What are my two top pieces of advice to potential freelance writers?

1.) Specialize

2.) Successful freelancer writers don’t just write for money, they run freelance writing businesses. And running a business is a lot like work. If you’re ready to make a fortune in your first year and you’re allergic to 60 hour weeks, then this profession might not be for you.

If that didn’t scare you off, here’s some of my best advice to new freelancers on how to actually get started:

The Quick and Dirty Guide to Landing Freelance Writing Jobs, Part 1

The Quick and Dirty Guide to Landing Freelance Writing Jobs, Part 2

The Quick and Dirty Guide to Landing Freelance Writing Jobs, Part 3

Here are some books and ebooks you should purchase and devour (I don’t read a ton of ebooks so this list may grow at a later date):

The Well-Fed Writer by Peter Bowerman

Web Writer’s Guide to Launching a Successful Freelance Web Writing Career by Jenn Mattern

And here are some blogs you should read religiously.

If you don’t use an RSS feed reader, start doing that today. Believe me, you’re going to need it in your career.

All Freelance Writing

Freelance Writing Jobs

Angela Booth’s Writing Blog

Freelance Switch

Freelance Folder

This blog, The Life and Times of a Freelance Writer

I also recommend following my Facebook group, “Jennifer Escalona – Writing Job Leads (Now with Wisdom!)” Maybe you’ll find a job and learn a little something in the process.

Finally, do you know why I really wrote this blog post? So that the next time somebody asks “Hey, have any freelance writing tips for me?” I have a place to send them. As a freelance writer, you’re going to be busy hustling to make a living. Every little shortcut you can make for yourself is another billable hour you can charge somewhere down the line.

Now get to work, newbie. Freelance writing careers don’t start themselves. And before I forget…

Welcome to our world!

I’ll use myself as an example. I am currently giving away my services for free to a local nonprofit. While the subject of the information pamphlet I’m research and writing – immigrants’ rights – as is one that is near and dear to my heart, the fact that I’m even writing it all is advancing my goals for my business. Which goals, you ask?

1.) Build more local business – I live in Atlanta and I love my city. I also enjoy interacting personally with clients and acting as a resource when people need connections. Ideally, at least half my clients would be local, and I’m getting there. I’ve taken steps to achieving this goal such as attending networking events and taking out a local YellowPages ad. The pamphlet I’m working on is extremely locally focused and sure to get quite a bit of publicity.

2.) Build more nonprofit/social justice business – I don’t keep it a secret that I’ve chosen the road of a freelance generalist. But that’s not to say that I don’t want a specialty. I simply haven’t yet found a specialty that consumes me. (This cautiousness about putting all my eggs in one basket is the same reason I never jumped on the tattoo bandwagon.) I think I would like that specialty to be social justice writing, and this pamphlet is going to be a one of a kind, much needed resource for many of the nonprofits in the area that I am interested in working with.

While I am volunteering my researching and writing services, I’m also getting publicity, exposure and a wonderful social justice writing sample to trot around. Not to mention, I’m creating a valuable resource for some of the most vulnerable people in society.

If you decide to volunteer your writing services in the name of furthering your career, make sure that you will get benefits. Just because you are a volunteer does not mean you don’t have the right to ask questions just like you would with a paid freelance writing job. If you are writing for exposure and publicity, ask how the organization you are writing for plans to publicize your work. If they don’t have a clear idea, maybe this isn’t the right project for you. Also, ask to see samples of similar products this organization has created. Are they good quality? No matter what kind of writing you turn in, if the organization has bad taste then you will end up being tarred with their brush. After all, if you end up ashamed of your work, it is of no use to you in the long run.

Have you ever worked for free? How did the experience turn out? Planning to work for free? What kind of research are you going to do before accepting the job?

Make Friends

Are you going to industry events in your specialty? Or, if you chose the hard road (like I have) and decided to remain a generalist, do you at least attend local networking mixers? Do you use social networking sites? Well, my friend, if you don’t do these things, it’s time to get started.

