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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work submitted has to be at least 3,500 characters long (that's approximately 500 to 600 words), it must be previously unpublished and no older than 90 days.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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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.

My recommendation: Don't use insider tips for gigs like this, keep them for the paid jobs. Try to find a new angle on a well-known feature of the destination you write about.
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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.

Check out the full job description here: http://www.gumtree.com/london/43/56063043.html.
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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.

There's no need for proof or typographical and grammatical correctness. All that matters for the page views is how well articles rank in Bing or Google. The temptation to get anything out as long as it contains enough popular keywords is big. To me, it looks an increasing number of writers are succumbing to it. They sacrifice quality for the sake of a few quick bucks.

Bing and Google need their search results to be relevant for the people searching. They can't afford their search results becoming clogged up with useless content. Useless content results in high bounce rates and the search engines have ways to penalise high bounce rates. By writing poor content, writers may well shoot themselves in the foot in the long run.

The implication for writers is this: Respect the readers. Remember that at the end of a Google search, there is a human being looking for useful information or entertainment. Provide readers with what they want: quality content.
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New Freelance Writers: How to Stand Out

January 24th 2010 00:48
So you want to be a freelance writer? The good news is that thanks to the Internet, it is easier today to find freelance writing jobs. For the same reason, however, the competition is tougher than ever. To launch a successful freelance writing career, you must distinguish yourself from the competition.

These are our top tips for new freelance writers on how to stand out


[ Click here to read more ]
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Writing for Free?

January 21st 2010 22:27
As a website editor, I know how content decisions are made in companies. Here's the inside scoop: They want good content and are aware that poor copy does more harm than good. They also don't want to pay a lot for content, if they pay at all.

This can be frustrating for freelance writers. Why should you give away your services for free? You have bills to pay, and last time you checked the utility companies didn't accept words, not matter how well they were put together


[ Click here to read more ]
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