Get Paid to Write Online » Features

Promotion Is Free – New Series

Sharon Hurley Hall — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:48:12 +0000

I often get questions from new writers about how to get the word out that they are there and available for writing work. This topic has been coming up a lot recently, so even though it’s been covered before, I thought it was time to revisit it.

From my experience, when you’re starting out as a freelance writer, you don’t have a big budget to take out full page ads to proclaim your arrival. That’s why I’ll be concentrating on the free promotional methods that worked for me when I started freelancing. I won’t stop there, though, because there are a few new outlets that I think any writer starting today would do well to consider.

I’m going to keep these posts short, concentrating on saying what the promotion method is, how to do it successfully and any pros and cons. By the end of the series I hope you will have a few methods that will help you to make the next leap in your freelance writing career. If there’s anything you particularly want me to cover, feel free to let me know in the comments. And for those of you who already know all this, feel free to chip in with your stories on which methods have worked for you. Look out for the first post tomorrow.

Promotion Is Free – New Series was originally published on Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall. If you are not reading this in an RSS reader, please contact Sharon.

Freelance Writing Questions: Setting Rates

Sharon Hurley Hall — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 18:55:05 +0000

One aspect of freelancing that always stymies new writers is how to set the right rate for the freelance writing job. In fact, even experienced writers who are bidding on a new area might have difficulty. A post the other day on rates for blog posting provoked some discussion. There are a few resources that I use when trying to decide what rate to charge for writing.

Writing Rates In Canada

If you want an easy ready reckoner, then check out Writers.Ca, which has a rundown on professional rates for different types of writing. Writers.ca admits that there are large discrepancies between the rates offered depending on location and experience but it is a good starting point. It’s also close enough to US rates to be useful to American writers (or those who write for American clients, like me )

Writing Rates In The US

The National Writer’s Union provides detailed information on rates actually paid for writing through an online database. The catch is that you have to be a member to get the latest information. However, you can see what writers were being paid in 1999, and the NWU even tells you how to work out what that should equate to today. Writer’s Market also gives guidelines, but this information is now available only to members.

Writing Rates In The UK

For UK writers, the National Union of Journalists provides two great resources. The freelance fees guide gives the NUJ’s suggested minimums for several types of journalistic work. However, it’s also worth checking out the rate for the job database, which shows what freelancers are actually earning for the writing they do. That database is updated regularly.

Finally, if none of these resources helps you, use your research skills and see what other writers are charging for particular types of writing. Take their rates as a guide, look at their samples and see whether your experience and skills will allow you to charge more, less or the same. Take an average across a couple of sites for best results.

Finally, as a follow up to my recent post on writing income, there are two more posts to read. One is from the Web Content Copywriting blog on Setting Writer Rates. See also Rachel Kaufman’s post on negotiating writing rates.

Got more freelance writing questions? Ask them here.

Technorati Tags: freelance writing,get paid to write,writing. writing rates

Freelance Writing Questions: Setting Rates was originally published on Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall. If you are not reading this in an RSS reader, please contact Sharon.

Making It As A Freelance Writer – Tip #1 – Structure

Sharon Hurley Hall — Wed, 21 Dec 2005 17:58:00 +0000

Making it as a freelance writer is not easy, especially if you havenâ€™t been published before. However, with a bit of persistence you can be successful. Here’s a tip to get you started.

As a minimum, you should know how to structure a news story or feature article. With news writing, you’ll need to include the who, what, where, why, when and how of the story. If you’re writing a feature, you’ll need to flesh the story out a bit and tell it in an interesting way – and in the way that’s most appropriate for the readers you’re trying to reach. After all, you’d write very different stories for the New York Times and the Surfing Times, wouldn’t you?
Make sure you have the right equipment: telephone and mobile phone; PC or laptop; a dictaphone or other recorder for recording interviews; a printer and a scanner. A digital camera is also useful, as you’ll be able to take pictures to go along with your article.

Making It As A Freelance Writer – Tip #1 – Structure was originally published on Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall. If you are not reading this in an RSS reader, please contact Sharon.