Create accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter and, just like with your portfolio website, show a little personality but keep them classy. Feel free to promote that snazzy new post on your blog or that website content you just rewrote, but keep self promotion in proportion to your other posts.

A good rule of thumb is to have 10 non-promotional posts to every self-promotional post. This may work out differently on websites like LinkedIn which seem to want you to focus more on your career goals than what you had for dinner, so it’s worth it to get to know the site before you start participating at full steam.

Remember, just like in life, with networking and social networking, you get back what you give. My favorite activity in face-to-face networking is helping others make connections. For some reason, I always meet people who need graphic design at networking events. I know a fabulous design team so I send those people their way. It may not seem like I’ve helped myself very much, but I’ve sent the design team business and I’ve helped a new acquaintance get something she needs. Who do you think she’s going to think of the next time she does need a writer? The same rules apply to social networking.

Also, choose a few key people or role models in your industry and make sure you read their blogs religiously. If you have something valuable to add to the conversation, go right ahead. Just because you are a new freelancer doesn’t mean you are a newborn baby.

Though this should not be your primary motivation in networking with other writers, your fellow freelancers can also be a wonderful source of new jobs. Again, this means making them aware of your skills or specialty and the type of work you are actively pursuing.

Finally, don’t just hang around other writers, go to the blogs and forums where the clients hang out. Establish yourself as an expert at what you do, and get ready for people to ask you about your services!

Create Your Own Job

Have you ever stumbled on a website and found the content outdated or riddled with typos? Or perhaps you have looked up an interesting business only to find they have an abandoned blog on their website. Can you rectify these sad scenarios? If so, ready your portfolio and send an email or (gulp!) make a call to the owner of the business or site. They may have no idea that their untrustworthy website is costing them business or that there are writers available to take over the blog they simply had no time to maintain.

Make Extra Money Writing for Sites like Demand Studios

Sites like Demand Studios, Constant Content and Textbroker offer writers money for articles. Content sites like these have lower barriers to entry than freelance writing jobs with individual or business clients, but they also make up for that with lower pay. Your income should not rely on sites like Demand Studios, but you can make extra money or make up for a dry spell by writing content there. If possible, try to write within your specialty and build your platform while writing for content sites like the ones listed above.

If All Else Fails, Try Bid Sites

Even though I got my start on a bid site, I do not recommend them for new freelance writers unless all else fails. I do not think that professionals should have to pay money to find work. Plus, a system that often rewards the lowest bidder is stacked in favor of the buyer and not the seller. Think of using bid sites as going to a casino. Sure, you will rake in enough chips (i.e. small jobs) to keep you at the table, but the House always wins in the end.

If you decide to use bid sites like eLance, oDesk or Bizreef, make sure you are sticking to your guns on pricing and don’t be led down the rabbit hole of low bidding. Many clients on bid sites really do want the best freelancer they can find, so keep your unique selling proposition (USP) in mind when you bid and make sure you show that potential client why you stand out above all the low bidders.

You’re prepared like Rocky. The championship next great gig is about to come rolling into your inbox, right?

Not quite yet. Now it’s time to do the legwork. Here is a list of the way that freelance writers get jobs. Warning: it’s so big I had to divide it up into two posts. We freelance writers are a diverse lot.

Blind query

These jobs are posted on Craigslist, FreelanceWritingJobs, the ProBlogger Job Board, AllFreelanceWriting, and a godzillion more places on the internet. It seems like new freelance writing job boards pop up every day, so go into blind querying with open eyes.

When blind querying, the key is reading the ad carefully, researching the editor or company if at all possible, and then writing a query that expressly states why your expertise makes you a good fit for the job. If that sounds daunting, be sure to check out my “Freelance Writer’s Guide to Writing Proposal Letters” and its companion “Audience Edition.”

