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Freelance Tips - Freelance Writing, Freelance Jobs

Writing for Fortitude

August 26th 2010 20:49
Fortitude is a new online magazine that offers web writers a real chance to earn some money for their articles. I can say that with confidence because I made $11 since I signed up with them on the 3rd of August. My first submission was published on the 5th of August, the second one was published in the August 25 issue - on the front page.

Writers whose articles make the front page are paid a minimum of $10 (and the articles become property of Fortitude; writers are, however, allowed to republish the pieces on their own websites). The work submitted has to be at least 3,500 characters long (that's approximately 500 to 600 words), it must be previously unpublished and no older than 90 days. Submissions are reviewed by other Fortitude writers, so there's no single editor to impress. While you don't have a piece up for review yourself, you should review other Fortitude writers' submissions. The Fortitude ranking system relies on the peer review. To give members and incentive to make the process work, writers are paid $0.05 per review.


One of the cool things about Fortitude is that you are not limited to writing news-related or informative articles. You can write opinion pieces, reviews, essays, rants, fiction and poems - their list is longer, but you get the idea. You are basically free to write whatever you want as long as it isn't illegal or against the submission guidelines.

There is a membership fee of $1.99/month which has to be paid for 12 months in advance - so you're paying $23.88 for a year. The reason they ask for a fee is to make sure that writers don't open more than one account to play the peer review system. Another reason is to ensure that writers who sign up will actually use the site as intended and to discourage spammers.


I've submitted two pieces so far, each of which were published two days later, so there's no long wait to find out if your piece will be published. My rant Web Content Woes made the front page on August 25 and thus earned me $10.

Don't let the membership fee discourage you from joining. Fortitude looks like a good way to build your portfolio and make some money in the process. If you submit your work and review other writers' submissions regularly, you are likely get your 24 bucks back. And you can also earn money from referrals: Click on the following link to join Fortitude. Feel free to ask me any questions about it in the comments.
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Basic Freelance Writing Skills

August 3rd 2010 19:20
Freelance Writing Jobs ran an article today on 10 Skills Freelance Writers Must Have if They Want to Succeed.

These are the first three skills listed:
1. Spell
2. Follow Grammar Rules
3. Proofread

At first I thought, those are a bit obvious. Of course you need to be able to spell, know your grammar and proofread your work as a freelance writer. Then I remembered all the badly written travel articles and blog posts I come across on a daily basis. The shortcomings they have in common: poor spelling, a neglect for basic grammar rules and no proofreading whatsoever, by the looks of them. So while those writing skills struck me as not even worth mentioning at first, I had to agree with Susan on second thought.

Now I'd go even further: If you struggle with spelling and grammar and consider proofreading a waste of time, may I suggest you should rethink your career choice? Freelance writing is difficult even if your brain comes with a built-in spell checker and you have a black belt in irregular verbs. These three basic skills are non-negotiable for a successful freelance writing career.

Read Susan's post to find out what the other seven freelance writing skills are.
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Gumtree Digest 18 July 2010

July 18th 2010 20:33
Gumtree is the UK's equivalent of craigslist. I check the site for writing gigs regularly and sometimes I find things that I like enough to share them with my readers.

Contributors to new magazines seem to be in high demand in London right now. I've seen a few ads in the Gumtree section Creative Writing looking for writers, editors and other creatives recently.

Currently, there is one ad for an alternative women's magazine. It aims to target women who want something other than the women's mags that are currently out there.

The Tenerife-based writing job I posted in March seems to be open again. It's unpaid but comes with certain benefits like accommodation, breakfast and it's on Tenerife. Here's the link to the Gumtree ad.
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This is from a job posting on craigslist San Francisco:
"I am writing a section in a book about how to make a difference in the world. My section tells the story of the founding of a nonprofit organization ...
I am looking for an excellent writer/editor to work with me to complete the project for publication. Experience in/with nonprofits a plus.
This will be about 8 hours of work for someone with excellent and proven writing and editing skills."

For a writer in the San Francisco area, this looks like a great opportunity to get some more writing/editing experience under your belt and support a good cause at the same time.

If you want to go for this writing gig, good luck.
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Paperwork: A Necessary Evil

May 27th 2010 20:40
"I love being a writer. What I can't stand is the paperwork."
Peter De Vries

Are you one of the few freelance writers who enjoys the admin side of the job? Do you like sending out invoices and filling in tax forms? Or are you one of those who leave everything until the last moment?

Whatever your approach to the paperwork side of freelance writing, I'd like to hear from you. What are your best tips to get the job done? How have you made admin easier for yourself? Share your ideas, link to blog posts you've written on the subject or recommend a tool that makes paperwork less of a chore.

I'm looking forward to your comments.
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It seems to be a good month for budding travel writers. I got another (unpaid) travel writing opportunity for you: diy travel guides is looking for contributors who want to share genuine travel experiences. There is no payment but you can receive feedback on your submission from the diy travel editorial team. If you're new to travel writing, this might be a good opportunity to improve your skills while getting your name on the web.

When you submit a travel guide, it will be reviewed by an editor. Once it's approved, you'll receive an email to let you know your guide has gone live. Reply to this email for feedback on your submission


[ Click here to read more ]
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I just found a job ad that would be perfect for students or recent graduates who want to start their travel writing career.

It is an unpaid gig, but there are certain benefits that may make it worthwhile for young writers: For starters, it's an on-location job in Tenerife. The successful candidate will receive free accommodation and breakfast and will travel around the island to write first-hand about her or his experiences. There's an option of free Spanish lessons, too


[ Click here to read more ]
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Zoho Writer: A Free Word Processor

February 23rd 2010 19:12
New freelancer writers can't afford to splash out lots of money on software, but using a powerful word processor is non-negotiable. Luckily, today writers don't have to buy apps like word processors anymore. They don't even need to install office applications on their machines - there are online applications that allow you to create and edit documents in your browser.

Zoho is a full online office suite with apps for word processing, spreadsheets and presentations. There's also email, chat, a wiki, notes, a document management application and a whole suite of business apps - the invoicing application in particular might be worth a try. There are free versions of all Zoho products for individual use. The free version of Zoho Docs offers 1GB of storage space; the 5GB version is 3US$/month


[ Click here to read more ]
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I've noticed a trend recently: Writers who write for online content mills seem to be forgetting that they are not writing for the page impressions. Or at least they shouldn't, they should write for their readers.

Content mills can be a great way for new freelance writers to get started and build their confidence. Writing for a content mill means writers are free to choose their topics, how they present them and how polished the finished product is. Only in the minority of cases there's editorial support


[ Click here to read more ]
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Finding Writing Jobs: Be Proactive

February 6th 2010 12:57
You don't have to prowl the job boards to land a new writing job. There are many job opportunities for good content writers and they aren't advertised anywhere. It may take you longer to find these opportunities, but when you spot one, chances are you don't have any competition.

So how do you spot these potential writing gigs? Easy: You keep your eyes and ears open


[ Click here to read more ]
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