I noticed yesterday that we only had one Craigslist feed (the New York one) integrated into the Freelance Writing Jobs Feed.

If you have used Craigslist before, you know that you always have to select a city before you can see the ads that have been posted.

Well, in total there are 445 cities (or countries) that posts freelance writing jobs. Many of them can be done from anywhere.

They are now all included in our single feed. And if you subscribe via email, you will not miss a single job opportunity coming your way.

Thanks to the great feedback I received via email and at Absolute Write, we have improved the Freelance Writing Jobs Feed.

Every jobs now shows whether it comes from a bidding site (BID), from a site where you have to be a member (MEMBER) to see all the job details, or whether you can apply for free (FREE).

Additionally, the title shows the name of the site the jobs comes from. That way you know whether you are a member or are registered to bid at that site already.

Any other feedback would be great, and we’ll keep improving the service, so you can get the best jobs.

See freelance writing jobs now - click here.

We have added some more sites to the feed, there are a total of 25 sites that contribute to this service.

The only two sites that we want to include but cannot are elance.com and guru.com. The former has an RSS feed without proper dates (it looks like all their posts have been made in the year 1900, so they never pop up in the latest 24 hour posts - but they have promised to fix it).

The latter just does not have any RSS feed on their site, but they have promised that they are working on it.

So we’ll see. I guess 158 jobs that have been posted in the last 24 hours is quite a chunk to work through anyway.

So best of luck with finding fantastic jobs. And we am looking forward to your feedback.

I have just put together an aggregated feed of writing jobs that are offered on the big bidding and job posting sites (currently we are tracking 25 sites). Rather than having to keep track of all sites, you can view the available jobs in one convenient location.

Freelance Writing Opportunities via email or feed reader

If you prefer to receive the latest jobs offers via email, just enter your email address on the right. You will receive the newly added job offers for the last 24 hours once a day. Your details are secure, we will not share them with anyone.
You can also use any feed reader to stay up to date.

Using this service is free for any writer. However, please be aware that some of the job sites need you to be a member before you can apply or bid for jobs. We will never charge you, but are paid by some sites for referrals we send their way.

We appreciate any feedback you have for us, so we can keep improving the service. Please comment.

Where do we get the Freelance Writing Jobs from?

Most of the sites are bidding sites. But we have also included some smaller sites that offer great freelance writing opportunities. We update the jobs that are displayed every 30 minutes, so you can be sure to get the latest.

Craig’s List

Elance.com - Read my review on elance and why it just got harder to get jobs.

GetACoder.com

Getafreelancer.com

GoFreelance.com

IFreelance.com - Read my review on ifreelance.

Indeed.com

Monster.com

ODesk.com

Project4Hire.com

RentACoder.com

Scriptlance.com

Yahoo Jobs

The smaller sites:

AgaveBlue.net

AuthenticJobs.com

BloggerJobs.biz

ContractedWork.com

CoroFlot.com

FreelanceSwitch.com

JournalismJobs.com

Krop.com

ProBlogger.net

VirtualVocations.com

WritingJobRoll.com

One important site we have not been able to integrate as yet is Guru.com (see review). But we are in contact to them to make that possible as well.

I think I admit on the site somewhere that Elance.com is where I have been finding freelance writing job opportunities for the better part of my (short) career. I say “admit” because as I look around at other sites for writers, a lot of them seem to have a problem with the Elance site. In fact it was through one author’s(Sharon Hurley Hall) complaining about Elance that I found my way over to the site.

I will be the first to admit that this is one bidding site that does have its flaws, but I have to temper that with the fact that it has definitely helped me springboard into full time writing for a living.

There seems to be some confusion among writers and those who offer writers advice on the changes that Elance first put through their system (check out webwritinginfo.com). I’d like to offer my take on this subject; as usual I see a few different angles to what Elance is doing.

The Good

Well there’s one thing I certainly can’t complain about, and that is the fact that Elance has changed their pay structure so that individual writers, like myself, are on a more even footing with the big companies.