Keep in mind that while blind queries can lead to some awesome jobs, and sometimes, especially at first, they are one of the only ways to start building your business, often times blind querying is not the best way to go about getting a freelance writing job. First, blind querying can take quite a bit of time. For instance, I have RSS feeds set up to help me find writing jobs and these things overflow every day. Just sorting through them takes hours, and if I let them go for a few days… Forget about it.

By the time you’ve found a job (or more likely, many jobs) that sound right for you, you then have to spend time querying. And let me tell you, writing a good query is an art form. While you can use a template, if you fail to personalize it, you might as well not even send it. To a serious client a generic proposal smells like week-old sushi shoved behind a bookshelf. (Just keep that image in mind next time you are tempted to forego personalization when applying for a job.)

Important note: After you’ve been sorting through freelance writing job ads for awhile, you’ll notice buzzwords like “write for exposure” and “good job for a college student.” These phrases are usually synonyms with “we’re going to pay you peanuts, if at all.” See this list for a smattering of dastardly freelance writing job ad code words.

Specialize & Build a Platform

Remember how, in The Quick and Dirty Guide to Landing Freelance Writing Jobs, Part 1, I said that we would get back to the whole “pick a specialty” thing? Well, we’re here. Specialists have an easier time of it than generalists for a couple of reasons: they already know a lot about their subject so they can spend less time searching out clients and more time billing, and their target audience is smaller so they find marketing their services easier.

Imagine this scenario. You are at a networking event and a kindly potential client asks you what you do. You have two options:

Option A: I’m a writer. I writer things. All sorts of things, really.

Option B: I’m a corporate blogger. I write blog posts that allow companies to attract attention on the internet and engage more fully with their customers.

This kindly potential client might be the head of marketing for a multinational corporation, and they might be looking for a blogger. If so, then you and your Option B answer have piqued his interest. Alternatively, this potential client may also know someone looking for a press release writer, a copywriter and a grant writer, but because you went with vague Option A, perhaps he didn’t put two and two together and you just missed a valuable connection.

Specificity is rewarded. If you bill yourself as a relationships blogger, you may not get the next science writing gig that comes along. But if you build your platform sturdily enough, people will remember you as “the relationship blogger” and keep you in mind next time they need your services.

I started freelance writing and realized that, while there are a lot of dos and donts, there isn’t much rocket science involved when it comes to finding and landing jobs. Like most things in life, landing freelance writing jobs comes from preparing, networking, and then working hard every day. Is that sexy? No. Will it work? Yes.

So here’s part 1 of the quick and dirty breakdown of things to do before you start applying for freelance writing jobs:

Soul Search

What are you good at? What types of things do you like to write? Do you enjoy blogging? How about creating marketing materials? Or do you, perhaps, have the soul of an editor? Pick a thing or two you want to specialize in and start there. (Get some ideas on specialization here and don’t forget to check 67 Freelance Niche Writing Markets You May Never Have Considered.)

Don’t go out into the world shouting “I will write anything!” Narrow it down. This will pay off in the end. (More about this in a later post.) Also, before putting a lot of time and energy in embarking on a freelance writing career, be sure you have asked yourself the age old question, “Can I write?”

Decipher your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

What makes you more hirable than the other 500 freelancers who will undoubtedly apply for the same gigs you are going after? This could be anything from vast experience writing about weddings to a very transparent and easy to understand project management system. What makes you special? Know that before you start marketing yourself. (Read this article for more ideas on USP.)

Create a Web Presence

Ideally this is a website with, at minimum, a bit about you, a portfolio, and your contact information. It should highlight your unique selling proposition in a prominent way. If you don’t have any traditional writing samples, a blog will do in a pinch, but should be a temporary measure until you can build a portfolio. And while a blog will suffice, a Suite101 profile or a personal blog where you complain about how your rear looks in these jeans will not. This is the where your potential clients will learn about you so keep it classy. For more ideas on how to fill out your homepage, see this post about vital blog pages from Problogger or this one specifically about vital blog pages for small businesses from Erno Hannink and craftily apply them to your portfolio site. It’s not a bad idea to keep a physical portfolio, either. (I’d show you a picture of mine but it’s getting a little beat up. Don’t do that either. Keep your portfolio fresh and crisp!)

