| In days gone by, freelance writers started their writing | | | | 2. Scammers Who Ask You to Write a Chapter or an |
| career writing for magazines and newspapers. | | | | Article or an Essay or Anything to "Test" Your Skills |
| This meant writing for months (and years, in some | | | | It's just a scam. Move on. |
| cases) collecting the proverbial shoebox full of | | | | 3. Freelance Writer Job Ads on the Web |
| rejection slips. I didn't collect a shoebox-full, because I | | | | Yes, avoid ALL freelance writer job ads on the Web. |
| started out as a romance novelist, so I sold the first | | | | Does this sound harsh? |
| magazine article I proposed, but I collected more than | | | | OK, consider that genuine writing markets don't need |
| enough "not quite right for us..." rejection letters. | | | | to advertise. Genuine markets have a publication, or a |
| Time moves on and things change, but for new | | | | business, and alert freelance writers approach them |
| writers today aiming at a Web writing career they | | | | with proposals and queries. Sometimes (not always) |
| don't change for the better. | | | | they have a "writer's guidelines" page on their Web |
| If anything, the situation offers dangers which make | | | | site. |
| rejection slips look like kisses in comparison. | | | | A genuine market for writers hasn't got the staff to |
| Let's look at four dangerous things you should avoid as | | | | read/ respond to 400 neophyte writers who |
| a baby Web writer: | | | | answered an ad. If they've got the staff to handle 400 |
| 1. Low-Paying Gigs: They're Writer-Abuse | | | | responses to their ad, they have an ulterior motive. |
| If you hope to make a career as a Web writer, avoid | | | | 4. Web Writing Jobs Which Pay on a |
| low-paying gigs. If you're not making more per hour | | | | Revenue-Sharing Model |
| writing than working at the golden arches, it's a | | | | Revenue-sharing sites advertise for writers. They add |
| low-paying gig. Run, don't walk to the golden arches. | | | | your articles to their site, and then place ads on the |
| Asking "will you have fries with that?" is better for your | | | | articles that you write. You get a share of the revenue |
| self-respect. | | | | these ads generate. |
| $2 per article, $5 per article - avoid these gigs, unless | | | | However, revenue-sharing assumes that there's some |
| you're using the gig as a promotional tool. By this I | | | | revenue to share. There may well be a few cents, but |
| mean you've got a Web site, and you're promoting the | | | | a year of writing for a revenue-sharing site generally |
| site to other sites, by getting links. | | | | won't earn you more than a cup of coffee. |