Comments on: Becoming a Specialized Freelancer

By: Freelance Friday Linky Love

Freelance Friday Linky Love — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 12:38:44 +0000

[...] FreelanceSwitch on How To Win Jobs On Freelance Job Bidding Sites while Freelance Parent discusses Becoming a Specialized Freelancer and Defining Your [...]

By: James Chartrand - JCM Ent.

James Chartrand - JCM Ent. — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 02:22:09 +0000

@ Allena – I take into consideration the Canadian minimum wage, my overhead expenses, the time it takes me to write and edit, all fees docked off my income and the income tax I’ll have to pay on the money I make.

There is no way in hell that $5 a blog comes close to covering that

By: Lorna Doone Brewer

Lorna Doone Brewer — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 01:00:31 +0000

Allena – $10-25 is definitely more in line with what I think is appropriate, too, although more is better.

As for the nonprofit thing, I’ll probably be writing a post next week that focuses on grant writing. The truth is that I origianlly started this post to talk about that subject, but I hijacked myself.

In short, I am a good grant writer, but most of the people/organizations I come across either 1) have no idea what it takes to be eligible for a grant or 2) don’t expect to have to pay me to write it. Like I said, I’ll probably go into it in a little more depth next week.

By: Tamara Berry

Tamara Berry — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 22:59:09 +0000

I’m going to pipe in here, too. Like you, Allena, Lorna and I get incredibly frustrated when all non-profits want is grant writers (and ones they don’t want to pay to boot!). I wouldn’t close the door on them altogether, though. We’ve worked closely with several, doing writing and editing. I’m editing a book for one right now, and it’s probably the best project I have ever worked on.

By: Allena

Allena — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 21:56:44 +0000

BOO you guys I am horning in on your convo. First, I am happy to make between 10-25 for a blog post. I always always translate everything into my hourly wage, and that figure works out ok for me.

Second, I had to comment a/ non profits becuase I have served many, and they all want…GRANT WRITERS! Just an fyi.

By: James Chartrand - JCM Enterprises

James Chartrand - JCM Enterprises — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 19:01:39 +0000

Yuck. That *is* low. Very yuck.

By: Lorna Doone Brewer

Lorna Doone Brewer — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 18:56:41 +0000

Well, the majority of the blogging jobs I’ve seen at this point seem to want to pay about $5 a post or even less.

By: James Chartrand - JCM Enterprises

James Chartrand - JCM Enterprises — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 18:13:47 +0000

@ Lorna – you have me curious. Define “pretty low”.

By: Lorna Doone Brewer

Lorna Doone Brewer — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 17:52:01 +0000

James – I also really enjoy blogging and am currently writing for six. (One is personal, one is not monetized, and I get paid to write on the other three.) I’d really like to expand that, but I have to watch for openings I’d really enjoy; and I’ve found the pay to be pretty low so far. I’m working on it, though!

By: James Chartrand - JCM Enterprises

James Chartrand - JCM Enterprises — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 11:43:54 +0000

Great, great post. You sound like me and Harry. We work much the same way you and Tamara do, and we've both had moments where we realize we don't want to be doing what we're doing. Twice now, I've said to Harry, "I hate my job. I want to quit." He pointed out that I can't quit a business I own, and while that isn't true, I stayed on. More than twice, we've done some internal shuffling to get our jobs closer to what we want them to be. What we want our jobs to be also evolves as the Internet changes - and us with it. We both hate sales copy. We both like articles. Harry likes blogging; I love blogging. Harry can't stand schmoozing, negotiating, and drawing in clients; I looooove being the man. Harry doesn't like to manage; someone once called me a thoroughbred of managers. I will warn people about partnerships, though. While they can be great, they can also be frustrating beyond belief. We also did a five part series on working with a business partner. It's not as easy as it looks. As for finding my niche in writing? Blogging for now. And when the world changes, and I along with it... who knows?

By: Lorna Doone Brewer

Lorna Doone Brewer — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 01:21:08 +0000

You make a good point. Just because you find a niche, that doesn’t mean you can’t change your mind later!

Thanks for stopping by; I’ll be checking out your blog!

By: Christa

Christa — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 01:07:04 +0000

When I first started, I specialized in public safety, so the vast majority of my business was writing articles for trade magazines. It was the only thing I had both experience and interest in; my “real” job had been tech support, and I really hated tech support!

I’ve found, however, that having children necessitated a shift. I can’t afford childcare, so I can’t do 8-12 interviews and 2-3 articles per month. So I took jobs that let me work with little kids around: editing and PR. These allow me to work in short bursts rather than requiring hours to focus on something. Another bonus: the new work allows me the flexibility to write fiction.

By the way, I got the new gigs via networking. I met the book editor through an online friend, and my PR client through a former editor at one of my trade magazines.

So I guess you could say now I specialize in anything that lets me earn money and still spend time with my kids. %)