Shout from the Rooftops

So you built this great web presence and have hung out your freelance writing shingle, yet your uncle, who’s the head of Creative Widgets at Acme Corp., doesn’t know that you are a freelance writer now. How about the former boss who asked you to call if you ever needed anything? Or the college professor who always said she knew you would write for a living? These people can help you if you let them but chances are they aren’t stalking you and thus are unaware of your new career goal.

A small aside: One really crafty way to do this is to go ahead and start email marketing. First, send all of your contacts a personal email (preface it with a call if that’s more appropriate) and in that email point them to your portfolio and ask them if they would like to sign up for your email list. Some people most assuredly will want to keep track of your professional successes, so then sign up with a service like MailChimp and get started building your list. (Only add people to a mailing list if they do opt in. It’s unethical, and if I understand correctly, illegal, to add people to an email list when they don’t want to be there.) Then periodically send out news, helpful tips, recent blog posts, and whatever else your contacts and potential clients might like to see. Even if Uncle Floyd in Creative Widgets doesn’t have a job for you now, receiving periodic email updates from you will help him keep you top of mind when a job does come up.

And those steps, my friends, were the things to do before you even start applying for freelance writing jobs. Stayed tuned for “The Quick and Dirty Guide to Landing Freelance Writing Jobs, Part 2” for how to go about landing clients.

Special thanks to @averygood year over at Twitter for inspiring this series. If you aren’t following her, the why not? She is a treasure!

The sad thing is, I blogged about Examiner.com back in the day and told some of you guys that I thought it could be a good opportunity. If you had good luck with it, more power to you. As for me, I’m eating my words right now. It just didn’t work for me. Consider this my mea culpa.

But in the spirit of offering solutions instead of complaining about problems, I bring you 5 Alternatives to Writing for Examiner.com. (Keep in mind, you are not going to get rich, and I don’t suggest that, if you are bent on becoming a full time writer, you rely on sites like the ones listed below for your income.)

Demand Studios – In my opinion, Demand Studios is one of the best sites a freelance writer can work for to make quick cash or build a portfolio (possibly an odd portfolio – but I’ll get to that in a moment) when they are just starting out. You have to apply with a writing sample or two to be accepted, but when you are, you can start writing immediately. You are given article titles in a variety of styles and formats. I prefer the About articles or Fact Sheets. About articles are $15 each and, unless you picked a topic you know nothing about, you can generally write two in an hour. Fact Sheets are $5 each and you can probably finish four to an hour (again, unless you pick something you know nothing about.)

Articles written for Demand go to sites like eHow and you do get a byline. Be sure the writing is good, accurate and by all means not plagiarized (you would never do that would you? If you would, stop reading this blog right now! This isn’t for you!) because an editor will be checking it over. Demand Studios pays weekly and can be a great source of income for those starting out. Keep in mind though, before you have ideas of riches, that you are only allowed to have 10 articles “checked out” at one time and the editing process can be slow. Also, some days the topics are just terrible. Do you really want to write about catalytic converters?

Sample “Fact Sheet”

BrightHub – BrightHub bills itself as a science and technology hub, so if you are interested in any scienc-y subject, from green living to biology to video games, then you can probably find a place on BrightHub. Unlike Demand Studios, Bright Hub editors work directly with writers in order to set up a monthly editorial calendar. You will likely get to choose the contents of your 400-500 word articles, but sometimes editors give out a long list of articles for writers to choose from.

