Comments on: How To Break Out Of The Freelance Writing Rut

By: Marc

Marc — Thu, 07 May 2009 23:07:42 +0000

Hi Janet. Thank you for taking the time to post your perspective.

I agree with you. A lot of writers who take up these jobs just aren’t looking at it closely enough or thinking it through long term. That burn out is nigh on impossible to imagine or even admit to ourselves. In the end though it’s just not a road that’s worth going down.

By: Janet Green

Janet Green — Thu, 07 May 2009 18:30:31 +0000

Marc, first of all thank you for reading and commenting on my guest post over at Blogopolis Blueprint – it has been a delight to discover your Welshscribe blog! Secondly, I applaud you for encouraging writers to stand up to the abominable pay rates being offered out there. As a former freelance business copywriter, I am stunned by the low pay offered through some of the “get paid to blog” and writer-client connection sites. Unfortunately, I think writers labor under the assumption that if they can crank out enough of these $2 articles, they can make a living wage. In reality, some simple math will show that they would burn out long before they ever got to that point. What happens, of course, is that the more writers try to fulfill these assignments, the more the clients think that quality writing can be had for this rate of pay.

Melissa, your idea about preferring to write something for a charity is wonderful – as a pro bono piece, your work then comes from the heart, benefits the charity, and benefits you as well by appearing in your portfolio. It doesn’t reward the “client” who thinks your work is literally worth nothing more than pennies.

By: Melinda

Melinda — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 04:10:06 +0000

Marc, get over it and do it already! Seriously! Give me a yell if you want some help. Melinda’s last blog post..Do You Have Permission to Market?

By: Marc

Marc — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 20:40:52 +0000

It would be radical for me. It’s the only thing I have difficulty in writing about, me and my services. Marketing myself is now my new name for writer’s block.

By: Melinda

Melinda — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 20:36:08 +0000

Now there's a radical idea Marc - marketing yourself!!!!! LOL! Melinda’s last blog post..Do You Have Permission to Market?

By: Marc

Marc — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:14:08 +0000

Thanks for the suggestion Janice. The more I think about it the more I feel it should be highlighted fairly prominently. That and a hire me ad…

By: Janice

Janice — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:02:38 +0000

You could maybe just get a widget for now and call the list Guest Posts I've Done. Later, they could become a heading in a page on your navbar button called Portfolio. Janice’s last blog post..Fleet Foxes

By: Marc

Marc — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:23:58 +0000

Great advice Melissa, I totally forgot about charitable work and plain old samples to build a portfolio.

By the same token we should also link to our guest posts on other blogs, after all others have deemed our writing to be good enough to post on their websites.

That’s another addition to my todo list.

By: Melissa Donovan

Melissa Donovan — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 22:39:42 +0000

Also, you don't need to do $5 jobs for your portfolio. You can use your own blog posts, you can write for charity, and you can even create samples for the sheer purpose of showing the quality of work that you're capable of generating. Personally, I find $5 for a 500-word article pretty insulting. I'd rather write a piece for a charitable organization if it's destined for my portfolio (note that you might not be within legal rights to publicly display your paid work, depending on your contract with client). And at $5, I'd have to write a piece in about five minutes... Nah, I say don't even bother with those. Melissa Donovan’s last blog post..How Poetry Writing Improves All Other Writing