Freedom in Freelancing

Finding Freelance Jobs

by Karen Silvestri on 12/06/11

Bid on jobs at ELANCE. Jobs for writers, graphic designers, and computer geeks are offered here by various companies and individuals. You set up your profile and portfolio and search for jobs in your area, then bid on them. Basic $9.95 or so to join and you are allowed to make so many bids per month. If you are serious about this, buy the more expensive package ($40 or so a month), so that you can bid more often. It takes some time to build a reputation on this site. Once you have established yourself, you can work full-time with the great jobs you will find on Elance. They do charge a service fee for paid jobs, but it is worth it.

Advantages: You can see the high-average-low bids on each job and bid accordingly, they provide a time tracker so you can see how long you spend on each project, and they roll over connects, meaning if you do not use your connects to bid on projects in one month, they roll over to the next month!

Guru: www.guru.com

You can join for free, but your bidding capability is severely limited. Prices range from $30-$100 per quarter for membership, and Guru takes a commission on paid jobs. Good jobs and good employers. I get a lot of work through Guru. This is the site to use if you are serious about freelancing. Disadvantages: does not have a time tracker and you cannot see the high-average-low bids like you can at Elance.

Freelancer (formerly GetAFreelancer): www.freelancer.com

I have not found many jobs here yet, but it is a site to keep your eye on.

iFreelance: www.ifreelance.com

Find writing and design jobs at IFREELANCE (iFreelance). Same as Elance and Scriptlance. Create a profile and portfolio and bid on jobs. I have not landed any gigs there yet, but I have only been on there for less than a month. Appears to have decent work and very easy to navigate. Premium membership is roughly $140 a year, but you can pay $10 per month. They do not charge a commission or service fee on paid jobs.

Ozlance: ozlance.com

For Aussies and New Zealanders, OZLANCE is just like the American Elance. It is open to freelancers worldwide, and it is free to sign up.

Freelance Switch: freelanceswitch.com

I am not finding much in the way of jobs on this site, but I did find some great articles on freelancing on their blog. Worth a look!

FWJ: Freelance Writing Jobs: www.freelancewritinggigs.com

Good site for finding all the get a freelance writing job sites (Useful but I still recommend checking each site individually).

Writing Bids: www.writingbids.com

Good site for finding all the get a freelance writing job sites (Useful but I still recommend checking each site individually).

Worldwide Work at Home: www.worldwideworkathome.com/writing.html

Has all kinds of work at home jobs. This link goes straight to the writing jobs. Good site for finding all the get a freelance writing job sites (Useful but I still recommend checking each site individually).

eNotes: www.enotes.com

Good site for finding jobs reviewing literature and writing study guides for books.

VWorker: www.vworker.com

Thousands of virtual jobs site – not just writing.

ScriptLance: scriptlance.com

Very much similar to Elance, but the service is free. Because it is free, however, you will have to wade through some incredibly ridiculous jobs; for instance people wanting articles for $1 each. Mind you, there are plenty of folks who will write a 600 word article for $1, and these guys posting the jobs know it. Be careful you are not bidding on those jobs; do not undersell yourself THAT much! I have landed a couple of decent paying jobs there, but you have to really dig for those gems.

oDesk: www.odesk.com

I have not found many jobs here yet, but it is a site to keep your eye on.

Contracted Work: contractedwork.com

Pretty decent from what I can see. Offers providers E-stores & buyers are allowed to contact providers directly with a paid membership.

Christian Devotions Ministry: christiandevotions.us/category/write

They do not pay for your devotions, BUT YOU NEED TO VISIT THIS SITE and download their two pdf files on writing devotionals. They break it down step by step and you do not want to miss reading these files BEFORE you ever write a word!

The Secret Place: www.judsonpress.com/catalog_sp_guidelines.cfm

THE SECRET PLACE is written solely by freelance writers, and anyone may submit original, unpublished devotions (meditations) for consideration. $20 for each submission published. Guidelines include sample and extensive submission info.

