The Write Way.

Don’t you get tired of reading the same over-published, randomly copied Craigslist jobs for freelance writers? These gigs are mostly trash, don’t pay, and some are even out-right scams. However, there are work-at-home, telecommute jobs for writers — jobs that pay decent money. Here’s one of my best finds.

A site called Cheapism hires freelancers to write short reviews of low-price, high-value consumer goods. Here’s their ad:

Are you a thorough researcher, fluid writer, and cautious spender? If the answer to all three is yes, Cheapism.com would like to meet you. We are a new website that aims to be consumers’ first stop on the way to finding the best inexpensive goods and services.

We are looking for freelance writers who will learn about a product category, identify the low-priced products, assess what the experts and users say about them, and write an article that tells consumers what they need to know and recommends the best budget buys.

In this time of economic stress, you can help put some lining back into consumers’ pockets and cash into your wallet; last but not least, you’ll have the good fortune of working with a collegial and easy-going crowd.

Contact us today at jobs@cheapism.com

I went through the application process with these folks a while back. They are serious about their business and looking for long-term relationships with good writers who can produce quickly.

Cheapism pays adequately. You will be asked to submit samples and suggestions. You will undergo an in-depth telephone interview and the company principals will take a few days to decide if you’re a good match. Feel free to ask questions.

Let us know how you fared with them and what you thought of the hiring process and the job.

More to read:

How to stop bitching and sell your writing

Make $30K annually from your blog

There’s a protest movement in social media. “Real” writers spend tons of time complaining that non-degree writers work for $5 per article. They howl that cheap SEO writers and hacks are ruining the marketplace for “real” writers who should command $2 or $3 per word. Writers are going down the tubes!

Hold on. Many, many highest-quality journalists have never attended college much less received a degree. Quality of work in our industry doesn’t depend on education. It depends on skill, not even talent, a commitment to work hard and dig deep, and the ability to communicate effectively. It also seriously depends upon building a portfolio of, and reputation for quality product.

Writing SEO articles for a penny a word or less does not constitute quality clips. Battling over bogus ads on Craigslist or jockeying for an elite position with a content mill won’t make a career. So many writers spend so much time wrangling about soft pricing on *entrepreneurial* websites. Have you EVER lost a high-quality assignment with a legitimate print or web publication — to someone willing to take five bucks?

I just took on a brand new client from Craigslist for a 50-page business booklet. I sent him my professional marketing package and a pitch. He said he was tickled to find someone who understood the depth of his project and would be committed to doing a good job. He got 84 bids. The bid just below mine was $200. Mine was well over ten times that. Two days ago, I took on a new client who upped their standard rate for me because my clips were “so incredibly well-written and researched.” Their words, not mine.

Read the social media sites – Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, et al. This same discussion appears over and over with hundreds of comments. Why are these underpaid professionals spending so much time whining about the economy? Wouldn’t they be better served polishing clips, networking with editors and publishers, and hanging out where established writers who are making money hang out?

Success is about diligent marketing and presenting your strengths to real prospects. Troll the web in desperation, seeking work at Demand, Associated Content, Guru or Craigslist and you compete with people who write for exposure or for five bucks.

Journalists with clip files pursue good jobs in good venues. Don’t panic. The economy sucks but is getting better. Our industry is changing, not dying! Don’t reduce your own worth to match a cyber-perception of what professional writing is about. That kind of exposure isn’t going to do a thing for you.

Read more:

Why don’t people read self-published books?

Publishing jobs still exist

Make money as a staff blogger

Content mills and farms can be good for writers

I’ve written for Suite101 and other content mill farms in various iterations on and off for about 10 years and have seldom been a fan of how they treat writers. But let me say this: Suite101’s newest management team, seems to have a better path.

There have been a confusing number of shake ups there, but now they may have put together a group that understands both the make-money and the treat-writers-with-dignity points-of-view.

How much do writers get paid, and is it on time?

First off, know that Suite101 always pays writers as agreed and on time through Paypal. Like clockwork. Every month. Can’t argue that. Some content  mills don’t pay consistently.

The amount of pay at all content mills if you don’t know how to work the system is minuscule at best. We all know that. Yes, Suite101 touts occasional writers who make “thousands.” Money depends on the topic, the section, and your writing (quality and quantity), PLUS promoting your articles effectively. But thousands? Rare.