My monthly fees are half what they used to be because I can’t keep up with companies who use ten writers to produce content, and I don’t need the full allotment of bids.

The Mixed

One grey area for me is the new Premium Provider program. It used to be that you paid a fee and got a Premium membership that let you bid on certain freelance writing job opportunities.

Now Elance has changed the process so that providers have to have over 90% positive bids over a period of six months, have had to have at least two original clients in the past six months, and have to keep their membership fees updated.

The last requirement I have no problem with, nor do I have any problem with the idea behind the first requirement.

Still, I think Elance needs to do a lot of work in clarifying their feedback system and making it a little bit more fair for providers if they truly want to reflect the merit of companies (currently what any client says goes, no matter how demonstrably outrageous the claims and feedback scores).

The Bad

When it comes to finding more than two original clients each month, though, as an individual writer I take exception. Just as with the feedback, this seems to be tailored to give the writing mills an advantage over the individuals on the site. Easy enough to get new clients every week when you are willing to bid $5 for a 500 worder!

The Confusing

For reasons that are not very clear, Elance has decided to call bids “connects”. It sounds nice but still, what really is the point?

Also, the new sponsored bid program is a bit of a joke. Under his program, you can use two of your “connects” to get top placement in the bid section. Only two sponsors per posting though; I don’t really see how this idea works for anyone but Elance, who of course want providers to purchase additional connects as often as possible.

Conclusion

So the changes that Elance has made are not all bad, in fact the price change in particular is great for individual writers.

Still, Elance really has to take a look at their feedback process if they really want to be fair both to buyers and providers, and this still has not been addressed. In fact, it is a problem that may be exacerbated under the new rules.

Even though, I still use Elance to find freelance writing job opportunities.

The legal side

You might think that writing jobs freelance is somewhat akin to your dream of becoming a famous writer; that is, someone pays you to write what you want in the way that you want it, and everyone in the world loves to read it and then you win the J.K. Rowling award for getting everyone to read.

The reality of writing jobs freelance is far different from what most of us imagine before we really get started, and this can lead to some very common temptations for shortcuts when you are writing a piece, particularly if it is for use online. Let’s take a look at some of the temptations that arise for a lot of freelancers; hopefully forewarned is forearmed and you will be able to avoid some very common mistakes.

Plagiarizing other people’s work

This is by far the most common complaint I have had from clients who have already hired writers to create content for their sites. It seems that ripping off other people’s work by copying and pasting it into your own article is very, very common among web writers.

I can understand the temptation; sometimes it is very hard to write article number ten on the big advantages of a car that runs on hydrocarbons. Still, you have to buckle down and do your own work. First of all, copy and paste is cheating another writer out of their due. Second, there are plenty of copyright watching software programs that are employed by clients, and they seem to do a fairly good job. (Copyscape is probably the most widely used application)

Now on the other side of the copyright coin is the concern that you will accidentally “plagiarize” material. You might scoff at the notion, but it is a very real possibility; with so much content on the web it’s hard to think of an original way to say something like “Britney Spears needs to take better care of her children”.

Still, the idea of copyright violation is that large portions of a piece have been copied; it seems to be okay to have a few similar lines or even paragraphs, but you need to be sure that you are writing in your own words. Here are a few pointers I have picked up:

• If something appears in more than three other articles, it’s considered common knowledge. This is more to do with academic writing which focuses on research, but it applies to everyday Internet copy writing as well.
• When in doubt, credit the source. If you find a piece that you really like, don’t be scared to say “I got this from so and so”. The idea behind copyright and plagiarism is that credit is given where it is due, to the furthering of the career of the original author.
• Copyright does not apply to pieces over a certain age. This is great if you want to write about Ye Olde Wagonne, but might not be so helpful when it comes to hybrid cars. Still, you might be able to find some really good material.

Disappearing on a Client

Some writers will find that they are very tempted to just disappear on a client. I admit this is a problem that I have had when writing jobs freelance. One way I overcome it is by asking for a deposit; I find it’s much easier to complete what I say I will if I know someone has already paid me, because it becomes more of a question of integrity than anything else.