The Word in Season:

Devotion Writing: www.revwriter.com/congregational/writerguidelines.shtml

During Advent and Lent, they publish just devotions to nurture the busy spirit. Query first at editor@revwriter.com if you are interested in writing a devotion for RevWriter Resource. To be included in the pool of devotional writers, tell them your background and writing experience. They may request a writing sample or trial devotion. Payment for each devotion will be $10.

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Track Your Freelance Proposals

by Karen Silvestri on 11/19/11

When doing freelance writing work or when submitting your written work to various publications, it becomes very easy to lose track of what was sent where and to whom. Here is an easy way to keep track of all those queries by using Microsoft Excel or a similar spreadsheet.

OPEN YOUR SPREADSHEET and give it a title. I title mine Queries.

CREATE DIFFERENT FOLDERS for different kinds of queries. I use five separate folders titled Contests, Freelance, Magazine, Online and Other. Creating separate folders simply makes tracking your queries that much easier.

DECIDE WHAT IMPORTANT INFORMATION YOU NEED TO KEEP TRACK OF in your Query spreadsheet. I track the following details of a query: Name of publication, Contact information, Type of query (email, phone, or snail mail), date query was sent and Other. The Other column is for any other pertinent information.

TRACK ANSWERS YOU RECEIVE to your queries by highlighting in different colors. For example, you can use yellow for queries that have been sent but have not been answered and green for queries that have been answered and given the green light. You get the idea.

ADD A COLUMN FOR NOTES. This column becomes very useful when talking to an editor on the phone or through email because you can refer back to the dates and times you have spoken with the editor before.

KEEP COPIES OF YOUR QUERY SPREADSHEET so that you can double-check to see if you have submitted to a certain venue before and what their answer was.

UPDATE YOUR SPREADSHEET on at least a weekly basis.

BACK IT UP! Don’t forget to back up your work frequently!

TRACK IT ONLINE. Use an online freelance query tracker like Duotrope to track submissions or try this online Writer’s Tracking Tool.

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Tools for Freelancers

by Karen Silvestri on 11/18/11

BUSINESS STATIONERY. Take the time to come up with professional stationery. This does not have to be expensive, although there are plenty of online companies like vistaprint.com that print business cards, address labels, stationery and more for low prices. As an alternative to using a company, design and print these yourself.

BUSINESS CARDS. Always carry your business cards with you and hand them out to everyone you meet, not just prospective clients. How many times has someone asked you, Do you know someone who sells such and such?. Again, it is all about getting your name, and the name of your business, into as many hands as you can.

DESKTOP VS. LAPTOP. Personally, I recommend that you have both. For long stints at the desk, you should have a nice large screen. For road trips, you should have a laptop with backup flash drives, memory, battery power, and wireless capability.

COMPUTER SOFTWARE. You need to purchase as close to state-of-the-art programs for your niche as you possibly can. For basic writing and design you MUST purchase a minimum of the latest version of Microsoft Word and the latest version of Adobe software.

FILIING CABINET AND FILE FOLDERS. Don't waste time hunting for forms and files. In the Freelance Editing business, time is NOT your friend. Streamline yourself by keeping your records organized and within easy reach.

OFFICE SUPPLIES. Pens, pencils, scissors, 3-hole punch, stapler, paper clips, erasers, notebooks, paper, copy paper, and rubber bands. These are just a few of the supplies I use on a daily basis.

DICTIONARY AND THESAURUS

GUIDE TO GRAMMAR

YELLOW PAGES. Still a useful tool for finding potential clients!

A COMFORTABLE CHAIR! If you don't have a comfortable chair, you will constantly have an excuse to get up and move around, which means you will not be working!

THE FREELANCE WRITER'S TOOLKIT! An invaluable resource from a freelance editor veteran. The result of many years of reading, researching, and writing. Chock full of information and writing articles on writing, freelancing, and self-publishing. Includes sample templates for office management, proposal writing, and contract writing. Also includes loads of useful links for the beginner freelancer. Available in print or as a download.

For more information on Freelance Writing and Freelance Editing, visit us at Karenzo Media.

For a FREE consultation regarding your project, visit us at Karenzo Media.

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