As far as residuals, I make enough per month, without writing anything else for Suite101, to cover a nice car payment. Get that – no work, and I cover a car payment. I have about 125 articles up in carefully selected topic areas. My traffic is steady as a clock, no spikes, no dips. If you read my ebook, Writing for Content Mills, you’ll learn how to create a passive revenue stream that can really work — as a stream, not a river.

How Suite101 is fixing some things

Suite101 may, however, be heading in a direction that will increase writers’ rewards. And I don’t mean their contests, which are basically, sophomoric and not very helpful.

What they’ve done right, to my way of thinking, is dumped some of their arrogant, unprofessional, unskilled “editors” in favor of people who at least have experience within the Suite101 environment. The quotas for writers are reasonable. The exposure, no matter what nay-sayers say, is significant if you are in a trending topic. You must be savvy enough to know what topics are trending.

They pay residuals on existing articles, which many, many mills have stopped doing. Examiner, though they promised forever residuals, stopped paying them about a year ago. Suite101 just inked a deal with Google to feed Google News with Suite101 news articles from certain writers. This could mean traffic spikes and more money for certain news topics. Inquiring about writing news features is worthwhile.

How writers can win

Decide what your goal is and what YOU need to advance your freelance business. If you are looking for a way to make a living, look elsewhere. If you seek steady streams of modest revenue, consider Suite101.

I’ll keep you posted on how things progress. This company may end up being a good place for SOME writers.  If you want to know more, post a question here or browse Ontext.com

Other terrific articles:

Make real money as a freelancer

Can writers find jobs at Facebook, Twitter, and social media?

You’re a great writer. Your family and friends always said you have a book inside you. So you wrote the novel and now you’re scared to death—what if it fails? What if you actually succeed? Your book needs a professional editor or a ghost, whether you’re going to self-publish, shop it to publishers, or engage an agent.

Getting the ideas into words puts you miles ahead of the other 84% of Americans who know they have a book in them. Your next steps will make or break your project.

About a million paper-based books are published each year in the U.S. through known houses. If you don’t have an edge, you don’t have a book.

• Create an original story with an unusual arc.
• Write your best and polish it until it shines.
• Every word must advance your reader and your story.
• Build an author platform as you write, so you’re ready when the book is ready.
• Hire a substantive editor or ghost to put the book in the condition demanded by publishers. This is not arbitrary – manuscript format and condition is an absolute. Don’t know the rules? Slush pile, here you come.

I talked to a first-time novelist about to launch her book. She took a path that made complete sense. She engaged one of the industry’s most successful ghosts to polish her novel and mentor her:

Why did you hire a ghostwriter/editor?

I didn’t even know what ghost writing was – till I looked up her (the ghostwriter’s) website. I finished writing this book – a year’s project, and was about to turn 40. It’s a nervous breakdown book. I plunked down in front of computer and wrote it in four months. I knew, as an avid reader, it wouldn’t get published the way it was. I kept revising, editing. I read a book or two on how to get published, but I didn’t know how to polish it.

I emailed Janet Evanovich, since she wrote a book on polishing. I was desperate, going on and on about what do I do next? How do I do this?

Look online for editors and thousands of things come up. Who’s legitimate; who isn’t?  Ken Wilson, Janet’s associate, gave me a name. I heard an angel chorus and my life changed.

What was the process like with your new editor?

I told her a great story was inside me with great characters. She listened, calmed me, made me breathe. I had researched her. It was evident she knew her stuff. I hired her as an editor. The book was already written, but she taught me first how to be a writer. It was such a process. Recognizing the dynamics of active vs passive, and forward plot movement. Every sentence must move your forward. We took 150K words to 90K. It’s so good now, I’m so excited, I can’t stand it.

I’d send her chapter 1, she’d look at it and send me recommendations. We talked about show not tell, pare down narration. Point of view. Then I’d redo it and send it back to her. She has patience, a soothing manner, a way to put things in perspective. She’s brutally honest — good and bad. I didn’t need another family member to tell me the book was good. She told me what was wrong, combined with what was right.