The BrightHub article submission process can be a little harrowing. You are expected to learn about meta tags and keywords, etc. Chances are though, if you are a young freelancer starting out in this day and age, you’ve already run into some SEO writing, so this should be fairly common sense.

Like Demand Studios, BrightHub is a way for young, hungry freelancers to make real money that does not rely on page views. The site pays around the middle of the month after your article is submitted.

Sample Bright Hub Article (And a pretty interesting one, too.)

Constant Content – Constant Content works with writers in two ways. First, it simply acts as a marketplace for you to sell your writing. For example, say a client ordered some articles but, for whatever reason, turned out not to need them and you retained the rights to them. You, clearly, don’t need any articles on hardwood flooring, but you can put them on Constant Content and see if someone who does happens to come along. I have not tried that method, so I can’t tell you if it works or not. The second way that writers can work with Constant Content is to respond to request for content. People with websites will ask for say, an article on green landscaping, and then you write it, set a price, and hope that they buy it. Of course, if they don’t buy it, it then goes into the pool for other content connoisseurs to purchase.

What’s great about Constant Content is that you don’t have to sell full rights to your article if you don’t want to. You can sell either Usage rights (i.e. they get to use it, you get to keep selling it), Unique Rights (your byline stays on it, you no longer get to sell it), or Full Rights (you get no byline and no more rights to the article. Essentially, it’s theirs.) Depending on how attached to the article you are, you get to make the call. Also, you set the price for the article, but Constant Content gets a cut, so factor that in when deciding on pricing.

And apparently in the day and age of the internet, no blog post is complete without pandering. I hate to do this kind of thing, but if you decide to use Constant Content, I’d love if you used my referral link.

Associated Content – I haven’t used Associated Content very much, but from what I recall, it is much like Constant Content in that you can write your own articles or claim an assignment. The money making scheme is a little obtuse, so I’ll just quote their FAQ :

“We offer Upfront Payments ranging from $1 to $20 for certain types of content. All of the content you publish can earn you money via Performance Payments, which currently pays a baseline PPM™ rate of $1.50 for every one thousand page views it receives.”

So basically, if the article is good, you will sell it and then get bonuses as it gets hits. They also pay daily. So if you are in a hurry and have some hot content to get off your hands, AC may just be the place for you. There are two types of rights you can allow – Exclusive (they keep it, it’s not yours anymore) and Non-Exclusive (you can sell it again.) I read somewhere recently that AC is only offering from $3 to $7 for new articles (instead of the up to $20 listed in their FAQ), so keep that in mind before heavily investing your time. On the other hand, if you have a lot of article ideas about a favorite topic and don’t want to wait for a buyer to come surfing by on Constant Content, you may prefer the upfront payment option of AC.

TextBroker – This is the only site on this list that I have not personally used. For a more complete look at the site, I suggest this Textbroker review.

Like I said, Examiner.com didn’t pay nearly enough to justify the time I was putting into it. Has anybody had better luck with that site? How about any of the sites listed above? Let us know in the comments!

So, to drive your credibility home, add testimonials to your site. How do you get testimonials? You do good work. For a freelancer trying to find her first job, this could seem like a chicken and egg scenario. “I haven’t had any clients, so how can I get testimonials? But how can I get clients without testimonials?”

There are a couple of things you can do in this situation:

1.)    Mine your network. If you are thinking of becoming a freelance writer, I’m willing to be that somebody out there has told you that you are a good writer. Maybe it’s an old boss or a college professor. Ask them to write up a general statement about the quality of your writing. The best testimonials show measurable results (more about that in tomorrow’s post), but it’s okay if you don’t have any measurable results just yet. Think of yourself as the equivalent of entry level right now.

2.)    Start a blog. This is a great idea and something you should probably do anyway. It keeps you out there, keeps you connected, and helps with SEO when someone Googles your name. The blog does not have to be about freelance writing. In fact, unless you are experienced, that might backfire. (On the other hand, a “My Journey into the Deep Dark World of Freelance Writing” might make a great blog. People have written great blogs about odder subjects.) I suggest picking a topic you love and know a lot about.

