New Writers
If
you've always liked the idea of writing then why not put that thought
into practice today? The scope for freelance writers is immense. You
could write articles for newspapers, e-zines, websites or Blogs; features
for monthly or weekly magazines. You could enter your short stories
into competitions or submit them to women's weeklies for publication.
Or you could try TV scriptwriting, greeting card inscription or even
write that novel you've always dreamt of. Many authors began their careers
writing short stories for magazines or as newspaper columnists and journalists,
including Helen Fielding (author of Bridget Jones' Diary) and Jane Green
(best-selling chick-lit author).
A
creative imagination is required together with a good grasp of grammar,
punctuation and spelling. Pay varies depending on which area you work
in but generally short stories fetch anything from £50.00 to £400
per story and features/articles are paid per word count. You can find
current rates at The
National Union of Journalists
But
before you put pen to paper it would be a good idea to either take a
writing course or buy a good book or two to enhance your skills and
learn how to present work to editors.
Books to help with your Writing
Writing Courses provided by e-learn
Writing Short Stories for the Magazines
The short story market is very competitive and getting published is
by no means easy. However, it can be achieved if you prepare by studying
the market you wish to write for and learning how to write and submit
short fiction to editors. We suggest that you read helpful guides such
as, How
to Write and Sell Short Stories by Della Galton, also consider taking
a creative writing course such as the Writing
Short Story Course offered by e-learn.
Once
you feel that you are ready to submit your short stories to magazine
editors you should obtain a copy of each magazine's short story guidelines,
as each publication has their own style and requirements. You can do
this by writing to the fiction editor and requesting a copy of their
guidelines. Always remember to include a stamped, self addressed envelope
with your enquiry for a convenient reply.
It
is highly advisable to study several issues of the magazine you aim
to write for before submitting your manuscript in order to get a general
gist and understanding of the publication's requirements. This would
better your chances of success. Good luck!
Writing Competitions
- FirstWriter
Offers
a complete guide to writing competitions and includes details, links
and entry information - some competitions are free to enter!
This offer is currently available in the UK,
USA and Australia.Click
Here for more details
- Writers'
Forum Short story Competition with a first
prize of £300.00, second prize of £150.00 and third prize
of £100.00. Any genre - stories must be between 1000 and 3000
words. Entry fee is £6.00 or £3.00 if you are a Writers'
Forum subscriber. And it is worth subscribing to this publication.
- Writers'
News Writers' News and Writing Magazine
run monthly competitions and offer a variety of prizes and publication
either online or in their magazine. Short story and poetry entries
are £4, and £3 for subscribers. Full competition rules
appear in each issue of Writing Magazine and Writers' News.
Poetry Competitions
Earn cash writing Online Articles
Did you know that you could earn some extra cash from
writing online articles? No? Then read on. People all over the world
are earning cash right now for short articles they have written on their
chosen subject. Article Directories are eager to publish articulate,
interesting and useful articles on their pages that will interest their
readers and keep them coming back for more. Buyers need articles for
their Blogs, Websites, Newsletters and various other projects, so the
potential to sell is enormous. As well as earning some extra cash, online
article writing can earn you recognition as a writer. So don't let your
knowledge and writing skills go to waste, read below for more details:
HELIUM
Reading, writing and rating . . . and
even more - reward. Helium is a website
housing a host of intriguing and useful articles on a multitude of subjects
from Internet Security to card games, novel writing to conflicts and
crises; the list is endless. Helium is always on the lookout for new,
talented and skillful writers to write articles for publication on their
website. Apart from getting recognition for your work, which is always
a plus for your CV, you also get paid for your submissions. Helium pays
for well-written articles in two ways, Ratings and Marketplace. Here
is a brief explanation of each option:
Ratings: Write
an article on any subject you choose, proofread it then post it onto
the Helium website. Once your article is processed it will appear under
the appropriate heading where other members will rate it against similar
articles. The higher your article ranks in its sector the more views
you will receive and the more money you'll earn. How much you earn depends
entirely on the quality and popularity of your article. Helium rewards
you by offering you a share of their revenue generated from advertisements
displayed on the page running your article, so the more views and hits,
the more you will earn. Some members have boasted high earnings but
I must stress that these writers submit articles every day. Your articles
don't have to be lengthy. You could write articles as short as 300 words.
If you enjoy writing, you could easily produce one article per day at
the very minimum. So long as your piece is interesting, informative
and well written then it's likely to get top ranking. If you only submit
one article occasionally then you're unlikely to make money from this.
Quantity and quality are really the key factors at Helium.
Marketplace: Once
you've become a member of Helium then you are eligible to pick up writing
offers from the Marketplace. So what exactly is Marketplace? Marketplace
is a section of the site where publishers offer writers the opportunity
to write an article for them at a set price. Each publisher offers guidelines
such as word count, audience focus, style, story angle etc., If you
see an offer that you'd like to undertake then you should write the
article and submit it to Helium. Helium will review your article then
publish it on their website. The best articles received will rise to
the top of the list. The publisher then makes a selection from the articles
provided. If your article is chosen you will be paid by the publisher
the agreed sum. Fees paid per selected article range from £8.00
($16.00) - £75.00 ($150), depending on article length and research
requirements. Helium have a good list of publishers and more are being
added regularly. This is definitely worth
pursuing as not only will you see your work in print and establish yourself
as a writer, you'll get paid for it too.