About half through, I got better at reworking stuff before I sent it to her – I got what she was saying, internalized it and it found its way into the work. Miracle.

She was mentor, coach, teacher. I never had a writing class in my life. Later, she did some ghosting, but I felt comfortable. It was my voice, my thinking, my story that I love and my characters.  I loved them before, but if I couldn’t get it out there in a way that readers could meet them and know how awesome they are, what’s the point? I’m accepted the help unashamedly.

What would you say to a writer hesitating to find a mentor/editor/ghost?

1. Your book will be raw. No matter what your friends say.
2. You have to believe in your mentor/editor’s skill. It’s an intimate relationship based on trust.
3. Research before you hire someone. The worst thing would be to find an egotist whose goal is to shred your work and do it her way.
4. Know that it will take months to polish the book.

Diana, the author I interviewed, concluded,

I was driven. The writing had to be done quickly — it’s my personality. I couldn’t sleep. I had to finish. My editor has read it cover to cover, and I love the slinky flow now. It sings to me – it was always singing in my head, and now it sings on paper. This is what I was trying to do; I had to learn it and my characters thanked me a thousand times. Get help.

Everything you need is in there, but may not be in the right place. The story is born as you write it. It may be a tangle, and the book is born in the edit.  If it means that much to you, and it’s bothering you as much as it haunted me, you need to find a professional to help. Friends are fine. Family is fine, but you need a professional if your work is to stand out and be respected.

Why people buy self-published books

Contract, rights, and agents — a guide for writers

Maryan at Twitter

Self publishing was good enough for Milton

In a recent LinkedIn discussion a couple people flamed over a comment I made. I advised doing thorough homework before paying a publishing company to handle your book and reading contracts carefully before signing anything. It’s good advice whether you self-publish, work with Simon and Shuster, use  POD, or crank the stuff out on your desktop and hawk it out of the trunk of your car. The discussion evolved into why do I, or why would anyone buy PODs or self-published books.

I’ve read many. I review them often. Why? Because they’re books. Yes, I have seen real stinkers. I don’t review those – I write to the author and politely suggest that I’m not the right reviewer – then make a few suggestions for improvement. After all, I’m an authors’ coach. I know my business. And I empathize with writers’ challenges. Many of “those” books, the self-pubs and PODs, are worth reading. Here are some reasons the obsolete argument about  non-traditionally published books is obsolete:

• I work in the publishing world and have lots of contacts, so I become aware of non-traditionally published books.
• I read a lot and keep up with the industry.
• I follow Web leads and use social networking to keep me connected.
• I know agents, publishers, other ghosts, teachers, academics, etc so, by osmosis I suppose, I become aware of books available.
• There are websites out there that catalog self-pubs.
• Bookstores carry such books, too, major bookstores.

Why? They’re the future of a portion of our industry

A LinkedIn associate asked me why I acquire such books. I use them as references. I read them for self-edification. I have half a dozen self-pub cookbooks because I love to cook and my husband loves to eat great food. I acquire non-traditionally published books for the same reasons I buy traditionally published books. A perk – they often cost less. I also buy ebooks. Same reasons.

Do I buy them to review was another question. My answer:  I seldom buy review copies – people send me more than I can handle. I’d go broke if I bought them but good or bad review (and I do both because I review honestly) the author gets fair coverage from me and frequently, unasked-for advice, but always, in my humble opinion, advice of at least some value. I get thank you notes.

Like Chicago snow in March, whatever stigma was once attached to self pubs melts with every passing day. The quality of your book will determine how it is received if your marketing is in place. Attention to detail – content, mechanics, cover, subject, now means more than the idea of self-published. Vanity press is entirely different and another whole can of worms.

Do you all know that major players in the publishing world are delving into POD and self-pub alternatives for revenue streams? Stick around – this argument is losing its feet even as we speak.

Write as though your career depends upon it. Be brutally honest with yourself about your work. Hire a mentor, editor, coach, ghost, or any combination as you need help. Learn how to craft a book. Junk is junk in any field. Make your book the highest possible quality, and your options are almost unlimited. Self publishing is maturing and is here to stay.

More reading:

Here are some books I wrote – not self-published

Book review on a sort of self-pub, Shoot to Thrill