3.)    Take a low paying job or work for free. Do this as a very, very, very last resort. There are so many reasons not to work for free. It undervalues you, it deflates the market, and it gives clients the expectation that they can get something for nothing. For that reason, if you absolutely must work for free, I suggest you do it as a labor of love or something you really care about. I recommend checking out last week’s Worthy Wednesday pick and volunteering in some sort of writing capacity for a local nonprofit. It’s good for the soul.

Now that you are in a position to ask for a testimonial, how do you go about getting one? Check back tomorrow to find out! 

Further Reading:

Testimonials: A Freelance Writer’s Evidence, Part 2

Testimonials: A Freelance Writer’s Evidence, Addendum

I was employed full time when I decided to try the freelancing thing. At the time I considered myself a fiction writer. I’d had a short story nominated for the Pushcart and imagined myself toiling away by day and writing the Great American Novel by night. My corporate writing and editing experience at the time included technical writing, and all kinds of marketing and web site content generation for several different companies. I had also written for my college newspaper. (Hey, every little bit of experience counts.) I say all this because by no means did I have 15 years of copywriting experience before I hung out my shingle.

At about the same time I was contemplating freelance writing, a friend of mine emailed me. She had graduated from college and didn’t want her web design skills to go rusty before she went to med school. She actually offered to build my former website for free. Yes, I realize how lucky I am. A future doctor built my website. Gratis. (Thank you so much, Lily. I will truly always love you.) That said, by the time I was applying for jobs, my portfolio on the site was nowhere near complete. This is a big no no when it comes to professionalism, and something I wouldn’t do again. I wanted pocket change at the time – don’t judge me!

Moving on, I had been talking to a friend of mine who happens to be a recruiter. She knew I wanted a writing job so she suggested some freelance writing bid sites (more on bid sites at a later date). I made an account over at Bizreef, choosing the site, frankly, because I wasn’t sure enough about the venture to spend all that money on the crazy tests and flaming hoops a writer has to jump through over at eLance. (I still never have and I still get tons of work.) Literally the next day I bid on a project and got it. The bidder – my first client! – was new to hiring freelancers and so we muddled through it together. Luckily I worked in an office where someone just happened to be a paralegal, and she helped me choose a Freelance Agreement with simple wording. The client signed it, gave me the job, I did it in the next couple of days, and that was that. First freelance writing job.

So as you can see, my first freelance experience was a combination of networking, paying a small fee for the privilege of applying for the job (oh, bid sites), getting extraordinarily lucky with web design and legal advice, and just generally muddling through with absolutely no sense that in a very short time freelance writing would be my main business. I was basically the Candide of freelance writers.

I’ve been doing this full-time for a little over a year now, and I still have much to learn about the process. I’ve made my share of mistakes down the road, and sometimes I feel like it’s a lucky fluke that I got any jobs to begin with. Most of the time though, I know I get freelancing gigs because I query every day, market myself, tell everybody I know that I write for money, and I – and this is of primary importance – am a good writer. (I have no bigger pet peeve than reading freelance writing blogs and seeing comments like “I wants to get in2 freelancing. Wut do I do?” But that is a topic for another day.)

So how about you guys? I would love to find out how you landed your first freelancing gig. Let me know in the comments.

More Resources for New Freelance Writers:

The Freelance Writer’s Guide to Writing Proposal Letters

The Freelance Writer’s Guide to Writing Proposal Letters: Audience Edition

Spy vs. Spy: Freelance Writing Codewords

But first, I’ll offer a little explanation. Examiner.com is a site where locals write about goings on in their area of expertise. I’m writing about Atlanta Green Business and that’s perfect for me because it’s something I keep up with anyway and so it doesn’t take up too much of my time. I can go in daily, post an item or two about upcoming events, the state of local green businesses, new green businesses, some fun facts, etc. and keep Atlanta informed about my topic while basically just leveraging the various mailing lists I belong to. (Check out what I’ve been up to here.) If you have a similar area of expertise, I’m willing to bet that you can do this with a minimum of fuss, too. And, while you’re doing it, you can build up your portfolio.

