.e. payment required for job opportunities”). I figure it mimics the caveat used in the Craigslist ads placed by the prospective employer, so why not on the part of the respondent, too? Seems to get the hint across and I do believe it’s working as I receive no response as opposed to the typical drivel replying to these ads yields.

Have a great weekend!

-Debra

Anne July 10, 2009 at 10:51 am: What a great idea, Debra… and easy to do too.

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Cathy M July 10, 2009 at 10:52 am

I skip those anyway so it’s one less link to open up & reject. But that may just be me. Thanks for your great assistance!

Scott Rose July 10, 2009 at 11:17 am

Hello Anne:

I don’t know that bulk web writing jobs are ipso facto scams.

There really are site owners and operators who pay, if a measly amount, to fill up space on a site.

However, that kind of writing, I feel, is only something one would do if one were not smart enough to write in the first place. The site owners are looking for bulk so they have more pages from which to earn advertising income. Whether they’re paying fifty cents or five dollars per piece, both laughable amounts, the writer buys a can or a pack of soda with the money and the owner collects advertising income for the next ten plus years. What is wrong with this picture?

Additionally, if a beginning freelance writer is hoping to move up to more prestigious venues, one well-written legitimate article . . . even if written for free . . .. will give the writer a portfolio clip of greater career value than 10,000 hackwork cranked-out space-fillers.

Still, there might be people who for whatever reason think that bulk web writing for peanuts is worthwhile. For them, you could have a “Bulk web writing” jobs section of the newsletter. Maybe in the margin of that section, you could place a drawing of a writer wearing a dunce cap.

Anne July 10, 2009 at 2:31 pm: Yeah, would make better sense to set up a website and write for yourself wouldn’t it… and it would work just as well for showing credits… if I hadn’t gotten a couple of emails over time from women, both were women, who said those low pay gigs made a huge, positive difference to them I would have stopped publishing them long ago. But who am I to say… really. And if someone reading here wants a gig like that, who am I to say they shouldn’t have it?

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Cathy M July 10, 2009 at 11:28 am

Scott:

LOL–thanks for the smile.

Autumn July 10, 2009 at 2:55 pm

I have found a few jobs here that want several articles, and they pay pretty well, so I wouldn’t say they’re all scams. The scam jobs seem like they either post very little information or ridiculously high payment for little work, IME.
Autumn´s last blog ..Find Out Why Quality Content Is Important To Your Site

Benjamin Hunting July 10, 2009 at 6:16 pm

Anne – I’ve picked up work from your list on the batches side and the one-off side when it comes to articles, and I have yet to be scammed. I think caveat emptor is really what it takes when going through these. We can’t expect you to 100% vet everything that comes across your virtual desk – it’s on us to spot what we think might be a potentially risky “opportunity” when browsing the ads.
Benjamin Hunting´s last blog ..Too Burned Out To Pursue Your Freelancing Dream?

Mitch July 10, 2009 at 11:51 pm

I don’t think the number of articles is the problem; it’s what some of these people want to pay for them.

I have one weekly client for whom I write 22 articles a week, sometimes more if he comes up with something he just has to have. But he’s paying me relatively nicely for them, and it’s a nice relationship.

There are others out there looking to pay pennies for a bunch of words, and folks willing to take it. In my opinion, you get what you deserve if you go that route.

If someone asks for a bunch of articles, and you produce, only send a couple for their review, request payment, and don’t give them up until you’re paid. Always value your own work.
Mitch´s last blog ..How Goes The Writing

Laura July 11, 2009 at 1:09 pm

Hi Anne!

I appreciate what you’re doing and the majority of the jobs are viable gigs worth pursuing. I’ve noticed, as of late, that low paying gigs have crept into the “high pay” list — not sure how that’s happened, but if I were you, I would screen job ads thoroughly — especially Craigslist positions. Not all Craigslist jobs are bad, and some people thrive and live on low paying gigs (less than $20). It’s your board, so you can do what you want. In order to keep someone like me around, however, I would appreciate a qualifier telling me what the positions pays (I figure that if it’s listed in the top section, it’s good — but that has not been the case over the last week or so). If it’s a low payer, I can skip it. (Deb Ng does a super job of this on her site.) It’s a waste of time to search through ads only to find scams, low ballers and crummy work.

That’s my two cents. I aim high — and hope everyone else does, too. Have a super Saturday, and thanks again for your dedication to writers!

Laura

Anne July 12, 2009 at 10:14 am: Laura, as a general rule, if the ad states the pay we get it in the right spot. If the pay isn’t stated we guess, pure and simple. I have noticed that some advertisers are getting cleverer about how they write their ads… it’s harder and harder to tell which ads are legit.

Craigslist is charging in many places for employment ads and I’d hoped that would reduce the spam-type ads; it hasn’t.

I don’t know how I could verify each ad out of 60 or 70 even if I were charging and have any sort of life. Certainly I couldn’t post more than once a week and I don’t think that’s what most readers want.

Finally, I also figure readers here are adults and can figure out what they want to apply for and, over time, tune their own ear to what they want.

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Debra July 11, 2009 at 3:40 pm

@ Laura — how do you propose Anne screen the jobs (Craigslist in particular) _thoroughly_? If Anne were to undertake this task, I’m certain she’d have no time left for writing — you know, the stuff that pays the bills?

It never ceases to amaze me when those who utilize the services of others, provided at no cost, purport ways in which said services could be perfected “in order to keep them around”! Yes, she did ask for suggestions, but ultimately it’s up to each of us to separate the proverbial “wheat from the chaff”.

Anne July 12, 2009 at 10:15 am: Debra, thanks!

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Cathy M July 12, 2009 at 11:19 am

Anne-I am very grateful for the generosity and willingness you have to share your expertise and valuable time to bring these ads to us.

Anne July 12, 2009 at 2:27 pm: Reply

Cathy M July 14, 2009 at 2:12 pm

off topic–I am getting “this account is suspended” for Deb Ng’s freelancwritinggigs.com. Anyone know what’s going on?

Justine July 14, 2009 at 3:11 pm

Cathy – Deb Ng posted earlier that her server was having problems handling increased traffic since mediabistro tweeted her yesterday. She’s looking for a new hosting company, I think, but this kind of outage will probably happen until she gets one. If you’re looking for the leads, you can get a cached version of the page if you google for it. Good luck!

Anne July 14, 2009 at 5:52 pm: geeze, I missed that tweet… anyone still got it? I just sent Deb email on a private addy I have.

Time passes… I did a people search on media bistro on twitter, then clicked on them, http://twitter.com/Mediabistro, then did a search for freelancewritinggigs and they posted a link to her jobs yesterday… if that’s what crashed her that’s awful… do I dare let mb know I do roughly the same thing? Not until I talk to my tech guy.

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Cathy M July 14, 2009 at 4:08 pm