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
- Quora: “How can freelance developers (who telecommute) ensure they get paid?“
- Every Writer Resource: “Get Paid to Post“
- 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
- Writing World: “Fifteen Paying Markets for Personal Essays and Life Stories“
- Zemanta: “Why Content Ads?“
- John Chow: “How To Really Make Money with Clickbank“
- Buy Sell Ads: Publishers
- Forward Link: “Skimlinks Unveils World’s First At-A-Glance Content Monetization Tool for Digital Publishers“
- Writing to Heal: Paying Markets
- The Write Life: “19 Websites and Magazines That Want to Publish Your Personal Essays“
- Meghan Ward: “20 Great Places to Publish Personal Essays“
- Write From Home: “Eight Paying Markets For Your Personal Essays“
- Writers Weekly: Freelance writing ezine
- Workerson Board: “Write for Greeting Cards“
- Make a Living Writing: “100+ Websites That Pay Writers“
- Freelance Write: “28 Places to Find Telecommuting Freelance Writing Jobs“
- Writtent: “How Much Do Quality Copywriting Services Cost?“
- SEO Copywriting: “How to charge for freelance copywriting services“
- Men With Pens: “How to Set Your Copywriting Fees and Earn What You’re Worth“
- Freelancers Union: “Want to know what other freelancers charge?“
Growing a Freelance Business
- Be a Freelance Blogger: “7 Things I Learned About Freelance Blogging from Interviewing My Clients“
- Freelancers Union: For benefits, etc. (currently only in certain states)
- The Well-Fed Writer: FAQs
- The Future of Ink: “9 Ways Authors Can Use IFTTT Recipes To Be More Productive“
- Udemy Blog: “Freelance Copywriter Career: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started“
Blogging
- Molly Greene: “101 Fabulous Blog Topic Ideas“
- Social Media Examiner: “17 Ways to Grow Your Blog From Top Bloggers“
- 20SomethingBloggers: Forum
- Blogging Wizard: “57 Tools for Bloggers“
- Be a Freelance Blogger: “52 Totally Free Resources for Freelance Bloggers“
- The Book Designer: “How to Create Foundation Posts for Your Blog“
- Social Media Explorer: “Disclosures for Bloggers and Brands“
- Dianne Jacob: “New FTC Rules on Writing Reviews, Affiliations, and Sponsored Posts“
- DIY Themes: “How to Earn Your First Link From A Major Blogger (or Major Media Outlet)“
- Training Authors: “How to Design Infographics and Use Them to Increase Blog Traffic“
- The Book Designer: “My Top 5 Metrics Tools for Evaluating Blogs“
- Copyblogger: “How to Write 16 Knockout Articles When You Only Have One Wimpy Idea“
- Be a Freelance Blogger: “How to Find Time to Write a Book Even If You’re Busy Blogging“
- Masquerade Crew: “10 Blog Titles That Drive Massive Traffic“
- Reviewz N Tips: “Why You Won’t Finish this Article or How People Read Blogs [Research]“
Repurposing Content / Content Marketing
- Business 2 Community: “5 Ideas for Offers that Aren’t the Same Old eBooks“
- Go Articles: An article directory
- The Book Designer: “Backlist Blogging—Why Blogging Is Like Book Publishing“
- Hyperink: Blog to Book
- Flippa: “Using content marketing as a tool to build site value“
- ProBlogger: “How to Make Sure Your Content Marketing Does the Job“
- Your Writer Platform: “Powerful Pictures Perform: How to Create Images That Grab Attention“
- OutBrain: Submission guidelines (get your content discovered)
- Be a Freelance Blogger: “The Elementary Marketing Tactic You Don’t Know You’re Missing“
- Huffington Post: “Where Will Content Come From in 2014?“
Promoting Products
- Deal Guardian: For books and more
- Nowness: For videos
Researching Topics
- The Book Designer: “How Research Sets the Stage for Blog Marketing“
- Writer Unboxed: “A Step-by-Step Guide to Conducting the Research Interview“
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