Examiner.com is one of those undisclosed-pay-formula-it-has-something-to-do-with-page-views sites, but I can assure that I’ve been on the site three days and I’m already seeing money add up. That is a welcome change from article marketing sites like Suite101 where it may take months for all your hard work to produce a check, and it’s another reason why I’m recommending Examiner.com to new writers.

Now, I’ve been on this site for less than a week, but so far I haven’t found any hidden bugaboos to report. However, I’ll keep you posted. I have talked to a few other Examiners around the country, and they say that you don’t even have to live especially close to the city you are reporting on as long as you are still able to Google. I’m not sure how I feel about that, but hey, if you at least live within 100 miles of a city, I’m sure you fall into its sphere of influence somehow.

How about you guys? Has anyone tried Examiner? Do you want to try it but have questions?

Before I forget, if you decide to become an Examiner, I’d love it if you say I referred you. My referral number is 8115 and I would very much appreciate the credit. In return for that favor, I wouldn’t mind looking over your application materials, especially if you are a new writer and still unsure about your work. Email me!

Update:

Mea culpa. Sometimes we are all wrong now and then. Please see my post 5 (Paying) Alternatives to Writing for Examiner.com for my updated opinion on writing for this site and sites like it.

The below is the result of me failing to go through my RSS feed reader for jobs for a few days and then deciding to have fun with the messy aftermath. These are actual phrases from Craigslist ads should tip you off that a freelance writing gig isn’t going to finance that Tahitian “writer’s retreat” you’ve been fantasizing about:

(Sadly, any funky spelling or grammar is original.)

• Perfect job for a college student looking for that big break to get some experience
• Labor of love
• You’ll get a byline
• Will write for credit
• Your name will appear on every post you complete.
• This is an independent project. There is pay, which is Deferred. (What? Like student loans?)
• Perfect for someone who is passionate about this subject matter
• Great for somebody who wants to get their foot in the door
• Ideal for someone wanting to break into the business
• Work from your pajamas
• We are looking for writers willing to donate pieces
• Internship (Some are true internships, of course, but they should be expressly for college credit and to teach someone the industry, not just to recruit free labor. Edit: The day after I posted this, Deb Ng over at Freelance Writing Jobs wrote a great post about internships vs. unpaid labor.)
• This is for a little extra money. I cannot be responsible for paying your grocery bills or your rent. (At least he’s honest.)
• There is no compensation – this to help writeres who need published work for their portfolio.
• Compensation is the chance to have your expert opinion heard by millions

A couple of bonuses (because I just can’t make myself stop with the advice):

• Beware of any jobs that say they accept someone working from anywhere but list the location as “Downtown.” These are almost always scammy.
• Beware of grant writing jobs that promise to pay upon funding. Grant writing is hard, tedious and time consuming work, and there’s never any guarantee of funding. The same goes for ghostwriting gigs that claim they will pay upon publication.

Lastly, I did see a couple of cute posts on Craigslist.

From Columbus, Georgia:

Sign Writer (Columbus)

It is what it is.

And someone in Minneapolis/St. Paul posted:

Grant Writer

-Looking for a small business grant writer willing to accept payment when grant comes through.

-Please let me know if this is possible or if I’m completely nuts for asking

You are completely nuts for asking, but I thank you or at least trying to look at it from our point of view and giving us a smile while you’re at it.

How about you guys? Have any completely nutty job ads to share?

Update

Here are some of your code word contributions!

• “This should be easy for a writer who knows what he is doing.” (I find this is often code for: “We know it’s a lot of work, but we don’t want to pay for it.”) – Lana