In both instances the first thing you will need to
do is sign up to the Helium website. Registration is free but you will
need a Paypal
account in order to receive payments. Helium gets the thumbs up from
us. It's a fabulous reference resource and a great platform for aspiring
writers. Click
here for more details and free sign-up.
CONSTANT
CONTENT is a marketplace that sells your
articles, reviews, tutorials and Blog entries online to webmasters and
bloggers in need of original copy for their site, newsletters or magazines.
They supply the customer and you supply the copy. Material can be on
any subject and length can be up to 2000 words but it must be your original
work. They offer variable price structures such as 'Usage', which
means that the piece can be bought over and over again, 'Unique',
which means that it is sold with a unique license for single use only
and removed from the Constant Content website once its been sold or
'Full Rights', which means that once your piece is sold it is
owned by the buyer who can then publish it and use his or her own byline,
resell it or make changes to it. It will also be removed from the Constant
Content database to ensure exclusivity to the owner. Please note that
selling your work on Full Rights means that you relinquish all
rights to it. You can also sell your article on a Best Offer
basis, which means that you do not request a price but wait for buyers
to make you an offer. You may accept or decline any offer made by a
client.
You could write film, book or T.V. reviews, tutorials on your expert
subject, or articles on any topic. Once you've gone through the free
registration process you can start uploading your articles for submission.
If they're approved they will be listed in the correct category along
with your requested fee and terms of usage. Constant Content will take
a percentage of your fee so please bear this in mind when setting your
price.
As well as instant submissions you can also
make money from custom requests and private requests, once you've become
established. Expect to receive several public requests a day, which
will arrive into your email inbox that you provide at registration.
The buyer will outline details of the article requested and will also
include word length, keywords (if necessary), payment details and how
many articles are required. You can study the offer and accept or reject
it. If you decide that you'd like to undertake the project then you
can use the link at the bottom of the email to contact the buyer.
Payment is in USD converted to GBP paid via
Paypal at the beginning of each month providing the customer's payment
has cleared and your account has reached the $50.00 (£25.00) threshold.
Click
here if you need to open a free Paypal
account. Please ensure before submitting your work to Constant Content
that it has been proofread as they are very stringent about punctuation
and grammar. For further details on writing for Constant Content click
here.
Important: Please read all listed sites
terms and conditions and FAQ section carefully before entering into
a contract with them as they may have made changes to their policy statements
since this article's publication.
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Work From Home As An Online Content Writer (includes
Data Entry work)
If you'd like to work as an Online Content Writer
then consider joining a Project Work Marketplace Platform such as FREELANCER.COM
What is a Project Work Marketplace
Platform? It's a corporate marketplace for buyers and freelancers. Web-Content,
Copywriting, Proofreading and Data Entry jobs are offered on the site
by the buyers to members. An estimated rate of pay is given as a guide
for completion of each project. The Writers then bid for the job giving
their fee and date of completion. This gives the buyer an opportunity
to view your profile and if he/she finds that you fit the criteria,
you will be offered the job. The more jobs that you accept and undertake
the more your profile will shine and consequently you will be offered
more work. This will enable you to build a good client base. Jobs are
offered on a daily basis. Our house writer receives several emails a
day with up to ten jobs in each message (too much for her to cope with!).
Jobs offered include articles (subject, word length and keywords specified),
forum participation, blog entries, email copy, web content, press release
articles, e-books and more.They also offer editing and proofreading
work.
Registration is free but they do offer tiered
memberships that might be beneficial, which is something you can check
out once you are satisfied that this type of work is for you.
Once you become a member you can either receive details of new listings
or you can log into your account and use the simple search facility
to find jobs you'd like to undertake.
Although this type of writing work isn't as well paid
as some other markets there is plenty of work on offer, so the more
you write, the more you will earn. If you are successful, you can make
a living from this - but be prepared to put in the hours, work to deadlines
and do some research.
For completed work you will be paid via the Project
Marketplace Sites. You may then withdraw these earnings directly into
your Paypal
or Bank Account. Some sites also pay by cheque. Please view each sites
payment terms before accepting any work as they may differ. A moderate
fee will be taken from your earnings once you have been paid. All fees
are listed on Freelancer.com.
Please make sure that you are
familiar with their rules from the onset of your membership.
Freelancer.com
is a global site and has freelancers and buyers in the UK, USA, India,
Romania, Russia and Ukraine. Payment is made promptly by Paypal, E-Gold,
Wired Transfer, or Moneybookers. Get A Freelancer is a great way to
find jobs in your professional field and will work wonders for your
CV. If you'd like to sign up or if you'd like more information then
visit Freelancer.com.
Registration is free. Get A Freelancer
is operated by Plendo Sweden AB, which is a Swedish limited company
and wholly owned subsidiary of Innovate It. Gothenburg AB.
Important: As
always, please read the company's terms and conditions and privacy policies
before entering into any binding contract.
