Working as a Freelance Writer

There’s been a lot of chatter lately about how writers earn a living. The Write Life has an excellent post, “Talking About Money: Why Writers Need to Be More Honest About How We Earn,” which covers Ann Bauer’s Salon essay on being sponsored by her husband, as well as how other writers earn a living and how much they make.

A lot of stories pop up of writers who are able to quit their day jobs and work on their passion full time. But being a full time writer/freelancer is incredibly hard. I did it for a while, but couldn’t handle the feast or famine lifestyle, so I took a full time job and now write on the side.

Below is a list of articles (in no particular order) I’ve bookmarked over the years that pertain to freelancing. I’m happy for those who have found a way to do this full time, but for others who may be struggling, hopefully you find this list helpful.

Getting Paid / Paid Gigs / Monetization

1. Quora: “How can freelance developers (who telecommute) ensure they get paid?“
2. Every Writer Resource: “Get Paid to Post“
3. Funds for Writers: A free weekly newsletter that lists semi-pro or higher paying markets and contests as well as grants, crowdfunding, contests, publishers, agents and employers
4. Writing World: “Fifteen Paying Markets for Personal Essays and Life Stories“
5. Zemanta: “Why Content Ads?“
6. John Chow: “How To Really Make Money with Clickbank“
7. Buy Sell Ads: Publishers
8. Forward Link: “Skimlinks Unveils World’s First At-A-Glance Content Monetization Tool for Digital Publishers“
9. Writing to Heal: Paying Markets
10. The Write Life: “19 Websites and Magazines That Want to Publish Your Personal Essays“
11. Meghan Ward: “20 Great Places to Publish Personal Essays“
12. Write From Home: “Eight Paying Markets For Your Personal Essays“
13. Writers Weekly: Freelance writing ezine
14. Workerson Board: “Write for Greeting Cards“
15. Make a Living Writing: “100+ Websites That Pay Writers“
16. Freelance Write: “28 Places to Find Telecommuting Freelance Writing Jobs“
17. Writtent: “How Much Do Quality Copywriting Services Cost?“
18. SEO Copywriting: “How to charge for freelance copywriting services“
19. Men With Pens: “How to Set Your Copywriting Fees and Earn What You’re Worth“
20. Freelancers Union: “Want to know what other freelancers charge?“

Growing a Freelance Business

1. Be a Freelance Blogger: “7 Things I Learned About Freelance Blogging from Interviewing My Clients“
2. Freelancers Union: For benefits, etc. (currently only in certain states)
3. The Well-Fed Writer: FAQs
4. The Future of Ink: “9 Ways Authors Can Use IFTTT Recipes To Be More Productive“
5. Udemy Blog: “Freelance Copywriter Career: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started“

Blogging

1. Molly Greene: “101 Fabulous Blog Topic Ideas“
2. Social Media Examiner: “17 Ways to Grow Your Blog From Top Bloggers“
3. 20SomethingBloggers: Forum
4. Blogging Wizard: “57 Tools for Bloggers“
5. Be a Freelance Blogger: “52 Totally Free Resources for Freelance Bloggers“
6. The Book Designer: “How to Create Foundation Posts for Your Blog“
7. Social Media Explorer: “Disclosures for Bloggers and Brands“
8. Dianne Jacob: “New FTC Rules on Writing Reviews, Affiliations, and Sponsored Posts“
9. DIY Themes: “How to Earn Your First Link From A Major Blogger (or Major Media Outlet)“
10. Training Authors: “How to Design Infographics and Use Them to Increase Blog Traffic“
11. The Book Designer: “My Top 5 Metrics Tools for Evaluating Blogs“
12. Copyblogger: “How to Write 16 Knockout Articles When You Only Have One Wimpy Idea“
13. Be a Freelance Blogger: “How to Find Time to Write a Book Even If You’re Busy Blogging“
14. Masquerade Crew: “10 Blog Titles That Drive Massive Traffic“
15. Reviewz N Tips: “Why You Won’t Finish this Article or How People Read Blogs [Research]“

Repurposing Content / Content Marketing

1. Business 2 Community: “5 Ideas for Offers that Aren’t the Same Old eBooks“
2. Go Articles: An article directory
3. The Book Designer: “Backlist Blogging—Why Blogging Is Like Book Publishing“
4. Hyperink: Blog to Book
5. Flippa: “Using content marketing as a tool to build site value“
6. ProBlogger: “How to Make Sure Your Content Marketing Does the Job“
7. Your Writer Platform: “Powerful Pictures Perform: How to Create Images That Grab Attention“
8. OutBrain: Submission guidelines (get your content discovered)
9. Be a Freelance Blogger: “The Elementary Marketing Tactic You Don’t Know You’re Missing“
10. Huffington Post: “Where Will Content Come From in 2014?“

Promoting Products

1. Deal Guardian: For books and more
2. Nowness: For videos

Researching Topics

1. The Book Designer: “How Research Sets the Stage for Blog Marketing“
2. Writer Unboxed: “A Step-by-Step Guide to Conducting the Research Interview“