How to Find Writing Jobs Online

Along with other keywords and phrases, I set up a Google alert to notify me whenever the term “writing jobs” appears on line.  Invariably, besides returning links to legitimate job sites, I see people in online forums asking about how to get writing jobs online as though nothing has ever been written on the subject. 

I know why, of course.  Some people keep hoping to find some magical key that unlocks the door to easy access into the world of writing for money.  And, like with everything else, there are people willing to sell them such a key, even one that’s one size fits all, leading them to information that they could have, with even just a little effort, found for free. 

Yet there are legitimate how-to guides out there as well, excellent ones that will save you a great deal of time in researching your own writing outlets, or steer you towards types of  writing jobs you may have never thought of pursuing.  The trick is to separate the writing wheat from the chaff. I have listed the best free online resources for finding writing assignments in a previous article, which you can find here:  Best Web Sites for Finding Freelance Writing Jobs.  The following are a few resources that, if you have some money to invest in your writing career, are worth looking into:

• The Wealthy Web Writer:  This is a new membership site launched by the American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI), a company that has put out a number of excellent writing programs over the years.  For a monthly fee that you can cancel at anytime, you’ll find a treasure trove of information, guidance, direction and writing career advice.  You can learn more about it by clicking here.

 

• Make Money from Writing: Freelance writer Debbie Dragon has developed eclasses based on her own experience that guide you step by step in establishing and growing your own freelance writing business.  Find out about her in-depth program here.

 

• The Wealthy Freelancer:  Copywriters Steve Slaunwhite, Ed Gandia and Pete Savage collaborated to bring you this excellent guide, which will be available as of March 2, 2010.  I had the opportunity to review the first three chapters, and strongly endorse this information-packed book.  You can find it here.

How to Start and Grow a Ghost Writing Business

I really enjoy reading and posting to Twitter.  Besides using it to pass along writing job links, share inspirational quotes, exchange quick hellos with other writers and bemoan the pervasiveness of dangling modifiers in business writing, I’ve been trying to establish Tuesdays as “oxymoron day,” encouraging others to share their favorite oxymora (thank you, spell check, for pointing out the correct way to pluralize that!).  It’s fun when people tweet back with favorites of their own.

 

One oxymoron that I recently posted, and think I made up, was “famous ghost writers;” this got me thinking about the unique dilemmas that ghost writers face.  Unlike other types of writers, ghost writers often must maintain complete anonymity while helping their clients put their thoughts and experiences on the page.  Contracts for ghost writing work may include clauses that forbid the writer to take any public credit for the work, because the client wants to be seen as its true author.  This can make starting and growing a ghost writing career even more challenging than other competitive writing fields. 

 

So how do you launch a ghost writing career or business, and keep it going?  You need to let the world know you’re a writer for hire.  You need to know what kinds of writing you want to do and what kinds of clients you want to work with.  And you need to promote, network and persist.  Some of the ways you can get the word out regarding your ghost writing availability include:

 

1. Having a professional Web site that displays samples of your work; 
2. Using social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook; 
3. Checking online freelance job boards daily for writing jobs to bid on (one note of caution here—many “clients” on these sites are looking for bargain basement “writers” that will slam out copy for pennies.  Don’t sell yourself short by bidding on these so-called jobs.  Even if you land them, doing them will not help you build a writing business you can live on.) 
4. Telling everyone you know that you’re a ghost writer, and making sure you have business cards to give to them as well; 
5. Joining writers’ networks or associations, such as the International Association of Professional Ghost Writers (http://iapgw.org), that have job boards for members only (this will help cut down on the number of writers you need to compete with for work).

 

Like all paying writing endeavors, establishing oneself as a ghost writer takes time and consistent effort.  Stick with a promotion strategy, especially in the early going, and you may just end up with more work than you can handle.  Would that be nice?

 

Here’s to your writing success.

 

Mary Anne

P.S. Interested in learning more about building a ghost writing career?  Go to http://iapgw.org , sign up to receive the association’s free newsletter, “Invisible Ink,” and you’ll receive a copy of my free report “The Ghost Writer’s Guide to Getting More Clients.”

New Look

Write Success is undergoing a facelift.  Please bear with us while we make a few changes and improvements.  We’re almost there.   =D

|