When the temptation to jam out on a contract starts to make itself felt, you might also want to remind yourself that it is far easier to retain a client than to find a new one. In fact, I would say that is how you will gain success when writing jobs freelance.

If it wasn’t for several repeat clients I would not be making a steady and reliable income month after month. They are also almost always the clients that are willing to pay realistic prices for pieces.

Contracts for writing jobs freelance

You can also avoid these common temptations by making sure that they are in any contracts that you and your client work out. Most of the time your client, if he or she has been in web development for a while, will know to make it very clear that work found to violate copyright will not be paid for.

It’s also a good idea to set up a contract which includes some milestones, so that you have good guidelines as to where you should be from date to date. That way the job is broken down into smaller chunks. And if you fall behind you won’t be quite as tempted to just drop the whole thing.

You might wonder why I am devoting a few articles to freelance editing jobs and proofreading jobs on a site about building a freelance WRITING career. Actually you might assume that editors are somehow not true writers, or that they are even in opposition to a writer’s success.

Well, we’re talking about becoming a successful freelance writer in this section, with a specific focus on keeping your eyes open for any writing opportunities that may come your way (particularly on the Internet).

If you have read some of the other articles I have written, you already know that I am totally against any line of thought that suggests exclusivity when it comes to your writing business. You won’t always get the chances you want, and that means having a diverse range of skill sets that you can get by on while you wait for your perfect opportunity to come up.

Editing: The securest freelance position of all

Offline and on, there are a lot of starving freelance writers. What you will never find is a starving freelance editor, because in essence no one considers editing an art form.

A lot of freelance writers I have read or talked to seem to degrade editors, which I find kind of humorous because for the most part, there are far more gainfully employed editors than there are writers. In fact, I would go so far as to say that were we to take the average pay per year of the two occupations (and yes you “writing writers” also get to use the combined salaries of Stephen King, J.K. Rowland and other seven or eight figure earners) the editor side would come out on top. Why? Because everyone, EVERYONE, uses the services of an editor or three.

What this means for your freelance writing business

For you, this means that editing jobs can be a very important part of your freelance writing career. Opportunities abound, and moreover you will probably find that editing jobs end up paying more per hour than writing jobs, with much easier work to boot. I expand on that a little bit more in another article, along with some specifics about editing jobs.

The point that you need to take from this is that when it comes to building a true career in freelance writing, you have to get away from many of the pretensions, snobberies, and mistaken beliefs that can be seen in so many writers.

Freelance editing jobs can be a great boost to the bottom line of any freelance business that is just starting out, and they may also lead to work in the form of writing. In fact if you look at the careers of many offline writers, you may find that some of the most successful landed their first deals after working as an editor in some capacity.

So never turn up your nose at freelance editing jobs. Not only will they serve to line your pocket, but they can also be a great step towards the writing work that you really want to do!

I think bidding sites on the Internet are the best freelance writing markets. No wonder, I have made most of my money from them and found my best clients there. However, there are plenty of other ways to find writing work both online and off; in this article we will take a look at a few of them.

Finding work offline

When it comes to freelance writing offline, you basically have two options: newspapers and magazines. This sounds pretty narrow but of course it isn’t: there are literally thousands of print publications all looking for people to write for them. The key, as always, is breaking into these freelance writing markets.

So how do you go about that? Well, I don’t really know. The only things I have ever had published offline were letters to the editor. Although I feel that they were very well written, I certainly didn’t make any money from them.

Of course my lack of success offline could be due to the fact that I am not very persistent when it comes to landing freelance work; I have only ever written one query letter to an editor, and that was Mel Rothenburger (yep, that’s his real last name) of our local paper, who has a bit of a reputation as a man who takes the medium sized fish in a small pond attitude to a whole new level. Also, the fact that he doesn’t see eye to eye with my dad (who is a local politician) might have something to do with the fact that I never heard back.

