The Best Freelance Job Boards for WritersWritten by Janet Ilacqua
How many times have you checked out a job board to that either it no longer exists or that there is one or two jobs listed. Out of hundreds of job boards on Web today, how do you find those containing projects that you are interested in and qualified for. I have recently surveyed over 300 freelance web sites and these are best boards for freelance writers. The benchmark that I used for judging board was number of legitimate projects (as opposed to “business opportunities” ) and requests for submission being posted every month. I have only included ones posting 30 projects or more a month The very best I picked Guru This huge all-inclusive board connects independent professionals (a.k.a. "gurus") with contract projects. If you are new to independent consulting, check out Run Your Biz section, which includes a “Getting Started” column, where you can leave a question to be answered by experts. Lots of other useful information (e.g. tax and finance, legal, etc.) for contractors. Find a contracting job ("gig") searching by field (creative/media, finance and legal, etc.), keyword, and geography.. Recently, it acquired IT Moonlighter , another with lots of freelance jobs. Whatever, Guru is probably largest freelance marketplace on Web. Over 3,300 projects posted last month. What makes Guru.com stand out from is number and variety of projects listed and easiness of accessing job. Unlike others, Guru sends daily email alerts of writing gigs that match your profile. Number of writing projects posted every month: 207 Type of projects: Everything and anything, many articles, ghostwriting, editing, copyright, some onsite, some technical. Has best all around listing of freelance writing gigs. Other good freelance writing sites AllFreelanceWork. Its sister site AllFreelance is my number one site for articles about freelancing and freelance resources. Number of writing projects posted every month: 10 Type of projects: Technical and business writingContracted Work A freelance site that has grown in great leaps and bounds. You can do a search and find a great number of projects. There is a monthly fee in order to search for projects, but it might be worth checking out. I personally found that I was not finding enough leads for type of writing I do to be worth fee. Number of writing projects posted every month: 50-74 Type of projects: Openings tends more to web content, copywriting, and sales and marketing Elance. I was actively involved in bidding on this site for a year. However, I did not get my money’s worth. It is geared towards business and technical writing. Number of writing projects posted every month: 130+ Type of projects: little bit of everything: articles, ghostwriting, e-books, web content, technical. Lots of editing and proofreading jobs too Freelance Work ExchangeNon-Auction freelance site. The Freelance Work Exchange has listings for writers, designers, consultants, programmers. Yes ... it does cost to join; however, there is $3.00 7-day trial memberships so you can test it to see if it will get you work! Highly recommended. Freelance Work Exchange is a solid, reliable freelance site, but in order to search jobs it will cost you a monthly fee. Number of writing projects posted every month: 30-40 Type of projects: little bit of everything: calls for articles, ghostwriting, e-books, web content, technical. Geared more towards general writing markets, as opposed to corporate-style stuff.
| | So you want to go into ghostwriting?Written by Janet Ilacqua
So you want to go into ghostwriting? A good way to get writing experience is by ghostwriting, that is writing for individuals and companies under their bylines rather than your own. With ghostwriting, you can test out writing for different genres without endangering your reputation as you would if you wrote under your own name. Here are some description of some hot ghostwriting markets and tips on how to get into them. Technical writing Technical writers develop technical materials, such as equipment manuals, appendices, or operating and maintenance instructions. Documentation format includes not only print, but also, increasingly, PDF, HTML, interactive multimedia and help files. Although most technical writers work on-site, there is some offsite work. Most technical writers are employed by IT industry. Although demanding, technical writing can be lucrative and interesting. You should have ability to write clearly and or some knowledge about, a specialized field—engineering, business, or one of sciences. Familiarity with Word, HTML and FrameMaker is essential and familiarity with multimedia and online help tools, such as RoboHelp, is highly desirable A degree in engineering, computer science, or one of hard sciences (for example, chemistry, physics) is highly recommended and, lately, is becoming a prerequisite for many jobs. Right now, there are many experienced writers looking for work; so there are limited opportunities for persons without previous tech writing experience Outlook: field has been severely impacted by consolidation of IT industry and outsourcing. The opportunities will continue to decrease due to ongoing consolidation of IT and outsourcing. Good places to look for jobs: Monster.com, Sologig.com, techwriting.com, Rentacoder.com Dice.com. Business/Corporate writing Other writers worked in advertising and related services, public and private educational services, government agencies, religious organizations, and business, professional, labor, political, and similar organizations. They prepare manuals, A degree in English, business, communications, marketing, or some other business or writing-related field is helpful. Knowledge of Word is essential and familiarity with multimedia and online help tools, such as RoboHelp, is highly desirable. Knowledge of technology and specialized subject areas is useful tool Outlook: Like tech writing, business writing has been impacted by consolidation in IT industry, business cost-cutting measures, and outsourcing. However, outlook for business and corporate writer is not as bleak as technical writers because business writers are spread out over a wide range of industries, not just IT. Good websites to look for work on: Guru.com.com, Elance, Monster.com, Sologig, Academic writing Academic writing is not always done by academics. Textbook packagers often get a known name to put together an outline and then hire writers to actually write book - a sort of academic ghostwriting. It is work made for hire and pays reasonably well. The actual writer usually only gets a little tiny credit somewhere in front or back of book, while expert gets cover credit. In certain medical and scientific disciplines, ghostwriters also either write or heavily edit some journal articles. In addition, over 200 paper mills and term paper sites that employ writers with advanced degrees to write or edit term papers, dissertations, and theses for high school, college, and graduate schools. Caution: Writing term papers for other people is illegal in many states and sanctions may get tougher. For example, in California, recently, AB 2800 would extend to high schools an existing provision of state law - largely ignored since its adoption in 1970s - that bans sale of term papers for college credit. In order to break into academic writing, you need a Masters or Doctorate, good research skills, strong writing skills, strong attention to detail, access to a online research database, such as Virtual Library or EBSCO, patience (oftentimes, academic work will be reviewed by three or four referees and many changes will have to be made) and familiarity with APA and MLA citation styles. In addition, you be familiar with stylistic and formatting requirements for papers, journal articles, theses, dissertation, and other academic formats.
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