Personal grievances aside, I never really followed up on that letter, which is absolutely the opposite of anything I have ever read about breaking into offline freelance writing markets. Here are some pretty common guidelines that I have found, and if they work for you please let me know! I probably won’t give them a try but they would be great additions to the reference part of the site, for those who want to break into print without a lofty Bachelor of Journalism degree (I don’t think Mel has one)

• Start out locally; it’s a lot easier to tackle issues you are familiar with.
• Be both patient and persistent, without being pushy.

Not much to go on, is it? Still, you look at any freelance writing guide and people will swear that these approaches work, so long as you have some writing skill to go with it. For myself, I am pretty happy to leave the editors behind and use the freelance writing work that can be found on the Internet.

Freelance writing markets online

There is a bit more diversity when it comes to the freelance writing markets that can be found online. We go over bidding sites in depth in another section of this site, so here we are going to take a look at how to get your foot in the door outside of bidding for the opportunity to write.

1. Job listings
   There are dozens of sites online which list jobs for freelance writers. Craig’s List is one such site; there are new freelance writing markets listed every day on that Goliath. Similar sites include www.freelancewriting.com and www.writerswanted.com.
2. Query letters
   Yes, the same methods that work offline can also work online. I have landed a couple of great freelance jobs just by contacting sites and letting them know what I do. I usually do this after I arrive at a site and find very low quality articles and information; with only one exception, I started out as a proof reader and then ended up doing some of the writing as well.
3. Search engines
   One way to find freelance writing markets online is to just go to a search engine and type in “writers wanted”. There are always people looking for writers to add content to their site, so most of the time you will find opportunities by following the trail that Google paved.

Whether you are looking for freelance writing markets online or off, you need to realize right away that at first, you are going to receive more rejections (or just no answer at all) than opportunities. Don’t be discouraged; once you start landing a few jobs you will be able to establish a reputation that will (hopefully) lead to a much better percentage in terms of success.

The most important step: finding those freelance writing jobs available online. When I first started writing, it caused me a lot of stress that it was pretty obvious that freelance writing jobs were readily available.

After all, there were articles all over the Internet, books, magazine articles, newspaper freelancers, and somebody wrote all those little blurbs that appeared in descriptions and so on. Actually let’s face it: there is a world of print out there!

Not all writers are created equal

The second thing that was obvious was that not a lot of people could actually write. Those of you who CAN write and are reading this know that this is true; how many times have you come across some absolute crap and wondered how it was that the person who penned or typed it could have though it was worthy of being read?

Those of you with freelancing experience know this from an even more important source, as far as the money side of things go. How many clients have you had who have told you how very hard it is to find someone who can actually write, using proper and easy to understand English? For my part, I am pretty sure that this is why the clients I do have are willing to put up with the odd missed deadline and so on.

Making the connection

So what exactly was the stressful part? Well, it lay in connecting the dots between those freelance writing jobs available and the people who were hiring to fill them.

That’s what made me successful; I know where to find jobs on the Internet. I am hoping that sooner or later we can build a community here with writers from several backgrounds who can help to point novices in the right direction, but for now this will probably be my focus.

So, here are some of the places where you will be able to make that connection between the need between the freelance writing jobs available to you and the people hiring to fill them.

Where you can look

• Writing sites
  Here’s one link that I recently found: www.bluegrasssolutions.org. These guys are hiring writers right now and they aren’t the only company doing so either. Keep your ear to the ground and your wits about you and you can find some too.
• Bidding sites
  My bread and butter: Elance.com, Guru.com, ifreelance.com. There are at least half a dozen other sites where clients are offering any type of freelance writing job you could think of.
• Direct appeal
  Every once in a while I get a positive response when I dare to write a website suggesting that they beef up their writing a bit.

Another great place to look is with companies who specialize in Search Engine Optimization. Writing articles is a big part of this so most web site companies retain a writer or two to help out their various clients.

Having been on the other side, I just want to add one thing: When I ask for samples on spec or why a price is higher than someone else’s, I mainly do that to get a feel for the writer’s attitude.

If the answer is defensive or angry, I will not work with them. If it is honest, open and full of certainty, I know I have found someone worth working with.